Lucas Ocampos
(Sevilla)L
ittle wonder the feisty Argentina
winger, 26, is so ebullient at the
moment. Last season, his first in
Sevillacolours,heenjoyedhisbest
goalscoring campaign since arriving in Europe
eight years ago, netting17 times for the
Andalusians.
A quite brilliant mixture of speed, raw-boned
presence, cute finishing and gutsy work rate,
the 26-year-old is absolutely indispensable to
the plans of Sevilla bossJulian Lopetegui. How
highly do Sevilla rate him? His€70m release
clause should offer a clue.
At Ocampos’ other European club postings
(Monaco, Marseille, Genoa and Milan), he often
struggled for consistency, capable of going
from sensational to anonymous in the blink
of an eye. Sevilla, however, clearly know how
tobringoutthebestinhim.
“He’s given us the
power we badly
needed,” explained
Sevilla director of
sport Monchi. “We’ve
woken him up as a
goalscorer. Our 4-3-3
system is perfect for him because he can do
a lot of damage in the final 25 metres.”
Ocampos has already placed himself in
Sevilla folklore after producing one of the most
heroic performances in La Liga history back in
July against Eibar.
Having given his side a one-goal lead, the
winger was forced to go in goal for the dying
minutes after an injury to goalkeeper Tomas
Vaclik. From point-blank range, the stand-in
stopper pulled off an outstanding reaction save
to give his side the three points.
With more heroics like that, Sevilla may
finally have a chance of making their mark on
the Champions League, rather than returning
to Europa League domination.Florian Neuhaus
(Borussia Monchengladbach)Most German pundits would agree that the
23-year-old Bavarian has developed over
the last couple years into one of the most
influential midfielders in the country. Plays
with the same high-energy levels and spatial
awareness as Bayern’s Thomas Muller.Alexander Nubel
(Bayern Munich)Brought in on a free from Schalke this summer,
the 23-year-old is the long-term replacement
for first-choice Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer.
The German champions will look to bed Nubel
in gradually giving him a number of starts per
season, including in the Champions League.Andrey Mostovoy
(Zenit)
Goalscoring left-winger, 22, who is now back
at Zenit HQ after an impressive loan stint last
season at top-flight Sochi. On Zenit’s books
since early 2019, he could be extremely
valuable coming off the bench. Began scaling
the football ladder at Lokomotiv Moscow.
“We’ve woken him up as a
goalscorer”
Monchi, Sevilla director of sportCHAMPIONS LEAGUE | BREAKOUT STARS