Talents Calendar 

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The injury crisis at Bayer Leverkusen could open the door for a young, up-and-coming talent from the academy to make the jump to the first team. Kerim Alajbegovic has impressed playing for the club’s U19 and twice was nominated to the senior team’s matchday squad. Back in his home country, Bosnia-Herzegovina, there are high hopes for the 17-year-old.

“He is seen as one of the biggest talents in this country,” Bosnian expert and TM data scout YanGuAmtoHui said. “There are some who want to see him make his debut for the senior national team. Aged 16, Alajbegovic debuted for Bosnia’s U21 national team and is one of the few standout players of a U19 side that crashed out of European Championship qualification with zero points. “You can tell he is far more talented than anyone else in the squad.” The team scored four goals in qualifying, and the left-winger was involved in three of them.”

In August 2021, Alajbegovic followed in the footsteps of Bayer playmaker Florian Wirtz and transferred from 1. FC Köln to Leverkusen. Playing in the U17 Bundesliga West, the winger scored 11 goals and five assists in 18 games. Since the summer, Alajbegovic has also featured for the U19, where he has stood out, scoring goals and providing assists. Only his teammate Artem Stepanov, who debuted in the Champions League this season, has scored more goals in the U19-Nachwuchsliga F. 

While Alajbegovic is still awaiting his first appearance for the first team under head coach Xabi Alonso, he did manage to make the bench in the 1-1 draw against Bochum and the 3-0 win over Elversberg in the DFB Pokal. With Martin Terrier, Victor Boniface, Amine Adli and Jonas Hofmann four attacking players are currently out injured and that might increase his chances for playing time. 

Alajbegovic: Strong technique and good mentality

Alajbegovic plays most of his games on the left wing, but according to our Bosnia expert, he is very flexible. “He can also play as a right-winger or center-forward,” YanGuAmtoHui said. “He can help his team in all three positions.” His preferred position as a left-wing doesn’t really exist in Leverkusen’s system at the moment, which means he is more likely to feature as an attacking midfielder behind a single striker. 

What stands out is his technique and ability to read the game. “For his age, he has an excellent technique,” YanGuAmtoHui said. “He is good at dribbling, runs often with the ball, and can assert himself. Furthermore, he has a good shot and is very good at set pieces. His match intelligence is especially apparent regarding the second ball.” This season’s statistics underline that Alajbegovic shines as both a goalscorer and contributor. He has also shown leadership qualities on the pitch. “I have heard from his national teammates that he is a true leader and always wants to win. He is someone who always pushes the team.”

From December 1 to 24, we introduce new players from different countries born in 2007 and 2008. Area managers, users, and data scouts come into play as experts throughout the series. You can follow all those players by adding them to your TM watchlist.