5 players to watch at the U21 Euros | OneFootball

5 players to watch out for at this summer's U21 European Championship

The UEFA U21 European Championship is a platform for some of Europe's brightest talents to shine, and plenty of those participating are from clubs in Germany. bundesliga.com highlights five players to keep tabs on at this year's edition in June...

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Castello Lukeba

Position: Centre-backCountry: FranceClub: RB LeipzigDate of birth: 17 December 2002U21 appearances: 20

Leipzig's 22-year-old centre-back is one of four Bundesliga-based players in the France squad this summer, alongside Jean-Mattéo Bahoya (Eintracht Frankfurt), Kiliann Sildillia (Freiburg) and Chrislain Matsima (Augsburg - more on him shortly). He is also somewhat of an outlier in the fact that Lukeba has already made his senior international debut having collected his sole France cap as a late substitute against Scotland back in October 2023.

Since arriving at Leipzig two months prior to that debut, Lukeba has established himself as a first-team regular and made 31 appearances last term. That included 23 in the Bundesliga and five more in the UEFA Champions League, with the number only reduced through injury halfway through the season.

RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba made his senior France debut back in 2023. (IMAGO/David Catry)

Fully fit now, though, Lukeba will be an essential member of a France defence which is heavily reliant on Bundesliga breakouts.

Chrislain Matsima

Position: Centre-backCountry: FranceClub: AugsburgDate of birth: 15 May 2002U21 appearances/goals: 7/1

One of those defenders is Matsima, who is set to partner Lukeba at the heart of defence for Les Bleuets. Not only that, the Augsburg defender will wear the captain's armband for France and is a fairly old hand in the squad having turned 23 in May but still eligible having been born after the cut-off date of 1 January 2002.

Signed on an initial loan deal from Monaco after Matchday 1 of the 2024/25 season, Matsima quickly established himself as a central figure at Augsburg and missed just three Bundesliga fixtures. He impressed so much that Augsburg made his move permanent and the end of January, tying the youngster down to a four-year contract.

At 6'3", Matsima - who won the Bundesliga Rookie of the Month Award in both January and March - cuts an imposing figure, is quick across the ground and incredibly strong. Keep an eye on him; this summer and beyond.

New RB Leipzig signing Ezechiel Banzuzi (l.) is ready to impress at the U21 European Championships this summer. (IMAGO/motivio)

Ezechiel Banzuzi

Position: Central midfielderCountry: NetherlandsClub: RB LeipzigDate of birth: 16 February 2025U21 appearances/goals: 6/1

Banzuzi was Leipzig's first new signing of the 2025 summer window, joining from Belgian first division side Leuven. The Saxony outfit have a track record of picking the best young talent, and the 20-year-old will be out to prove he is just that at the U21 Euros.

He was just 16 when he made his debut for Breda back in his homeland in October 2021 in the Dutch Cup, and would go on to make 59 appearances for the club before a switch to Leuven in 2023. He continued to impress in Belgium, and racked up 76 appearances before putting pen to paper for Leipzig.

He received a first cap for the Netherlands U21s in October last year and scored his first goal in a 3-3 draw with Slovakia a month later.

Tiago Tomás is a regular fixture for Portugal's U21s. (IMAGO/MI News)

Tiago Tomás

Position: ForwardCountry: PortugalClub: WolfsburgDate of birth: 16 June 2002U21 appearances/goals: 22/2

Still just 22 years old, Tomás has been playing regular first-team football since the 2020/21 season, when he made 30 appearances for Sporting Lisbon and scored three times. With 37 games in all competitions under his belt, he headed for the Bundesliga, and VfB Stuttgart specifically, where he bettered his season’s tally with Sporting in less than half the games, scoring four in 14 at the MHP Arena.

Having helped them escape relegation via the play-off against Hamburg at the end of the 2022/23 season, Tomás joined Wolfsburg, where he’s made 65 appearances and registered nine goals. Tomás has two goals to his name for Portugal’s U21s and even captained them in a 1-0 loss to Romania in March.

Having found his groove with his highest scoring season in the Bundesliga (six goals), Tomás will certainly be one to keep an eye on at this summer's tournament. He is set to lead the line for his country in Slovakia.

Oscar Højlund

Position: Central midfielderCountry: DenmarkClub: Eintracht FrankfurtDate of birth: 24 January 2005U21 appearances: 0

In just his first season in the Bundesliga, Højlund has been quick to make an impression in one of the league's most exciting teams. Since joining Frankfurt in the summer of 2024 from Copenhagen, 20-year-old has made 20 Bundesliga appearances and two more in the DFB Cup, bouncing back from the early season injury that ruled him out of 10 of the first 11 Bundesliga matchdays.

Even with the impressive pairing of Hugo Larsson and Ellyes Skhiri ahead of him, Højlund has still managed to show his worth, especially after notching his first Bundesliga goal against Dortmund on Matchday 18.

Højlund has represented his country's U17, U18 and U19 teams, but is yet to make his U21 bow. He’ll therefore be out to make an impression on two fronts, as he aims to lead his country to European glory and stake his claim for more minutes across the 2025/26 Bundesliga season.

>>> Follow all their progress this summer here!

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