Ten players to watch in Europe's top five leagues in the 2022-23 season

By Sports Desk August 03, 2022

The 2022-23 season is right around the corner, with plenty to keep an eye on across Europe.

Title battles in England, Spain and Italy could be too close to call, while France and Germany will see rivals trying to knock Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich off their respective perches – while there is even more set to occur in the fight for European qualification and to avoid the drop.

Central to these battles will be the players, both new signings and established members of the old guard, and here are 10 to watch in the year ahead.

 

Ousmane Dembele – Barcelona

Previously considered to be one of the biggest pieces of evidence on Barcelona's transfer failings in recent years, Dembele turned a corner in the second half of last season to finish the campaign as one of Xavi's most important players.

Dembele finished with 13 assists in LaLiga last term, the most in the competition, 11 of which came in the final 15 games of the season – with the tally being more in that run from February than he accumulated across all competitions combined in the previous two seasons.

Handed a fresh new contract, all eyes will be on Dembele to see whether he is back to his best or whether the former Borussia Dortmund winger, who now has Raphinha for competition, merely had a purple patch.

 

Matthijs de Ligt – Bayern Munich

It has now been three years since De Ligt shone with the Ajax side that reached the Champions League semi-finals, where his performances made him one of the most coveted players in world football.

Stability was never quite found at Juventus, however, with shoulder injuries hampering his progress and the defender himself admitting the style was a "bit different" in Turin to what he experienced with Ajax.

Now at Bayern, De Ligt will look to return to the heights he was once at and is expected to form an exciting partnership with Dayot Upamecano.

Rafael Leao – Milan

In Milan's title-winning campaign last term, Leao was the team's joint-leading scorer in Serie A with 11 goals, alongside Olivier Giroud, but that was way off the pace in the overall charts as 15 players found the net more times.

Milan's total tally for goals in 2021-22 was 69, less than three of their rivals in the top five, and pressure is on Stefano Pioli's side to improve that return – with the signing of Divock Origi showing the desire to improve their return in the final third, with rivals Inter having strengthened by bringing Romelu Lukaku back to San Siro on loan.

It may all fall upon Leao, however, with the 23-year-old needing to show consistency in order to prove a significant venture into the market next year to replace veterans Giroud and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not required.

 

Djed Spence – Tottenham

Middlesbrough will likely wonder what might had been if they retained Spence's services, having loaned him to Championship rivals Nottingham Forest and seeing him play a key part in their promotion back to the big time.

From September, the only two games Spence missed during Forest's league campaign were the two clashes with his parent club and his displays, including those in the FA Cup against the likes of Arsenal, made him hot property.

Spurs ultimately signed the England U21 international, who could be a contender to break into Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad if he quickly finds his feet in north London. He is a right-back, after all...

Darwin Nunez – Liverpool

Liverpool's prowess in the transfer market is facing its biggest test under Jurgen Klopp, who is looking to rejuvenate what has been a brilliant attacking trio with Sadio Mane moving on and Roberto Firmino's future uncertain.

Having signed Luis Diaz in January, the Reds raided a Portuguese giant again – this time Benfica – for Nunez.

Nunez scored six Champions League goals in the 2021-22 season and plundered a further 26 in the league, averaging a goal every 76 minutes. Nunez certainly has the capability to fill Klopp's Mane-shaped void, even if his style is slightly different to the Senegal attacker.

 

Matteo Guendouzi – Marseille

Swiftly breaking onto the scene at Arsenal but just as quickly earning himself a bad-boy reputation, Guendouzi flourished in his loan spell with Marseille last season and has now made the switch permanent.

The France international featured in every game for Marseille in the 2021-22 season, starting in 35 of his 38 Ligue 1 appearances, and forced his way back into contention to make Didier Deschamps' squad on a regular basis ahead of Les Bleus' World Cup defence in Qatar.

Guendouzi's growing maturity saw him captain Marseille in a 2-0 defeat against Lille last season and the forthcoming campaign may continue his redemption arc.

