RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer will be a key player for Austria in their UEFA Euro 2020 orotund of 16 meeting with Italy. bundesliga.com profiles a player known in some circles as “ the austrian N’Golo Kante ” … Konrad Laimer

Age: 24
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: Defensive midfielder
Country: Austria ( 12 caps, one finish, six assists ) Key stats Laimer is a product of the RB Salzburg academy, but made his senior debut for the club’s feeder side, second-tier Liefering, in 2014. inside months, he was back at Salzburg, where he became the Austrian Bundesliga’s second youngest debutant, aged 17 years, four months and one day. Two years late and a first-team regular, the Salzburg native was named the 2016/17 Austrian Bundesliga’s Player of the Season for his part in Die Roten Bullen ‘s third successive league and cup double. Laimer made the switch to Leipzig that summer, spending his inaugural two seasons in the Bundesliga flitting between central midfield and wing-back roles. The greenest player in the Austria squad that reached the last 16 of the 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup, he made his senior international debut in his preferable holding role, in a June 2020 Euro qualifier against Slovenia. The dogged right-footer notched a brace of assists on his second outing, before scoring one and setting up two more on his third. Watch: Konrad Laimer was a cub of the Month campaigner in March 2018 Laimer enjoyed a second 29-game Bundesliga season in a row in 2019/20. He finished the political campaign as the division’s toughest-tackling midfielder, whilst completing 82.6 percent of his attempted passes. An ankle fracture restricted the 5’10” forager – who had featured in every game during Leipzig’s run to the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League semi-finals – to three Bundesliga appearances end temper, but he recovered in time to start all three group matches at Euro 2020 as Austria reached the knockout rounds for the foremost time in their history.

Read more: FIFA 21 Pro Clubs

Plays a bit like: N’Golo Kante To paraphrase former France midfielder Emmanuel Petit ‘s pre-Euro 2020 assessment of Kante, “ Seventy percentage of the Earth ‘s surface is urine, the early 30 percentage is covered by Konrad Laimer. ” You ‘ll be heavily pressed to find a player who harries the opposition quite arsenic intensively as Laimer, who is besides a dab hand at shielding the testis, recycling possession and facilitating counter-attacks. ‘Dirty Work ‘ could be his middle appoint. Did you know? Laimer, who has reportedly been scouted by Manchester United, grew up idolising Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard. “ The way he played football, the mania and the emotions – that ‘s what I was always able to identify with, ” the Austrian said after his move to Leipzig . Laimer has made 83 Bundesliga appearances across his first four seasons at Leipzig, registering three goals and nine assists.

– DFL

What they’re saying “ He ‘s going to be a keystone player for the club in the future. He has n’t reached his electric potential even. ” – former Leipzig head coach Julian Nagelsmann “ We ‘re on the lapp frequency. We always want to press high and put the opposition under imperativeness. ” – Wolfsburg and Austria midfielder Xaver Schlager

“ He is fabulously aggressive on the ball, challenges opponents very hard and brings established professionals to the grind. He knows precisely what he wants. ” – former Salzburg and new Borussia Mönchengladbach head coach Adi Hütter “ I do n’t know what he ate or had to drink advance. To cover that come of ground is crazy. He has a huge future. ” – Austria forward Marko Arnautovic, following Austria’s Euro 2020 qualifying win over North Macedonia