In case you haven’t been paying close attention, there have been a number of clubs that have had surprisingly strong starts to the season across Europe’s top five football leagues. Arsenal and Napoli are both leading the Premier League and Serie A, respectively, while Lorient are flying high in Ligue 1.
And the success of those clubs has been in part due to the strong performances of some of their youngsters, who have suddenly emerged as potential stars.
Read on below as SBOTOP highlights the most impressive youngsters from each of the top five leagues in Europe.
Premier League – William Saliba, Arsenal
After several loan spells back to France following his big-money move to Arsenal in 2019, William Saliba finally made his Gunners debut this season.
And it seems the long wait has been worth it as Saliba has come into the Premier League looking like a fully formed centre-back. The 21-year-old has been an ever-present in Mikel Arteta’s starting lineup and has been a crucial part of the Gunners’ rise to the top of the Premier League.
Apart from looking like a physical specimen at 6-foot-4, Saliba also possesses the skill set of a modern centre-back, with his accurate passing and overall composure in possession.
Saliba has been in such fine form that he has pushed Arsenal’s record signing Ben White – the club’s most expensive defender signing at £50 million – out to right-back.
At just 21 years of age, the best is yet to come from Saliba, who could very well be coming for the crown of best defender in the Premier League.
La Liga – Nico Williams, Athletic Bilbao
There’s a new Williams in Bilbao. Nico Williams, the 20-year-old brother of Inaki, is now making his mark with Athletic Club this season.
After going without a goal in 34 league appearances last season, Nico quickly established himself as a regular starter for returning Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde. He has already scored three goals – as many as his brother Inaki – and provided two assists in nine La Liga games.
Nico is a livewire who loves taking opposing defenders on, and with his impressive pace, he usually gets past them. And when he can get out on the break with his brother, they can be deadly.
With the fine form he has shown, the younger Williams has earned his first call-ups to the Spanish national side and could be in consideration to make the World Cup squad.
Serie A – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Napoli
Without a doubt, the breakout young star of Serie A – and perhaps Europe – thus far has been Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The 21-year-old Georgian winger has caught everyone by surprise with his fantastic performances and has been a crucial player in the Neapolitans’ shocking surge to the top of the Serie A standings.
Kvaratskhelia has already contributed a team-leading five goals and three assists in 10 Serie A games. He has also been terrific in the Champions League, with two goals and three assists in four group games.
His dribbling skills have been a delight to watch, and they have drawn comparisons to the great Diego Armando Maradona, after whom Napoli’s home stadium is named. Meanwhile, his ability to shoot from distance has proven to be quite deadly.
Kvaratskhelia’s fabulous form has already caught the attention of top clubs around Europe, so he may not be long for Napoli. But he should still be around to provide more football 2022 highlights until the end of the season, by which time he and Napoli might have gone on to achieve some special things.
Bundesliga – Jamal Musiala, Bayern Munich
The Bundesliga boasts two of the best young midfielders in Europe in Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham, who have been significant contributors to their respective clubs since they were just 17 years old.
But as good as Borussia Dortmund’s 19-year-old Bellingham has been this season, Bayern Munich’s 19-year-old wunderkind Jamal Musiala has been even better.
In a team full of accomplished stars, Musiala has been arguably Bayern’s best player. He is tied for the team lead with five goals and is solely in the lead with four assists in the Bundesliga.
Musiala is versatile enough to play in just about every position in attack and midfield, although Julian Nagelsmann is wisely playing him more through the middle in the No 10 role, where he has been able to deliver the greatest impact on the game.
Aside from Bayern, Musiala has also established himself as a crucial player for Germany, and the upcoming World Cup in Qatar could very well be this promising youngster’s true coming-out party.
Ligue 1 – Dango Ouattara, Lorient
Last but not least, to Ligue 1, where Lorient are defying the football 2022 odds. After battling relegation in each of the last two years, Les Merlus are riding high in second place on the back of their young dynamic duo, Terem Moffi and Dango Ouattara.
23-year-old Moffi, who has been the club’s leading scorer in each of the last two seasons, is on course for his best season yet with eight goals from 11 games.
However, Ouattara has been the team’s true breakout star. The 20-year-old Burkinabé has been the main beneficiary of new coach Regis Le Bris’ new 4-2-3-1 system as he has recorded four goals and four assists through the first 10 games.
And apart from his impressive attacking numbers, Ouattara has also been providing outstanding defensive contributions, which makes him quite a promising prospect for a club that values a winger who can do the job on both ends of the pitch.
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