Adam Hlozek – Bayer Leverkusen

A name that will be familiar to Football Manager enthusiasts, Hlozek has earned his big move to one of Europe's top leagues after leaving Sparta Prague in his homeland for Bayer Leverkusen and the challenges of the Bundesliga.

Capable of playing across the front line, Hlozek heads to Germany with a stellar record of 29 goals and 30 assists in 91 league appearances in the top-tier in the Czech Republic.

Add in the 24 goals that compatriot Patrik Schick netted for Leverkusen last season along with the creativity of Florian Wirtz from midfield and the result is one that could be extremely exciting.

Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid

A formidable season for Vinicius saw the Brazilian net 17 goals and contribute 10 assists during Real Madrid's La Liga title-winning campaign, only being outscored by team-mate Karim Benzema in the league.

Benzema, who was one of only two players to get more assists than Vinicius last season, is now in the twilight years of his career and will soon surely hand the mantle to the next star forward at the Santiago Bernabeu – with Vinicius near-certain to be that man now Kylian Mbappe has decided to remain in Paris for the time being.

In a World Cup year, Vinicius could enjoy a campaign that sees him take the leading man tag for both club and country come the end of the season.

 

Hugo Ekitike – Paris Saint-Germain

Arriving into an attacking that already boasts Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi, it remains to be seen just how much football 20-year-old Hugo Ekitike will manage to play for Christophe Galtier's side.

Moving initially on loan, Ekitike, who was also a target for Newcastle United, is certainly one for the future.

With 10 goals and four assists for Reims last term, Ekitike has shown his prowess in the final third and could be a valuable asset in the hunt to end the elusive wait for a Champions League crown.

Samuele Ricci – Torino

Long touted as the next star in Italy's midfield, Samuele Ricci has moved on from Empoli but, to the surprise of some, did not take the leap to one of Serie A's big guns and instead continued his development by joining Torino in January.

Ricci featured 13 times for Torino, including nine starts in what was a stellar breakout year in Italy's top tier, with the 20-year-old having previously been crowned Serie B's best player in the 2020-21 season.

Breaking into Italy's squad in 2022, Ricci's meteoric rise should continue, and he may find himself coveted by some of the biggest clubs across Europe.

Related items

  • Mikel Arteta says Pep Guardiola ‘best coach in the world’ ahead of Man City game Mikel Arteta says Pep Guardiola ‘best coach in the world’ ahead of Man City game

    Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hailed Pep Guardiola as “the best coach in the world” as the close friends prepare for a potentially seismic game in the Premier League title battle this weekend.

    Manchester City play host to their title rivals at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday having won the last seven home meetings between the two sides.

    Arsenal finally managed to record a rare victory over City when they won the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season and go into the weekend top of the table – above Liverpool on goal difference with Guardiola’s reigning champions a point further back.

    The two Spaniards are good friends, Arteta having worked under Guardiola at City between 2016 and 2019 and played his part in two Premier League title wins.

    Now though, they will once again be in opposite dugouts as Arteta prepares to lock horns with a manager he believes is without rival.

    Asked if his relationship with Guardiola was different now, Arteta replied: “It had to change.

    “My admiration and what I feel for him certainly hasn’t. In my opinion he’s the best coach in the world by a mile and he’s one of the nicest people that I’ve met in football.

    “Certainly he’s one of the ones that I’ve had the most fun and laughter working with. That’s going to stay there forever.

    “At the moment the rules are what they are and you’re going to have to adapt to it.”

    Having sparred for the title last season, before City ultimately pipped Arsenal for the trophy en route to winning the treble, Arteta is keen to go one better this term.

    “Probably I would prefer to do it against someone who I don’t have those feelings for but that’s not a choice,” he added.

    “It’s what it is. We both want to win.

    “We’ll prepare the game very well. You cannot feel different about the person, but professionally you have to act differently.”

    Arteta confirmed forwards Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli could feature having missed the international break with minor injuries, while Gabriel Magalhaes is also expected to be fit enough to start.

