Whilst the world looks on as stars like Mbappe and Haaland show their class many well performing players go unnoticed. Here are five players from some of Europes top leagues who have had campaigns to rave about.
Andre Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Age: 25
Nationality: Portuguese 🇵🇹
Position: Centre Forward
Portuguese striker Andre Silva is having the season of his career with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, looking to lead his side to Champions League football. The twenty five year old so far has scored 25 league goals the same as Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland.
After a mixed 19/20 campaign on loan with Frankfurt the deal was made permanent in the summer of 2020 for a reported €9 million from AC Milan. Silva struggled in Milan after his big money move in 2017 but is showing his class in Germany with Frankfurt sitting 4th in the Bundesliga. Rumours of another big money move are circulating however Silva will surely be looking to carry on his success in Frankfurt.
Teun Koopmeiners (AZ Alkmaar)
Age: 23
Nationality: Dutch 🇳🇱
Position: Defensive Midfielder
The Eredivisie is a league that has produced countless talents over the years and one of its latest assets is that of AZ Alkmaar midfielder Teun Koopmeiners. Not only a defensive presence at 6'1 Koopmeiners has had a stunning goalscoring season for a player in his position. 15 league goals place him sixth in the divisions scoring charts three ahead of promising forward and teammate Myron Boadu.
The dutchmen is a talented passer of the ball with a passing success rate of 86%, like many of his fellow countrymen Teun is also clever and agile on the ball. Coming through the ranks at AZ Alkmaar he is destined for greatness and expect to seem him at the Euros with Holland.
Yassine Bounou (Sevilla)
Age: 30
Nationality: Moroccan 🇲🇦
Position: Goalkeeper
The oldest player on this list Yassine Bounou has been a wall between the sticks for Sevilla conceding 21 goals and keeping 14 clean sheets. Referred to as "Bono" the Moroccan international previously had spells with Girona, Real Zaragoza and Atletico Madrid before becoming Sevilla's number one. For comparison Jan Oblak widely considered one of the best keepers in the world has a saves ratio of 79% whilst Bono comes in close with 78%.
In March Bono even scored an unlikely injury time goal against Real Valladolid rescuing his side a point. Sevilla sit fourth in La Liga with Yassine Bounou in net, they should have a secure pair of hands for several years to come.
Johnathon Bamba (Lille)
Age: 25
Nationality: French 🇫🇷
Position: Left Winger
Talented wide player Johnathon Bamba has been a crucial part of Lille's title push this season with 6 goals and 9 assists in 34 league appearances. Excellent on the ball Bamba completes 44% of his attempted dribbles and is a creative player with 1.98 chances created P90.
Bamba is coming into his prime at twenty five and has been linked with a move to Spurs which could be a great fit for the winger. Yet to make a senior appearance for his national side Johnathon may force Didier Deschamps hand if he leads Lille to a fifth league title. Competition amongst the French frontline is fierce so we may see Bamba unfortunately fail to appear at the Euro's
Davide Calabria (AC Milan)
Age: 24
Nationality: Italian 🇮🇹
Position: Right Back
Davide Calabria has been one of many stars to feature for AC Milan this season with his his club having a very respectable campaign, pushing to get back into the Champions League. Calabria is an attacking fullback which can be seen in his stats, a positive influence 43% of his passes moving the ball forward. As a defender he is no slouch either with a tackle success rate of 67% completing an average of 3 tackles per game.
Calabria has spent his whole career with Milan and is a key part of the rejuvenated Rossoneri. He should be in with a shot of making the Italy Euro squad thanks to his performances this season and could be one of the new great Italian defenders.
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