Meet the No.24 creating quality chances at the same rate as Chelsea's Eden Hazard in 2018

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The big day is now just one sleep away so happy Christmas Eve to you all!

As you prepare for tomorrow, you are probably going to sit down and watch your favourite holiday movie. Home Alone, Planes, Trains and Automobiles or A Muppets Christmas Carol (you know you love it!).

Alternatively, we at Squawka are almost done with our advent squad, getting down to the last two places.

As we list our top three choices to take the number 24 shirt, here is the squad we have assembled so far.

No. 1: Marc-André Ter Stegen
No. 2: Kyle Walker
No. 3: Giorgio Chiellini
No. 4: Virgil Van Dijk
No. 5: Raphael Varane
No. 6: Paul Pogba
No. 7: Kylian Mbappé
No. 8: Saúl Ñíguez
No. 9: Luis Suárez
No. 10: Lionel Messi
No. 11: Mohamed Salah
No. 12: Marcelo
No. 13: Alisson
No. 14: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
No. 15: Andrea Barzagli
No. 16: Manuel Akanji
No. 17: Kevin de Bruyne
No. 18: Jordi Alba
No. 19: Leroy Sane
No. 20: Bernardo Silva
No. 21: David Silva
No. 22: Isco
No. 23: Samuel Umtiti

So, without further ado, here are Squawka’s top three number 24s for 2018:

3. Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid/Spain)

What makes him so special: It has been a very solid year for the Real Madrid central midfielder. His breakthrough into the first team last year has seen the former Betis man make steady progress at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ceballos’ performances for Los Blancos have been impressive, leading to a call-up to the Spain squad. The midfielder made his debut in the 6-0 win over Croatia in September, playing the entire match.

He has since made five appearances for Luis Enrique’s side as the former Barcelona man looks to rebuild the national team after a disappointing World Cup in Russia.

Key stat: Dani Ceballos has won more fouls per 90 minutes (3.5) than any other Real Madrid player this season.

2. Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth/Scotland)

What makes him so special: This season has seen the emergence of one of the Premier Leagues most prolific chance creators. Ryan Fraser, a player who started his career at Aberdeen, has been excellent in 2018 for Bournemouth, serving up countless goalscoring opportunities for his Bournemouth teammates.

The 24-year-old has already provided eight assists in the Premier League this season, a tally only bettered by Eden Hazard (9).

His scoring touch has also been on display and saw him bag a goal in Scotland’s 4-0 victory over Albania in November as the Wee Man has become one of the key performers for both club and country.

Key Stat: No player has created for Big Chances in the Premier League in 2018 than Ryan Fraser (17, level with Eden Hazard).

1. Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli/Italy)

What makes him so special: Lorenzo Insigne has been a key cog in the Napoli machine for a number of years, but last season he almost helped the Partenopei win their first title since 1990.

In the end, they fell just short; the 90 points they amassed, however, was the most by a second-place team in the competition’s history.

So far in Serie A this season, Insigne has provided five assists – only AC Milan’s Suso (8) has more – while having a total of 16 in the Italian top flight since the start of last season.

Napoli’s talisman has also scored seven goals in his 16 league appearances, letting fly at an average of 4.6 shots per game – only Cristiano Ronaldo (7 per game) averages more.

Key stat: This year, Insigne became the first Napoli player to score in four consecutive Champions League home games.

Honourable mentions: Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich/France), Jean Michael Seri (Fulham/Ivory Coast), Serge Aurier (Spurs/Ivory Coast), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona/Belgium), Ezequiel Garay (Valencia/Argentina), Daniele Rugani (Juventus/Italy), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma/Italy).

The post Squawka’s Xmas advent squad: which No.24 had the best 2018? appeared first on Squawka News.



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