Ardon Jashari - Club Brugge

I first became aware of Ardon Jashari nearly 5 months ago as Club Brugge lost 3-1 to Aston Villa in the round of 16 of the Champions League. Highly rated talents such as Chemsdine Talbi, Maxim De Cuyper and Joel Ordonez were all featuring for the Belgian team but it was the 22 year old defensive midfielder from Switzerland who impressed me the most. Up against an Aston Villa midfield featuring John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers - Jashari stood out to me for the way he was always asking for the ball and ability to evade pressure. He reminds me somewhat of PSG’s Vitinha in terms of the way he scurries around the pitch, but maybe with slightly less mobility.

As far as auditions go, it was a pretty hard one for Jashari away at Villa Park, but he passed with flying colours as ever since I’ve been doing my best to keep tabs on him. AC Milan coming in for him surprised me - not because he isn’t of the level, but because it was a strangely good piece of business from the Italian giants.I’m sure he’s a player Max Allegri probably earmarked as soon as he sat down with the recruitment team. It’s also worth noting, according to Fabrizio Romano, that Jashari turned down a host of Prem clubs because he’s dead set on joining Milan. This means two things: The Rossonneri will fall in love with him very quickly and the European giants’ pulling power hasn’t completely faded - which I thought it might’ve.

It’s no surprise as to why the Italian coach might be keen on Jashari. There’s a Tijani Reijnders shaped hole in the AC Milan squad after his exit to Man City, and the Swiss midfielder does a pretty good job at filling it. In his last season at Club Brugge, Jashari profiled very similarly to the Dutch midfielder and has the potential to fill his large boots in the future. Although he’s not at the level of Reijnders currently, Jashari’s got 4 years on him and can develop into a player more than capable of matching up to his predecessor.

Although he’s not at the level of Reijnders currently, Jashari’s got 4 years on him and can develop into a player more than capable of matching up to his predecessor.

It’s a signing that gives me hope that competency might be returning to the San Siro. Jashari is a great player with a really high ceiling that is good at a lot of the things that Reijnders was good at. It makes a lot of sense and we could see his stock seriously rise after just a season in Milan.

Although at the time of writing, Jashari hasn’t put pen to paper for the Rossonneri, the deal looks like it will happen. It will be the dawn of a new-look midfield for Allegri’s side as Brugge’s number 30 partners newly acquired Samuel Ricci in midfield, forming one of the most talented u-23 double pivots in Europe.

Evan Ferguson - Roma

The way a then 18 year old Evan Ferguson burst onto the Premier League scene in the 2022/23 season was nothing short of phenomenal. 8 goal contributions in 950 PL minutes - that’s a goal or assist every 118 minutes and for an 18 year old to have been putting up those numbers in his first full season of professional football, is scary.

But, it was short lived. A 23/24 campaign which saw the Irishman hit 6 goals in 36 games meant that Ferguson went from the future of Premier League strikers to a name the masses had already moved past. Injuries and a lack of consistent minutes were at risk of derailing one of most promising careers we’d seen in a decade. Once linked with £80 million moves to the country’s biggest teams, to barely getting a look-in at West Ham in the second half of the 24/25 season, it appeared to many that Ferguson’s star was fading and fading quickly.

When the summer window eventually crawled back around, people were unsure about where Ferguson’s future lay. But it just so happened that one of Europe’s best attacking coaches had understandably taken a liking to the 20 year old talisman. Out of all the teams interested in Evan Ferguson, Gasperini’s Roma stood out and off he’s now gone to take his talents to the Serie A on a season long loan with a €40 million option to buy.

Why this move is particularly enthralling is because former Atalanta boss Gan Piero Gasperini has developed quite the reputation for being able to get the best out of forwards who are out of form and out of fancy. Having previously written an article about it here, I won’t delve too deeply into this but all you need to know is Ademola Lookman, Duvan Zapata, Luis Muriel, Mateo Retegui, Gianluca Scamacca and Josep Ilicic all had by far and away the best years of their career under the Italian head coach. Many of these players had been written off elsewhere but they found refuge in Atalanta and with Gasperini’s help, they were able to get back to their undeniable best.

Sound familiar?

Ferguson has chosen the best possible move for his career. He’s joining a Roma side that’s filled to the brim with exciting talent such as Soule, Wesley, Kone, Dybala and more. With 6 goals already in 3 pre-season games, it seems as if Gasperini and Evan’s chemistry has already begun to blossom.

A number 9 who’s got the size and brain to be a real threat in the box, but also the technical acumen and finesse to drop deep and connect with midfielders - Ferguson is an attacking coach’s dream. We’ve seen what he can do in England, like all young players he just needs the confidence and trust from the manager to get back to those lofty heights.

In Gasperini, he’s found the perfect manager to do just that in a Roma side that might just surprise a few people this season.

Edon Zhegrova - Lille

Lille’s talismanic Kosovan might be one of the most underrated attackers across Europe. An injury-hit 24/25 campaign meant we were unable to watch a full season of the right-winger who’s now in his fully-flowing prime, but there were still games where he was able to showcase his brilliance, particularly in the Champions League.

The right-winger scored 4 and assisted 1 in 9 UCL games and shone brightly in the bigger fixtures. Eye-catching appearances against Real Madrid, Juventus and Atletico Madrid solidified the fact that Zhegrova can hang with the best of the best. A diminutive winger with a left foot that packs a punch, Lille’s number 23 uses his low-centre of gravity to consistently weave through challenges and give defences nightmares. In 23/24, he totalled 12 goals and 10 assists in 41 games, proving that he has the output to accompany the flair.

The season-ending thigh injury he received in December put an end to what was bound to be a real breakthrough campaign for the 26 year old but with Jonathan David leaving on a free to Juventus, he’s now Lille’s figurehead in attack and if he’s able to put together an injury-free 25/26 campaign, it’s more or less a formality that Europe’s biggest clubs will come calling.

A player who will get you off your seat on a regular basis, Zhegrova’s ability in the final third makes him a match-winning forward who many teams would be lucky to have. At a time where right-sided forwards are hot property around Europe, don’t be surprised if Zhegrova’s name becomes more prominent across transfer circles in 12 months time. But of course there’s a big ‘if’ attached to that, which is his questionable injury record.

Let’s just hope he can stay fit.

European players to watch: Part 3

3rd is the new 2nd: the major flaw in UEFA’s otherwise flawless new system