Given Manchester City’s well-
documented problems in central
defence, decision-makers at the
Etihad Stadium must harbour more
than a few regrets about letting the
24-year-old Belgian international
slip through their fingers.
The Brussels native was on City’s
books for five years but did not start
a competitive match and found
himself locked in a loan-move spiral,
twice featuring at Galatasaray, as
well as being farmed out to Celtic
and Sunderland. He was a domestic
league winner with Celtic and Gala,
and in 2015 he was voted Scotland’s
Young Player of the Year.
Since moving to Lyon for €6.5m
in August 2018 he has emerged
as a genuine leader too and was
appointed captain this season.
He came through the Jean-Marc
Guillou Academy near Antwerp,
where in order to hone technique
the students were forced to train
barefoot.Jason DENAYER
LYO N
After the pain of not making the
transition from Arsenal academy
to first-team glory, the 24-year-
old finally seems to have located
a real home at reigning Greek
champions PAOK.
Last season, his first following
a £900,000 move, he took a
while to get into his stride, but
after Aleksandar Prijovic was sold
to Saudi side Al Ittihad in January,he led the line with verve and
craft, sealing his cult-hero status
with an acrobatic winner in the
Greek Cup Final against AEK.
Although he represented
England at several different youth
levels earlier in his career, he
took the decision this autumn
to pledge his international
allegiance to Nigeria, the
homeland of his parents.Chuba AKPOM
PAOK
Jordan
VERETOUT
ROMA
Wanted by both Leicester City and
Aston Villa, Veretout’s decision to
swap Ligue 1 for the latter in the
summer of 2015 would backfire
spectacularly, with Villa ending up
relegated and Leicester making
history as champions.
He made next to no impact at
Villa and fared little better on loan
at Saint-Etienne. However, two years
with Fiorentina restored
his reputation and the
26-year-old midfielder
was hot property again
this summer.
Pursued by Napoli and
Milan, he ultimately opted
for a loan move to Roma,
who have the right to buy
him at the end of this
season for €18m.
In the France side that
won the world Under-20
title in 2013, he can play
as a holder, in box-to-box
mode or as a number 10.Nikola
VLASIC
CSKA MOSCOW
In his one and only season with
Everton, who he joined from Hajduk
Split in a £9.7m deal in August 2017,
the Croat attacking midfielder or
winger sank without trace, only starting
10 games in all competitions and
scoring just twice.
The Premier League can be a most
unforgiving of sporting environments
and he was simply too raw to deliver.
The only option he had was to make
a tactical retreat, and since moving to
CSKA – initially on loan and then
signing permanently this summer – it
has all worked out splendidly for the
22-year-old.
Unlike at Everton, CSKA coach
Viktor Goncharenko plays him in his
preferred number 10 position and
the team’s fast, creative style most
definitely suits him. He looks a far
more mature player than he ever
did at Everton: vocal, authoritative and
ultra-confident – hence Goncharenko’s
decision to hand him the captain’s
armband on occasion.6 OF THE BEST
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