5 of the most improved players in Europe this season

Anybody is lying if they said they didn’t want to get better. It’s in us all, the need to succeed and grow as individuals so we can stand on our own two feet and be proud of the accomplishments we have made through hard work and dedication.

While it’s more obvious to notice, it’s no different for footballers. As they gain more experience, work under better coaches and physically change over time, a lot will start to improve and even change the minds of a few doubters they’ve had in the process.

Here’s a look at five of the most improved players in Europe so far this season in no particular order:

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#5 Raheem Sterling

A real zero-to-hero kind of story, Raheem Sterling has been a sensation this season. It started with reports that he could be used as a makeweight to sign Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez but it heads into the busy Christmas schedule as the club’s joint-top scorer with Sergio Aguero.

The balance he brings opposite Leroy Sane on the other side is clear to see, both are so willing to get into the box to support the striker and are all too willing to stretch the play whenever they need to. With plenty of creativity behind him, the England international almost always ends up as the spare man at a crucial moment in front of goal and unlike before, he’s burying those opportunities.

Not only that, he’s scoring big goals at vital times. The late winners at Huddersfield, Bournemouth, Southampton and West Ham United have ensured City have dropped points just once so far this campaign.

We all thought Pep Guardiola would finally bring the best out of the 23-year-old and while it’s taken a season to get going, Sterling is now a bona fide star in a team full of them.

#4 Malcom

Malcom has attracted interest from a few big clubs

Many in Ligue 1 circles have waited for Malcom to explode into life and if the latter half of 2017 is anything to go by, now is the Brazilian’s time.

Bordeaux were seemingly on the edge of a team that could challenge for the Champions League places, with a good young manager, but just needed a star to rise. Up stepped the 20-year-old, who took the team by the scruff of the neck and dragged them through some encounters this season.

Seven goals and four assists say plenty but the attitude he showed in the club’s 3-3 draw said everything. After he scored his first, he grabbed the ball and gestated at his teammates that they needed to now get their head in the game and start believing.

Even if they aren’t, given their current struggles, he certainly is. The only worry for Les Girondins is someone may be eager to take him off their hands if they keep sliding before January and they cannot afford to lose someone capable of changing games for them.

#3 Luis Alberto

Alberto is loving life in the Serie A

Luis Alberto has never really moved the needle on the bigger stage. Brief appearances for Liverpool, Sevilla and even his first season at Lazio seemed to scream that he would never be good enough at a European level.

That is, until this season, where he’s contributing to a genuine title challenge from the Rome club.

Three goals and six assists tell a piece of the story, but the way he’s been able to affect the game from more central areas this season have been more eye-opening. That permanent transition from a wider role has seemingly given him more freedom, attacking defenders in space and linking with the prolific Ciro Immobile superbly.

Simone Inzaghi’s men have surprised everyone so far, amassing several unloved talents and young prospects into a quality football team. Whether the club and Alberto can continue this into the new year remains to be seen but the 25-year-old can finally feel like he’s proven those that wrote him off wrong.

#2 Leon Bailey

Bailey has been the stand-out performer for Leverkusen

Back in January, Leon Bailey was supposed to be the injection of pace that Bayer Leverkusen needed to compete for the Champions League places in the Bundesliga again. It’s taken a little longer than that but the speedy Jamaican is more than making up for lost time.

He started this season on the bench but after two assists in his first start against Hamburg, he is yet to look back. Four goals and four assists are tidy returns but it’s the extra dimension he gives the team that makes him so impressive.

His pace in behind and attacking players with the ball at his feet attracts defenders like moths to a flame, because they either get burned by him or by those they are leaving open. Kevin Volland is scoring more goals with the space he helps create, Kai Haverts and Julian Brandt are allowed to play more centrally to give them more options in the box too.

Simply put, his rise is not just making him a better player but benefitting all those around him.

#1 Goncalo Guedes

Guedes continues to impress for Valencia

The Portuguese man has hit this season like his boots are on fire.

Goncalo Guedes didn’t pull up many trees in France after his winter move to Paris Saint-Germain, even if he also did not have many chances too, but he is now dismantling forests in Spain. As part of a very exciting Valencia team, he has been an injection of inspiration that has got them firing on all cylinders.

Three goals and five assists in just eight La Liga starts is staggering statistics. His pace, the way he links up play and the finesse he seems to bury every chance with has Los Che begging PSG to gift-wrap them the 21-year-old in January before anyone else starts sniffing around.

If you can, take a look at his performance against Sevilla, where he was a part of everything good that happened for 90 minutes. An injury has cut short his 2017 but once he returns, many Spanish league defenders will be quaking in their boots as he thunders back into view.