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.
Gabri Veiga Celta Vigo
The 2022-23 season was the making of Gabri Veiga; so much so that he is now on the radar of many of the biggest clubs in Europe. The young Spaniard talent stood out last season for the versatility and completeness to his game. As the campaign went on, he grew into the attacking side of the game, increasing his contribution in front of goal and helping to counteract Celta Vigo’s overdependence on Iago Aspas.
Veiga scored 11 goals last season in La Liga, the most among midfielders in the competition. He also added four assists, and was the first player born after 2002 to make it to 10 direct goal involvements in the five major European Leagues.
Veiga also, rather unexpectedly for a midfielder, also had the best differential between goals scored (11) and expected goals (6.0) of all players in La Liga. His positive differential of 5.0 is a whole goal higher than the next player in this list (Villarreal’s Nicolas Jackson – who has since joined Chelsea – with 4.0).
Veiga’s direct involvement in 15 goals last season matched the figures of Aspas (12 goals and three assists). Veiga also became the first central midfielder to score at least 10 goals for Celta Vigo in a season in La Liga in the 21st century, and the first player other than Aspas reach double figures for goals since Santi Mina did so in 2020-21.
He has emerged as a player with an exceptional shot from distance. In fact, he scored four goals from outside the box last season, which was not only the joint-most in La Liga alongside Real Madrid’s Fede Valverde and Atlético Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, but also the joint-most in Europe’s top five leagues.
A technical wizard with a lethal shot, Veiga is an exceptional player who will be one to watch in 2023-24, wherever he is playing his football.