10 of the best young players who will make a breakthrough in 2018

#3 Kai Havertz

The next Mesut Ozil?

Team: Bayer Leverkusen

Position: Attacking Midfield

Age: 18

For any young player looking to break out into the first team, Germany is arguably the best place in doing so. That is what Kai Havertz has found at while being with Bayer Leverkusen.

Havertz has been, on more than one occasion, compared to Germany’s pristine attacking midfielder, Mesut Özil. It has come to the attention of people who have seen both that they share very similar characteristics when playing as the number 10.

What the German U19 does not possess at this moment in time is a consistent tally of goals. For Leverkusen’s first team, he has five goals in 46 appearances. What is impressive, though, is his ability to contribute with assists. He already has six assists this season with half of the season yet to play.

Havertz also has an aerial advantage over player also occupying this position. This makes him more of a threat from set-pieces, but also allows Leverkusen to win the ball in the air and construct an attacking phase from a dangerous area. He is only 18-years-old, but is likely to work his way into the German national team by his early 20s.