Better late than never right? After being postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Championships are finally upon us and with all 24 competing countries having just submitted their final 23-man squad lists, we thought it perfect timing to pick our 8 Players to look out for at Euro 2020/2021 (whatever you would like to call it) having done something similar with mixed results for the European U21 Championships which at the time of writing are embarking on the Semi-Final stages with Portugal hot favourites to win following France’s Quarter Final exit at the hands of the Netherlands.
by MaddFM
1. Manuel Locatelli (Italy)
If there was a word for “baller” in Italian it would be Locatelli. Having just completed his second season at Sassuolo helping them to an impressive 8th place finish in Serie A during which he scored 4 goals and added 3 assists for the likes of Domenico Berardi and Giacomo Raspadori, Manuel Locatelli has gone from strength to strength and typifies what you would expect from an Italian Central Midfielder - hard work, technique, creativity, energy - Locatelli oozes class and it’s little surprise that he has been heavily linked with a move to Juventus this summer. A strong campaign at the Euros for both Locatelli and Italy could see other suitors enter the race for his signature with Man City and PSG also rumoured to be admirers of the former Milan academy graduate; one thing is for sure, Sassuolo have a fight on their hands if they have any hope of retaining him at the club for much longer.
In the Football Manager world, Locatelli has everything you would look for in a Central Midfielder - Passing, Touch, Technique, Determination, Vision - one of those profiles that with one glance confirms he is worth signing “at any cost” as your Chief Scout would say; trust him, he knows what he is talking about.
2. Nuno Mendes (Portugal)
Despite having only just completed his first full season at Sporting in which he helped them regain a Primeira Liga title for the first time in 18 years (the last time they won it was the year he was born so take from that what you will), Nuno Mendes is rapidly being touted as one of the most exciting young left-backs in the world and as a result is already being touted for a big money move away from Portugal despite still being only 18 years old at the time of writing. His main competition for a place in the Portugal First XI will be Raphaël Guerreiro who was one of the better performers in an underwhelming season for Dortmund, however having made his international debut back in September and since having an outstanding season at Sporting, he looks set to be well in contention for a starting place and if successful, could use Euro 2020 as a live demonstration of his ability and potential on the biggest of stages.
In Football Manager terms? Well, see for yourself - wing-back royalty with bags of potential, and as much as our own @DaveAzzopardi would like to see him join the Portugese revolution at Wolves, one would expect him to accelerate to a much bigger club in the very near future.
3. Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands)
There’s not much to say about this lad that hasn’t been said already. Ryan Gravenberch is one of the most talented midfielders of his generation, and it’s easy to understand why he became the youngest ever Ajax player when he made his debut at just 16 years and 130 days old - not too shabby considering the previous record holder was one Clarence Seedorf, not a bad player either eh? Gravenberch is a Rolls Royce of a midfielder - athletic, skillful, technical and with excellent movement on and off the ball, it’s little wonder why he has drawn comparisons with Paul Pogba in recent years and why he is regularly linked with the likes of Barcelona and PSG at every opportunity - with Netherlands being in one of the “easier” groups of this year’s European Championship, the stage is set for Gravenberch to show exactly what he can do and definitively make his mark on this year’s tournament.
In Football Manager terms, Gravenberch is a worldie and rarely lasts a season or two at Ajax before being snapped up by one of the elite European clubs - you’ll do well to find an 18-year-old with so strong a profile, not to mention his attributes and versatility so if you are managing a club with a healthy bank balance and reputation, Ryan Gravenberch should be at the top of your shopping list as he may not be so accessible by the time FM22 comes around.
4. Robin Gosens (Germany)
We like our wing-backs around here. It’s fair to say Robin Gosens has been a bit of a late bloomer in Football/Football Manager terms, having only really shot to fame in the last couple of seasons during which he has nothing short of excelled at Atalanta in Serie A. Not only has he he helped Atalanta finish 3rd for a 3rd consecutive season (only narrowly pipped for 2nd by Milan on the last day of this season), he has contributed 20 goals and 14 assists from the left wing-back position in the past couple of seasons making him one of the most feared attacking threats in the Italian league. Little wonder an international call-up came knocking on his door in 2020 and with limited competition at left-back for Germany (we have seen Emre Can feature there more recently in the absence of any stand-out alternatives), Gosens is in prime position to feature and star for Germany in this year’s tournament should Manager Joachim Low recognise his ability and utilise a tactic in which Gosens can thrive as he does for Atalanta.
In Football Manager 2021, even though he is passed the stage where he can be dubbed a ““wonderkid”, he is a ready-made left-back option for any club in the game with all the Physical, Mental and Technical attributes one needs to deploy an attacking wing-back option. SIGN..HIM..UP.
5. Pedri (Spain)
This is somewhat risky as the competition for a place in Spain’s midfield is outrageous this year - either way, if Pedri gets his chance at Euro 2020, expect him to take it. It took one full season at Las Palmas for Barcelona to make Pedri one of their main transfer targets in 2019 and he joined the club the following summer as a 17-year-old hot prospect who I’m sure fans thought was “one for the future” at the Catalan giants. Within 4 months Pedri had not only made his debut and scored his first goal for the club, he had effectively nailed down a first team spot and went on to make 37 appearances for the club last season bagging 4 goals and 7 assists. His ability and form saw him taken straight out of the Spanish U21 side and promoted to the first team and it’s no mystery that Luis Enrique is a fan of the 18-year-old - competition is fierce with the likes of Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal all vying for a starting place however if Spain perform as well as expected in a group containing Sweden, Slovakia and Poland then fingers crossed Pedri will be given the chance to show his undoubted quality for his country.
