Euro U21 Championship preview: 20 players to watch

An unused squad member when Sweden secured a shock title in 2015, former Arsenal graduate Olsson is now vice-captain for the holders and top scorer in Hakan Ericson's ranks. That said, it's the midfielder's ability to break up play that could be key, averaging the second most tackles per game in this season's Allsvenskan (3.6).

Having made his league debut for Gladbach against Bayern in March, Benes scored the winning goal on his first start for the club against Hertha the following month and there are high hopes for the 19-year-old. With Mahmoud Dahoud leaving the club, next season could be a big one for the midfielder, so Bundesliga fans will be keeping an eye on the Slovakian this summer.

In the absence of Loftus-Cheek the pressure will be on Baker to add a goal threat from midfield and he’s more than capable, scoring 15 times across the league and cup for Vitesse. With an excellent record at under 21 level, the 22-year-old will want to prove his worth ahead of a summer that will likely end in another loan move from Chelsea.

The most capped player and top scorer for underdogs Macedonia, attacking midfielder Babunski plies his trade in the J-League with Yokohama F. Marinos following a short spell with Red Star Belgrade. The 23-year-old was a product of the Barcelona academy no less, and has made 9 appearances for the Macedonia senior side, the first of which came as a teenager.

While he may not have seen much action for Porto last season, Ruben Neves is expected to play an important role in protecting the Portugal back four this summer. The 20-year-old can orchestrate play from deep in midfield, having attempted 65.6 passes per 90 minutes last season, as well as an impressive 3.6 tackles per 90 to boot.

Betis midfielder Ceballos has emerged as one of Spain’s hottest prospects following a superb season last time out. Competing for a start among an outstanding squad, the 20-year-old could be the man tasked with the holding role in the middle of the park, averaging 3.1 tackles per game last season, capable of breaking the lines himself in possession given that only Messi and Neymar completed more dribbles in La Liga (81).

With three league strikes and another three in the Champions League - including a goal in the final last month - Asensio enjoyed a breakthrough season at Real Madrid. When excluding substitute appearances the 21-year-old earned a WhoScored.com rating of 7.51 in 11 La Liga starts, averaging 2 dribbles and 1.9 key passes per 90 minutes.

Sampdoria striker Schick will be among the most eagerly anticipated attractions in Poland, hotly tipped with a move this summer with Juventus thought to be at the head of the queue. The 21-year-old scored 11 goals in his first Serie A campaign, notching at a rate of a goal every 137 minutes, boasting a conversion rate of 25.6% whilst averaging 1.7 dribbles per 90 minutes.

21-year-old Nordsjaelland striker will hope to lead the line for Denmark given his form in the Superligaen Championship play-offs in particular. The youngster scored 14 goals in 25 appearances in the regular season but found the net 9 times in 10 appearances in a group among the Danish league’s elite and also boasts an excellent record for the U21s.

Former Arsenal youngster Gnabry enjoyed an excellent season with Werder Bremen last time out and has earned a move to Bayern Munich this summer as a result. The 21-year-old scored 11 Bundesliga goals in the previous campaign, averaged 1.6 dribbles per game and scored a hat-trick on his senior international debut back in November.

One of the outstanding young talents in Italy’s top-flight last season, Caldara not only earned a place in the WhoScored.com Serie A team of the season (7.28 rating) but a move to Juventus, which will come into effect next summer. For next season he will remain at Atalanta, whom he helped to a fantastic Europa League finish, scoring more goals than any other defender in Europe’s top 5 leagues in 2015/16 (7).