10 world class talents who have raised their level this season

The footballing universe has absolutely no shortage of talented players. Marauding midfield generals, ravishingly skillful wingers, attacking midfielders with impeccable vision and decision-making - wherever you look, there's a spectacularly gifted player strutting his stuff.Every position in football has a plethora of talented players who always seem to be on the verge of breaking out into the limelight with a string of strong performances. But many of them fail to take the next step, because talent isn't everything in football. To be counted among the best in the business, it is imperative for a player to be strong in every aspect of his game and to keep reducing his weaknesses. In modern-day football, where every movement and action of players are is being digitally tracked because of their importance to improving performance, players cannot simply let their weaknesses slide.A player needs to be able to blur out his weak spots to be considered elite. This season, we have witnessed strong performances from a number of players who have always been considered humongous talents, but who've had something missing in their games, or some constraint tying them down to lower levels of achievement than they were always known to be capable of.Here are 10 such players who've developed well-rounded games and are attaining elite levels of footballing excellence.

#1 Neymar

In Neymar’s case, the statistics speak for themselves, and they tell us just how much the mesmerizing Brazilian has progressed in the last year and a half. According to WhoScored, he already has 33 goals this season in various fixtures spread across the La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey, which is more than twice the total of 15 he managed during the 2013-14 season.

Ranking fourth on the European Golden Shoe standings behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann, Neymar looks to finally have found his spot in the Barcelona set-up.

Much of the credit for his improved results has to be given to the manner in which Luis Enrique has entrusted more responsibility to his three forwards upfront. The ball rests much more frequently at the feet of Barcelona’s record-breaking trio, who have already reached a century of goals together this season.

That allows them much more freedom to express themselves and beat defences than they had last season under Tata Martino.

Neymar began the season on a hot streak as Messi initially had a subdued season on the goals-coring front. Ever since Luis Suarez’s and Messi’s return to top form, the responsibility on Neymar's shoulders has been lowered. Even so, he has continued to find the back of the net with regularity over the course of the entire season, barring a few short barren spells.

#2 David de Gea

David de Gea is Manchester United’s reigning Player of the Season from last season’s campaign. But he seems to have improved this season, seemingly even more confident and quicker.

He has at times single-handedly managed to keep Manchester United in games that they should have lost or drawn at best so they could eventually eke out results.

At the beginning of the 2014-15 season, Thibaut Courtois’ arrival at Chelsea signalled the beginning of a long-standing Premier League rivalry for the bragging rights of the unofficial title of ‘Best Young Goalkeeper in the World’. At that point in time, Courtois, who was already a La Liga champion and Champions League finalist, was the goalkeeper tipped to win the battle.

Fast forward nine months, and we can see that the ‘battle’ hasn’t quite gone according to script. Barring a few spells of inspired goalkeeping work by Hugo Lloris and a few flashes of dominance from Courtois, we have a clear winner in De Gea so far.

Despite the occasional hiccups and errors, David de Gea has been one of the most dependable players in the league and ranks right alongside Wayne Rooney as United’s most important player in the squad.

Displaying a hitherto unseen confidence between the sticks in a variety of tough situations in big matches and otherwise, De Gea has dominated the United penalty area this season. There are few shot-stoppers in the world who could’ve done what he has done in the ongoing season for the Red Devils.

#3 Isco

The future looked bleak for Isco at the beginning of this season. He still hadn't broken into the national team as a regular, and his place in the Real Madrid squad was under imminent threat. That was because of the signing of James Rodriguez in a big-money move from Monaco after his incredible World Cup campaign, where Isco was conspicuous by his absence in the national team.

Come December 2014, however, and Isco was the only guaranteed starter out of the trio of Rodriguez, Bale and himself. With four months of impeccable performances in a position he had only just familiarised himself with, he has become Carlo Ancelotti's tactical lynchpin as the campaign has worn on.

As the lone player alongside Kroos consistently starting in midfield, Isco's mesmerizing dribbles have unsettled many defences while his defensive work rate has been top-notch.

This represents big progress from last season, when he was benched after initially being given a run of games at the start of the season. His efforts have also resulted in him featuring regularly in the Spain XI, and he has sparkled in his performances for country too.

#4 Marcelo

Before the 2013-14 season began, it was generally accepted that Real Madrid did not really have a first-choice left back. Marcelo did start the bulk of games for them, but Coentrao was always slotted into that spot for big games like the Clasicos and other tough La Liga and Champions League fixtures.

It was assumed that Marcelo was too wayward and lacked the discipline to hold his defensive position for the span of an entire game.

That has changed in 2014-15, and how. Marcelo is having the best professional season of his entire career, and he now looks like a left back who would be tough to get past even for top wingers. He hasn’t encountered them this season, of course, but his displays in big games this season have proven beyond doubt his capacity to curb his attacking instincts and prioritise defending throughout a game.

It isn’t just on the less glamorous side of the game that Marcelo has excelled this season. He has joined in with about as many Real Madrid attacks down their left wing as a winger normally would.

He also normally makes those forays count, playing some exquisite balls into the box for the forwards when needed, or driving into the box all by himself before letting fly with that venomous left foot. Or even his right, as that goal against Schalke in the round of 16 away leg shows.

Carlo Ancelotti proclaimed Marcelo as the best fullback in the world earlier this season. Given his performances this season, it is hard to look beyond him.

