Five players who could seal big transfers at Euro 2024
Ahead of the tournament starting in Germany on Friday, here's five players who could seriously put themselves in the shop window over the next four weeks at Euro 2024.
This summer, the best footballing nations will arrive in Germany to do battle for the 2024 European Championship title.
In total, 622 players and 24 teams will fight it out for supremacy and the right to be named as the continent’s best side.
But whilst that’s the main objective overall, a number of stars will also be using this summer’s competition as a chance to showcase their talent and potentially seal a transfer on the domestic front for the start of the upcoming 2024/25 campaign.
With the help of Opta, I’ve taken a look at five players in particular that will look increasingly likely to move clubs this summer if they can perform well at Euro 2024.
Morten Hjulmand - Denmark
Starting with perhaps the player who would cost the most on this list if he was to move before the start of next season, Denmark’s Morten Hjulmand has enjoyed a fantastic debut season for his club side Sporting CP in Portugal.
After arriving at Estádio José Alvalade from Leece back in August 2023, the 24-year-old has grown into one of European football’s most well-rounded defensive midfielders this campaign, a solid achievement considering he had to directly fill the boots of Manuel Ugarte who moved to PSG for close to £60million that same summer.
The season just gone has seen Hjulmand take the next step in his development overall, something which helped Sporting to capture the league title for the second time in four years.
A tenacious midfielder with fantastic intelligence and who is versatile with the roles he can play in the centre of the park, Hjulmand led his teammates in the Portuguese top-flight for most combined tackles and interceptions in 2023/24 (80).
On top of that, he ranked highly league-wide for tackles attempted (60) and times winning possession back for his side (153), as his ability to read the play to the highest level came to the floor during Sporting’s title-winning season.
As well as being capable of operating as the lone defensive midfielder in a system, the 24-year-old is also more than capable of offering attacking intent to his side if needed. His 608 successful passes in the opposition’s half this campaign highlight his comfort when playing in more advanced areas, whilst his vision allowed him to complete 261 successful passes into the final third additionally.
As a result, Hjulmand has already being linked with a number of clubs despite only featuring in Portugal for one full campaign. Manchester United have become the latest side who are reportedly primed to make a move for the Dane this summer, and they’re not alone as Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Tottenham have all been frequently tracking his progress over the last six months according to rumours.
His Euro 2024 performances could very well seal his place at the top of a number of side’s wish lists as a result, and even despite the fact that he only made his senior international debut back in September, he’s still likely to be key to any potential Danish success in Germany over the next month.
Johan Bakayoko - Belgium
From potentially the most expensive player on this list to the one that is perhaps most likely to move clubs this summer, Belgium and PSV star Johan Bakayoko once again set the Eredivisie alight last campaign with his performances.
Still only 21 years of age, the winger is likely to feature heavily for Domenico Tedesco’s side at Euro 2024 after playing a part in three of their four pre-tournament friendly matches and making seven appearances during qualification.
And there’s good reason for that with a glance at his stunning form throughout the 2023/24 season for PSV. Recording 21 direct goal contributions in the Eredivisie last season - 12 goals and nine assists - few players outside of Europe’s top five leagues are as exciting to watch play as Bakayoko.
With his pace, agility and skillful approach which allows him to hug the by-line or cut inside on his left foot from the right flank, few defenders were able to stop the youngster from producing fantastic numbers across the board.
As well as ranking highly for direct goal contributions, Bakayoko additionally finished comfortably in the top ten amongst all players in the competition for successful dribbles (91 - 2nd), chances created (68 - 4th), total shots (96 - 4th) and touches in the opposition’s box (193 - 6th). On top of that, he also came second in the league for the highest xA (expected assists) total by a player (10.62).
But what stands out most when watching Bakayoko is his ability to progress up the field and through the opposition’s lines before conjuring up real end product with amazing frequency. That can be perfectly highlighted by the fact that no player in the Eredivisie last season produced more shot ending carries in total (38) or assist ending carries (4) than him.
As such, it seems only a matter of time before Bakayoko wears the colours of one of Europe’s biggest sides but before that, he’ll try to help Belgium to success at the European Championships.