Do we even need to look at his Football Manager profile? 🔥🔥
6. Phil Foden (England)
An obvious choice? Yes. Could we leave him out? Of course not - Philip Walter Foden literally has the world at his feet and this year’s European Championship will give him yet another global stage on which he can cement himself as one of the deadliest attacking players in world football currently. There is a reason the lad had already accumulated 3 Premier League titles by the age of 20; Foden has arguably been Man City’s best player this season and his 16 goals and 10 assists in all competitions are likely to make him England’s second most important goal-scoring outlet in this year’s competition behind Harry Kane; both are equally adept at scoring and creating goals and England arguably have their best chance in years at winning a major international tournament. Assuming he makes Gareth Southgate’s starting XI (he has to surely), expect to see Foden’s name in lights if England can get past Croatia, Scotland and Czech Republic in the group stages.
Do we see the same in Football Manager? You better believe it - the FM researchers saw Foden coming a long time ago and he has long held wonderkid status in-game. Looking at his Flair, First Touch, Technique, Passing, Vision, Speed, Composure and Finishing - if there’s a player you don’t want to come up against in FM, it’s Phil Foden.
7. Adam Hložek (Czech Republic)
We are taking another risk here but this is a player that deserves discussion. If you haven’t yet heard of Adam Hložek then now would be a good time to mentally save his name permanently as he is sure to be a household name in world football for years to come. Despite only having 2 caps for his country, Hložek looks set to be a key player for the Czech Republic who themselves will be looking to improve their international form which has somewhat fallen off the grid since they reached the Euro 1996 final all those years ago courtesy of the likes of Karol Poborsky and Pavel Nedved. Fast-forward 25 years and the 18 year old forward has just finished joint top scorer in the Czech First League despite missing 4 months of the season due to injury, and his 15 goals and 4 assists have shown that he is full to the brim with creativity, attacking prowess and potential - should the Czech’s give Croatia and England a run for their money then it will most likely be Hložek who will be the spark that lights the fire; never mind that fact that at 6ft 2” he has a large frame as well as being quick and technical on and off the ball.
Hložek was my favourite player on FM20 and this year’s version is no different - a slightly slower starter to being with, but give him the right pathway and support and you have an absolute worldie on your hands; keeping him will be the biggest challenge should you find him in your first XI.
8. Karim Benzema (France)
One can’t but rub their hands in glee at the thought of Karim Benzema returning to the France national side after being in exile since 2015, let alone the fact that this 34-year-old Football Manager writer takes great pleasure in finally writing about a player born in the 80’s. I mean, how could we leave him out. 30 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this season have reminded the world that Benzema is one of Europe’s top marksmen, and having tried repeatedly to get joy from the likes of Giroud and Griezmann up front alongside Kylian Mbappe, it looks likely that Benzema could be that extra piece which ensures France lives up to their favourites tag in this year’s tournament - if he comes in with the right attitude and temperament, then there’s every chance we will see Benzema’s name in the top scorer charts come the end of the tournament; even with no guarantee he will even start for France he is currently 5th favourite to finish top scorer behind the likes of Kane, Ronaldo, Lukaku and Mbappe. Watch this space, Mercedes-Benzema is back.
I’ve never managed Benzema in Football Manager but now there is nothing I would like more - just give him the ball lads, Karim will do the rest. Those attributes 😍.
Honorable Mentions
With 24 teams competing in this year’s European Championship, picking only 8 players was tough - this tournament is literally stacked with talent, so much so that at times it’s difficult to know whether a player will even start for his country due to how competitive it is becoming to gain a first team spot at International level. While we have looked at Pedri above, it’s quite possible we might see the likes of Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres or Marcos Llorente stealing the headlines for Spain should Alvaro Morata struggle for form; Italy’s midfield is also full to the brim with quality and it could be that Nico Barella and Federico Chiesa shine this year ahead of Locatelli even if the latter has been in top form in recent months. Of course the stage is set for the likes of Mbappe, Joao Felix, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku and Bruno Fernandes to all lead their countries to glory but you can’t ignore some of the darker horses in the competition where players like Aleksander Isak (Sweden), Mert Muldur (Turkey) and Xavier Schlager (Austria) will be key figures in what could be an excellent underdog story as is so often the case in these international tournaments. Many players are just waiting for their chance to impress and make a name for their country even if they aren’t guaranteed a starting spot, so keep an eye out for the likes of Jeremy Doku (Belgium), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Jack Grealish (England), Jules Koundé (France) and Jamal Musiala (Germany) who all are likely to make an impact if even coming off the bench throughout the Group Stages, as well as the likes of Pedro Goncalves (Portugal) and Teun Koopmeiners (Netherlands) who both were called up to the senior squad following good form for their clubs as well as at the Euro U21 Championship.
At least one thing is for sure - we have an epic tournament on our hands, even if the Irish didn’t make it this time around 😔.
Thanks for reading, let us know if you agree with any of the above or have your own thoughts on who we should be watching in this year’s Euros. FM22 could depend on it!
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