5 youngsters to watch out for in the Champions League Round of 16

Erling Haaland will look to continue his prolific start to his Dortmund career against Paris Saint-Germain

The much-anticipated UEFA Champions League Round of 16 is just around the corner with some high-profile encounters awaiting us, including Manchester City’s trip to Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain’s clash with Borussia Dortmund and the 2012 Champions League finalists Chelsea and Bayern Munich locking horns again.

With some of Europe’s top teams on show, we will also witness some of the continent’s best young performers. Therefore, in this section, we will take a look at some of the young guns which could play defining roles in their respective Round of 16 ties.

Thilo Kehrer

The 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain defender has made the centre-back position his own in recent weeks following the hamstring injury to principle defender Marquinhos. Thilo Kehrer has been rock solid in the heart of the French club’s back four, while also showing his ability to notch goals at the other end with the recent winner at Nantes.

Kehrer came through the Schalke academy and played a key role in their successful 2017/18 campaign when they secured a runners-up place in the Bundesliga behind Bayern Munich and subsequently qualified for the Champions League. He has won the U21 Euros with Germany and also captained the youth team on several occasions.

Thilo Kehrer is a versatile defender who can slot into the right-back and the defensive-midfield positions apart from his preferred role as a centre-half. He is incredibly athletic, pacy and strong in the air, making him a textbook modern-day centre-back.

Joachim Low promoted Kehrer to the senior set-up in 2018 and he has since then regularly featured in the national squad. Paris Saint-Germain swooped up for him in a €37m deal in that summer but club captain Thiago Silva and Presnel Kimpembe’s presence forced him down the pecking order.

This season, however, he is beginning to live up to his massive price-tag and manager Thomas Tuchel could once again slot him in at centre-back when Paris Saint-Germain travel to Borussia Dortmund.