Douglas Costa     21     Midfielder      Shakhtar Donetsk

For a young Brazilian footballer, the opportunity to move to one of European football’s top teams remains the pinnacle of youthful ambition.....well that and winning the World Cup of course. 

Having dazzled at Gremio as a teenager, Douglas Costa found that his dream move to Manchester United in 2008 included the unwelcome caveat ‘subject to a successful trial’.  With Gremio left furious by the small print of an Old Trafford offer, Shakhtar Donetsk didn’t hang around and snapped up the prodigiously talented young winger.

Silly Sir Alex eh?

Maybe not.

With the kind of ball control that draws the Ukrainian equivalent of ‘it must be stuck to his feet’ on a regular basis (we imagine), there is no doubting Costa’s skill.  Comparisons with Leo Messi have been made and while we certainly wouldn’t dream of questioning Costa’s ability, we find his lack of consistency an issue.  Too many fruitless runs give Costa a kind of eye candy feel, but when he turns it on he really can make a difference. 

These bursts have so far proved more than enough at Shakhtar to keep Europe’s top clubs watching intently, but if we are going to adopt the ‘lets see him do it on a Monday night at Stoke’ ruling here, we can see why Fergie maybe erred a little.  Luxury?

All said and done though, Costa is still very young and there is ample time for him to emerge as one of the best.  Capable of playing on both flanks (just using the same foot though) or as a second striker, it will be interesting to see what he does next.

"There were some doubts when he first moved to Shakhtar but Lucescu's attacking tactics and cluster of Brazilians have seen him settle." - Eliot Rothwell (Slavic Football Union)

"Hilariously one footed" - @Detective82

C       Go on, nail it, really nail it this year.