5 Players to watch in the Champions League
The UEFA Champions League makes its return next week with all 32 teams starting their quest to become Kings of Europe. This season will see new players trying to make their mark among Europe's best. Here are the 5 players to watch in the UCL this season.
Naby Këita
Naby Këita has started life well on Merseyside following his £52 million to Liverpool from RB Leipzig. The Guinean was one of the most sort after midfielders during his time in Germany being an important cog in Leipzig's midfield as they finished second in their first ever season in the Bundesliga. Last season, Këita scored 5 and made 7 assists in the Bundesliga and made 3.6 tackles and interceptions in last season 's UCL including 4.8 dribbles per game. A midfielder with strong defensive and attacking instincts, Këita would bring dynamism and creativity to Liverpool's midfield this season.
Hirving Lozano
Lozano was one of the breakouts stars at the World Cup last summer making 2 goal contributions for Mexico in the tournament. Chucky as he's been nicknamed had a great debut campaign in Europe last season with PSV Eindhoven, scoring 17 goals and making 8 assists as PSV won the Eredivise. An inside forward with a killer right foot, Lozano made 3.4 shots last season in the Eredivise and was fouled 2.4 times per game. Scoring twice in the qualifiers to get PSV to the group stages, he will be important to the Dutch side in their slim chances this season.
Matthijs de Ligt
De Ligt is one of the latest to to come out from the famed Ajax academy with the likes of Barcelona having an eye of the 19 year-old centre-back. A ball-playing defender, de Ligt made his debut for Ajax in September 2016 and was part of the Ajax side that reached the Europa League Final in May last year. Last season, de Ligt played 33 games for Ajax in the Eredivise making 2.7 tackles and interceptions with a passing accuracy of 89.3% and winning 3.1 aerial duels per game. With Ajax back in the group stages since 2014 and becoming captain, there's a lot to come from Matthijs de Ligt.
Justin Kluivert
A former teammate of de Ligt and son of famous Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert, Justin Kluivert is certainly carrying on his father's footsteps. Justin recently made an €18.75 million to AS Roma from Ajax in the summer. Kluivert made 27 starts for Ajax last season scoring 10 goals and assisting 5. A winger, Kluivert made 2.7 dribbles per game with 2.7 shots per game and 1.6 key passes per game. Adjusting to life in Serie A, Kluivert would be one to watch especially to reduce the dependency on Edin Dzeko.
Mauro Icardi
Naby Këita
Naby Këita has started life well on Merseyside following his £52 million to Liverpool from RB Leipzig. The Guinean was one of the most sort after midfielders during his time in Germany being an important cog in Leipzig's midfield as they finished second in their first ever season in the Bundesliga. Last season, Këita scored 5 and made 7 assists in the Bundesliga and made 3.6 tackles and interceptions in last season 's UCL including 4.8 dribbles per game. A midfielder with strong defensive and attacking instincts, Këita would bring dynamism and creativity to Liverpool's midfield this season.
Hirving Lozano
Lozano was one of the breakouts stars at the World Cup last summer making 2 goal contributions for Mexico in the tournament. Chucky as he's been nicknamed had a great debut campaign in Europe last season with PSV Eindhoven, scoring 17 goals and making 8 assists as PSV won the Eredivise. An inside forward with a killer right foot, Lozano made 3.4 shots last season in the Eredivise and was fouled 2.4 times per game. Scoring twice in the qualifiers to get PSV to the group stages, he will be important to the Dutch side in their slim chances this season.
Matthijs de Ligt
De Ligt is one of the latest to to come out from the famed Ajax academy with the likes of Barcelona having an eye of the 19 year-old centre-back. A ball-playing defender, de Ligt made his debut for Ajax in September 2016 and was part of the Ajax side that reached the Europa League Final in May last year. Last season, de Ligt played 33 games for Ajax in the Eredivise making 2.7 tackles and interceptions with a passing accuracy of 89.3% and winning 3.1 aerial duels per game. With Ajax back in the group stages since 2014 and becoming captain, there's a lot to come from Matthijs de Ligt.
Justin Kluivert
A former teammate of de Ligt and son of famous Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert, Justin Kluivert is certainly carrying on his father's footsteps. Justin recently made an €18.75 million to AS Roma from Ajax in the summer. Kluivert made 27 starts for Ajax last season scoring 10 goals and assisting 5. A winger, Kluivert made 2.7 dribbles per game with 2.7 shots per game and 1.6 key passes per game. Adjusting to life in Serie A, Kluivert would be one to watch especially to reduce the dependency on Edin Dzeko.
Mauro Icardi
The biggest name on this list, Mauro Icardi has become one of the most potent strikers in Europe. Icardi has scored 107 goals in just 183 appearances for the Nerazzurri which is a rate of 0.6 goals per game. Last season was his best goalscoring season, netting 29 goals becoming the joint top goalscorer in Serie A. Icardi contributed to almost half of Inter's goals last season and a poacher inside the box making little contribution in build-up play with only 0.9 key passes. Taking Inter back to the UCL for the first time in seven years, he will be looking to relish his first season in the Champions League.
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