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Ranking The 9 Most Underrated Players Across Europe’s Top 5 Leagues

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2 years ago

October 1, 2022

By Oladosu Oluwagbenga

Ranking The 9 Most Underrated Players Across Europe’s Top 5 Leagues – Paul Pogba, is he unfairly criticized? Is Jack Grealish actually a waste of money? Give your opinion on the athletes who divide fans the most right now!

Who is better, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? In the most contentious argument of the last ten years, everyone has long since chosen a side.

The two do have the distinction of being all-time greats, which is something that everyone can agree on. Given that we are dealing with two living legends, that must be the place to start. Regardless of your feelings toward them, you must admire their talent and accomplishments.

However, there are a number of other well-known athletes in the game today who continue to engender strong feelings of either overvaluation or underappreciation among fans, experts, and past professionals.

What do you think, though? After reading THEEAGLE‘s list of the most contentious players in world football, leave your comments in the box below.

#9 Leonardo Bonucci

Ranking The 9 Most Underrated Players Across Europe's Top 5 Leagues Once again, Juventus ultras are criticizing Leonardo Bonucci for being their club captain, saying that the defender “has never been a leader, and never will be.”

There is a different school of thinking in Italy that claims Bonucci has never made a very strong defender.

The claim is that he benefited greatly from Antonio Conte’s brilliant choice to implement a back three in 2011, as it allowed the ball-playing Bonucci to concentrate on sparking attacks with his wonderful and varied passing while being supported for the better part of a decade by the two other illustrious members of Juventus’ “BBC,” Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli.

With Chiellini and Barzagli gone, Bonucci has undoubtedly appeared a little more exposed, but it seems a little harsh to completely discount the defensive capabilities of a center-back who was named man of the match in the Euro 2020 final and included in the team of the tournament more for the gritty work he did in defense than for his eye-catching contributions further forward.

#8 Trent Alexander-Arnold

Ranking The 9 Most Underrated Players Across Europe's Top 5 Leagues Trent Alexander-most Arnold’s recent England snub was brought up to Jurgen Klopp ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League match with Brighton. “Do you really want to open this box?” the Reds manager asked.

Klopp’s response was reasonable. Since finding the ideal way to combine Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard into one team, this has been the topic of intense tactical debate in English football.

In a nutshell, Alexander-Arnold doesn’t appear likely to go to the World Cup in Qatar. Gareth Southgate, the manager of England, merely believes that he has superior options at right-back.

Gary Lineker and others, like Klopp, are shocked and think it is crazy to leave such a talented attacking outlet at home.

The obvious response is that Alexander-Arnold is a liability, despite the fact that former France center-back Frank Leboeuf said last week that the 23-year-old was “Championship level” defensively.

Whatever the facts, this is a debate that will go on forever.

#7 Thiago Alcantara

For the vast majority of Liverpool supporters, Thiago Alcantara‘s primary drawback is that due to his many injuries, he isn’t always ready to start.

The Spaniard is seen as being absolutely essential to Jurgen Klopp’s game plan because of his fierce tackling and unbelievable passing range.

When Thiago plays, we play, as assistant coach Pep Lijnders stated to GOAL back in August.

Not everyone, though, is as enamored with the deftly gifted midfielder.

“I don’t understand the hype about Thiago,” former Liverpool ace Didi Hamann wrote last season. “For me, he is one of the most overrated players in European football.

“When things are going well and you have a lot of possession he’s a good player, but when push comes to shove you don’t see him.”

Do you agree with Didi?…

#6 Ousmane Dembele

Ranking The 9 Most Underrated Players Across Europe's Top 5 Leagues Ousmane Dembele almost left Barcelona for free during the summer five years after leaving Borussia Dortmund for an original deal of €105 million (£92 million/$103 million).

He would have been remembered as one of the worst signings in the annals of football. As he put it, “I spent my time excessively between 2017 until 2021.”

Now, though, he has a chance for atonement because the winger is ostensibly finally realizing his potential under Xavi.

Will he continue to act professionally and go down in Camp Nou history? Or will he stray once more and wind up being regarded as one of the greatest untapped talents in the game?

Based on what we’ve seen so far from Dembele in his career, it really could go either way.

