10 most valuable North American players at the moment
Although not the most popular sport in the continent, football is gradually gaining a foothold in North America.
In recent times, many North American nations like Costa Rica, Mexico and the USA have had inspired runs at the FIFA World Cup. That has led to many players from North America getting the opportunity to ply their trades in the lucrative top football leagues in Europe.
On that note, let's have a look at the ten most valuable North American players at the moment:
#10 Sergino Dest (USA) - €25 million
One of the exciting young right-backs in the game at the moment, Sergino Dest has evoked memories of a certain Dani Alves with his performances at Barcelona.
The 20-year-old, who had a prolific spell at Ajax to catch the attention of the Blaugrana, particularly impressed in the El Clasico game against Real Madrid earlier in the season.
Dest can make marauding runs down the flanks and also possesses the ability to dribble at pace.
Although he was criticised by his manager Ronald Koeman for 'switching off' against Kylian Mbappe in Barcelona's 1-4 home defeat to PSG in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg, Dest is here to stay for the long haul.
The player, who has scored once and assisted once in almost 30 games this season, recently opened up on why he chose Barcelona:
“FC Barcelona was the club of my dreams. I’ve always wanted to play for Barca at one point or another ,and then I got the opportunity, Bayern Munich still existed; it wasn’t an easy decision. They are both great teams, but then I listened to my heart and said to myself that Barcelona was the place for me. That’s why I went to Barca.”
#9 Weston McKennie (USA) - €25 million
Weston McKennie hasn't even been in the Serie A for an entire season, but he is already the most prolific American goal-scorer in the competition after arriving from Schalke in the summer.
Continuing his fine start to life at Juventus, the 22-year-old midfielder has scored five times and registered two assists in all competitions for the Serie A giants.
Considering McKennie's fine form, Juventus are reportedly mulling to make the player's loan move permanent. The Bianconeri's head coach Andrea Pirlo recently said about the young American:
"We were the quickest ones to sign him, and we are happy he is part of the squad. He is a humble guy who always wants to improve, especially on a technical level. He needs to improve when he receives the ball, but he knows this is only a starting point.”
#8 Jesus Corona (Mexico) - €30 million
Jesus Corona has had a stellar stint at Porto since arriving at the Portuguese giants from Twente in the summer of 2015.
The two-time Portuguese league champion has scored 31 times and provided 65 assists in over 250 games in all competitions for the club.
The 28-year-old midfielder was voted the Player of the Year by coaches and captains of the Portuguese top flight last season.
#7 Jonathan David (Canada) - €30 million
One of the most promising young Canadian players in the game, Jonathan David had a blistering spell with Gent, prompting Lille to come calling.
The 21-year-old centre-forward, who has scored seven times in the league, recently netted a brace that helped Lille stay top of the 2020-21 Ligue 1 table.
David, who has scored five times since the turn of the year, recently credited his head coach Christophe Galtier for helping him turn his fortunes around. He said in this regard:
“I’ve started to score more than I was at the start of the season. I’m feeling more confident. Even though I wasn’t scoring before, I had the chances to do so. Now when I get the chance, I take it, and that’s made the difference. He would tell me that even when I wasn’t scoring, I was doing good things on the pitch. I work very hard to help out defensively. I run into space to take defenders with me and free up my teammates. The coach really helped me.”