Get the lowdown on Premier League-bound Belgian!
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Zenit Saint Petersburg midfielder Axel Witsel has been linked with Chelsea and Manchester United this summer, so here’s a look at five big facts about the Belgian for the clubs’ fans to learn if they do end up snapping him up for next season.
1) He has a really cool name
Nothing to do with him as a player, but the 26-year-old midfield battler has a very cool, and very long, full name: Axel Laurent Angel Lambert Witsel. From that, we hope he will combine all the qualities of Laurent Koscielny, Angel Di Maria and…Rickie Lambert?
2) Been playing since he was 17
Witsel has long been regarded as a top prospect in the game, and is already a relatively experienced head, having first become a regular for his first club Standard Liege at the age of just 17, all the way back in 2006.
3) Belgian young footballer of the year
After a superb breakthrough in his native Belgium, Witsel was named his home country’s Young Player of the Year in the 2007/08 season. He also won the Belgian Golden Shoe in 2008.
4) He’s a versatile performer
He doesn’t just share a hairstyle with his fellow countryman Marouane Fellaini – Witsel is also a similar kind of midfield player, in that he can operate either as a deep-lying defensive midfielder, using his physical presence to break up play, or he can be equally effective further forward, using his height to hold the ball up, flick it on, and bring others into play. This should make him very useful in the Premier League.
5) He’s moved for big money before
Witsel will be no stranger to a big move or a big transfer fee, having joined Zenit from Benfica back in 2012 for a whopping £28.5m – rather a lot considering he was not tremendously well known at the time.