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If the 2000s belonged to the traditional number nines like Ronaldo, Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry and the 2010s were dominated by elegant midfielders like Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Luka Modric and kevin De Bryune, the decade ahead of us will belong to the wingers who are currently one of the most sought after players in Europe.
Wingers are one of the most energetic players who are always racing up and down the pitch scoring goals and assisting their teammates in the final third while also helping out the full-backs in the defensive third.
This season, wingers have dominated all of Europe's top five leagues and rank among some of the top scorers in their respective leagues. So, as the 2019-20 season comes to an end here we present to you a rundown of the top wingers in Europe at the moment.
Note: Before we dive into the top 10, we would like to mention a few players who've had an amazing season but just missed out on the top 10.
Honourable mentions:
Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) - Injury spells prevented him from being at his best.
Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) - Played a crucial role in Napoli's Coppa Italia triumph.
Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Willian (Chelsea), Steven Berghuis (Feyenoord).
Now, without further ado, let's look at:
Top 10 wingers in Europe at the moment
#10 Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla)
Lucas Ocampos was the driving force behind Sevilla's impressive fourth-place finish in La Liga this season, having a role is almost a third of Sevillistas' goals.
The former Marseille player was also highly involved in defence and made the most of his six-foot frame to help out his full-backs. His best performance of the season came in Sevilla's 1-0 win over Eibar on July 7.
He not only scored the winning goal in that game but also put on the goalkeeper's gloves in the 10th minute of injury time and made a crucial save in the dying moments of the game.
He has notched up 14 league goals and three assists in 33 league appearances this campaign and built on his reputation as a hard-working, industrious winger.
#9 Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)
Bayern Munich's Player of the Season in 2018-19, Serge Gnabry enjoyed an even better campaign this season as he reached double digits in both goals and assists for the Bavarians in the Bundesliga.
The former Arsenal winger has shown incredible improvement since returning to Germany and has proven to be a menace for Bundesliga defenders with his lightning pace, immaculate dribbling skills and eye for goal.
With Bayern completing the signing of Leroy Sane from Manchester City, it is expected that Gnabry will shift to the right-wing and maybe we will see a partnership forming between him and Sane that can follow the legacy of 'Robbery'.
#8 Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
Riyad Mahrez shot to fame after orchestrating Leicester City's unprecedented 2015-16 title run and has been one of the top wingers in the Premier League since.
He moved to Manchester City in the summer of 2018 for £60 million, becoming the most expensive African in football at that time. He was mostly a second-choice winger behind Leroy Sane in his first season at the club and thus only scored seven goals that season.
This season he made an appearance in 33 league games, 12 from the bench, but proved his effectiveness in the final third by scoring 11 goals and notching up nine assists. The only reason he ranks a bit lower in our list is because of his limited involvement in the games.
Also See: Top 10 midfielders in European club football this season
#7 Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain)
What a career the great winger Angel Di Maria has had! From winning the UEFA Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid, one disappointing season at Manchester United and then an amazing recovery with Paris Saint-Germain.
Since joining the Ligue 1 behemoths in 2015 he has added a whopping 14 trophies to his cabinet, including the Ligue 1 title for the 2019-20 campaign that was awarded to PSG after COVID-19 caused the league to be suspended.
The winger was enjoying the season of his life at Parc des Princes before the lockdown in which he had 14 assists and 8 goals to his name in just 26 appearances. He also generated three key passes and game and averaged 2.6 successful dribbles per 90.
#6 Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
It would've been unfair to Marcus Rashford if he was not included in our list of top wingers as he had one of his best seasons at Manchester United starting as a left-winger behind Anthony Martial, who assumed the striker's role for The Red Devils this season.
The 22-year-old has blossomed in the role of a left-winger this season, with his pace and ball control causing all sorts of problems for the Premier League defenders. In an interview during the lockdown, he even admitted that playing on the left brings the best out of him and the stats support his statement.
He bagged 17 goals and 7 assists in 31 appearances this term, more than any other Manchester United player. He leads the United squad for shots per game, as well as dribbles per game.
#5 Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
The first player to make it into the top 5 wingers at the moment is PSG star Neymar. The only reason he fails to make it into the top 3, where he deserves to be because of his sheer talent, is that he was out injured for four weeks, thus missing a fair portion of PSG's season that was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
He has been in incredible form this season, scoring 19 goals and providing eight assists across all competitions for Les Parisiens. He completed a whopping six dribbles every game and was involved in 2.6 key passes per 90. The winger has earned an astonishing rating of 8.48 on Whoscored for his exploits this season.
With Mbappe out injured for at least three weeks, he will have to give 110% if PSG are to reach the semi-finals of UEFA Champions League for only the second time in their history. They face an in-form Atalanta in the quarter-final fixture next week.
#4 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Liverpool's Premier League-winning squad has some of the world's best players in their positions. Between the sticks they have Alisson, in defence, they have Virgil van Dijk, in midfield Jordan Henderson and then there's Mo Salah in attack.
Though the Egyptian winger has only been at Anfield for three seasons, his goal involvement already demands legend status for him at the Merseyside club. Though he has not hit the same heights of his debut season, he has been their top scorer for the past three seasons and this season notched up 19 goals.
The winger was also one of the three players in English top-flight this season to reach double digits in goals and assists alongside Son Heung-Min and Kevin De Bruyne, as he racked up 10 assists as well.
Also See: 10 best defenders in European football this season
#3 Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Though Sadio Mane might've ended up behind his teammate Salah in terms of goal involvement this season, the winger outperformed the Egyptian on the pitch thanks to his work-ethic, pressing and tireless running behind the ball.
He has emerged as one of the best wingers on the planet under Jurgen Klopp over the last three seasons and exemplifies how a modern winger should operate. He is always quick on his feet on the left flank and is always ready to put in defensive work to win the ball back.
He relentlessly presses the opponents from the starting whistle and thus causes a lot of problems even when he's not in possession.
This season he scored 18 goals, four fewer than last term, but made up for them by providing seven assists, an incredible improvement on his tally of a single assist last season. The winger also puts in 1.3 tackles a game on average and displays his physical strength by winning 1.3 aerial duels per 90.
#2 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Jadon Sancho enjoyed his best season yet with Borussia Dortmund as he proved himself as one of the league's most complete attacking player by racking up 17 goals and 16 assists in the Bundesliga 2019-20 campaign.
The 20-year-old winger was equally comfortable down the right and left flanks, beating the opponents for pace and skill from either position and at such a young age displayed the on-field intelligence of knowing when to find his teammate and when to find the back of the net himself.
Though Die Borussen came second best to Bayern Munich yet again in the league, the winger was one of the best individual performers in the league and as a result, has been heavily linked with Manchester United. His impressive performances make him the strongest contender for this year's Golden Boy Award.
#1 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
It is difficult to stand out at a club like Manchester City that boasts of some of the best players in the Premier League in its ranks, but Raheem Sterling has put in some brilliant performances that make him one of the best players in his position at the moment.
He has been highly consistent for the Cityzens for the past few seasons and reached new heights this campaign as he hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career. His assists tally, however, took a hit this season, having only provided one throughout the campaign.
The winger scored 30 goals across all competitions, stepping up in absence of Sergio Aguero. It is easy to forget sometimes that he is doing all this at the age of 25 and will get even better with time.
Also See: 10 best goalkeepers this season (2019/20)
