Khalid Abu El Haija

A player for FC Carl Zeiss Jena since 2015, when he was still a U-17, Khalid Abu El Haija is now in his second season in the Thuringian team’s senior squad. The young Palestinian U-20 international is possibly the biggest project to come out of Jena’s youth system and his presence as a starter in every game since the start of the season proves it. Unfortunately, an injury will keep the centre-back off the pitch until the end of this year.

Khalid Abu El Haija is a player who stands out for his physical frame. With an ectomorphic build, the young player is around 1.95 metres tall. His long legs are a huge benefit when it comes to putting physical pressure on the pitch, whether sprinting to defend several metres behind him or winning duels (aerial and on the ground). He’s also an adamant player in protecting the ball: he opens up his body and makes it impossible for the opposition to take possession.

From a technical point of view, Khalid is still a developing player. In other words, he needs to continue to refine his technical actions, combined with his physical development, so that he doesn’t look like a foreign body at times. That’s not to say he’s weak technically. The 18-year-old is capable of performing any type of action with both feet, although he favours his right foot. In FC Carl Zeiss Jena’s model of play, it’s normal to see Khalid advancing metres with the ball, latching on, and looking for colleagues ahead, whether it’s through a vertical pass to whoever might appear at the back of the opposition’s pressure, or through a long pass to the side corridors where the forwards usually appear to run diagonals from inside to outside. In terms of the short pass, the young centre-back is accurate in terms of the quality of execution (tension, direction, and promotion of his colleague’s next action). He is a strong player in the technical aspect of the header, combining the physical side with aggressive impulse – this is perhaps the technical movement that can be most improved, because Khalid sometimes heads with his eyes closed. In terms of containment, note the correct way he places his supports and lowers his centre of gravity so that he can be agile in duels and when turning his body.

At almost 19 years old, Khalid Abu El Haija could still be a player with potential – as is the case with team-mate Benjamin Zank. However, the Palestinian is already showing a level of performance that could catapult him onto other stages at the end of this season – his contract ends in June 2025. This is due to the competitive maturity he shows in his actions. El Haija is an intelligent and focussed player on the pitch and shows it in his play. When the team is without the ball, it’s normal to see Khalid commanding the defensive line and correcting positions, while constantly scanning what’s going on around him. He reads the game well and that’s why it’s difficult, for example, to win his back when the opposing forwards attack from deep.

In the future, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, Khalid Abu El Haija’s departure could be a natural scenario – it will depend on how he comes back from injury. Khalid could improve his interception skills, as he is sometimes precipitated in his cuts, but he has interesting potential, in addition to the performance I’ve already mentioned. At the moment, if his injury in the match against 1. FC Lokomotiv Leipzig hadn’t happened, I’d put him next season in a team-attacking promotion to the Portuguese Segunda Liga, or in a team strong enough to attack promotion to Germany’s 3. Bundesliga.