The FIVE Potential Stars Who Could Emerge From This Month’s European Championships
With the European Championships starting in just over a week’s time, we thought it would be a good idea to give a lowdown on some of the younger players who could make their breakthrough in the competition.
Major tournaments can be the making of some young footballers but, equally, they can also lead to some clubs shelling out on players who fail to live up to their early promise.
We could have listed many more but the five stars we have gone with are all coming into this month’s competition off the back of very good seasons for their clubs.
Press the next page as we go through five young talents who could emerge as stars from the Euros.
Manuel Locatelli (Italy)
The 23-year-old only made his senior debut for the national team back in September but he has started four of Italy’s last five competitive games.
Locatelli is a holding midfielder by trade, and he has been heavily linked with Juventus and Manchester City over the past few months, suggesting that he won’t be staying with his current club Sassuolo for much longer.
Dejan Kulusevski (Sweden)
The forward has already got his big-money move to Juventus, with the Serie A club having spent €35m on the 21-year-old in January last year, and he is likely to become a big star over the next few years.
Kulusevski generally plays off the right-wing, cutting in onto his stronger left foot, but he can also play more centrally as a no.10. Whether he can fill the boots of the talismanic Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his country, we shall have to wait and see.
Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands)
The teenager is already in high demand, with the majority of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ having been linked with a move for the Ajax midfielder over the past year.
At 19 years of age, there is scope for Gravenberch to develop his game further, and it may be the case that this European Championship will come a few years too soon for him, but we may see him emerge as a major player during the tournament.
Adam Hlozek (Czech Republic)
The forward may only be 18 years of age but he is already making waves in his homeland, where he scored 15 goals in 19 league appearances for Sparta Prague.
Hlozek actually bagged four on the final day of the season in a 6-1 win over Zbrojovka Brno so he will be going into the Euros in red-hot form.
Pedro Goncalves (Portugal)
The 22-year-old has been widely tipped to be the ‘next Bruno Fernandes’ after replacing the Manchester United player at Sporting Lisbon, but there are certain differences between the two midfielders.
Goncalves is far less creative than Fernandes (having provided just four assists last season), but he is a goalscorer, having hit the back of the net 23 times in all competitions.
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