Chelsea starlet among 10 uncapped stars to watch during international break

All eyes now turn to the first international break of the season. Head coaches across the world are planning for upcoming major tournaments and have included some newcomers in their squads for the upcoming batch of fixtures. Here we run through 10 uncapped players to keep an eye on over the next fortnight, with additional information about their Football INDEX share prices.

Matteo Guendouzi (Arsenal / France) - 7.35 rating

Football INDEX share price - £1.49

Following his immense second half showing in Sunday’s North London derby, Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi was drafted into Didier Deschamps’ France squad as an injury replacement for Paul Pogba. The 20-year-old later revealed it felt like his eyes popped out of his head after being told he’d been promoted from the U21s to the seniors for the first time.

Guendouzi has shown plenty of promise in just over a year at Arsenal, though there is still plenty to improve on and tons of competition standing in his way of breaking into Deschamps’ first-team thoughts on a full-time basis. It’s likely Guendouzi will not be a regular fixture for France for now but it’s a barometer of his progress that Deschamps feels he is ready to at least mix it with his World Cup-winning stars. No Arsenal player has completed more tackles and interceptions combined than Guenzoudi this season (18).

Luca Waldschmidt (Freiburg / Germany) - 7.14 rating

Football INDEX share price - £1.36

It’s perhaps surprising Freiburg managed to keep hold of Luca Waldschmidt following his remarkable goalscoring form at this summer’s U21 European Championships. The 23-year-old scored seven goals in five matches for Germany’s U21s and finished as the tournaments top scorer. In fact, not since the 2009 edition has a player scored seven goals in a single tournament (Marcus Berg, Sweden). Waldschmidt finished with only two fewer goals than he managed in 30 Bundesliga appearances last season.

Waldschmidt has certainly carried his goalscoring form from the summer into the new season, with two goals in Freiburg’s first three league matches. Germany head coach Joachim Low has only selected RB Leipzig star Timo Werner as Germany’s other No.9, suggesting there is a great chance Waldschmidt will make his Germany debut over the next fortnight. Germany continue their Euro 2020 qualification campaign with tough matches against Northern Ireland and the Netherlands and Waldschmidt should get an opportunity from the bench in at least one of those fixtures.

Masoun Mount (Chelsea / England) - 7.55 rating

Football INDEX share price - £3.82

Masoun Mount came in for huge criticism from former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho for his performance in their opening weekend 4-0 defeat to Manchester United but his displays since then illustrate why the club would have never moved forward with the Portuguese still at the helm.

It's safe to say the 20-year-old would have never made it into the Chelsea first-team under Mourinho but he has followed Frank Lampard from Derby to Stamford Bridge and already established himself as a key player for the Blues. Mount has two goals in four appearances and now has a chance to make his England debut over the international break.

Pablo Sarabia (Paris Saint-Germain / Spain) - 6.49 rating

Football INDEX share price - £1.44

Pablo Sarabia has not hit the ground running for Paris Saint-Germain following his summer move from Sevilla but he has still been rewarded with his first ever Spain call-up. The 27-year-old has not been helped by the fact Thomas Tuchel has not been able to field his best team yet this season for various reasons, which has forced Sarabia to play out of his preferred position.

Many believe Sarabia should have received international recognition last season after finishing the campaign as one of only two players, along with Lionel Messi, to register double figures for goals and assists (12 goals, 13 assists). However, Robert Moreno has finally turned his attention to Sarabia for upcoming matches against Faroe Islands and Romania.

Donyell Malen (PSV / Netherlands) - 7.10 rating

Football INDEX share price - £1.29

PSV head coach Mark van Bommel has placed his trust in 20-year-old Donyell Malen to lead the line this season rather than use the money raised from Luuk de Jong’s departure to sign a replacement. The Dutch giants did bring in veteran Kostas Mitroglou but as an alternative from the bench.

Malen was used to that role last season, making 25 of his 31 league appearances as a substitute. Despite struggling for regular playing time, Malen was still a consistent goalscorer for PSV. In fact, he weighed in with 10 goals and four assists in just under 968 minutes playing time across the course of the campaign.

