He combines grit with high concentration levels to accumulate tackle after tackle. He's an underrated passer because he's shown flashes of creativity that would indicate he could play a more attacking role. His ball-winning prowess and positional awareness are reasons why he could easily play any defensive orientated position with poise—no wonder Joachim Löw utilized Bender as a right-back. Bayer Leverkusen have a plethora of emerging U-23 talents: Bender, André Schürrle, Bernd Leno, Philipp Wollscheid, Daniel Carvajal, Ömer Toprak and Stefan Reinartz. Leverkusen want to emulate Borussia Dortmund's success with ambitious cheap youngsters. It's highly unlikely that they would relinquish Bender without a substantial transfer fee being tabled. Though, the same was said about Nuri Şahin, and that didn't happen. 1. Sebastian Rode, Eintracht Frankfurt, Age: 21 Photo: spox.com