#5 Eden Hazard

The beauty and importance of what Eden Hazard’s presence brings to Jose Mourinho’s current Chelsea lineup is impossible to express statistically. His statistics are impressive nonetheless, of course; he has contributed to 27 goals this season in all competitions for the Blues.

But the way he’s shouldered the responsibility of creating something for the Premier League champions when they need his talent the most has helped him graduate from the Young Player of the Year last season to Player of the Year this time.

Having featured in all of Chelsea’s Premier League fixtures so far this season, Hazard, along with Captain Fantastic John Terry, have been among Chelsea’s most important players. Almost every penetrative move that Chelsea conjure on the pitch has Hazard involved in some capacity or the other. He took time to get off the blocks, but after settling into top form, he has not taken the foot off the gas - since September.

When the ball is at Hazard’s feet, opposition defenders are well aware that he is capable of making them pay for their mistakes in a variety of different ways.

Add to that the sheer class he exudes on the ball, and his amazing vision and playmaking abilities which are routinely responsible for a number of breakthroughs by Chelsea, and we are looking at a truly world-class player.

The Blues need to hold on to this sheer gem of a player, who in due course of time will likely make it as the world’s best player.

#6 Kevin de Bruyne

Almost every top manager has made some sort of mistake at some point in his transfer dealings. Johan Cruyff let go of Michael Laudrup, Carlo Ancelotti of Thierry Henry and much more recently, Sir Alex Ferguson himself let Paul Pogba walk to Juventus for a pittance.

At one point last season, it seemed that another playmaker donning red in the Premier League would be Mourinho’s mistake. But Kevin de Bruyne has proved himself to be a much bigger one.

This season, he has had a direct role in 42 goals in all competitions for Wolfsburg (15 goals and 27 assists so far), having made the switch to the north German club in the winter transfer window in 2014.

The performances that he’s delivered this season in the Europa League and also in big Bundesliga matches, like the one against Bayern after the winter break, serve as ample proof of his ability to make the difference in key games.

#7 Alexandre Lacazette

I suspect that even if Zlatan Ibrahimovic had been fully fit and available for all of PSG’s Ligue 1 games this season, he wouldn’t have kept up with Lyon’s pacy frontman, who has taken the continent by storm with his goals-coring streak this season.

27 goals and eight assists in 31 outings have made Alexadnre Lacazette the hottest property of the country, and have helped him feature in the French national team set-up.

His well-documented dribbling ability, pace and acceleration have been complemented by his vastly improved finishing, all of which have helped him take the next step - from prospect to ‘real deal’. Aged only 23, he has time on his side and is a few years away from his athletic peak.

Lacazette, who is a versatile player and can play across all attacking positions, seems destined to end up with a big club in the near future. Rated at €20 million, he could turn out to be a bargain buy should he continue to progress at the rate that he has in the last three years at Lyon.

#8 Mauro Icardi

Mauro Icardi has burst into life in his second season with the Nerazzuri, having had a stop-start first season at Inter Milan, which was riddled with injuries and frequent, poor runs of form. Although always recognized as one of the subcontinent’s biggest talents, he was guilty of not living up to the potential he clearly possessed.

With a return of 18 goals and 3 assists in 29 Serie A appearances, currently second in the capocannoniere standings behind Carlos Tevez, the diminutive Italian has really stepped it up, even as the rest of the team around him has significantly underperformed throughout the season.

And it hasn’t just been in quantity; Icardi has scored some top-notch goals and has linked up really well with the team’s rapidly improving playmaker Mateo Kovacic, who is in the same class of talent as him.

With rumours linking him to Chelsea, the lacklustre Inter will find it tough to keep hold of their biggest asset in attack. The lure of Champions League football might prove to be too big a carrot in the face of the Milanese lifestyle that the youngster seems to have sampled over the last couple of years.

#9 Memphis Depay

Less than 12 months ago, Memphis Depay was a little-known player who was included in the Dutch national team’s 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup as an attacker.

With the likes of Dirk Kuyt, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, captain Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben - all seasoned internationals - featuring in the squad, along with Jeremain Lens who was a prominent feature in their qualifying campaign, Depay was widely expected to be pushed to the bottom of the pecking order.

But his displays for the Oranje in Brazil were good enough to land him on the three-man shortlist for the Best Young Player Award, alongside Raphael Varane and winner Paul Pogba. The 2014-15 season has seen him plunder the Eredivisie with 21 goals and four assists in 28 appearances. He impressed in the Europa League too, with 3 goals in 6 outings.

Rumours of a prospective move to Paris St. Germain, Manchester United and Liverpool have been doing the rounds since the commencement of this season. Manchester United have swooped for this youngster and he seems poised to set the Premier League alight next season.

#10 Alexis Sanchez

To the keen football follower, the many virtues of Alexis Sanchez were already well-known. But the Chilean’s displays in the British Isles this season after joining Arsenal from Barcelona have cemented his status as a truly world-class, elite footballer.

Even Arsenal, currently second on the Premier League table, would have been mired in a mid-table battle if not for his presence.

With a return of 24 goals and 11 assists thus far, playing in physically and mentally the most punishing campaign he has ever had to face, against consistently tough opposition, Sanchez has already surpassed his previous season-best figures which he notched up only last season with the Blaugrana.

Often, it is tough for a player to adapt from the role of support player to mainstay, but Sanchez is one of the best examples in football of how to shoulder added responsibility and dominate as expected of a player with world-class talent. It would be no surprise to see him better himself next season too.