5 best North American footballers in the world right now (2021)
Football in Europe continues to be played with the most competitive spirit. As such, footballers from all around the world dream of playing for the biggest clubs in Europe's most prestigious leagues. Even though the focus in recent times has been heavily on homegrown players, foreign blood continues to impress in European territory.
For the last couple of years, a few North American footballers have been grabbing headlines at various European clubs. Here's a list of the five best active footballers from North America at the moment:
#5 Jonathan David
A significant contributor to the dethroning of Paris Saint-Germain as Ligue 1 champions, Jonathan David played a crucial part in Lille’s title run last season. The French club invested €30 million for David’s signature and it played out quite nicely in their favor. For the past few years, Lille have become an effective nurturing ground for emerging talents and David’s case was no different.
Jonathan David scored first UCL goal, a really nice left footed strike but VAR later came in & disallowed it.
3 shots
36 touches
12/17 passes (71%)
3 dribbles
6/12 duels won
https://t.co/U3qRMaL0fH
The forward won the Canada player of the year award in 2019 after his impressive showing with Gent in the Jupiler Pro League. David was prolific with the Belgian side, scoring 18 goals and registering eight assists in 27 appearances in the league that season. He has a natural instinct of finding spaces to invade the 18-yard box and has silky feet.
With Lille, the forward showed an impressive appetite to press the opposition. David showed that he was a big game player last season when Lille traveled to Parc des Princes. Courtesy of his goal, which was also the only one of the game, Lille beat PSG on their own turf for the first time in 25 years. The attacking starlet has been keen on trying to become more clinical in the final third.
Proud to have my first UCL match behind me but we can’t be satisfied with the result. Focused on the next match https://t.co/YvgCRQ20vJ
French clubs were hurt pretty badly by the pandemic and suffered significant losses. In an attempt to make some cash Lille might reluctantly have to sell David in the future. However, from here it will only be a step up for the Canadian sensation.
#4 Hirving Lozano
With Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne growing old, Napoli are expecting their younger starlets to step up and take the Naples club through the transition period seamlessly. Hirving Lozano is one such name and big things are expected of the Mexican. He came under the spotlight in Mexico’s World Cup campaign in 2018.
🚨 GOAL FOR NAPOLI 🚨
Napoli add a fourth, this time through Hirving Lozano. The Mexican curls it across Silvestri into the corner of the net. 5 minutes of normal time left.
85' UDI 0-4 NAP
#SerieA #SerieATIM #UDINAP #udinese #Napoli #WeAreCalcio https://t.co/GIyhVxVdbP
Lozano, nicknamed “Chucky”, scored a crucial goal in the Qualifiers to book Mexico’s berth in the World Cup. Later in Russia, Mexico stunned Germany and beat them through Lozano's goal.
The winger is very agile and on his day can dribble past defenders in the most tidy manner. He also has a knack for pressing high and with serious intensity, which has benefitted Napoli in recent times.
Lozano took some time to get into the groove at Napoli but seems to have found his feet whenever trusted by the managers. His versatility has seen him being deployed in both the left and right wings and sometimes behind the striker.
At 26, the best is yet to come from the Napoli starlet. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him play for an even bigger club in the future if he can stay clear of injuries.