This is the first article in a new magazine series that will look ahead to the 2022/23 season to highlight some interesting young players who we’ll be keeping an eye on. In this piece, we will concentrate on the defensive positions, with five players selected.

Whilst these players are mainly considered central defenders, some of them have the positional versatility to also cover the midfield area. This, however, is part of modern football with central defenders increasingly becoming more comfortable on the ball and capable of playing in the midfield from a technical level.

All of the data used in putting together this article comes from Wyscout and we will visualise the data using pizza charts that are created using code in Python. The metrics used for some of the ‘slices’ are bespoke metrics, created to add an extra level of insight into the basic metrics that are provided by Wyscout. These pizza charts will show the percentile data for each player in relation to the other central defenders in their division.

This article is not intended as a definitive list of ‘the next big thing’ at the position and instead will show five players who we believe are interesting enough to merit watching going into next season and beyond.

#1 Levi Colwill, 19 years old, Central Defender, Chelsea and England

Levi Colwill spent the 2021/22 season on loan in the English Championship with Huddersfield Town and he impressed to the point that he was thought to be in contention for a starting spot for Chelsea this upcoming season.

His situation with Chelsea has, however, been somewhat muddied by the intent of the new Chelsea ownership to strengthen in the defensive department. We have already seen the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly, the 31-year-old Senegalese international, and they are still intent on signing the 23-year-old French defender Jules Koundé from Sevilla.

Colwill may be a young player, but he is not content to sit and wait for his chance at Chelsea. He has already made noises that he will consider his future at the club if any other central defenders are signed this summer. If Colwill is suddenly available for transfer then it is certain that there will be no shortage of clubs interested in securing the youngsters signing.

He is a naturally left-footed central defender who profiles as a player who would be comfortable playing either in a back four or in a back three system. At Huddersfield Town last season, he played for the most part in a back-three system.

He is also a very modern style of central defender who is more than capable of bringing the ball out from the back or playing progressive passes that break the lines and progress his team through the thirds of the pitch.

This style of play is shown in the data for Colwill. In the 21/22 season, he ended up in the 73rd percentile for progressive runs and the 72nd percentile for accelerations as he showed the ability to carry the ball forward.

At Huddersfield, he played for a less possession-focused team (despite reaching the playoff final for promotion) and as such, he was only in the 67th percentile for passes per 90. With those passes, however, he showed the ability to play forward as he ended in the 72nd percentile for progressive actions and the 80th percentile for forward passes.

Colwill is also a more than capable player in the defensive phase of the game. He ended in the 57th percentile for defensive duels but the 88th percentile for the % of defensive duels won.

The change to the transfer system within England caused by Brexit means that if Colwill decides that he wants to leave Chelsea he will generate significant interest. We would expect to see the likes of Southampton and Brighton in particular register an interest (both have a proven record of signing young English talent and fast-tracking them to the first team). We would not be surprised, however, to see interest from the likes of Germany and Italy as well.

#2 Stelios Andreou, 19 years old, Central Defender, Charleroi and Cyprus

Stelios Andreou is a 19-year-old Cypriot central defender who is contracted to Charleroi in the Belgian Pro League. He has also already been capped five times at senior international level by Cyprus.

Andreou is a naturally right-footed defender who has a good size around him, he is listed at 188cm | 6’2 with a broad and athletic build. He actually developed in the youth academy at Olympiakos Nicosia in his native Cyprus, but Charleroi were quick to identify his talent and they signed the young Cypriot defender for a bargain price reported to be in the region of £180K. It should be pointed out at this stage, however, that the Cypriot club retains 20% of his economic rights. This means that when Andreou is eventually sold, 20% of the fee will be paid to Olympiakos Nicosia.

Last season, we saw Andreou typically play as part of a back three for Charleroi, although he showed the ability to play as the controlling defender in the centre or as the wide defender on the right of the structure. Given his player profile and skill set, however, we believe that he is also capable of playing in a back-four system. He ended the season with 2589 minutes as Charleroi finished 5th in the table.

Andreou is not a central defender who we typically see looking to drive out of defence or take responsibility for line-breaking passes. That should not be taken to mean though that he is not a more than capable passer of the ball. Instead, his passing is typically out to the wide areas where he can play into space or play switches out to the wide areas.

This is shown, once again, in the data where Andreou finished in the 64th percentile for progressive runs and the 57th percentile for accelerations. He was not typically a volume passer as he ended in the 49th percentile for passes but he was still in the 63rd percentile for progressive actions.

What is important for Andreou, though, is that his defensive output was very strong. He ended in the 84th percentile for defensive duels per 90 and the 85th percentile for defensive duel success %.

Going forward, we would expect to see Andreou playing a significant role for Charleroi coming forward next season. If he continues to develop and produce strong output as he has done so far, we would expect to see interest from the likes of Italy and Germany, in particular, going forward.

#3 Castello Lukeba, 19 years old, Central Defender, Lyon and France

France remains a genuine hotbed for the development of young players and it would be remiss if at least one of the players that we are highlighting in this piece were not French. That player is the 19-year-old French U21 international Castello Lukeba.

