CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | BREAKOUT STARS
Luka Jovic
(Real Madrid)After bagging a hatful of goals for Eintracht
Frankfurt last term, the Serb is only just
beginning to realise the enormity of his next
challenge: proving himself worthy of the €60m
Real spent on him. He is a natural predator, but
will he be happy with a bit-part role in Madrid?Christopher Nkunku
(RB Leipzig)Forced to offload players to keep financial
fairplay watchdogs off their case, PSG’s enforced
fire sale saw RB make a successful €15m bid for
the midfielder. Unlike in Ligue 1, where he was
used sparingly, the French under-21 starlet will
be considerably more active in the Bundesliga.Pietro Beruatto
(Juventus)New coach Maurizio Sarri took many observers
by surprise by deploying the homegrown left-
back in pre-season. Some might say it’s a case
of nepotism as Pietro’s father, Paolo, is a youth-
team trainer at Juve, but that is an unjust
conclusion in every way.Kai Havertz
(Bayer Leverkusen)H
eaping plaudits on the midfielder is
something of a cottage industry in
German football circles. While
nobody has a bad word for Havertz,
the general consensus of opinion is that the
20-year-old is heading straight to the top.
Former national skipper Lothar Matthaus
predicts a world-beating future, while Hamburg
coach Dieter Hecking calls him “Germany’s next
top star”. Leverkusen managing director Rudi
Voller is equally effusive in his praise, stating:
“As a footballer, there’s absolutely no limit to
what he can achieve. It’s quite clear that he’s
going to be the leading player in this country
over the decade to come.”
Scoring 11 goals in 17 games after the winter
break, he invariably set the attacking tone for
the Rhinelander last season. Going from a dismal
ninth to a Champions League qualifying spot,Havertz was very much in the vanguard and
during the run-in he proved the pathfinder
supreme, netting opening goals in four of his
side’s last six fixtures. “He played unbelievably,”
gushed Leverkusen boss Peter Bosz.
Despite next to no Champions League
experience – he has made just one start in
the competition, a 4-2 home loss to Atletico
Madrid in February 2017 – there is no reason
why he should not swiftly find his elite bearings.
Intelligent and level-headed, he seems to float
above all the hype and has an extraordinary
palette of attributes to paint with: ambidextrous
ball control, speed off the mark, tactical
awareness, guile, aerial ability and finishing
power, as well as sound physical qualities.
It could well be that this is his last campaign
with Leverkusen, so BayArena fans should enjoy
him while they still can.Maxi Gomez
(Valencia)
Hot to trot for Celta Vigo last term, the
Uruguayan striker had more than one Premier
League suitor this summer, but he instead chose
the internal option, signing on the dotted line for
Valencia. His release clause at the Mestalla? A
whopping €14 0 m.
Mason Mount
(Chelsea)
With Chelsea currently on a transfer ban they
have had to turn to self-sufficiency – and could
hand the playmaking keys to this classy academy
graduate. He enjoyed a productive spell last
season on loan at Derby County, who were
managed by new Blues boss Frank Lampard.