Alessandro Buongiorno - Italy
Although Italy arrive at Euro 2024 as the reigning champions, few football fans are expecting Luciano Spalletti’s side to retain their crown come the end of the tournament, especially as they’ve been placed in the ‘group of death’ alongside both Spain and Croatia.
Their build-up to the competition has also been hindered by the news that defender Giorgio Scalvini will miss out through injury, but in his place, Torino’s Alessandro Buongiorno could thrive in Gli Azzurri’s likely back three set up.
Playing 32 times for his club side last campaign in Serie A, the 25-year-old played a crucial part in Torino finishing 9th in the final league standings, whilst helping them to keep 18 clean sheets in the process - the second-most behind only champions Inter Milan (21).
During that time, Buongiorno largely operated as the middle centre back in his side’s back three formation and as such, his likely inclusion in Italy’s starting line up for game one against Albania in the same position makes sense.
In the Italian top-flight last season, it’s fair to say that Buongiorno was one of the most dominating defenders. Standing at 6ft 4in, the centre back performed well in his aerial duels when needed and overall in the competition, no player made more interceptions than his 69, thanks to his underrated footballing intelligence and positioning.
The Torino star additionally won 187 duels (8th), made 130 clearances (9th) and recorded 70 tackles in total (11th), all figures that ranked him highly amongst all Serie A players and in him, Italy have one of Europe’s best-performing centre-backs at their disposal for this summer’s tournament.
Joey Veerman - Netherlands
This could sound a bit over-the-top on first listen, but there’s a genuine case to be made that Dutch midfielder Joey Veerman is the most underrated player in Europe’s top ten leagues at present.
The second PSV player on this list, albeit who will play for a different national side than teammate Johan Bakayoko at Euro 2024, the 25-year-old continues to impress at Philips Stadion after his move from Heerenveen in January 2022.
To put it simply, PSV completed one of the best bits of business in recent memory when spending just €6million on the Dutch international who has since become the heartbeat of their side.
Last season proved another monumental success for the midfielder in the Dutch top-flight, leading the league with 16 assists whilst adding five goals of his own on top as he helped his side to claim another Dutch title.
What sets him apart from others is not only his fantastic vision, but the fact that he holds enough quality to exploit developing situations on the pitch with phenomenal regularity. Such was his presence in the final third of the pitch for the Dutch champions, no Eredivisie player recorded more passes played into the box (337) or successful passes into the final third (657) than the 25-year-old.
Although his place is not guaranteed in the Netherlands starting XI despite that stunning form, Veerman did start two of their last three pre-tournament friendlies and even if he has to come off the bench at Euro 2024, expect him to make an impact when he does.
Ferdi Kadıoğlu - Türkiye
Lastly on this list, we come to Fenerbahçe’s Ferdi Kadıoğlu who will play a vital role for Türkiye this summer after appearing seven times for his country during the qualification cycle.
He has since failed to play in any of his side’s four pre-tournament friendly fixtures, but after being named on the bench in their final fixture against Poland, there’s plenty of optimism that he’ll be fit to face Georgia on Tuesday evening.
Capable of operating anywhere down the left flank - from full-back to winger - Kadıoğlu enjoyed another stellar season with his club side in 2023/24. Starting 37 matches for the side who finished just three points off top spot this time around, fewer players in the Turkish Super Lig excelled as much as he did during a campaign that saw him deliver four assists and create 50 chances for his teammates.
Such was his importance throughout the league season, only Lucas Torreira completed more successful passes in total than the 24-year-old (1688). He also ranked 5th for overall duels won (219), 8th for dribbles completed (57) and 10th for tackles made (75).
Even more impressively, only two players in the Turkish top flight recovered possession more times for their respective sides than Kadıoğlu (246) as his influence down the left-hand side of the pitch so very nearly brought Fenerbahçe the title.
But where the Turkish star potentially best flourishes is with the ball at his feet, as his pace and agility allow him to maraud forward when the opportunity arises.
Throughout 2023/24, no player in the Super Lig was able to match his 359 progressive carries when in possession of the ball and that will likely be the main trait desired by the sides who are reportedly interested in signing him this upcoming transfer window.