Euro 2024: 5 Stars Looking To Light Up Europe's Biggest International Tournament This Summer

Written by Patrick Echatah

This time around, attendees of the quadrennial European tournament meeting have not been forced to postpone their summer plans for a torturous 12 months, unlike the Euro 2020 event that was affected by the coronavirus. At Euro 2024, twenty-four of the best footballing teams in Europe will compete for the title at a number of legendary German stadiums, with the Berlin Olympiastadion serving as host to the final on July 14.

England, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and of course the hosts themselves are among the favourites to unseat the defending champions, Italy, since they are all loaded with some of the best young and experienced players on the planet. Later on, we’ll talk more about the youngsters, but for now, Bettitude selects a few of the top players aged 22 and above to watch closely at the European Championships this summer.

Cole Palmer (England)

No player in the Premier League has contributed as many goals directly as the 22-year-old, who has scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists. His unwavering composure when taking penalties may also help England break their painful 12-yard tendency. Unsurprisingly, Palmer’s first senior England goal came from the penalty spot in their friendly victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina. It’s possible that Palmer and Bukayo Saka may engage in fierce competition for the right-wing position.

Artem Dovbyk (Ukraine)

In 36 La Liga games played the previous season, Dovbyk directly contributed to 32 goals (eight assists and 24 of his own), barely holding off Alexander Sorloth to win the Golden Boot. Thanks to his fantastic season in Spain, Chelsea seem to be interested in the 26-year-old. If Dovbyk can continue to excel in the colours of his national team, a big-money transfer is not out of the question this summer.

Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain)

Before joining Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer, the La Masia graduate had already established himself at Benfica. He was unquestionably one of the summer’s biggest additions, tallying an amazing 12 goals and 19 assists from a left wing-back position and contributing significantly to Die Werkself’s Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double. Even though Grimaldo, who is 28 years old, has only made a few appearances for Spain, he has demonstrated enough at the club level to suggest that he can step into Jordi Alba’s shoes going forward.

Rafael Leao (Portugal)

concluded the domestic season with 15 goals and 14 assists in all competitions, rewarding Milan’s faith in him after he was granted a new long-term deal last summer, despite going through a five-month goal drought in Serie A from September to February. Leao’s height has seen him draw comparisons with the Les Bleus legend Thierry Henry in addition to his quick reflexes, goal sense, and cunning; however, he still has a ways to go before reaching those great heights.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is by far the top scorer in the current Georgian team, with 11 goals and 9 assists last season, despite not quite reaching the same heights as Napoli’s 2022–23 Serie A-winning season. Even at just 23 years old, it seems inevitable that he will surpass all previous goal scorers in his nation’s history, and he will undoubtedly bear the burden of the entire country.

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