According to reports from the Daily Express, Chelsea & Barcelona are ready to go head to head in order to sign German wonder-kid Atakan Akkaynak from Bayer Leverkusen.

The 18-year old is seen as one of the brightest young talents in Germany & Barcelona have been watching him for over a year now. Chelsea also have been monitoring the midfielder for a while now & the report claims the Blues’ scouts are satisfied with what they have seen. It likewise states that Leverkusen, in spite of knowing that they have a great talent in their hands are willing to cash in on the midfielder, as a result opening the doors for a move.

With Chelsea & Barcelona set to fight it out off the field for the player, we take a close look at who Atakan Akkaynak is & what makes him a special talent.

Football Background

Born on 5 January 1999, in Troisdorf, Germany, Akkaynak started off at TuS Oberlar, before joining the academy of Bayer Leverkusen in 2006. Having progressed through the junior ranks, the midfielder broke into the Leverkusen U17 side in 2013 & became a regular part of the team in the 2014/15 season, in which he made 21 appearances, scoring six times. He continued his remarkable run of form in the following season and scoring four goals in 23 games, which prompted a call-up to the U19 side.

  

Akkaynak became a full-fledged member of the U19s in the 2016/17 campaign, making 30 appearances in all competitions, in which he found the back of the net 8 times. In December 2016, he was called up to the senior team too & made it to the bench for the game against FC Koln, but didn’t make an appearance. The 18-year old has featured 5 times for the U19s in the ongoing term & has been made the captain of the team.

A constant fixture at all youth levels of the German national team, Akkaynak has represented Die Mannschaft at the U16, U17 & U18 levels, before making his first appearance for the U19s last month, for whom he has played twice now.

Style Of Play

A central midfielder by trade, who can operate in a holding role & also as an advanced playmaker, Akkaynak has shown great technical ability & creativity in his game. Someone who likes to sit deep & control the tempo of the game with his range of distribution – be it long diagonal balls to wide areas, or piercing through balls in behind the defence, Akkaynak also has a keen eye for a goal himself.

Good ground speed, great confidence with the ball at his feet & tactical & positional awareness, the 18-year old has all the traits required to develop into a top-class midfielder, although the defensive side of his game needs some polishing if he is to turn into a total all-round operator in the middle of the park.

  

What Does The Future Hold?

Akkaynak has a contract with Leverkusen that runs until 2019 but if the reports are to be believed, the German club are willing to cash in on the talented midfielder, which could lead to a transfer scramble between the interested parties. The 18-year old is filled with huge levels of potential & has what it takes to grow into a future star & whoever ends up signing him, be it Chelsea or Barcelona, will benefit in the long run.