#5 Paulo Dybala

With almost 8,000 Roma supporters in attendance to welcome him, Paulo Dybala’s official introduction as a Roma player was magnificent.

However, several football supporters questioned the significance of the uproar. After all, Juventus had let the Argentine’s contract expire last season due to his persistent injury issues and inconsistent play.

To be fair, Dybala has had a strong start to his career at the Stadio Olimpico, and when he’s at his best, “La Joya” is a joy to watch.

Although we have long since given up on the striker living up to his reputation as Lionel Messi’s heir, there is still the unmistakable impression that we are still waiting for him to realize his potential. The forward turns 29 next month.

#4 Joao Felix

Joao Felix, who earlier this year reached 100 appearances for Atletico Madrid, already has a plaque on the “Legends Walk” at the Wanda Metropolitano.

It would be challenging to present the Portuguese as a huge success in Spain, though. He has indeed only sometimes shone since joining Atleti from Benfica in 2019, mostly failing to live up to his astronomical €126m (£106m/$138m) transfer fee.

Of all, at the time, the adolescent had only played one season of professional football, so that amount of money also seemed enormous.

He was nevertheless being compared to actual luminaries like Kaka and Rui Costa, and even the latter was certain that Felix had the football acumen and striker’s instinct to truly carve a name for himself.

However, he has struggled in La Liga. He has failed to score once this season and has never reached double digits in a single season.

Of course, he’s still only 22. He has time on his side. And perhaps he would thrive in a side that was more attack-oriented.

However, there is a legitimate and growing concern that moving to Atletico may have been too much, too fast for someone so young.

#3 Jack Grealish

At Manchester City, so many players need a whole season to adjust. Adapting to Pep Guardiola’s exacting tactical requirements is challenging.

Therefore, it’s too early to judge Jack Grealish‘s abilities. He established himself as a fine player at Aston Villa, but it was never clear whether he was talented and self-disciplined enough to compete at the highest level.

The fact that Grealish’s most noteworthy contributions came during the team’s championship celebrations during his first season at City revealed he wasn’t up to the task.

Guardiola has frequently defended the £100 million ($111 million) acquisition, but to be fair to Grealish, even he has acknowledged that his stats since joining the Etihad have been painfully middling.

By next summer, we’ll know whether Grealish was a significant financial waste because the World Cup is quickly approaching and his second season at City is well under way.

#2 Romelu Lukaku

After a difficult stint at Manchester United that concluded with Gary Neville accusing him of being overweight and unprofessional, Romelu Lukaku was able to rehabilitate his reputation at Inter.

He then made the bad choice to rejoin Chelsea in England, where his reputation once again suffered.

In fact, Thomas Tuchel’s reign at Stamford Bridge was so disastrous that after just one season, the Blues gave up on their club-record £97.5 million ($108 million) acquisition and allowed him to return to Inter on loan.

So, less than a year after Luca Toni referred to him as a more complete center forward than Cristiano Ronaldo, Lukaku was once more derided by Premier League fans as a failure, a bully who only contributed goals for and against inferior teams.

Lukaku is obviously not a “donkey,” as Antonio Conte demonstrated throughout their time together at San Siro. He only needs the appropriate kind of support, both on and off the field, the argument goes.

Although the No. 9 will always score goals, Jamie Carragher earlier this year made the case that he shouldn’t be compared to players like Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema.

Thus, Lukaku supporters will be hopeful that their player disproves the doubters at the 2018 World Cup.

#1 Paul Pogba

The past three years have not gone as Paul Pogba would have wished, which seems like a gross understatement.

The Frenchman’s return to Old Trafford from Juventus in 2016 thrilled Manchester United supporters, but his summer departure made them even happier.

Throughout his six-year tenure, Pogba occasionally displayed his undeniable talents, but by the end, he spent more time on social media than on the field of play.

Pogba’s defenders will cite his actions while playing for France as proof of his maturity. After all, he won the World Cup and possesses a fantastic range of abilities.

Yet it is instructive that when he left United this summer on a free, there was no rush to sign the increasingly injury-prone midfielder, who instead returned to a Juve team going through a challenging phase of transition.

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