Ten Europa League stars who could have a future in England.
The Europa League continued yesterday evening, with clubs across Europe taking to the field for the second time in the group stage – already, things are looking good for the likes of Everton, Inter Milan, Torino and Villarreal.
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As a competition that is often undermined by its big sibling, the Champions League, we’ve delved deep to find ten stars who we could be seeing in England in the future:
Fredy Guarin (Inter Milan)
A player who has regularly been linked with Premier League clubs, notably Manchester United and Chelsea, midfielder Fredy Guarin started in an advanced position for Inter Milan last night as they saw off the challenge of Azerbaijani outfit Qarabag to take control of their group.
Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Monchengladbach)
A Europa League star who is already on the books of a Premier League club is playmaker Thorgan Hazard, who is currently on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach from Chelsea. The Belgian, brother of Blues star Eden, started as his side drew 1-1 away against Zurich, keeping them in with a shout of qualification after also drawing their opening match.
Virgil van Dijk (Celtic)
Celtic central defender Virgil van Dijk looks set to become the next Celtic player to make the move to the Premier League, following the likes of Victor Wanyama and Fraser Forster, with the Dutchman having become the key man at the back for Ronny Deila at Celtic Park. He was superb as they dug in to secure a 1-0 victory against a Dinamo Zagreb side who largely dominated in Glasgow.
Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord)
Feyenoord have endured a dreadful start to the season in the Eredivisie after the departure of manager Ronald Koeman and a number of key players, but one man who chose to stay was young playmaker Jordy Clasie, who played 90 minutes as the Dutch side kept their Europa League campaign on track with a narrow victory over Standard Liege at de Kuip. One of the most exciting young players in Holland, Clasie was strongly linked with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur over the summer.
Marek Hamsik (Napoli)
Napoli have also had a tough start to the campaign, with manager Rafa Benitez reportedly under some pressure after lukewarm Serie A form and a Champions League exit against Athletic Bilbao, problems which could lead them to selling key players including captain Marek Hamsik, with Chelsea and Liverpool both linked with the Slovakian recently. He led Napoli to a comfortable win at Slovan Bratislava last night.
Ricardo Rodriguez (Vfl Wolfsburg)
Already rated as one of the most impressive young defenders in world football, Ricardo Rodriguez’s display in the Europa League defeat to Everton had further caught the English eye, after the Swiss international was linked with Manchester United this summer. A move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs could be imminent for Rodriguez, who played in Wolfsburg’s 1-1 draw with Lille last night that kept their qualification hopes alive.
Marcelo Brozovic (Dinamo Zagreb)
Arsenal were linked with young Croatian midfielder Alan Brozovic recently, after sending scouts to watch him in Dinamo’s grudge match against Hajduk Split, and they could again have been on the trail of the silky playmaker as he played the full match for Dinamo, who were unfortunate in defeat to Celtic.
Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev)
After surprisingly being linked with Stoke City this summer, Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko remained at Dynamo this summer, but is still a player who will be on the radars of plenty of Premier League teams, having surprisingly spent his entire career to date in Ukraine. His club, Dynamo, may have to find their way back into the Champions League to convince him stay, despite a comfortable win over Steaua Bucharest last night.
Divock Origi (Lille)
Another Premier League loanee currently plying his trade for a Europa League side, young Belgian forward Divock Origi didn’t play a single minute for Liverpool since returning to the club he was signed from – Lille. He has continued to impressive in Ligue 1 for his side this season, whilst Origi also tucked away the penalty that earned his side a crucial point at Wolfsburg.
Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV Eindhoven)
Another player to have regularly been linked with the English Premier League, young midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum is still playing in the Eredivisie and PSV Eindhoven and continuing to impress for his Dutch side. Despite this, however, PSV were beaten away against Dinamo Moscow thanks to an injury time goal by former Chelsea star Yuri Zhirkov.