When we talk about the rising stars of German football, Arne Maier, Nadiem Amiri, Kai Havertz and Davie Selke are some of the names that come to our mind. The last inclusion on the list, however, is far more experienced than the others.
Davie Selke is still only 23 but it seems like he has been there for ages. A youth product of Hoffenheim, Selke signed for Werder Bremen in 2013 as a teenager and made his bow in the Bundesliga in the 2013-14 season. However, it was in the 2014-15 season where he had his breakthrough, scoring 9 goals and providing 3 assists from 30 appearances.
The 23-year-old joined Bundesliga 2 outfit RB Leipzig in 2015 and was one of the cornerstones of the club’s promotion-winning season where he scored 10 goals. Selke joined Hertha Berlin in 2017 after a season with Leipzig in the top flight and tasted reasonable success, scoring 10 goals from 27 appearances.
However, the promising youngster has struggled for regular minutes this term, making only 12 appearances, 10 of which have come from the bench. He has played only a meagre 446 minutes in the Bundesliga this season, which is definitely not enough for a player of his calibre.
In all honesty, amidst all the hype regarding Davie Selke’s potential, his career hasn’t really taken off. A part of that has been down to inconsistencies and disciplinary issues on and off the field.
Standing at 6ft. 5 inches with a towering frame, Davie Selke is an absolute beast of a centre-forward who likes to dominate the opposition with his physicality. A good reader of the game in the air, he has the ability to take off the ground quickly to beat the defenders to the aerial balls, making him a genuine threat from set-pieces and corners.
Another impressive thing about him is his poaching instincts and awareness inside the penalty box. His poaching instincts are better than most of the young players in the same mould and he has a knack of being at the right place and at the right time to convert the chances.
In fact, 8 of his 10 goals last season came from inside the penalty area, with quite a few of them being headers from close-range. Selke averaged 4 successful aerial duels per game in the Bundesliga last, displaying his ability to get the better of his defensive counterparts in the air.
To put things into perspective, he would be an ideal signing for Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United. Leeds are currently 2nd in the Championship standings, just a point behind leaders Norwich City and the Peacocks must add some extra firepower in January to boost their chances of securing automatic promotion.
Kemar Roofe has been the go-to man for Marcelo Bielsa for goals and the Englishman has played a key role in Leeds’ surge for promotion, scoring 10 goals from 15 appearances. Pablo Hernandez, 33, has chipped in with valuable goals and assists but Leeds do not have too much depth in their attacking options and an injury to either of the two key players might deal a huge blow to their hopes of securing promotion to the Premier League.
Having someone like Davie Selke in the squad would not only provide that much-needed aerial threat inside the box but it would also give the manager the luxury of fielding Roofe as a supporting striker in a playmaking role.
Hence, the Peacocks should start pursuing an interest in the German youngster as he is a player with a massive potential who ticks all the boxes to achieve success at Elland Road.