Which players could Premier League teams look to snap up after their side’s crashed out of Europe?
SEE MORE:
Football Manager 2015 wonderkids
The Champions League Group stages may be over for another year but this season’s action saw plenty of brilliant individual performances from a number of players across Europe.
Despite 16 teams tumbling out of the competition, with squads of players seeing their European dreams being put to bed for another season, there were a few players that that may just have caught some eyes in the Premier League with January fast approaching.
Here’s five men, according to the Daily Mirror, who just might be on a few managers’ christmas lists.
Roberto – Olympiacos
Despite getting through the group stage last season and almost reaching the quater-finals, Olympiacos have had no success in this season’s competition despite three wins.
Olympiacos managed the scalps of both Juventus and Atletico Madrid when they visited Athens largely down to Roberto’s heroics. And the former Real Zaragoza keeper was probably one of the only players who could come away from the Greek side’s 4-0 thrashing from Atletico with any credit, despite being the man in between the sticks.
Roberto could prove a smart acquisition for a club in need of an experienced and proven shot stopper who won’t force them to break the bank.
Davy Klaassen – Ajax
The 21 year old could follow in the footsteps of other former Ajax stars; Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Vermaelen and Luis Suarez as the former European powerhouse struggles to keep up with today’s modern super clubs.
The Dutch youngster had a breakout season at the Amsterdam Arena last year scoring 11 times in 36 appearances from midfield and has four goals and seven assists this season for Frank de Boer’s side.
With Dutch stars leaving Holland in general in recent seasons, searching for a more competitive and challenging league – Klaassen could be next on the way out of the Eredivisie.
Youri Tielemans – Anderlecht
Despite Anderlecht crashing out of the Champions League, the one shining light has been the 17 year old central midfielder who has been at the Belgian club since the age of five.
At such a young age Tielemans is already dominating the Belgian league and has shown glimpses of what is to come in the years ahead with commanding and intelligent displays showing his touch, poise and technique.
Expect him to be on the radar of Europe’s biggest clubs in the next few seasons but at the moment could certainly develop at a high-end Premier League side.
Eduardo Salvio – Benfica
In his two seasons in Portugal, the South American has proved to be a key player scoring eight goals in 19 appearances for Benfica this season. The winger has been capped five times by Argentina and has a similar style to Arsenal star Theo Walcott.
There are rumours Liverpool and Manchester United have been chasing the forward but he wouldn’t be a cheap acquisition with Benfica slapping a £34 million price tag on Salvio’s head.
Axel Witsel – Zenit St. Petersburg
Zenit crashed out of the Champions League with a disappointing performance against Monaco, despite the French side scoring just six goals in their six games to get top spot of their group.
With the Russians sliding down to the Europa League you have to question how many of their, most likely, extremely well paid stars will be hanging around if the Russian club don’t start competing more aggressively in the next few seasons.
Witsel has yet to grace one of Europe’s top five leagues after playing in both Portugal and Russia since making his breakthrough at Standard Liege and could find success at Manchester United or Arsenal. The two sides would certainly be missing a trick if they at least didn’t enquire after the Belgian with both sides calling out for a dominant midfield presence.