CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | BREAKOUT STARS
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
(Chelsea)
As technical as he is powerful, the England
box-to-box operative will not be lacking in
desire after missing most of last season with a
ruptured Achilles tendon. Back in commission,
the 24-year-old Londoner has one overriding
goal – making the transition from Stamford
Bridge impact substitute to starter.
Sergio Lopez
(Real Madrid)
This resourceful, polished graduate of the
Real Madrid academy is lined up to be the
understudy to first-choice right-back Dani
Carvajal. Lopez has made great progress with
the reserves and soon may have enough
brownie points to truly challenge Carvajal.
Yan Couto
(Manchester City)It says everything about the Guardiola effect
and the attractiveness of the City project that
they were able to beat the likes of Bayern
Munich and Barcelona to the signature of the
18-year-old Coritiba and Brazil right-back.
Once settled in, he could create quite a stir.Jasurbek Jaloliddinov
(Lokomotiv Moscow)
Russian Premier League runners-up Lokomotiv
recently went shopping for talent in Uzbekistan,
clinching a deal with Bunyodkor for the skilful
18-year-old winger. The left-footed dribbling
machine went on trial with Benevento last year,
and made his international debut in February.
Tanguy Nianzou
(Bayern Munich)A
mong the best in the business when
it comes to evaluating talent, putting
together an attractive prospectus
and making a player feel wanted,
Bayern understandably were delighted to
secure the arrival this summer of the up-and-
coming French centre-back. And all the more
so after picking him up for free from Paris
Saint-Germain, persuading the18-year-old
that he would be better served signing his first
pro contract at the Allianz Arena. “It came to
our attention that he [Nianzou] did not want to
carry on his adventure with PSG and when
such a promising player looks to further his
career abroad, it’s logical that a club like oursis interested,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz
Rummenigge explained toFrance Football
magazine.
Nianzou – who came out of nowhere to
make13 first-team appearances for PSG last
season, including one Champions League start- fits the Bayern bill in every way. These days,
Bayern would much rather recruit young guns
than spend big on established stars, and as well
as being a tower of power in central defence,
Nianzou also can carry a load as a midfield
enforcer. Bayern think they have brought in a
gem and are unafraid to say so. “In our eyes,
he’s one of the biggest talents in Europe,”
declared director of sport Hasan Salihamidzic.
Curtis Jones
(Liverpool)On the evidence of his top-drawer form in
his breakthrough campaign for the Reds last
season, local ladJones is a natural, with a
wonderful combination of sound decision
making, creativity and goalscoring ability.
Certain to have more game time in 2020-21.