Philippe Coutinho has had an excellent season for us, bagging important goals and always looking creative. His form saw him voted into the PFA Team of the Year, and today, he was rewarded with an inclusion in Brazil’s squad for this summer’s Copa America.
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Unsurprisingly therefore, he makes the list for the ten best attacking midfielders across Europe under the age of 23, according to a study carried out by CIES Football Observatory.
Here is the top ten in full:
10) Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg)
The 20-year-old has been an important component of the side that have become Bayern Munich’s nearest challengers in the Bundesliga. He has scored four times in the league this season, and made his international debut for Germany last year.
9) Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Worryingly for Premier League defences, the Brazilian wizard is just 22-years-old, so should therefore be a long way from reaching his peak. A frightening thought.
7= Koke (Atletico Madrid)
Whilst he may not get as many goals as his rivals in the list, Koke has been crucial to his team’s success this season. He has nine assists, and will surely be attracting the attention of some of the biggest clubs across the continent.
7= Morgan Sanson (Montpellier)
The French U21 international has almost been an ever-present for the former Ligue 1 champions this year, making 30 appearances in the league. He has bagged six goals, and has added three assists.
6) Federico Cartibia (Cordoba)
The Argentine is on loan at La Liga’s bottom side from Valencia, and has been one of the very few bright points from a forgettable season for the club. He has scored four goals, and created another five for his teammates. While the club have a buy-out clause, it is difficult to imagine that he will be in Liga Adelante next season.
5) Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich)
The man who scored the only goal in last year’s World Cup final is having a tremendous year with a Bayern side still chasing the Bundesliga and Champions League double, with one of those already in the bag. In a team full of superstars, he has done well to score 9 times.
4) Moi Gomez (Villarreal)
In 29 La Liga appearances for Villarreal – 12 of which came from the bench – Gomez has scored four goals, and created another four for his teammates. Having played for all of the Spanish youth teams, the next step will be to break into the full side.
3) Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (Monaco)
Another Belgian that is making a name for himself in Ligue 1, Carrasco is enjoying his best season with the French side. He has five goals, but more importantly, has ten assists to his name.
2) Bernardo Silva (Monaco)
Another Monaco youngster that is doing extremely well this season, Silva impressed so much during his loan spell at the start of the campaign, that the Ligue 1 decided to make the move from Benfica permanent in January for nearly €16m. Unlike Carrasco, Silva offers a lot more of a goalscoring threat, bagging eight goals in 29 games.
1) Isco (Real Madrid)
The Spaniard has not been given the opportunity to showcase his true talent this season, due to the preference to use Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale. But, when he has had his chance, he has taken it. He’s scored three goals this campaign, but perhaps more importantly, he’s set up eight goals also. For us, Isco and perhaps Gotze are the only players we’d even consider swapping Coutinho for.