    The challenge for Arsenal is not only end a nine-year wait for a league win at City but to also emulate their rivals in establishing themselves as a major power in European football.

    “They have raised the bar in this league and football in general to levels that haven’t been seen before,” he added on City’s success.

    “That’s the beauty of this sport because it makes you better and challenges you more. You have to keep up with that pace and that’s what we’re trying to do.

    “It’s a massive game for both teams. It will give us a huge boost again if we go there and win it. Still there is a long, long, long way after to make the ground to win it.”

  • Celtic will not risk Callum McGregor ahead of Rangers showdown Celtic will not risk Callum McGregor ahead of Rangers showdown

    Celtic captain Callum McGregor has a “very good chance” of facing Rangers but will not be risked on Livingston’s artificial surface.

    Manager Brendan Rodgers will delay McGregor’s comeback until after Sunday’s cinch Premiership contest at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

    The midfielder has been troubled by Achilles pain and has not featured since coming off at half-time during Celtic’s 7-1 win over Dundee on February 28.

    Rodgers said: “Callum has been out on the field, but we are not risking him in this game. But he should hopefully re-join training next week.”

    When asked if McGregor had a chance of facing Rangers, Rodgers replied: “Yes, a very good chance.”

    Reo Hatate is set to make his return after playing only 19 minutes for Celtic since October. The Japan midfielder briefly returned from a hamstring injury at the start of the year only to suffer calf problems during the Asian Cup.

    Cameron Carter-Vickers is also expected to play after being left out of the United States squad amid ongoing hamstring issues but Celtic could again be without wingers Yang Hyun-jun and Luis Palma, the latter of whom has a calf injury.

    Rodgers said: “Cameron is fine, Reo Hatate is back and available in the squad, which is great news. He has worked very hard, he played a bounce game in the time off and he has built up his fitness.

    “Yang has come back (from South Korea duty) with a bit of tightness so we just need to make sure that’s nothing more serious. He played two 60 minutes and a 30 minutes when he was away, so he has come back a little bit tight. We just have to check and make sure he is OK.

    “Luis Palma will probably just miss out on this weekend but will hopefully be available soon.”

    Rodgers admits Livingston’s artificial pitch comes into his thinking when making his team selection.

    “You certainly have to consider it,” he said. “Like, for example Callum, you have to think along that route.

    “There’s no doubt it comes into your thinking, especially on the back of an international break when players have been travelling.

    “I think we are all hopeful in the future that we will have quality grass pitches here that the supporters can see the best possible game they can, but at this moment we play on the plastic pitch so we have to deal with that.

    “Of course that means we have to think about team selection and the welfare of the player, and obviously from Callum’s perspective it’s probably too much of a risk for us.”

  • Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool assessing Andy Robertson injury ‘day by day’ Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool assessing Andy Robertson injury ‘day by day’

    Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool will take things “day by day” with Andy Robertson as he indicated the left-back’s injury was not serious.

    Robertson was being assessed by the Reds after coming off in the first half of Scotland’s friendly against Northern Ireland on Tuesday due to an ankle issue.

    Speaking at his press conference ahead of Sunday’s Premier League home clash with Brighton, Liverpool boss Klopp said: “Robbo, we take it a little bit day by day, so we will see.

    “He will not train today but it’s not as bad, so that’s fine.”

    Klopp – whose side after the Brighton game continue their title bid by hosting Sheffield United next Thursday, then playing Manchester United away three days later – also reported that Darwin Nunez, a withdrawal from Uruguay’s squad as the international break got under way, was “fine”.

    Ibrahima Konate, absent for Liverpool’s last three games, is set to be available this weekend as well, and while Klopp said he was unsure if that applied to Curtis Jones, the midfielder has been training.

    Liverpool have also had Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota on the sidelines, and Klopp added: “The other boys, from next week on, step by step I think they will join parts of team training, and then team training, so we will see what we do with that.

    “They’re not too far away but not in yet. They all make their steps, so it’s positive.”

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.