Perfect Arsenal winger joins Bayern icon in Euro 2024 XI ready for Premier League transfer

ScoreLive July 18, 2024 0

We have combined European Championship content with the transfer market as the coverage ends for one and ramps up for the other.

Here is our Euro 2024 team of the tournament using players available for transfer this summer and likely to attract interest from the Premier League, if they haven’t already…

Euro 2024 team of the tournament with a twist

GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia)
The best goalkeeper at Euro 2024. Valencia would have been licking their lips watching their Georgian star’s performances, knowing they can significantly increase their £35million asking price – an amount that for some bizarre reason, Newcastle United were not willing to pay, with £20m for James Trafford tickling their fancy a little more.

Mamardashvili was excellent and is one of the very few players we correctly predicted to do well at Euro 2024. Heorhiy Sudakov, you’ve lost a fan, buddy.

Newcastle should now reignite their interest in the 23-year-old, who has the potential to be the best goalkeeper in the world.

RB: Joshua Kimmich (Germany)
From potential to someone who has been world class for a long time, there are huge question marks over the future of Joshua Kimmich at Bayern Munich, with Premier League giants Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool all being linked.

Kimmich was one of the best right-backs at Euro 2024 but apparently not better than England’s Kyle Walker, who lucked his way into UEFA’s official team of the tournament.

The Germany star – who scored the goal to knock Arsenal out of the Champions League last season – can play as a defensive midfielder and right-back, with the latter position bookending his career. He is fantastic and would be a great addition to any Premier League side.

CB: Josip Sutalo (Croatia)
We were impressed by Sutalo’s performances, though he is nowhere near making the actual team of the tournament given Croatia’s failure to get out of their group. He is also not being linked with a transfer to the Premier League.

Nevertheless, here he is. Ajax are a huge club but one renowned for selling their best players and usually getting a big fee for them. Sutalo is a player going under the radar and built for the Premier League. It is destiny.

CB: Riccardo Calafiori (Italy)
Arsenal are leading the race for Italy and Bologna sensation Calafiori, though they are experiencing some speedbumps in their negotiations as the Serie A side try to reduce the sell-on clause they agreed with FC Basel last year. The key word is ‘agreed’.

Anyhow, despite his match-deciding own goal against Spain in the group stage, Calafiori had a fine tournament to back up the excellent season he had for Bologna, helping the Italians qualify for the Champions League for the very first time.

Fans on social media instantly became attracted to the Italian’s ‘aura’, mainly because he has the same hairstyle as Alessandro Nesta, Paulo Maldini and a once-long-haired Fabio Cannavaro. That alone was enough to convince people he would become an Italian football legend. It’s a fair argument.

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LB: Ferdi Kadioglou (Turkey)
This is close to becoming an Arsenal transfer target XI. Turkey and Fenerbache star Kadioglou showed everyone what he is about at Euro 2024, proving to be one of the best left-backs at the tournament; probably only bettered by Spain’s Marc Cucurella.

Kadioglou is a versatile player capable of playing on either side of the defence, whether that be as a full-back or wing-back, and that is a very valuable trait. Arsenal have been linked but are unlikely to bid for the Turk if they sign Calafiori. Mikel Arteta still has Kieran Tierney, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jurrien Timber, who are all vying for the left-back spot in the Spaniard’s starting XI.

DM: Jerdy Schouten (Netherlands)
Brighton opted to sign Mats Wieffer from Feyenoord instead of pursuing PSV’s Schouten, who is three years older. Both are fine players but only one played for the Netherlands at this summer’s European Championship.

He might not have played had Frenkie de Jong been fit but that is neither here nor there; Schouten did play and he did very well as the Netherlands’ No. 6.

It is unclear if Premier League clubs are looking at the 27-year-old and if they are, he will do well in Our League. Press-resistant and excellent on the ball, he is a player we like a lot.

DM: Morten Hjulmand (Denmark)
Manchester United have been strongly linked with Hjulmand after a great season for Sporting. His form at the Euros was impressive too, with his beauty against England on a horrible Frankfurt pitch making plenty sit up and take notice.

The Danish defensive midfielder is not the Red Devils’ top target; that’s Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte and he looks like a realistic option. Should that deal fail to materialise, Hjulmand will be a fine alternative…if nobody else snaps him up first.

AM: Dani Olmo (Spain)
Spain’s glory at Euro 2024 is in large parts down to the goal contributions of Dani Olmo, who scored and assisted against Germany in the quarter-final and scored the winner against France in the semis after netting in the 4-1 defeat of Georgia in the last 16.

Olmo was not a starter for Spain at the start of the tournament but Pedri’s injury in the opening minutes against the Germans saw Luis de la Fuente turn to the RB Leipzig star. Not a bad option to have, is it?

The 26-year-old has a £51m release clause that expires before the end of the month. In the modern market, that is a bargain. A Premier League club will surely be all over that, right? Manchester City have been linked.

RW: Xavi Simons (Netherlands)
Bayern Munich are reportedly working on a deal and that could make it very difficult for Premier League clubs interested in signing Simons from PSG.

Simons has been on fire for PSV and Leipzig over the last two seasons and with PSG open to selling or loaning him out again, there are rightly plenty of teams interested. He would be a huge signing for most but Bayern’s interest could be fatal for others.

His Netherlands performances at Euro 2024 were terrific, scoring a belting goal to open the scoring against England in the semi-finals and having a goal against France disallowed for offside.

LW: Nico Williams (Spain)
It looks like Barcelona are going to win the race for Williams‘ signature, which is a big blow to Arsenal, who are crying out for a game-changing forward like him. Gabriel Martinelli is fantastic but Williams is better and someone who could get the Gunners over the line in the Premier League and Champions League. That lack of a world-class forward really hurt them in the Bayern tie.

Williams was rightly named in the Euro 2024 team of the tournament after opening the scoring in the final and putting right-backs in a blender every time he ran at them.

A move to England would be fantastic and if Barcelona can’t muster up the cash to afford his £45m release clause, it absolutely has to happen.

ST: Breel Embolo (Switzerland)
It would feel very wrong to see Embolo play week in, week out for a Premier League club; he is such a major tournament footballer. Surely he is hibernating for two years in between and not actually playing football.

Embolo and team-mate Dan Ndoye were on form in Germany and it would not be a surprise to see the latter earn a move to the Premier League.