London calling: On the radar

YACINE BRAHIMI

Age: 24
Nationality: Algeria
Club: Granada
Position: Midfielder
Also Linked With: Everton

WHEN TO WATCH: BELGIUM V ALGERIA (5PM BST)

WHAT’S THE STORY?

Brahimi is expected to be a star man when Algeria kick off their World Cup campaign on Tuesday and he could upstage the much-fancied Belgians. The France-born, twinkle-toed attacking midfielder’s individually impressive performances, particularly his dribbling, in a struggling Granada team in 2013/14 have seen him linked with a move to the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are both reportedly interested, according to Spanish newspaper Marca. New Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is rumoured to want Brahimi as his first signing since taking over at White Hart Lane but would need to activate a contract release clause in the region of £12million.

HE SAYS
“I spent a lot of time watching videos of players like Ronaldinho and Zinedine Zidane and trying to do the things they did.”

IS HE THE REAL DEAL?

Brahimi was Granada’s best player in 2013/14. Belgium will need to be very mindful of the youngster’s dribbling ability, with the 24-year-old averaging a very impressive 4.7 successful runs with the ball per match in La Liga last season. That total is more than any other player in the campaign in La Liga, including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But Brahimi has himself admitted he needs to score more goals after only finding the back of the net three times in 35 appearances in Spain’s top flight.

GEORGI SCHENNIKOV

Age: 23
Nationality: Russia
Club: CSKA Moscow
Position: Defender
Also Linked With: Real Madrid & AC Milan

WHEN TO WATCH: RUSSIA V SOUTH KOREA (11PM BST)

WHAT’S THE STORY?

The Metro has reported Chelsea are lining up a £7m offer for CSKA Moscow’s left-back, Schennikov, after giving up in their pursuit of Luke Shaw. But Schennikov should not be viewed as a lesser player than Shaw and he is expected to be the best player for Fabio Capello’s Russia at the World Cup when they begin their campaign against South Korea. With Ashley Cole edging towards the end of his career and right-back Cesar Azpilicueta having been played out of position on the left, Chelsea do need a long-term option at left-back. 

IS HE THE REAL DEAL?

Schennikov was a key man in CSKA’s title-winning 2013/14 season, playing the joint-third most league matches for the club in the campaign. He did not score in the season but did provide two assists. However, his greatest strength is his defending and only two of his team-mates averaged more tackles per game than his total of 2.5. Schennikov also has Champions League experience and made six appearances in the competition. He averaged 5.3 clearances per game in the European Cup, which ranks alongside England and Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill.