The top players in the Euro – latest football news

Jadon Sancho

Jadon Sancho is finalizing a £73m move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United, yet he is only one of a few names that have been pushed into the spotlight after making a good impression over the past month and increasing their worth.

Mikkel Damsgaard

Having effectively scored a great goal in Denmark's 4-1 group-stage triumph over Russia, Damsgaard then put Denmark ahead in the semi-final against England with an exceptional free-kick.

The Sampdoria forward, who just turned 21 during the Euros, has been associated with Liverpool and Tottenham in the past. Damsgaard is said to be Denmark’s greatest talent since Michael Laudrup, his fans don’t want any pressure put on him as he’s still only 21 and still at the beginning of his football career. Being such a hot commodity, European heavyweights Barcelona and Juventus are prepared to fight the Premier League pair (Liverpool and Tottenham) for Damsgaard’s signature.

Jeremy Doku

While the 19-year-old Belgium and Rennes forward played just twice at the Euro’s, he made an impression in both those games, against Finland in the group stage and also Italy in the quarterfinals.

Kevin De Bruyne described Doku as an agile and quick player, adding that Doku may make mistakes here and there but that’s part of the game. De Bruyne has also described Doku as being a diamond in the rough. In 2018, Doku, aged 16 at the time, spoke with Jurgen Klopp and Steven Gerrard when he visited the club's training facilities. It seems he made quite an impression even then. Doku’s dad disclosed that Klopp considered Doku to be a long-term replacement for Sadio Mane. Yet, Doku turned down proposals from Liverpool, Chelsea, and also Arsenal in favor of moving to Anderlecht. Despite that, Rennes has allegedly positioned a €100 million price tag on the winger.

The top players in the Euro – latest football news Pulse Ghana

Denzel Dumfries

Dumfries is only out of his contract in June 2023 but he does have a €15million release clause.

PSV manager Roger Schmidt has conceded that he doesn't anticipate that Dumfries will return for pre-season training, revealing that after their last season, Dumfries made it clear that he wanted to play for clubs abroad. Even if there is no transfer, it's clear they’d gladly have him for another season. The full-back Dumfries, 25 years old, had a notable effect in Holland's campaign, especially early on as he showed his determination for a goal. The PSV Eindhoven man headed the winner when the Dutch beat Ukraine 3-2 in the opening match, then, also scored again in their subsequent game, the 2-0 success against Austria.

After Dumfries failed to score in his initial 19 international matches for the Netherlands, he turned out to be only the second Oranje player to net in his first two appearances at the EUROs, along with Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2004. It seems his hardwork has paid off as Everton, who are on the chase for a long-term replacement to Seamus Coleman, is said to have an interest in Dumfries. According to the Italian distribution Gazzetta Dello Sport, Inter Milan also have their eye on Dumfries.

Manuel Locatelli

Locatelli made some incredible contributions to the champions, Italy, including scoring twice against Switzerland during the group stage.

The 23-year-old midfielder, presently with Sassuolo, has been linked with Arsenal and also Juventus. It’s been reported that Arsenal is gunning for Locatelli and is willing to pay €40m (£34.2m) for him. Though closest to Locatelli has revealed that he wants to have a try at Champions League football and is hoping to move to Juventus instead!

Pedri

Pedri's dreaded own-goal against Croatia in the last 16 was Spain's first-ever own-goal in the European Championship and came from a distance of 49 yards. The first own-goal that has ever been scored from outside of the goal box in EURO history.

Even with this dark cloud over his head, he managed to have a much more significant impact on his country’s campaign to the semi-finals. The midfield maestro is the first European player in the history of a major tournament (World Cup/EUROs) to start up to six such matches at 18 years old or under. Quite the achievement! The Barcelona midfielder earned the young player of the tournament award for his endeavors for a Spain campaign that went all the way to the semi-finals. Pedri played all except one minute of the campaign, delivering 348 passes into the opposition half. This is more than any player at the competition, Pedro also registered a pass completion of 92.3%.

Liverpool has not been shy about making their interest in Pedri known amongst his representatives. Whilst Pedri’s present deal runs until 2022, with the choice of two additional years, an improved contract with a strict £350m release clause hasn’t been made final yet.

What an exciting season fr all of the Euros’ top players.