5 Players Who Enjoyed a Breakout Campaign Last Season
June 5, 2019
The 2018/19 football season in Europe ended with many exciting moments and sizzling performances.
In the midst of all these were players who and their breakout season in the 2018-19 campaign. A breakout season doesn’t mean it is the first season in which the player breaks into the first team, nor is it the season that the player plays for the first time. What we mean by a breakout season is the first season which a player goes from being irrelevant to be the major player of his team.
Here are five players who broke out this season in Europe.
5. João Félix
The teenage Portuguese footballer plays for Benfica as a striker, but can also play as a winger or an attacking midfielder. In the 2018/19 season, Félix was promoted to Benfica’s first team and started brightly early in the season. His magical moment came when he scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 UEFA Europa League win over Eintracht Frankfurt in April 2019. He also scored 15 goals in 26 games for Benfica last season.
4. Jadon Sancho
Another teenager who had a breakout season last season was English wonderkid, Jadon Sancho. It took him two seasons at Dortmund to become one of the most highly rated teenagers in Europe.
A very skilful and fast player, Sancho loves to take on defenders in 1 v one situations. He is also ranked as the most expensive teenager in football at the moment. He scored 12 goals and assisted 14 last season for Dortmund.
3. Nicolas Pepe
Nicolas Pépé has become one of the best attackers in France. Only three ago, he was playing in the third tier of French football, for lowly side US Orleans. However, fast-forward to 2019 and Nicolas Pepe is one of the hottest properties in football.
Pepe possesses excellent close control, superb pace and directness. He notched 22 goals and 11 assists last season.
4. Luka Jovic
The Serbian striker gathered some attention to himself after scoring a stunning five goals against Fortuna Dusseldorf early in the season, and even become the youngest player to score five goals in a single game in the German League.
Jovic went on to end the season with 17 goals and five assists in 32 games in the Bundesliga. He currently the most sought after transfer target in the footballing world, with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and PSG all chasing his signature.
5. Krzysztof Piatek
The Polish striker signed for Genoa in Italy’s Serie A in a transfer worth €4 million back in 2018, and he was a relatively unknown player. Right now, Piatek is on everyone’s lips. He scored 13 goals in 19 league games for Genoa and started attracting suitors. AC Milan snapped up Piatek for €35 million in January, and he never disappointed them. He ended the season with 30 goals in 42 matches.
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This article is brought to us by our Sports Writers Club resident columnist – Collins Michael Nwokolo. Follow him on Twitter and Pinterest.
