Bayer Leverkusen star Hakan Çalhanoğlu has been included in a list of 10 young players who could be better than Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling according to the Guardian.
The entry for Çalhanoğlu states:
“The Turkish midfielder is renowned for his free-kicks and general ability to score goals from long range. He has seamlessly made the step up to international football and scored a late winner for Turkey against Luxembourg last month.”
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The other nine youngsters on the list are Max Meyer, Julian Draxler, Mateo Kovacic, Memphis Depay, Paulo Dybala, Alen Halilovic, Davy Klaassen, Nikola Ninkovic and Jesé Rodríguez.
Çalhanoğlu has scored ten times and provided eight assists in all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen this season.
The rising star joined Bayer for €14.5 million this summer – the highest fee ever paid for a Turkish international.
The 21-year-old is regarded as being one of the best set-piece specialists in world football.
Pep Guardiola recently revealed that he is also a fan of the young attacking midfielder, “Çalhanoğlu is one of the best free-kick takers in the Bundesliga.”
Çalhanoğlu has scored at least 6 more goals from outside the box (11) than any other player in the Bundesliga in the last 2 seasons according to Whoscored.
The Turkish international was named best young player of the 2013/14 season by leading German football magazine 11 Freunde.
