Welcome to the Breakout Stars series. Every year in sports there are players who burst out and take the sports world by storm. Kylian Mbappe at AS Monaco, Zion Williamson at Duke, and Vinícius Júnior at Real Madrid, all have impacted immediately. The story of the underdog and of the potential superstar are both what makes sports so great. In this article I’m going to discuss who are the new stars of the worlds game, soccer (aka football). Let’s get to it.
ST, Teemu Pukki, Norwich City
After jumping from team to team for almost four year, Teemu Pukki is now a quality Premier League striker. After failed spells at Sevilla, Schalke, and Celtic, the Finnish international has found his home at Norwich City. After leading the Canaries to the top of the EFL Championship last year with 29 goals in 43 appearances, Pukki had all eyes on him ahead of the 2019/2020 Premier League season. Many weren’t sure if he’d have the same production in England’s top flight, but he stepped up to the challenge. In the first five games of the Premier League season Pukki has scored six times. Norwich’s only goal against Liverpool, a hat-trick against Newcastle, a goal against Chelsea, and one against Manchester City. shows that Pukki belongs in the top flight of English football.
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ST, Tammy Abraham, Chelsea
Tammy Abraham’s Chelsea career got off to a very rough start. Abraham missed the penalty that lost Chelsea the Super Cup Final against Liverpool. After the match his own fanbase took to social media to racially abuse the young striker for simply missing a penalty. Absolutely disgusting. After an embarrassing 4-0 loss at Old Trafford and the Super Cup loss, the Blues were looking for a hero to rise up from their squad. Abraham has risen to the occasion scoring 7 goals in 5 Premier League matches. Including two braces in a row against Norwich City and Sheffield United. Many people were still doubting Abraham because he scored those braces against both newly promoted teams, but he rose to the occasion by scoring a hat-trick against Wolves. Even though the Chelsea No. 9 shirt is “cursed“, I believe Abraham has the talent and potential to become a star for the Blues.
CAM/LW, Mason Mount, Chelsea
After spending last year on loan with current Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, Mason Mount has proven that he’s Premier League ready. In 7 Premier League appearances Mount has netted 3 times against Leicester, Norwich, and Wolves. His ability to created chances from the midfield is visible throughout games as he’s shown promise in every match he’s played in. All 11 goals that has been scored for Chelsea this season, have been scored by youth academy graduates. Tammy Abraham with 7, Mason Mount with 3, and center-back Fikayo Tomori with an absolute screamer. If you want to know how much faith I have in this young Chelsea squad for the future, just look at this picture.
LM, Daniel James, Manchester United
After the Welshman moved from Swansea City to Old Trafford for $18.7 Million, he has definitely proven his worth so far. In five Premiere League matches, James has scored three goals, showing up when his side needed him the most. An example of this would be the crucial goal to tie the game up against Crystal Palace. However, we all know what happened next at Old Trafford that day. James also scored against Chelsea during.a 4-0 win and scored the lone goal against Southampton at St.Mary’s Stadium. He has shown incredible talent, but we’ll have to see how he plays the rest of the year under Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
CM, Eduardo Camavinga, Stade Rennais
It didn’t take long for Eduardo Camavinga to introduce himself to the world of soccer. The 16-year old Angolan international was man of the match against reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain and named Ligue 1 Player Of The Month in August. Camavinga became the youngest player ever to win the award and clubs immediately took notice. Many big clubs bid for the young Angolan talent such as Tottenham, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona. Only one month on the first team at Rennais, and Camavinga was already making noise. His stats aren’t very eye-catching, with no goals and his only assist in the upset win against PSG, but his ability to control the center and draw fouls for his team is apparently in his play. I hope Camavinga stays at Rennais for another year to develop a little more, then make a move to Barcelona, a club known for developing world-class midfielders.
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LW, Ansu Fati, Barcelona
Ansu Fati is the future. The 16 year-old has made an immediate impact at arguably the biggest club in the world, FC Barcelona. Just yesterday, he became the youngest Barcelona player ever to start a Champions League match at 16 years and 321 days, even younger than Lionel Messi. In the three La Liga matches he’s played Fati has scored twice and assisted once, absolutely incredible. His first goal was scored six minutes after coming on against Osasuna. Fati then opened the scoring against Valencia in the second minute and then assisted Frankie De Jong five minutes later. The Bisseau-Guinean international, is set to receive his Spanish passport tomorrow, making him one step closer to being eligible to play international football for Spain. With Ousmane Dembélé out injured, Fati has a chance to become a regular first-team player. The sky is the limit for the La Masia wonder-kid.
ST, João Félix, Atlético Madrid
I already knew João Félix was going to make an impact at Atlético Madrid this year. The one hailed as the “Next Ronaldo” has been playing well recently, but is just not at Ronaldo-level just yet. After arriving at the Wanda Metropolitano this summer for a whopping $139 Million, Félix came with some big expectations. The 19-year old Portuguese international has scored one goal and assisted once in four games with Los Rojiblancos. Félix also scored twice and assisted three times in the International Champions Cup, showing his talent and potential. In league play, he’s scored against Eibar and assisted assisted against CD Leganès. Felix has been creating multiple counter attacks and drawing fouls for his side, and while he may not be scoring lots of goals right now, I believe there is more to come very soon.
ST, Victor Osimhen, LOSC Lille
After losing their star winger Nicolas Pépé to Arsenal and striker Rafeal Leão to AC Milan, Lille were looking for a new savior. In came Victor Osimhen, a 20-year old Nigerian striker. After spending two unsuccessful seasons at Wolfsburg, Osimhenhen spent the last two seasons at Belgian side Royal Charleroi, scoring 20 goals in 36 apperances. Osimhen arrived this summer at Lille for a fee of $15.5 Million looking to be their new star. On his debut against FC Nantes, he would show his talent, scoring both goals in Lille’s 2-1 victory. He would go on to score two more goals against AS Saint-Etienne and another goal against Angers SCO. In five Ligue 1 appearances, the Nigerian has scored five times. He is currently tied for first in goals with Olympique Lyon striker Moussa Dembélé. Osimhen is setting himself up for a big-money transfer this summer if he keeps playing like this.
ST, Erling Braut Håland, Red Bull Salzburg
You might’ve heard of this guy. He’s that one player that scored nine goals in one game. Erling Braut Håland is a 19-year old Norwegian striker for Red Bull Salzburg. The son of a footballer, Håland started his first season with Salzburg with a bang. In 11 matches in the Austrian Bundelsiga, he has scored 11 times and assisted 4 goals. A goal against Mattersburg, a hat-trick against Wolfsberg, two goals against St. Pölten, a goal against Admira Wacker, WSG Wattens, and one more hat-trick against Hartberg. Now you may be thinking, this man is only doing this because it’s the Austrian League. However, he did this in Europe’s biggest league, the Champions League. Håland scored another hat-trick yesterday against KRC Genk, to raise his goal total to 17 in nine games, ridiculous. Håland already had scouts watching his Champions League debut from Barcelona and Manchester United. He’s definitely one to watch for many years to come.
Soccer is my world! I am excited you added this series section to your blog! Looking forward to read more about these soccer stars! Thank you.