Sahverdi Cetin

The first half of 2017 was a whirlwind period for Eintracht prodigy Sahverdi Cetin, who has developed into a regular starter at youth level for club and country. In January 2017, the teenager became the first player born in 2000 to be included in the Eagles squad for their winter training camp in Abu Dhabi. He captained the Eintracht Under-17s at an international tournament in Qatar soon afterwards, and went on to represent Germany at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Croatia in May – all on top of the youngster's regular league commitments.

It has been a remarkable rise for Cetin, who donned the colours of Eintracht's regional rivals SV Darmstadt 98 and 1. FSV Mainz 05 before joining the Eagles in 2013. The central midfielder, who honed his skills at the SGE youth academy, has also played for Germany at every level from the Under-15s through to the Under-18s.

In July 2017, Cetin signed his first professional contract with the Eagles, valid from 1 October 2018. "In numerous training sessions and training camps with the first team, Sahverdi has already shown he has the sporting capabilities to make the step up to the first team," said sporting director Bruno Hübner. "We've obviously been tracking his development and are sure that he will continue to improve. He will train with the professionals as often as possible, but for now he will gain match practice with Eintracht's Under-19s."