Player Focus: Under 21 European Championship - Ones to Watch

With the European Under 21 Championship now upon us scouts from some of the biggest clubs all over the continent will have jetted off to Israel to cast their eye over some of the hottest prospects in the game today. The holders Spain have an exceptionally strong contingent and will be favourites to retain their title, though they are likely to face stiff competition from the likes of Germany and Italy in particular.

WhoScored.com takes the chance to run the rule over some of the players that look set to stand out for their respective nations this summer, with some of those likely to do their work in the shadows of more high-profile players.

Injuries and absences due to commitments to the senior side left Stuart Pearce's options a little limited, and though they will be outsiders to win the tournament outright, England will be strongly backed to progress to the latter stages due to their placement in the far inferior Group A. Much of the attention will be on United bound Wilfried Zaha, although Pearce's attacking options will arguably be his biggest worry.

The former City coach has a strong back four on paper, and while he will miss the crucial opener with Italy, Danny Rose may well be a key man for The Three Lions. The Tottenham full-back spent a successful season on loan at Sunderland, leading some Spurs fans to suggest that he is ready to break into the side at White Hart Lane.

The 22 year old made 27 appearances under the tutelage of O'Neill, and later Di Canio, at the Stadium of Light. He picked up a goal and an assist in his time on Wearside, as well as completing one successful dribble per game on average. However, he stood out in terms of his defensive capabilities, which was a side to his game perhaps more under the spotlight prior to the move. With an average of 2.3 tackles and 2.7 interceptions per game he has certainly proven his ability at the back, and if they do progress beyond the group stages, England may need to bank on that sort of solidity.

The other powerhouses in Group A are Italy, with former Palermo head coach Devis Mangia taking a strong contingent to Israel. His side is the favourite to win the group, and is likely to be built upon a strong midfield trio of Roma's Alessandro Florenzi, Juventus' Luca Marrone and the player many have picked out as the Azzurri's star man, PSG's Marco Verratti. While that may well prove to be the case, the squad is full of attacking talent too, and we've picked out Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne as the one to watch in blue.

The word diminutive is often banded around with regards to miniature playmakers today, and the 22 year old is certainly befitting of such a description. At just 5'4", Insigne is somewhat of a pocket dynamo, appearing, in some part at least, in all but one of Serie A runner-up Napoli's league matches. His impact for a side that were challenging for the Scudetto up until the last few months of the season should not be overlooked in what was his first campaign back at the club following a loan move to Pescara.

The forward netted 5 goals from 66 shots, and while his conversion rate (7.6%) could do with work he proved to be very useful in the attacking third, picking up 7 assists from and average of 1.4 key passes per game. Of all Serie A players to make at least 20 league appearances last season, Insigne ranks among the top 20 for minutes per successful dribble (34) and among the top 10 for minutes per key pass (34).

Given the strength of their squad there were a raft of Spanish players to choose from here. Starting in goal with David De Gea and into the defence, where Carvajal and Martinez stand out, the team gets even stronger in attack. Barca's Thiago Alcantara and Christian Tello catch the eye, along with Malaga's Isco, but we've opted for Atletico Madrid winger Koke here, who became a crucial part of Diego Simeone's hugely successful side as Atleti finished third with a Copa del Rey title under their belt.

The 21 year old started 29 league matches, as well as making 4 substitute appearances, emerging as a key creative force from wide areas, offering the threat of a more traditional winger than the senior national side have been accustomed to. The fact that only centre-back Diego Godin picked up a superior WhoScored.com rating for the side over the season, with Koke's 7.28 getting the better of 28-goal man Falcao (7.24), shows just how valuable he was to his Argentinean boss.

The youngster picked up 9 assists, which was the most on the team and only fewer than 7 La Liga players, whilst ranking as high as 6th in the league and top for his team once again when it came to key passes per game (2.4). Meanwhile, an average of 2.2 accurate crossers per game was only bettered by Deportivo winger Pizzi, and he didn't shirk his defensive responsibilities either, averaging 2.5 tackles per game, with only two teammates managing more.

The selection from Germany's squad was equally difficult, with full-backs Sorg and Jantschke particularly strong, while the team will be lead by Tottenham's Lewis Holtby. Elsewhere, Patrick Herrmann is a prodigious talent in attack, but we've chosen a workmanlike defensive midfielder, whose displays for Eintracht Frankfurt have lead to numerous links with Bayern Munich, where it is felt that he may end up come the end of his contract next summer.

We're talking about 22 year old Sebastian Rode, whose form towards the end of the Bundesliga season will have been encouraging ahead of the tournament, picking up an average WhoScored.com rating of 7.37 in his final 8 games of the campaign. His performances helped the newly promoted outfit to an exceptional 6th placed finish, and in turn Europa League football for next season, building an impressive double pivot partnership with Pirmin Schwegler.

Only the aforementioned Swiss international made more passes per game for the club than Rode (53.5), with that average enough to rank among the Bundesliga's top 20 players. His 84.4% accuracy from said attempts was considerably higher than Schwegler though, whilst an average of 3.3 tackles per game was also among the league's top 20, with 2.5 interceptions per game enough to place him second for his team.