Samuele Di Benedetto: Stuttgart's elegant number eight
VfB Stuttgart are one of those Bundesliga clubs who have a great environment for youngsters, and they seem to have another midfielder coming through the ranks.
Samuele Di Benedetto is 19 years old and is playing in VfB Stuttgart's reserve team.
However, he has already made his Bundesliga debut.
The German has been at the club for six years and has been rising through the youth teams.
He is as elegant as they come, so what can he bring to the table? And what is his best position?
VAVEL explores all here.
Club Career
Di Benedetto started his footballing career with Heidenheim Youth before moving on a free transfer to Stuttgart's Youth academy on July 1, 2019.
In the 2020/21 season he was given a start for the U17s in the U17-Bundesliga South/Southwest.
He played 90 minutes against FC Kaiserslautern U17 at the age of 15.
The following season he was a prominent figure in the U17s squad.
He played 1,519 minutes across 18 games in the U17-Bundesliga South/Southwest.
He scored four goals and picked up two assists.
His goals came against SV Wehen U17, Heidenheim U17, Unterhaching U17, and St. Kickers U17.
And his assists came against Augsburg U17, Bayern Munich U17, and Darmstadt U17 x2.
He also played 300 minutes across three games in the U17-BL Finals.
He assisted in the Semi-Final first leg against Hertha Berlin U17, and he assisted in the Final against Schalke U17.
Eventually, Stuttgart went on to lose 4-3 on penalties.
Come the 2022/23 season and he was moved up to the U19 squad.
He made his U19 debut at the age of 17.
In total across 22 games he played 1,495 minutes, scored five goals and provided three assists.
He played 13 games in the U19-Bundesliga South/Southwest, in which he scored Mainz U19 and Astoria WalldorfU19.
And he assisted against Heidenheim U19, Darmstadt U19, and Astoria Walldorf U19.
In the U19-Bundesliga Sonderspielrunde Vorrunde he scored two goals in as many games.
He scored a 59-minute brace in an 8-1 thrashing of Astoria Walldorf U19.
He played three games in the DFB-Pokal der Junioren and scored against 1860 München U19.
He also played four games in the U19-Bundesliga Sonderspielrunde Hauptrunde.
Following a superb season with the U19s, he was once again moved up the ladder and spent the 2023/24 season playing in the Regionalliga Südwest for Stuttgart II.
In the third tier of German football, he played 966 minutes across 17 games.
He provided four assists, which came against SC Bahlinger X2, Eintracht Frankfurt II, and Hoffenheim II.
He also made his Bundesliga debut last season.
The then 18-year-old played six minutes in Stuttgart's 5-2 win against RB Leipzig.
This season he remained with the second team in the 3. Liga and has so far played 26 games.
He provided four assists, which came against SC Bahlinger X2, Eintracht Frankfurt II, and Hoffenheim II.
He also made his Bundesliga debut last season.
The then 18-year-old played six minutes in Stuttgart's 5-2 win against RB Leipzig.
This season he remained with the second team in the 3. Liga and has so far played 26 games.
In 1,575 minutes of football, he has scored against Dynamo Dresden and Arminia Bielefeld and he has assisted against SV Sandhausen, Unterhaching, and SV Waldhof Mannheim.
He has also played 68 minutes for the U19s in the UEFA Youth League against Real Madrid.
International Career
Di Benedetto was born in Germany but is also of Italian descent.
This means he holds dual citizenship.
So far at youth level, he has chosen to represent Germany.
He made his Germany U17 debut on August 6, 2021, at the age of 16 years and 21 days.
In total he received 13 U17 caps and picked up two assists.
One came against Georgia U17 and the other came against Luxembourg U17.
His debut was given to him by Marc-Patrick Meister.
He made his Germany U18 debut on September 21, 2022, at the age of 17 years, two months, and five days.
After his debut he was given a further four U18 caps.
Just over a year later he was moved up another age group.
He was given his Germany U19 debut on September 6, 2023, at the age of 18 years, one month, and 21 days.
So far, he has picked up five U19 caps.
Both his U18 and U19 debuts were given to him by ex-PSG and Borussia Dortmund player Christian Wörns.
He is yet to receive a senior cap or call-up.
What will he bring to the table?
Di Benedetto has the elegance of a swan.
His game is graceful and stylish.
In terms of style and profile, he is similar to the likes of former Manchester United midfielder Fred and Parma's Adrián Bernabé.
He is also similar to Stuttgart's own Angelo Stiller.
His general characteristics have him being 5'8" tall, 68KG in weight, and left footed.
His best attributes on the ball are his passing and vision, ball control, technique, and first touch.
And his off the ball strengths are his agility, composure, teamwork, and tackling.
His biggest weaknesses are his weak foot, strength, and the riskiness to his game.
Sometimes the risks payoff, but sometimes he puts his team in dangerous situations.
However, both his weak foot and strength can be easily worked throughout his development.
What is his best position?