Lukeba is a product of the renowned youth academy at Lyon and he is a naturally left-footed central defender who provides genuine value to his team. He is perhaps not the most physically dominant player as he is listed at just 184cm | 6’1”, but his anticipation and ability to read the game and react early make him a very capable defensive player.

He is strong and aggressive against the ball but in possession, he has all of the hallmarks of a modern central defender with a capacity to pass progressively and to break lines as he moves the ball forward.

Lukeba is extremely quick and although he has played so far predominantly in a back four system, he has the skill set to be able to translate his game to play in a back three. His ability on the ball means that he would likely thrive as an LCB in a three with the freedom to step forward.

He finished the 2021/22 season with 2223 minutes in the league for Lyon and he was in the 65th percentile for progressive runs and the 56th percentile for accelerations. In terms of his passing profile, he was a volume passer as he finished in the 86th percentile for passes, the 81st percentile for progressive actions and the 91st percentile for forward passes.

His defensive data also stands out as Lukeba finished in the 57th percentile for defensive duels, the 83rd percentile for defensive duels win %, the 78th percentile for aerial duels and the 59th percentile for aerial duels win %.

Given that left-footed central defenders come with inherent value built in (as they offer balance on the defensive line) we are likely to see significant interest from top-end Champions League level clubs as Lukeba’s career develops.

#4 Ariel Mosor, 19 years old, Central Defender, Piast Gliwice and Poland

Ariel Mosor is a 19-year-old Polish U21 international central defender who is currently contracted to Piast Gliwice in the top-flight of Polish football. He is naturally right-footed but he has already shown in his short career that he is comfortable and confident when asked to play on the left side of the defence.

The young Polish defender is actually a product of the youth system at Legia Warsaw but in 2021, he made the move to join Piast Gliwice for a fee reported to be in the region of £23K. This already looks like incredible value without factoring in a future sell-on fee.

Mosor has shown himself to be an intelligent and versatile defensive player already in his career. Last season, we saw Piast Gliwice split time between playing with three or four at the back and Mosor ended the season with 2346 minutes of league football.

He is a defender who is strong in all phases of the game. He is comfortable when asked to defend in contact with a striker and he uses his frame effectively when preventing an opposition player from receiving the ball and getting turned. He is also comfortable when defending in more space and he likes to defend on the front foot, with a real sense of aggression.

As you can see from the player’s pizza chart, he is balanced across all three key areas of the game. Mosor was in the 65th percentile for progressive runs and the 56th percentile for accelerations. His passing profile is positive and he was in the 86th percentile for passes, the 81st percentile for progressive actions and the 91st percentile for forward passes.

Defensively, he also has strong outputs finishing in the 57th percentile for defensive duels and the 83rd percentile for defensive duels win %. He also finished in the 78th percentile for aerial duels and the 59th percentile for the % of aerial duels won.

While we do not expect to see Mosor on the move this coming season he feels like a real candidate for a move to the likes of Belgium, the Netherlands or even France going forward.

#5 Alexandre Penetra, 20 years old, Central Defender, Famalicão and Portugal

The last central defender on our list is the 20-year-old Portuguese U21 international, Alexandre Penetra, who is currently contracted to Famalicão in Liga Nos of Portugal. Penetra is a predominantly right-footed defensive player who thrives both in terms of ball progression and work in the defensive phase of the game.

Penetra is actually a product of the prolific academy at Benfica although he only played for the Lisbon club up until U19 level. At that point, in 2020, he moved to Famalicão on a free transfer.

Last season was the young defender’s real breakthrough at first-team level as he finished the campaign with 2849 minutes in the Portuguese top-flight. As with Ariel Mosor, we have already seen that Penetra is versatile from a positional perspective, as well as being comfortable and capable when asked to play either in a back three or a back four system.

Last season saw Penetra finish in the 75th percentile for progressive runs and the 60th percentile for accelerations. His passing profile shows someone who is not perhaps a true volume passer but someone willing to take risks in trying to move the ball forward and into dangerous positions. He was in the 65th percentile for passes per 90 but only the 20th percentile for pass completion %. This is explained by how aggressive he was in possession of the ball, as he ended in the 94th percentile for progressive actions, the 86th percentile for forward passes and the 89th percentile for dangerous passes.

His defensive data was also promising, as he ended in the 71st percentile for defensive duels per 90 and the 76th percentile for the % of defensive duels won. He was also in the 78th percentile for positioning which takes into account blocks and interceptions.

Penetra feels like a player who will move to a top-three Portuguese side at some point soon. I would not be surprised to see Benfica move to bring him home but, at the same time, he makes a lot of sense for the style of play that Rúben Amorim favours at Sporting CP.

Conclusion

All of the central defenders that we have listed in this piece profile as young players with a bright future in the game. While there is some disparity between them in terms of the current levels they are playing at, we believe that all will have strong campaigns over the upcoming season.