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A lot of football players tend to show improvement in their game as their careers progress by increasing their productivity and performance levels. It is usually a delight to see a player do very well when least expected, as has been the case with a lot of players across Europe this season.
Many young players have taken up starring roles for their various sides in their leagues and continental competitions, and they deserve to be mentioned in recognition of their improved performances.
Here is a list of five of the players who have surprised everyone with the kind of performances they have delivered this season:
#5 Karim Adeyemi
Red Bull Salzburg striker Karim Adeyemi has certainly taken Europe by storm with his performances for the Austrian club this season. The 19-year-old German striker has scored 15 goals in 22 appearances for Salzburg this season, including three in four UEFA Champions League outings.
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His performance for the Austrian champions has seen him earn his first call-up to the German national team, where he has scored once in three appearances. His display for Red Bull Salzburg has seen him linked with potential moves to bigger clubs in the form of Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
Adeyemi will undoubtedly look to emulate ex-Salzburg star strikers Erling Braut Haaland and Patson Daka by moving to a bigger club. The teenager has become a mainstay in the Salzburg attacking set-up since the departure of Daka to Leicester City.
#4 Conor Gallagher
Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher has certainly been one of the revelations of the season in the English Premier League with Crystal Palace. The Eagles have played a less pragmatic system since the appointment of Patrick Vieira, and Gallagher has been key to it working wonders.
Having spent last season on loan at West Brom, the midfielder learned a lot and has been one of the best players at Selhurst Park this season. He has already caught the eye of England manager Gareth Southgate with his work rate and tireless running.
Palace's big-game player, 21-year-old Gallagher, has scored four goals and created two others in the Premier League, including a goal and an assist in their 2-0 win over Manchester City. He also recorded an assist each against Arsenal and Tottenham, and scored twice against West Ham United.
#3 Giovanni Simeone
Argentine striker Giovanni Simeone is the son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone. The 26-year-old striker has been a star for Hellas Verona in the Italian Serie A in the 2021-22 season after enduring a sort of journeyman career thus far.
The five-time Argentine international is on loan from fellow Serie A side Cagliari and has scored nine goals in 11 Serie A matches this season. Simeone scored all four goals as Hellas Verona defeated Lazio 4-1, before scoring a brace in their 2-1 win against Juventus days later. His most recent goal came against Napoli at the weekend in a 1-1 draw.
Simeone has hardly been able to settle at a club, with Verona the fourth side he has represented in the Serie A since the 2016-17 season. His performances this season have been phenomenal, with his record of nine goals and three assists in 11 matches placing him back on the national team radar. Simeone also won the the Player of the Month award for October in Serie A.
#2 Vinicius Junior
Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr has long been touted as the next Neymar following a glorious start to his career in his native Brazil. This prompted Real Madrid to splash out €45 million to lure the teenager from Flamengo in the Brazilian Serie A.
Vinicius Jr failed to hit the ground running at the Bernabeu, not for the lack of trying, but because the chopping and changing of managers did not help. The youngster exhibited outrageous skills and footwork, but lacked the end product to make him a deadly winger.
However, under Carlo Ancelotti this season, a new version of the Brazilian has emerged. The 21-year-old has scored nine goals and assisted seven more in only 16 appearances and has developed a deadly partnership with captain Karim Benzema.
Still only a youngster, Vinicius Jr., has succeeded in keeping multi-million Euro signing Eden Hazard on the bench this season due to his superior performance. With his rapid development, it's only a matter of time before he begins to rival his idol for a starting berth in the Brazil national team.
#1 Sebastian Haller
Former French youth international and Ivory Coast striker Sebastian Haller has literally taken Europe by storm with his performance for Dutch giants Ajax this season. The 27-year-old striker has scored 14 goals and delivered five assists in only 17 appearances in all competitions so far.
Haller is the joint-highest African goalscorer in the group stage of the Champions League with seven goals in four matches this season, equalling the tally set by Samuel Eto'o. He came into the limelight for his performances with Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2018-19 season before an underwhelming spell at West Ham United. Haller has now resurrected his career with a fresh start at Ajax.
Haller is part of an elite group of players to have scored in each of their first four Champions League matches. Even Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi cannot boast of that particular feat.