Di Benedetto has played in a few different positions.
But it is clear which he is seen as best in.
He has played two games as a left midfielder and scored two goals.
This is statistically brilliant, but he is much bettered suited to a central position.
The youngster has also played two games as an attacking midfielder.
He provided one assist in these games.
He defiantly has some of the attributes to play as the 'number 10', but his defensive qualities would be wasted if he was played this high up.
He has played 13 games as a central midfielder, in which he picked up five assists.
There is no doubt he can play in this position.
But his strength may sometimes get exposed against certain opposition.
And once again his defensive skillset is somewhat wasted playing as a number eight.
His best position is as a central defensive midfielder.
As the number six he has played 64 games, scored nine goals and delivered eight assists.
His defensive talent and passing range are perfectly suited to a modern-day defensive midfielder.
And once he develops his strength and learns when and when not to take a risk, he has the potential to become an elite number six in Europe.
Stiller has been linked with moves away from Stuttgart for a couple of years, so if he does depart this summer then Di Benedetto could be given an opportunity to be his replacement next season.
In an ideal world he would be given a loan move to the Bundesliga 2 or even a team at the bottom of the Bundesliga to continue his development and be ready to be a starter for Stuttgart in the 2026/27 season.
Felipe Chávez is only 17 years old and has been playing is football in the Bayern Munich youth and reserve teams.
The Peruvian has been with Bayern for six years and has been slowly climbing the ranks.
Chávez has ridiculous technical ability, but what will he bring to the table when he gets into the first team? And what is his best position?
Chávez started his footballing career in the youth academy of his hometown club FC Augsburg.
He moved to Bayern Youth on a free transfer at the age of 12 in 2019.
He remained in the youth teams until 2023 when he was promoted to the U17 squad.
He made his U17 debut when he was 16 years old.
In the B-Juniors Bundesliga South/Southwest he played 1,142 minutes across 20 games.
In those games he scored 11 goals and provided three assists.
He scored against Regensburg U17, Augsburg U17, Hoffenheim U17, Karlsruhe U17, Nürnberg U17, and Heidenheim U17.
He also scored a brace in the reverse fixture against Hoffenheim U17 and a hat-trick versus Regensburg U17.
His assists came against Karlsruhe U17, Augsburg U17, and Frankfurt U17.
Come the 2024/25 season - this season - and he has been promoted to the U19s team.
He made his U19 debut at the age of 17.
So far this season, he has played 20 U19 games across four competitions, scoring 11 goals and picking up 12 assists.
In total he has played 1,466 minutes of football.
In the U-19 DFB-Nachwuchsliga - Vorrunde Gruppe G he has played 13 games, scored six goals and assisted 10.
His goals were scored against Regensburh U19, Augsburg U-19 and Ingolstadt U-19.
He also scored a brace in a 4-2 victory over Unterhaching U-19.
And his assists came against Fürth U-19, SSV Ulm U19, Augsburg U-19, and TSV 1860 München M19.
And the other five came in one game against Ingolstadt U-19.
In the U19 DFB-Nachwuchsliga - Hauptrunde Liga A he has played half an hour and scored one goal, which came against Werder Bremen U-19.
He has also played five games in the UEFA Youth League.
In 379 minutes, he has scored against Barcelona Youth, Real Betis Youth, and Inter Milan Youth.
Chávez was born in Germany and has been called-up to the Germany U15 team, but he did not receive a single cap.
So, he has chosen to represent Peru.
He is able to do so because of his mother.
He made his Peru U17 debut on April 5, 2023, at the of 15 years, 11 months, and 26 days.
He made a further two appearances after his debut.
He was called-up by Pablo Zegarra and he played against Argentina U17 twice and Paraguay U17.
Just over a year later he was called-up by Guillermo del Solar to the U20s.
He made his Peru U20 debut on May 9, 2024, at the age of 17 years and 29 days.
He received four caps in total and these have come against Costa Rica U20, Uruguay U20, and two against Chile U20.
Chávez is yet to receive a senior cap, but given his talent and potential, it is only a matter of time until he does.
What will he bring to the table?
- His on the ball ability is second to none.
In terms of style and profile, he is similar to the likes of ex-Portsmouth midfielder Andrés D'Alessandro, Millonarios' Daniel Ruiz, and Atlanta United's Aleksei Miranchuk.
His general attributes have him at 5'7" tall and 64KG in weight.
The combination of these attributes gives him a good low centre of gravity, which makes him very agile and good on the ball.
His best attributes also highlight his technical ability.
He has an exquisite passing range, excellent dribbling and ball control, quick ability, and a brilliant first touch.
He also has a lot of flair and technique which only adds to his elite technical ability.
His set pieces and long shots are also a major part of his game.
His main weaknesses are his defensive contribution and weak foot.
Both attributes can be easily improved, so they should not be too much of a concern for him or Bayern.
He has already started showcasing all his abilities in the men's game, which is a huge step in any youngster’s career.