The coronavirus pandemic brought the football world to a standstill, at the same time slowing down the progress of some young stars who were well on their way to marking the 2019/20 season.
Erling Haaland went from being anonymous to a flawless goal scorer, Jadon Sancho showed everyone what he can do, Liverpool's championship team is impossible to imagine without Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the big question is where Milan would be if they didn't have Gianluigi Donnarumma between the posts all these years. .
And which of them inherited the lights of the big stage? We present 10 footballers from the five strongest leagues who have become the obsession of the European giants in the current season.
PREMIER LEAGUE
MASON MOUNT - There is a well-known story about how much Frank Lampard was forced to give young players a chance, after Uefa banned Chelsea from being active in two transfer periods. The opportunity seems to have been used better than all by Mount, with whom Lampard worked in Derby County. The young man, who was born in January 1999, attracted so much attention in the "Blues" jersey that in 2019 he made his debut for the senior team of the England national team.
ISMAIL SAR - the youngest participant of the Cup of African Nations with Senegal, Sadio Mane's favorite and compatriot, now Watford's support. In 2016, Sar signed his first professional contract with Metz, a year later he was signed by Rennes, and this summer he arrived in the Premier League. At that time, he had an offer from Barcelona on the table, but Watford did not save money - they paid 22 million euros for the 35-year-old winger, making him the most expensive player in the club's history.
BUNDESLIGA
LET'S BREAK IT - "product" of the Red Bull company: he was in Salzburg, now he is a member of Leipzig and half of Europe wants him.
Upamekano is 21 years old, this is his fourth season in the Bundesliga, and for the past 18 months he has been one of the most respected stoppers in Germany. Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Bayern... are just some of the clubs that are ready to pay him big.
KAI HAVERC - the youngest debutant in the history of the German elite rank, a guy who is only 20 years old, and who already has a lot behind him. He is the center of Bayer's project, and in Germany he is compared to the class of Mesut Ozil. But, with an important difference - he has what Mesut lacks, and that is discipline on and off the field. As such, he is very interesting to Bayern...
SERIES A
DEJAN KULUSEVSKI - three games in Atalanta, and about twenty in the first part of this season for Parma, were enough to convince Juventus to spend around 40 million euros without thinking. Kulusevski is still in Parma as a loan player, and then he will be transferred to Turin in the summer... He was born in Stockholm, turned 25 on April 20, and recently made his debut for Sweden's A team in the Euro qualifiers.
DUŠAN VLAHOVIĆ - the Serbian striker was only 15 years old when he signed a professional contract with Partizan, and in January 2018, as soon as he came of age, he joined Fiorentina.
He is getting more and more chances in the first team of "viola", he scored six goals in Serie A, and the phenomenal goal he scored against Inter will be remembered.
XNUMXst week
ANSU FATI - this is the season in which Fati introduced himself to the football world. He did a lot of good things in Barcelona, and at 17 years and 40 days he became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League.
MARTIN EDEGORD - few people now remember that he was the youngest player and scorer in the Norwegian championship, that he is the youngest member of the national team in history, all this before he was 16 years old. That recommended him to Real Madrid, and now he shines in the Sociedad jersey.
He is still officially a Real player, but the question is whether there is a place for him in Madrid, even though he is only 21 years old.
LEAGUE 1
VIKTOR OSIMEN - Lille is chasing a place in the Champions League, and attention has been drawn to Osimen, the scorer of 13 goals in the French League 1. The Nigerian was in Wolfsburg, then in Belgium (Charleroi), and now with the "mastiffs" as if he wants to show that he has capacity for much larger clubs.
MALAN SAR - French football experts compare the Nice stopper with Samuel Umtiti, and his career path could be similar. Sar is on the target of Barcelona, Arsenal and Milan also want him. He is 21 years old and has already played more than 100 league matches for Nice.
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