Author: Kevin Parvizi

From Aston Villa's Jhon Duran to Manchester City's new winger Savinho, a couple of Premier League stars made the cut of the list of the best U21 players in the Champions League. A couple of rising stars in the Bundesliga from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund joined them, but nobody has more great young talent to watch in European football's premier competition than PSG and Barcelona. It wasn't easy to rank all the players, and there were a number of standouts, such as Endrick and Arda Guler, who haven't gotten enough chances to merit a spot in the top 10. But here is a ranking of the 10 best U21 players in the Champions League here in the new-look 2024/25 campaign, with the list based on a mix of overall ability and success in the current season. 10. Aston Villa ST Jhon Duran Jh...

Manchester City have the world's best defensive midfielder in Rodri, who is one of the top Ballon d'Or candidates for 2024 after a sensational 2023/24 campaign at the base of the Citizens' midifeld. Alongside him, Man City have three great players capable of manning the second spot in a double-pivot - John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan, and Mateo Kovacic. However, Man City have been left thin at the position due to injuries to these players, with Rodri's looming largest. Furthermore, Man City don't have a young player in the center midfield positions. With Kovacic linked to Saudi Arabia and Gundogan likely on his last legs at the elite level, the 2025 transfer windows could be the right time for Man City to strike with a move for an elite 6. Here are five options for Manchester City to c...

Here are the five most underrated Wolverhampton Wanderers players from 2010 to 2019. LW Matthew Jarvis Matthew Jarvis' peak for Wolves was around the tail end of the 2000s and the start of the 2010s, and he was a darn good player for Wolverhampton. Jarvis scored 4 goals with 6 assists in the 2010/11 season and then 8 goals with 4 assists a season later. He was the one saving grace for Wolves, and it says something that he played that well in 2011/12. only for Wolves to finish dead last in the Premiership anyway. And without him, they would have definitely been relegated a season earlier than that anyway. Jarvis was unplayable at times when he was in his peak, though that peak sadly only lasted for a few seasons. His trickery and skill ranked among the best wingers in England, with ...

If you've had even a passing interest in the German Bundesliga over the last 10 years, then chances are that you are quite familiar with Bayer Leverkusen center back Jonathan Tah. Honestly, if anything, it's a surprise that Tah hasn't joined Bayern Munich by now, because he is one of the most recognizable central defenders in the country - and one of the best ball-playing defenders, which is an attribute Bayern tend to seek in center backs. The thing is, Bayern were smart for holding off on signing Tah, because his growth stagnated from the time he first emerged on the scene as one of the top young German center backs to watch. Tah has never been an above-average starter for the German national team, and at Leverkusen, he was quickly outshined by Edmond Tapsoba in defense, then fu...

5. Alex Stepney Alex Stepney was Manchester United's starting goalkeeper from 1966 to 1978 after a brief spell at Chelsea, and he ended up playing over 400 games in the English top flight for the Red Devils. Although Stepney's name doesn't come up as often when discussing the great Manchester United goalkeepers, he won the league, FA Cup, and European Cup with the club, producing an acclaimed save in that European Cup Final at Wembley against Benfica. The save game from short-range to stop a scorcher from Benfica striker Eusebio, who is widely regarded as one of the best players in world football history. In fact, Stepney's save was so remarkable that Eusebio himself applauded the Manchester United goalkeeper. Stepney recalled, "I saw it on telly afterwards and what had happened ...

With Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool icon Sadio Mane spearheading the attack and role players like Alex Telles and Marcelo Brozovic surrounding them, Al-Nassr have ambitions of dominating the Saudi Pro League but still sit behind Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad in the table. Here are five players Al-Nassr could try to sign in the coming January transfer window to pre-arranged future deals - or to immediate winter transfers - in order to become an even bigger power in Saudi Arabia. Manchester City AM Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne has been increasingly linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League over the past couple of years, and even though he remains the premier playmaker in the Premier League, 2025 could be the year the Manchester City midfielder makes his move elsewhere....

From Bruno Fernandes and Martin Odegaard to James Maddison and Cole Palmer, the Premier League is filled with top-class playmakers who provide highlight-reel assists and slick dribbles. Here is a ranking of the best playmakers in the English top flight in 2024. 10. Andreas Pereira, Fulham A lot of people wrote Andreas Pereira off after he put up mediocre numbers for Manchester United for years before going to Brazil, returning, and turning his career around with another historic Premier League side in Fulham. Now, Pereira is playing the best football in his career at the age of 28 and has become one of the best passers in the final third in the entire Premier League. He is a playmaker in his prime and one of the premier set-piece specialists in the English top flight. Pereira had a...

Liverpool have one of the best center back partnerships in world football between Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, but it's time to add more talent to the pool, especially with VVD getting closer to 35. Here are five center back targets the Reds should consider signing in the winter 2025 transfer window. Jarrad Branthwaite, Everton Manchester United were in hot pursuit of Jarrad Branthwaite for much of 2024, but they ultimately balked on the Everton star because of a 70 million pound asking price. Instead, Manchester United sign Leny Yoro for 60 million euros from Lille, paying a premium price to make sure Yoro chose them over PSG and Liverpool. By not waiting for Real Madrid in 2025, Yoro had already chosen against his dream club and the favorites to sign him. With Branthwaite...