Squawka’s Xmas advent squad: which No.20 had the best 2018?

The countdown to Christmas is picking up serious pace with less than 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
No. 17: Kevin de Bruyne
No. 18: Jordi Alba
No. 19: Leroy Sane

Here are Squawka’s top three number 20s for 2018.

3. Marco Asensio (Real Madrid/Spain)

What makes him special? Another Champions League winners medal and the strong possibility of another FIFA Club World Cup crown on the way; 2018 hasn’t been cruel to Marco Asensio, has it? The 22-year-old does have a tendency to drift out of games, but when he’s on song, it really is a sight to behold. Asensio scores screamers for fun (see his first goal for Spain against Croatia in the Nations League for proof), while his four goals and four assists this season points to an increased effectiveness from the former Mallorca man.

This is really important to Real Madrid in the post-Ronaldo era as the club looks to rebuild and 2018 has definitely been a big step forward for Asensio.

Key stat: Marco Asensio (six) has recorded more assists for Spain than any other player in 2018

2. Joao Cancelo (Inter Milan/Juventus/Portugal)

What makes him special? Once considered a failure and liability at Valencia, Joao Cancelo has transformed since his move to Serie A and 2018 has only accelerated that. The 24-year-old was named in the 2017/18 Serie A Team of the Year for his performances while on loan with Inter Milan, providing four assists in 26 games and helping the club finish in fourth place.

Since moving to Juventus over the summer, for a reported £36.5m fee, Cancelo has taken things to a whole new level. The Portugal international has already provided the same amount of assists as last season (four) in just 15 games across all competitions, while his previously questionable defensive abilities have improved considerably; Cancelo has averaged 2.1 tackles per game in Serie A this season, the fourth most of any Juventus player. Juve are tearing the Italian top flight apart once again and Cancelo looks well on his way to claiming a Serie A winners medal.

Key stat: No Juventus player has provided more crosses per game in Serie A this season than Joao Cancelo (1.2).

1. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City/Portugal)

What makes him special: As 2017/18 progressed, Bernardo Silva’s form just kept growing and growing to the point where the 24-year-old is now one of Pep Guardiola’s key components. The former Monaco man has already scored six goals and provided four assists in all competitions this season, adding to the form which saw him help City to a Premier League and League Cup double last season.

Guardiola’s side smashed a host of Premier League records last season and look set on trying to do that again this time around. Bernardo Silva will be vital if that is to happen, and the Portugal international has already played 1,319 minutes of Premier League football this season, the fourth most in the Manchester City squad. The sky really is the limit in 2019 for this prodigiously talented midfielder.

Key stat: Bernardo Silva has created 29 chances in the Premier League this season; only David Silva has created more (36) for the Citizens.

The post Squawka’s Xmas advent squad: which No.20 had the best 2018? appeared first on Squawka News.

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