On the eve of the 2023-24 season around Europe, it's time to ask: Who are we excited about watching this season?
We've got together 10 of the finest brains from across Europe that we think you should keep an eye on in the upcoming campaign. These aren't the best 10 players in Europe, nor are they 10 you've never heard of. There are lots of young players in this list and each writer was to pick someone they are excited about in 2023-24.
We will select two most noteworthy player in 2023/24 season every day. Read on to see who we've selected today.
Ilkay Gündogan Barcelona
Ilkay Gündogan was the first signing officially confirmed by Barcelona during the summer window. The Catalan side suffered an important loss with Sergio Busquets’ departure, but while they may be looking for a long time for someone to directly replace the legendary midfielder (particularly given their Financial Fair Play struggles), Gündogan will play an interesting role in the Barcelona midfield.
In the last two seasons, Barcelona have had lots of issues when Pedri has been absent. He is the key piece in Xavi’s machine, providing the most secondary assists – the pass before the assist – in La Liga in 2022-23 (10) despite only making 26 appearances, as well as adding much-needed fluency to the team. Nobody took on his role when he was missing.
Gündogan doesn’t have exactly the same profile as a player, but he does produce goals and assists, and an element of inspiration for his teammates. Throughballs, for instance, is a good measure to compare these players. Pedri led Barça with 24 in La Liga in 2022-23, followed by Frenkie de Jong (19). The 18 throughballs attempted by Gündogan should help his new team create more chances.
He scored 11 times in all competitions last season, including two goals in the FA Cup final win over Manchester United. There’s only one player in the Barcelona squad who scored more than him (Robert Lewandowski, with 33), with Raphinha and Ansu Fati scoring 10 apiece.
Gündogan could be an upgrade in a team with too few goals from midfield. Over the last three seasons, he’s scored 29 Premier League goals, with only Bruno Fernandes (36), Bukayo Saka (30), and James Maddison (30) scoring more of all midfielders in the competition.
Another area in which he brings value is in his availability. With the exception of his first season at City, when he suffered a serious injury, Gündogan has made at least 43 appearances per campaign in each of the last six seasons under Pep Guardiola, with 51 in 2022-23 – his highest at City. The Barcelona midfielders were largely overused last season (Gavi – 49 appearances, De Jong – 43, Kessié – 43, Busquets – 42), especially when Xavi started to put four midfielders in starting lineup, so Gündogan should be a great addition to the squad.