Welcome back, for the first time in just under two years (!), to Europe’s Finest, where we take a look at who the top performers are in Europe, with the rankings shifting week-by-week. Let’s take a look at the ground rules, for those unfamiliar.
- This list is personal opinion, and in fact, if you put the players I feature into a spreadsheet with club data, you can probably figure out which teams I watch more than others on a weekly basis. I can’t watch everything.
- The list will only contain players playing in Europe’s ‘top five’ leagues. If you don’t know what this refers to, it’s a colloquial term used to describe England’s Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1 as a collective, these five being the most commonly-agreed upon as the five best leagues on the continent.
- For some reason, the last time I did this, I used to get quite a bit of flak for preferring players who were in a good patch of form instead of the consistent performers. Newsflash, guys: that’s the whole point. These rankings are meant to be dynamic and have a recency bias by design. It’s meant to be a jumping-on point for people just tuning in rather than a history lesson on what’s happened every week prior to today.
- While exceptions are made on almost a weekly basis, I try as hard as possible to limit the list to one player per club. You will already be seeing casualties of such attempts this week, as Michael Olise, Joshua Kimmich, Raphinha and Bradley Barcola all miss out on this list.
- Although it may be used if I feel like I’m practically splitting hairs in trying to separate two players, international football does not matter unless it’s a major tournament. No World Cup qualifiers, no Nations League (unless it’s the knockouts).
Right, that’s enough admin, let’s get into it!
10. Marcos Senesi (AFC Bournemouth)
AFC Bournemouth started their Premier League campaign with a 4-2 loss to defending champions Liverpool, but since then the team has rallied to three wins in four games, with a draw
against Newcastle United, all while conceding one goal across those four games. Credit must go to the structure off the ball of course, with Tyler Adams in particular being a real workhorse in the middle, but none of it would be possible without Marcos Senesi.
With the departure of star centre-back Ilya Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain, it looked like Bournemouth were going to have their work cut out defensively, but Senesi has seamlessly transitioned into Zabarnyi’s role as the vocal leader and ball-player from the back, showcasing why he was one of the finest centre-backs in the Eredivisie not too long ago (enjoying his best season under Arne Slot, no less). Senesi’s positioning is pragmatic when out of possession but on the ball he has showcased a tendency to slide some amazing passes, including an assist for Evanilson against Tottenham Hotspur which would end up being the lone goal of the game. Fantastic set of performances from the Argentine, and he looks set to be entering his prime as one of THE centre-backs to watch in Europe.
9. Bryan Cristante (AS Roma)
It feels somewhat serendipitous that Bryan Cristante features in the return of Europe’s Finest as he was the very first player to ever appear in this series, at #10 in the first-ever edition all the way back in 2022.
AS Roma have made an art of the 1-0 win, having conceded just once all season so far in a 1-0 loss while scoring three across three 1-0 wins in their four games. Once again, the credit for such results is to be shared amongst the structure and players, with Gianluca Mancini and Evan Ndicka being particular highlights alongside Mile Svilar who has had some work to do in goal, but the real difference-maker for me has been Bryan Cristante.
Back in 2022, I described him as your favourite defensive midfielder’s favourite defensive midfielder, and I think that still holds true. What you can’t read in his statistics, you can when you watch him play, as his ability to shift between pivot that holds the fort down and the fly in the ointment of defensive structures further up the field is brilliant. He may not be gifted in the final third, but that’s not his job. His job is to make sure Roma keep the ball, and he’s clearly doing a fantastic job as the team has averaged over 60% possession so far this season. He is the glue that binds this team together, as while the attackers only need one moment to give the team an advantage while they have the license to mess up a few times, Cristante is in a completely different situation as he must be on high-alert at all times. It will be really interesting to see how Gian Piero Gasperini iterates upon the current formula with his trusted pivot at his side.
8. Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain)
With the current rotation policy in the forwards for Paris Saint-Germain and the lack of clear defensive shape or structure, it’s going to be unlikely that any PSG player successfully plants themselves in this rankings for the long-run, but if anyone can do it, it’s Vitinha.
There really isn’t much to be said that hasn’t already been said. Vitinha is one of the best players in Europe, full-stop (even if a podium finish at the Ballon d’Or might be generous). The guy strangles teams single-handedly, wrapping them around his finger before bending them to his will. A lot of possession-based coaches look for their metronome, whether it’s Pep Guardiola with Rodri or Vincent Kompany with Joshua Kimmich, but Luis Enrique’s Vitinha has gone from metronome to full-blown singularity with how he bends time and space. While I think Vitinha’s level of performance can also be attributed to the quality of opposition, I think using the standard of a league as an argument against a player (unless the standards really are worlds apart, we aren’t comparing the Championship to the Premier League here) is an extremely weak argument that hinges more on pre-conceived notions than informed opinion.
How crazy to think that Wolverhampton Wanderers were this close to a midfield three of Vitinha, Ruben Neves and Matheus Cunha.
7. Pedri (FC Barcelona)
I hate giving FC Barcelona players props because their online fanbase consists primarily of people who watch no other team, love to comment on other teams, and believe that the volume of your argument matters more than the content, with a big part of the discourse being their consistent overhyping of Barcelona players.
Unfortunately, they are (mostly) right about Pedri.
His in-possession statistics are inflated by the tendency for La Liga teams to employ structures so passive they may as well be putting eleven mannequins on the goal line and praying, but even then, they are nothing to scoff at. Vitinha might be a singularity of control, but Pedri has just that slight extra spice. I’m baffled he doesn’t have an assist yet, but then again, what can you do when your two striker options are a geriatric Pole and whatever Ferran Torres is (I’m aware Ferran is actually in quite good form at the moment, but to counterpoint: funny).
6. Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich)
F&*! YEAH LUIS DÍAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Bayern Munich’s latest marquee signing flew off the blocks with a winning header in the Franz Beckenbauer Cup and an unbelievable goal involving a forty-second build-up sequence started by and finished by Díaz himself alongside a pair of assists for Harry Kane in the curtain-raiser against RB Leipzig, and he didn’t slow down from there.
While Díaz didn’t get a goal against Chelsea, he was key to Bayern’s structure, making all the right moves and opening the right spaces. It was his joint-press alongside Serge Gnabry (who narrowly avoided this list alongside Olise) that gave Kane his second that game too.
It’s strange; for the second season in a row, Bayern have addressed a weak spot in the wings by signing a top-tier player from the Premier League, and we have watched as Kompany has immediately got them soaring during their honeymoon period, and now has to build up the little details over the next few weeks. For anyone who doubts Díaz’s ability to continue to play at the level he started the season at, just look at Olise’s debut season. So far, it has been practically an identical trajectory.
5. Luka Modrić (AC Milan)
How. Just how.
How is a 40-year-old midfielder on this list at #5.
HOW.
Luka Modrić, you are an utterly stupid footballer.
The Croatian made his national team debut when the world still had two years to brace itself before it was afflicted with my birth, and somehow over two decades later he is not only still playing at the highest level, but is staking a genuine claim to being the best central midfielder in the world.
It’s not in a passive, bits-and-pieces role either, as Modrić has accumulated more touches than any player in Italy, all while being possibly the most creative player in a pure quantitative sense. For reference, the only players in Italy that have progressed the ball more (on a pure distance basis) than Modrić are goalkeepers. Goalkeepers. You know, the guys who sit all the way at the back, so they have no choice but to kick it forward? Yeah, them.
Close enough, welcome back Andrea Pirlo.
4. Nico Paz (Como)
I used to think Nico Paz might be a real prospect for Real considering his proximity to the first team squad, although I’d never really seen him play at that point in time. Then Real Madrid signed Arda Güler and Jude Bellingham, and brought Brahim Díaz back into the squad properly, and I thought, “Ah, nevermind.”
Then Paz was sold to Como of all places, and I thought I was vindicated.
Lol.
I don’t really know how to describe Nico Paz if you haven’t seen him play, but I think the closest I can get is that it’s like if Bruno Fernandes did a line of coke before stepping on to the pitch. Paz scored a ridiculous free kick on opening day against Lazio and somehow it wasn’t the best thing he did that night as the assist for the first goal was even better, a dizzying feint and 180-turn followed by a pass so accurate NASA couldn’t have launched it more precise.
I really don’t know where to begin with this guy, every time he gets the ball you can expect something outrageous. Football is so back.
3. Can Uzun (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Speaking of kids with the Midas touch, how about Eintracht Frankfurt’s Can Uzun?
For some reason, no one is talking about the fact that this kid has five goals and three assists in six appearances, and it’s not like they’ve been tap-ins. From the multiple long-rangers to the ridiculous heel flick he scored against Union Berlin this week, Uzun seems to have found his stride after showcasing mere glimpses of potential in the season prior.
Frankfurt have sustained massive losses to their attack in the form of Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike’s departures in the last year, and while new signing Ritsu Dōan has rightfully grabbed headlines with some of his amazing performances, Uzun has quietly toiled away underneath. I say quietly because he hasn’t had an outrageous brace-and-assist game or something of that nature since opening day, but rather he’s been racking up performances one stellar game at a time. The sky is the limit for the Turkish youngster.
Another instant replacement for their €100m forward sale. Frankfurt can’t keep getting away with this.
2. Kenan Yıldız (Juventus)
Speaking of Turkish youngsters… man. I really can’t believe Bayern let this one slip through the cracks.
The turn, the shot, the pass, the meld of contemporary footballing sensibility with the magic of the heroes we grew up on. Yıldız has got it all.
One game, Yıldız is playing a role intrenched in structure, keeping things moving around the box and going around the outside of his man to get the ball in the mixer to pick up assists, like he did against Parma. Other games, he’s beaming ICBMs into the side-netting from way too far out, like he did against Internazionale. Other games, he’s doing both at the same time, like he did against Borussia Dortmund. Unbelievable.
What a player he has become in such a short span of time. Germany will really regret not getting him with the current state of their left-wing position, and Bayern… well. Yeah.
1. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
Like I said, as much as I try to limit myself to one player per team, special circumstances call for special measures, and this Bayern Munich attack is special. You could make a case for any of the front four being on this list, but I went with Díaz alongside the undisputed best player in the world right now: Harry Kane.
Sometimes you look at the numbers of a player and think,
“Is this guy for real?”
Lionel Messi getting 91 goals in a calendar year. Robert Lewandowski reaching 30 goals in all competitions in November of the 2021/22 season, with an overhead kick, no less.
Harry Kane has 13 goals and 3 assists in 7 games this season so far. That means, on average, he is contributing either a goal or an assist every 38 minutes.
Is this guy for real?
We can talk numbers all day, but we’re all Bayern fans here. We’ve seen what he’s been doing for the team. Kane hasn’t just been scoring and assisting at an unreal rate, but he’s been doing all of that ON TOP of being part of the team’s spine in build-up. In the absence of Jamal Musiala, Kompany has changed the way the strikers behave, and a big part of that has been Kane’s presence in deep build-up. While he has always dropped, it’s now become more systemic, and Bayern have looked all the better for it, as now everyone knows where to be when Kane receives in the middle of the pitch.
Is this guy for real?
What did you make of this list? Is there anyone you would’ve included instead? Let us know in the discussion below.
