According to the Sun, Tottenham Hotspur have joined Manchester United in the race to sign 20-year-old Romanian starlet Dennis Man from FCSB, formerly known as Steaua Bucharesti.
Man has put in consistently impressive performances for his club FCSB after making a move from UTA Arad back in 2016. The 20-year-old has accumulated 20 goals and 12 assists from 78 appearances across all competitions.
As the Premier League giants continue to scout the youngster, let us take a closer look at one of the most promising prospects outside the top five leagues in Europe – Steaua Bucharesti’s Dennis Man.
Born in Vladimirescu, Romania, Dennis Man joined the academy of Atletico Arad as a 7-year-old kid and played at the youth levels for UTA Arad. He travelled to Manchester City in 2010 to play a match for their youth team but he returned to his country to continue his development at UTA Arad.
Man was promoted from the UTA academy in the summer of 2015, aged 17, and made his senior debut in a 1–2 loss to Gaz Metan Mediaș for the Liga II championship.
The 20-year-old was signed by Romanian giants FCSB back in 2016 and has established himself as one of the best young players across Europe.
He struggled to make it to the first-team at Steaua Bucharesti in the 2016-17 season where he made only 5 appearances in the league but he established himself as a regular starter for his club in the following season, scoring 8 goals and providing 4 assists from 24 appearances.
He has hit the ground running this season as well, scoring 6 goals and creating 3 more for his teammates.
Essentially a right-winger by trade, Dennis Man is known for his ability to outpace the defenders with his insane speed. Standing at 6ft., he has just the ideal height for a winger but he has also been used as a supporting striker and in a No.10 role behind the centre-forward.
A technically-gifted player with a magical left foot, Man has the ability to operate as an inverted winger down the right. He is more of a playmaker who likes to operate from the wide areas, using his dribbling skills to outsmart the opposition and drawing the defenders out from their positions to create space for his teammates.
Man is not only about lightning pace and silky dribbling but his tactical awareness is something that stands out among the other young players in the same mould. He has excellent vision and combines his awareness to pick out the right pass at the right moment.
Furthermore, he has shown composure in front of goal that belies his tender years, earning plaudits for his clinical nature from close range.
Man has already made a name for himself in the Romanian top flight playing for Steaua Bucharesti, one of the biggest clubs in the country. His all-around abilities as an attacking midfielder and a striker have already caught the eyes of Manchester United, Spurs, AS Roma and Fenerbahce.
Going by whatever little we have seen of him, he is a player with potential and he can make a name for himself at any top club in Europe provided he continues his development in the right direction.