100 best young players to watch-out for in 2014 - Part 1

24) Dimitri Foulquier

Who is he? The wonderfully named Dimitri Foulquier is a full-back who plays for Rennes and is currently on loan to Spanish side Granada. The youngster is a part of the French U-21 set up.

Back in 2013: Foulquier spent the first part of the year at parent club Rennes. He often played in strings of games at a time and not a sustained run. However, he did play 5 games in a row towards the end of the season. The youngster was loaned to Granada for the season but understandably didn’t feature in the club’s line up at the start of the season given his exploits at the U-20 World Cup but his services were called upon on a fairly regular basis thereafter. His ability to play on both sides of the pitch has served both him and Granada well in the 11 appearances he’s made so far.

He played every minute of France’s U-20 World Cup winning campaign chalking up an impressive 3 assists. He has also played every minute of the qualifiers for the U-21 team so far.

Looking at 2014: The more football a young player can play, the better his chance of making it at a senior level. Thus, in terms of playing time Foulquier can be more than happy to see out his loan move at Granada. We’ll be very interested to see what role he plays at Rennes next season.

23) Uros Spajic

Who is he? Uros Spajic is a Serbian U-21 International. The 20 year-old centre-back plays for Toulouse in France.

Back in 2013: The first half of 2013 was the last season in which Spajic represented Red Star Belgrade. He was a constant fixture after the winter break and impressed Toulouse enough for them to bring him to France in the summer. His debut for his new side was ended in bizarre circumstances as he was asked to leave the field as he was mistaken to be the teammate sent off by the referee. However, he has kicked on and started all but 1 of the league games thus far this season proving to be well worth the money spent on him in the summer. He scored his first goal for the club in the Coupe de la Ligue against Marseille.

He’s a regular starter for the Serbian U-21 side featuring in all 5 of their qualification games in the year.

Looking at 2014: The Serbian has settled in well to life in France and will look to kick on in the second half of the season. In terms of the national side, having featured regularly for the U-21s, the next step up is obviously the senior team- a feat much easier said than done given the wealth of options at their disposal.