He has only scored one goal in four starts this season but Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman has seen enough to blood him into the senior squad for the first time. Malen has scored at every level for his country, right from the U15s to the U21s and now he will hope to continue that for the senior squad.

Joachim Andersen (Lyon / Denmark) - 6.63 rating

Football INDEX share price - £0.87

Lyon beat Tottenham to Joachim Andersen’s signature in the summer and the 23-year-old has made a seamless transition to life in France. Injury ruled Andersen out of this summer’s U21 European Championships but it may surprise many that he still hasn’t been capped for the Denmark senior side before. This isn’t the first time he has been called up but he has twice failed to get off the bench for Denmark this calendar year.

Andersen is certainly a composed figure on the ball, illustrated by the fact only Marco Verratti (102) averages more passes per game than the Lyon centre-back (87) in Ligue 1 this season. Andersen’s pass success rate is also 91.2%, which is even more impressive when you consider he ranks second of outfielders for the most accurate long balls per Ligue 1 match (7.5) this term.

Nicolas Dominguez (Bologna / Argentina) - 7.55 rating

Football INDEX share price - N/A

Nicolas Dominguez has enjoyed a whirlwind week after celebrating his first ever call-up to the senior Argentina squad with a move from Velez Sarsfield to Bologna. The Serie A outfit have reportedly paid just €6m for the 21-year-old defensive midfielder and it has been described as a huge coup for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side.

Despite his age, Dominguez was a first-team regular for the past three seasons and has already built a reputation as a tough-tackler. In fact, only two players have completed more tackles than Dominguez in the Argentine Superliga since the start of the 2017/18 campaign (177).

Impressively, however, Dominguez scored three goals in four league appearances for Velez this season prior to his move to Bologna, as many as he managed in 49 league appearances combined over the previous two campaigns.

Diogo Jota (Wolves / Portugal) - 6.31 rating

Football INDEX share price - £1.62

Diogo Jota has been a revelation for Wolves in the Premier League over the last two campaigns and has formed a particularly impressive partnership up front with Raul Jimenez. Nuno’s side have had to juggle Europa League commitments so far this season and Jota has reserved his best performances for that competition, yet to get off the mark in the Premier League this term.

Jota helped fire Wolves into the group stage of the Europa League with three goals in six appearances during the qualification process and will now hope to earn his first ever senior Portugal cap. The Wolves forward has been called up to the senior squad on two previous occasions but has failed to get off the bench in matches against Ukraine, Serbia, Switzerland and the Netherlands this year.

Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid / Brazil) - 6.14 rating

Football INDEX share price - £2.88

Vinicius Junior has endured a turbulent start to his Real Madrid career and injuries since the beginning of last season certainly haven’t helped. The 19-year-old’s status at Madrid under Zinedine Zidane is also unclear after the club failed to offload Gareth Bale and signed Eden Hazard from Chelsea.

Despite not necessarily being a favourite under Zidane, Madrid president Florentino Perez certainly has high hopes for the teenager and in many ways that is more important. It’s why Madrid rejected Paris Saint-Germain’s request for Vinicius as a sweetener for to sign Neymar in return.

Vinicius, who has started just once this season, only has two league goals in 21 league appearances for Madrid but is certainly eye-catching with the ball at his feet. In fact, of players that have attempted at least 50 dribbles in LaLiga since the start of last season, only three players complete a dribble more frequently than Vinicius (one every 22.8 minutes of action).

Leandro Trossard (Brighton / Belgium) - 6.78 rating

Football INDEX share price - £1.04

Brighton shelled out £15m to prise Leandro Trossard from Genk one the summer and the 24-year-old has earned a return to the Belgium national team squad after just three Premier League appearances. He will hope to make his debut for the Red Devils during the international break having previously failed to get on against Scotland and Cyprus.

Trossard caught Brighton’s eye with his dazzling performances in the Europa League last season where he finished the competition as the second highest (6+ apps) WhoScored rated player (7.78). Trossard scored three goals and provided one assist in six appearances and won the WhoScored Man of the Match award on two occasions in that time.

Trossard scored on his debut for Brighton but will have to be patient for his Belgium debut with Eden Hazard above him the pecking order for places.