The top-five leagues in Europe are well established now as England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France, probably in that order, with the likes of Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands pushing hard at their heels. The quality of teams and football played in these top leagues, however, means that the second tiers of the top leagues are also full of interesting and talented players.

Indeed, there are a lot of players within the second tiers of the top-five leagues who are simply too good for the second division. In this article, we will look specifically at one player from each of the second tiers of England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France that we think have the ability to make the step into the top tiers of their respective league.

These players are all under the age of 23, and we have used data analysis to identify them.

The second tiers of major leagues have always been ripe in terms of scouting and recruitment — none more so than the English Championship. This is even more the case now as Jude Bellingham continues to go from strength to strength at Real Madrid, having initially played as a young man with Birmingham City before he made his first move to Borussia Dortmund.

Cyrsencio Summerville, 22 years old, winger, Leeds United and Netherlands

The first player on our shortlist is the 22-year-old Dutch U21 international winger Cyrsencio Summerville of Leeds United in the English Championship. The young Dutch winger was initially in the academy system at Feyenoord in the Netherlands, one of the most productive youth academies in world football. He made the move to England in 2020 for a fee reported to have been in the region of £1.5m and initially played in the U21 setup at Leeds.

Indeed, Leeds have been very patient with the development of the young Dutch winger, but this season has seen him come in to play an important role in the first-team as they chase promotion back to the Premier League.

As you can see from the pizza chart above, Summerville has been one of the top performers in the Championship so far this season. At the time of writing, he has 15 goals in the league and his underlying attacking data is strong. He is in the 89th percentile for goal contributions and the 95th percentile for expected goal contributions. Looking further at his underlying attacking data, we see further evidence of his quality; he is in the 95th percentile for shots per 90, the 91st percentile for dribbles per 90 and the 92nd percentile for touches in the opposition area.

In the passing and progression phase of the game, Summerville also impresses. He is in the 81st percentile for dangerous passes (passes to the penalty area and final third) and the 57th percentile for progressive passes. This showcases the fact that he is capable of passing and breaking lines as well as driving forward in possession of the ball.

This event map shows the penetrating carries from Summerville so far this season in the Championship. As you can see, he has a clear preference to play from the left side of the attack; being naturally right-footed, he likes to take possession and drive inside into the half-spaces and penetrate the penalty area. He creates danger and threat consistently and at a high level when in possession of the ball.

As things stand, Leeds United are performing extremely well in the Championship and seem on track to win promotion back to the Premier League. If they do so, Summerville will be a key part of their plans going into next season. If they do not promote, however, then expect to see the Dutch winger moving on to a top club for next season.

Alejandro Frances, 21 years old, central defender, Real Zaragoza and Spain

The next player that we have selected is the 21-year-old Spanish U21 international central defender Alejandro Frances. The young defender has been capped by the Spanish U21s 15 times, so those within the Spanish federation are well aware of his talents.

He is a product of the youth academy at Real Zaragoza and has worked his way through the youth system to the point that he is now a regular at first-team level. There are some negatives to his game — at 182cm | 6’, there are some who may see him as being slightly undersized or only suited to a back three system, but with that said, he has a lot of attributes that will be interesting to top-division clubs.

You can see from his pizza chart that there have been a lot of positive aspects to his performances so far this season in the second tier of Spain. He is a possession-based central defender with the ability to play comfortably from the back while retaining possession of the ball and finding ways to progress the ball through opposition pressure.

In the passing and progression section of the pizza chart, we can see that he is in the 78th percentile for passes per 90 and the 63rd percentile for pass accuracy %. This, however, just tells us that he is an aggressive player on the ball who is not simply safe and secure in possession.

Indeed, Frances is in the 82nd percentile for dangerous passes and the 79th percentile for progressive passes.

In the defensive phase of the game, the young defender is in the 70th percentile for the volume of defensive duels and 59th percentile for the % of defensive duels won. In La Liga 2, there are not typically a high volume of aerial duels in general, and you can see that he faces relatively few aerial duels. His percentile for the % of aerial duels that are won, however, remains high as he is in the 76th percentile.

As you can see from this event map showing the progressive passes he has played so far this season in the second tier of Spain he has a varied and aggressive approach on the ball. He plays as the right-sided central defender for the most part, and on that side of the pitch, he will play passes that break through the lines and are progressive within the half-spaces. He also has the ability to play longer diagonal passes to access the space on the far side of the pitch when he is in possession.

With Real Zaragoza currently sitting in mid-table in the Spanish second tier there is little chance that they will be promoted. If Alejandro Frances wants to play at the next level, then he will need to move on, and mid-table La Liga sides will likely be very aware of his abilities.

