The big day is now just two sleep away, so a very merry Christmas Eve Eve to you all.
It’s time to start completing this squad and with just three spaces remaining, we now have to pick the best number 23 of the calendar year.
As we list our top 3 choices to take the number 23 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 ÑÃguez
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
Here are Squawka’s top three number 23s for 2018.
3. Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City/Liverpool/Switzerland)
What makes him so special?: The talented playmaker had a 2018 full of mixed moments but overall has proven himself to be an extremely effective footballer for his respective teams.
Starting the calendar year off with Stoke City, Shaqiri was the best of a bad bunch at the club and despite his quality, he wasn’t able to keep the club in the Premier League.
An action-packed summer for the Swiss international saw some impressive performances at the World Cup, creating more chances than any other Switzerland player as they reached the round-of-16.
Impressive performances for Stoke and Switzerland convinced Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp to bring him to Merseyside for a bargain £12 million.
He has since gone on to become a vital member of the Reds squad, managing to get himself plenty of playing time, fitting in with an extremely talented attacking line-up and bagging himself two goals in Liverpool’s 3-1 win at home against arch-rivals Manchester United.
Will he end the 2018/19 campaign with a Premier League medal?
Key stat: Xherdan Shaqiri created 77 chances in the 2017/18 Premier League season; Pascal Groß (82) was the only player outside of the top-six clubs to create more.
2. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur/Denmark)
What makes him so special?: We don’t think there is any top club that wouldn’t love to have the genius Dane among their squad.
Eriksen continues to showcase his excellent ability in the clean white shirt of Tottenham. Forever classy, Eriksen has an eye for a pass, fantastic movement and scores the odd important goal or two.
Tottenham are now an established top-four side and that is personified by players such as Eriksen, who are able to perform week-in-week-out both domestically and in European competitions.
He is also Denmark’s talisman, playing every minute of their World Cup campaign this summer.
The 26-year-old will surely go on to improve even further as he enters his ‘peak years’, with further experience and developed relationships with his Spurs teammates a recipe for success.
Key stat: Last season, Eriksen was directly involved in a goal every 1.85 games in the Premier League (37 games, 10 goals, 10 assists).
1. Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona/France)
What makes him so special?: Not a bad year really for Barcelona’s centre-back eh?
Umtiti is physically a very tough opponent but his ability to read the game and put himself in the right position is equally as impressive.
The 25-year-old couldn’t of had a better 2018.
Barcelona managed to bag themselves yet another La Liga title to add to their collection, with Umtiti situated at the heart of the defence. A Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana double swoop didn’t do his credibility any harm either.
But to arguably top all of that, Umtiti played in six matches for France as they went on to win the World Cup for the second time.
If it can get even better, Umtiti scored the only goal of the game for France as they beat fellow-Europeans Belgium 1-0 in the semi-finals.
There are few defenders who match the success, ability and genuine talent that Umtiti has developed and the Frenchman has not only secured his place in the Barcelona back-line but also in the French folklore.
Key stat: So far this season, Umtiti has a 95.4% pass success rate for Barcelona in La Liga.
Honourable mentions: Julian Draxler (Paris Saint-Germain/Germany), Miranda (Inter Milan/Brazil), Ivan Strinic (AC Milan/Croatia), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal/England), Luke Shaw (Manchester United/England), Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg (Southampton/Denmark)
The post Squawka’s Xmas advent squad: which No.23 had the best 2018? appeared first on Squawka News.
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