Said El Mala (Cologne)

Left winger El Mala drew many admiring glances with his displays for Cologne in the first half of the season. He was called up by Nagelsmann in November, and although he did not make his debut, he made a good impression in training. Despite featuring mostly as a substitute for his club, the 19-year-old has already notched seven goals and assisted another three in 18 Bundesliga outings this term.

Nagelsmann recently went on record as saying that El Mala needs to become a regular fixture in Cologne’s starting XI if he wants to be in with a chance of making the squad for the World Cup. However, he did also say that there aren’t too many German players with El Mala’s dribbling ability, so the door does seem to be ajar for this exciting youngster.