Who is Zidan Sertdemir? Bayer Leverkusen's youngest player targeted by Arsenal
Stuart Telford
- 20 Oct 2022 11:19 BST
- 3 min read
Bayer Leverkusen are known as the "Factory Club" and there is a production line of young talent at the BayArena, with more where Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz came from…
Zidan Sertdemir joined Leverkusen from FC Nordsjaelland in June 2021, initially signed for the youth sides with an eye on an early first-team breakthrough.
It was one he was handed last November, making his full debut in Leverkusen's 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin. Aged just 16 years, nine months and four days, he was Die Werkself's youngest ever Bundesliga debutant, and the greenest non-German league-wide.
Born in Ishoj, a town in the southwestern suburbs of Copenhagen, to Turkish parents, there is already a two-way battle on for Sertdemir's international allegiance who thus far has turned out for Denmark up to under-19 level.
Our up and coming number 29, Zidan Sertdemir, with a 🚀🎯! pic.twitter.com/olJwqa5NDE
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) August 24, 2021
What position does Sertdemir play in?
Like Havertz and Wirtz, Serdemir is a midfielder by trade, although he prefers to line up slightly deeper than that pair, with "box-to-box" perhaps his most accurate description.
A left-footer, Sertdemir already stands at 6'0-tall, and still has plenty of filling out to do, but his ability to progress play with a dribble of a pass is already notable.
How good is Sertdemir?
Good enough to look like he belongs in Leverkusen's first-team squad at the tender age of 17.
Sertdemir also has a fast-developing eye for goal. He scored on his Denmark under-16 debut against Germany and now has a total of seven strikes from 11 youth international outings.
What clubs are interested in Sertdemir?
Arsenal and Ajax were among the clubs tracking Serdemir's progress when he signed for Leverkusen, but his parents reportedly preferred a move to the Bundesliga for him, citing Erling Haaland's rise at Borussia Dortmund as an example to follow.
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When does Sertdemir's contract expire?
Sertdemir's Leverkusen contract keeps him at the BayArena until 30 June 2024.
How old is Sertdemir?
Born on 4 February 2005, Sertdemir if 17 at the time of writing.
What is Sertdemir's Instagram?
Zidan Sertdemir's Instagram has 13.5K followers as of October 2022.
