Squawka’s Xmas advent squad: which No.17 had the best 2018?

The countdown to Christmas is picking up serious pace with just over a week to go until the big day and so, Squawka’s advent calendar moves along another spot.

As we edge ever closer to Christmas Day, the excitement is becoming all the more real, and as part of the festive period, we here at Squawka have been creating an advent calendar, in which we compare players via the grouping of their shirt numbers and determining a top three for each across Europe.

While overall quality was obviously considered when ranking our top three players of the year, the deciding factors were how well they performed during the last 12 months, with notable weighting being given to the World Cup.

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

Here are Squawka’s top three number 17s for 2018.

3. Ciro Immobile (Lazio/Italy)

What makes him special? Immobile picked up in 2018 from where he left off in 2017, scoring 15 goals towards the end of last campaign, while grabbing the Capocannoniere for top scorer in Serie A in the process. The Italian was also the top scorer in the Europa League last campaign, and has started this term in similar vein, so far netting double digits in the Italian top flight – he is truly one of Europe’s most lethal and devastating finishers.

Key stat: Only three players have scored 10 or more goals in Serie A this season: Immobile (10), Cristiano Ronaldo (11) and Krzysztof Piatek (12).

2. Mario Mandzukic (Juventus/Croatia)

What makes him special? Mandzukic enjoyed a sensational 2018; first by helping the Old Lady clinch a seventh consecutive Serie A title, and then by playing a crucial role as Croatia reached the World Cup final – the towering forward netted the decisive goal in the semi-final against England, which ultimately sent his homeland to the final. He has since retired from international duty, but his goals have not dried up in Italy, so far netting eight goals across all competitions this season.

Key stat: Only Leonardo Pavoletti has scored more headed goals (five) in Serie A this season than Mandzukic (three).

1. Kevin de Bruyne

What makes him special? The fact that De Bruyne has clinched top spot despite spending the majority of this campaign sidelined through injury is indicative of just how special his 2018 has been. The Belgian has mesmerised domestically, internationally and on the European stage all in equal measure this year, playing a chief role as Man City cantered to a domestic double, including a record-breaking Premier League title win, as well as helping Belgium secure a third-place World Cup finish. A truly phenomenal player, and when in swing, there are few who are more enjoyable to watch.

Key stat: No player registered more assists during the World Cup than Kevin de Bruyne (two).

Honourable Mentions:

Aleksandr Golovin (Monaco/Russia), Marek Hamsik (Napoli/Slovakia), Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich/Germany), Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid/Spain), Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea/Croatia), Idrissa Gueye (Everton/Senegal)

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