Tom Rothe, 19 years old, full-back, Holstein Kiel (loan from Borussia Dortmund)

Our next player is the 19-year-old German U21 international Tom Rothe. He is currently on loan in the German second tier with Holstein Kiel from his parent club Borussia Dortmund, as he gains valuable game time and experience at first-team level. Rothe has not had an easy route to get to this stage, and he started his journey with lower league sides before joining the youth system at St Pauli of Hamburg. In 2021, he joined Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer.

Rothe is an attack-minded left-back who can also play comfortably as a left wing-back. As you can see from his pizza chart, he is having an exceptionally strong season in the German second tier. In the attacking phase, he is in the 68th percentile for goal contributions and the 72nd percentile for expected goal contributions.

In possession, he is not necessarily a volume passer as he is in the 67th percentile for passes per 90 and the 51st percentile for the % of successful passes. He does, however, perform well in terms of being aggressive and progressive in possession, as he is in the 91st percentile for dangerous passes and the 77th percentile for progressive passes.

In the defensive phase, he leverages his frame well; he is listed at 193cm | 6’3”, and he is strong in the air. He is in the 71st percentile for aerial duels per 90 and the 95th percentile for the % of aerial duels that he wins.

This event map shows the penetrating carries that we have seen this season from Rothe in the second tier of Germany. You can see that he brings significant danger in the final third with his ability to receive wide before driving through the half-space and breaking into the opposition penalty area.

As things stand it is likely that there is going to be significant interest in Rothe from the major leagues at the end of the season. It remains to be seen, though, whether Borussia Dortmund will want to keep him.

Adrian Bernabe, 22 years old, midfielder, Parma and Spain

Our fourth player is the 22-year-old Spanish U21 international central midfielder Adrian Bernabe. He is currently contracted to Parma in the Italian second tier. At the time of writing, Parma are sitting top of Serie B, eight points ahead of second place, and it is looking likely that they will be returning to Serie A for next season.

Bernabe started his career in the youth system at Barcelona but moved to England to join Manchester City when he was still young. In 2021, he made the move to Italy, joining Parma, and he has established himself as a key central midfielder at the club.

Bernabe profiles best as an eight or a 10 in the midfield positions and contributes effectively to the attacking and progression phases of the game.

At the time of writing, when compared to central midfielders in Serie B, Bernabe is in the 91st percentile for goal contributions and the 91st percentile for expected goal contributions. His other underlying attacking data is also strong, as he is in the 94th percentile for shots per 90, the 98th percentile for dribbles per 90 and the 94th percentile for touches in the opposition area.

In the passing and progression phase of the game, Bernabe is in the 91st percentile for dangerous passes and the 91st percentile for progressive passes per 90 as he plays aggressively in possession.

The pass map for Bernabe so far this season in Serie B shows how active and effective Bernabe has been in possession. He is active across the whole pitch, although he has a tendency to be positioned to the right of the centre of the midfield and in the half-spaces. From these positions, he is typically aggressive in possession as he looks to move the ball forward for his team into the final third.

Bernabe will be in Serie A next season with Parma, but that does not mean there will not be significant interest in securing his services from elsewhere, with Serie A sides and La Liga sides likely to be very aware of his talent.

Nordine Kandil, 22 years old, midfielder, Annecy (loan from Strasbourg)

The final player on our shortlist is the 22-year-old Moroccan U23 international attacking midfielder Nordine Kandil. He is currently on loan in Ligue 2 with Annecy from the top-flight side Strasbourg. Capable of playing either wide on the right or through the centre as a 10 or attacking 8. He developed through the system at Strasbourg but moved on loan for this season at Annecy to get more regular game time to continue his development. As things stand, he looks to have made the right decision.

He has not necessarily been the most effective so far this season in the attacking phase although he is in the 86th percentile for dribbles per 90. He is a creative player, though, and this starts to come through in his outputs for passing and progression, as you can see from his pizza chart.

He is currently in the 78th percentile for passes per 90, and he is active in possession for his team. In more established possession, he is aggressive in moving the ball forward for his team; he is in the 82nd percentile for dangerous passes and the 82nd percentile for progressive passes.

As you can see from the assist map for Nordine Kandil, he contributes a threat from set pieces, particularly corners, with his delivery. He is creative with his passing in and around the final third with the ability to break the last line of the opposition defence and to create shooting opportunities for teammates.

Whether Kandil will be playing in Ligue 1 for Strasbourg next season remains to be seen but there is no doubt that he is showing the ability at the moment to play in a top-five league.

Conclusion

There has always been talent in the second tiers of England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France, and this remains the case now. Smart teams with good recruitment departments will be aware of the players currently performing at these levels, and we would not be surprised to see each of these players in a top-five league come the start of next season.