1 Nayef AGUERD

MOROCCO

The 25-year-old central defender made a major impact in Ligue 1 last season and has continued his outstanding performances at the back for Rennes this campaign.

A product of the Mohamed VI academy in his home country, Aguerd missed out on a chance to sign for Valencia at 17, and later again at Malaga, but persevered and finally got his opportunity at Dijon.

At 6ft 3ins tall, he has a commanding presence and is absolutely outstanding in the air. At Rennes his technical ability has been encouraged as well.

He was still playing in Morocco when he won his first cap in 2016, but only over the last two years has he cemented his place in the national team line-up – playing every single minute of Morocco’s World Cup qualifying campaign.