Florin Tanase     21     Midfielder/Striker     Steaua Bucuresti     Romania

Skinny
"I have not the slightest doubt that Tănase is the most complete player in Romania. He is 21 years old, has strength and technique and he’s smart. Why wouldn’t he get better?” Not our summary, but the words of one Mr Gheorghe Hagi when waxing lyrical about Steaua Bucharest’s latest acquisition in the summer.

Florin Lucian Tănase was born in Găești, a rural town in Dâmbovița County, Romania in December 1994. With a football education from LPS Viitorul Pitești under his belt, Tănase was signed up by Hagi’s newly created Viitorul Constanța in 2010.  Making his debut against Dinamo Bucharest as a left winger in early 2014, an increasingly impressive run of performances (and a word in the ear from a certain legendary Romanian) alerted national team coach Victor Pițurcă and the youngster made his senior international debut within weeks of his club bow.

Although Viitorul had struggled through their Liga 1 campaign, the emergence of Tănase alongside fellow midfielder Ianis Hagi and several other youngsters offered much optimism for the Ovidiu outfit.  And that optimism was not misplaced, the 2014-15 season saw Tănase feature regularly for Hagi’s side as they briefly pushed for a top six finish.  With striker Alexandru Mitriță attracting the lion’s share of attention from European scouts, Tănase was able to develop his game further and begin to look like a player.  Often drifting in from the left flank to provide support and creativity for Viitorul’s strikers, the gifted midfielder scored five times and assisted a further four.  As a reward for his efforts, he was capped once more for his country in a 1-0 victory over Lithuania. 

2016 has been…
We pick up the story at the start of the 2015-16 Liga 1 season in Romania, and a campaign which turned out to be the most impressive so far for both club and player.  Following four straight draws in the opening round of matches, coach, owner and overall club demi-god Hagi moved the firing Tănase to a more advanced striking position.  The youngster had already scored twice and was by some distance his side’s most dangerous outlet so the move was not without merit. Tănase more than rewarded his mentor’s faith with a stunning run of four goals in four games as his side pushed for top spot. 

In Romania Viitorul have become synonymous with the development of young players and Hagi’s impressive blend of outstanding youth and wise older heads really made their mark as the club reached its first ever league title play off and earned a passage through to this year’s Europa league.  Tănase ended the season with sixteen goals and six assists.

What’s next?
The work that Hagi is conducting will invariably reap rewards for Romania in the not too distant future but trailblazing a path as the leading light is unquestionably Florin Tănase. The norm in Romania is for the best players to end up at Steaua at some point and invariably the gifted youngster signed on for reported €1.5 million in August. Penning a five-year deal, Steaua also insisted on a €30 million buyout clause, a mark of their confidence and a clear example of just how highly regarded Tănase is in his home country. 

So far this season things had continued on their upward curve, Tănase showing his versatility by performing as a winger, attacking midfielder, secondary and main striker and was scoring goals once more. Unfortunately a wayward left foot was caught in the turf against Universitatea Craiova in October which resulted in a jarring knee ligament rupture. The injury is likely to keep Tănase out of action until April next year, we wish him a speedy recovery.  

C+     Could go very high, get well soon