Don't know if we've been linked yet, but he is the brightest and the most unexpected star of the Bundesliga right now. 23 year old Romanian attacking midfielder playing at Stuttgart who can play on either wing or in the middle. He didn't play much under the previous coach Bruno Labbadia, but the new coach Thomas Schneider has moved Maxim immediately into the first team and that move totally transformed Stuttgart's season. In 8 games he played this season, Maxim has 4 goals and 7 assists and Stuttgart still hasn't lost a game after the disastrous start of 3 losses in a row that cost Labbadia his job.
I am not going to post any Youtube highlights just yet - I don't think any good ones have been made yet because Maxim's rise has been so recent and unexpected. I'll just describe my impression of the player. He is a tricky winger who can do outrageous things (such as flicking the ball in the air with his heel, then heading past a stunned defender) and simple and efficient things too. He understands how to find space and has a good awareness of his teammates's whereabouts. He is clever and opportunistic. His set piece delivery is absolutely deadly - definitely one of the best in Germany. And his first touch is at times Berbatov-esque.
Eight games is definitely not enough to definitely assess all of the player's strengths and weaknesses, but he is definitely a player worth following and could be an unlikely major star. At the moment it's Maxim rather than the likes of Draxler or Mkhitaryan who is setting the league alight in Germany. I know that Borussia Dortmund is already sniffing around and it's a matter of time before the foreign clubs start showing interest too.
I am not going to post any Youtube highlights just yet - I don't think any good ones have been made yet because Maxim's rise has been so recent and unexpected. I'll just describe my impression of the player. He is a tricky winger who can do outrageous things (such as flicking the ball in the air with his heel, then heading past a stunned defender) and simple and efficient things too. He understands how to find space and has a good awareness of his teammates's whereabouts. He is clever and opportunistic. His set piece delivery is absolutely deadly - definitely one of the best in Germany. And his first touch is at times Berbatov-esque.
Eight games is definitely not enough to definitely assess all of the player's strengths and weaknesses, but he is definitely a player worth following and could be an unlikely major star. At the moment it's Maxim rather than the likes of Draxler or Mkhitaryan who is setting the league alight in Germany. I know that Borussia Dortmund is already sniffing around and it's a matter of time before the foreign clubs start showing interest too.
