Bundesliga
Daishawn Redan: Who is Hertha's new striker?
Hertha Berlin are busy laying foundations for a bright future in the German capital with the signing of Chelsea striker Daishawn Redan, an 18-year-old already proving prolific for club and country.
bundesliga.com sheds some light on the latest teenaged prodigy out to hone his talents in the German top-flight.
Daishawn Redan
Age: 18
Club: Hertha Berlin
Position: Forward/striker
Country: Netherlands (11 U19 caps/9 goals)
Key stats
Redan is yet to play a minute of senior football, but the former Ajax man's scoring record at youth level suggests his pro breakthrough is just around the corner. For the Dutch national youth teams alone, the Amsterdam-born forward has 42 goals from 53 caps across U15, U16, U17 and U19 levels, including four in one game for the U19s against Bosnia in October last year. He also captained the U17s to 2018 UEFA European Championship glory, ending the tournament as joint-second top scorer with three goals.
At just 18, Redan has already notched up 14 goals in 34 games for Chelsea’s U23 side, including four strikes in eight professional appearances in the English Football League Trophy that pits Premier League U23 sides against full sides in Leagues One and Two. He was at the double in the first-leg of the 2018 FA Youth League final, which Chelsea eventually lifted courtesy of a 7-1 aggregate win over Arsenal - but that’s not all.
In 2018, Redan scored more goals in UEFA competition than any other player, out-shooting the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has held the accolade in three of the last five years. Robert Lewandowski was the last Bundesliga player to claim the honour, back in 2015 thanks to 20 goals for Bayern Munich (11) and Poland (nine).
The 5'8" front man saw off every striker in the continent last year, courtesy of 19 goals for club and country: eight in the UEFA Youth League, five for the Dutch U19s and a further six for the U17s.
Plays a bit like: Salomon Kalou
Strong, quick and able to play through the middle, from either wing or behind the striker, Redan shares a number of traits with Kalou. Both players have found themselves in Berlin via stints in the Netherlands and at Chelsea, and Kalou should serve as the perfect inspiration for Redan both on and off the Olympiastadion pitch.
Watch: Salomon Kalou was still banging in the goals for Hertha last season
Did you know?
Not only did Redan come through Ajax’s vaunted academy, he also played in the same U17 side as star products Matthijs de Ligt and Justin Kluivert. All three featured in Ajax’s UEFA Youth League campaign in 2016/17, where the Dutch youngsters eventually exited the tournament at the quarter-final stage to Real Madrid.
While de Ligt and Kluivert had made their first-team debuts by then, Redan would head to Chelsea at the end of the season without making a professional appearance for his boyhood club.
What they’re saying
"He is a cool striker who scores very easily, which is something special, something elusive, difficult to train and therefore makes him special. He is very fast in the first metres and very calm in front of the goal, as he already showed with the Dutch Under-17, which became European champions in May of 2017." - Legendary scout Piet de Visser, who unearthed the likes of Romario, Ronaldo, Arjen Robben and Kevin de Bruyne
"Daishawn is quick, runs hard and is exactly the kind of player we're after. He has huge potential" - Hertha sporting director, Michael Preetz