Mudryk, Gravenberch & the 10 best players to watch at Euro 2023

Neel Shelat

• 21 Jun 2023 15:55 BST
• 8 min read

If you’re missing football already just after the end of the 2022/23 season, we have some news for you: there’s more.

The Under-21 Euros kick off in Romania on Wednesday, featuring 16 of the continent’s most talented youth teams.

Whether you will be watching closely or from afar, there will be some big names in action that are sure to catch the eye. So, we have picked out 10 players representing 10 different countries to watch at this tournament:

Oscar Gloukh - Israel

Birth Year: 2004

Club: RB Salzburg

Position: AM

ETV: €4.6M – €7.6M

Those following the Euros across the various youth levels will be familiar with Oscar Gloukh, who was named in the 2022 Euro Under-19 team of the tournament and scored in the final as well as three other matches. At the time, he was contracted to Maccabi Tel Aviv, but his eye-catching performances played a part in earning him a move to RB Salzburg in the most recent winter window.

That makes him one of just two players in the Israeli squad who play their club football outside of their home country, and he is the only one who holds such a league winner’s medal too. Without a doubt, Gloukh will be crucial to Israel’s hopes of advancing from a tough group which includes England and Germany.

Ryan Gravenberch - Netherlands

Birth Year: 2002

Club: Bayern Munich

Position: CM

ETV: €38.9M – €64.9M

According to SciSports’ SciSkill index, the best player who will be appearing at the tournament is Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch.

Unfortunately, the Dutchman has not seen a lot of game time since moving to Germany last summer, starting just three league games for the record Bundesliga champions in 2022/23. That is a real shame, because it would have been very interesting to see how he would kick on in the Bundesliga after an incredible 2021/22 campaign with Ajax where bossed midfields in all aspects all over the Eredivisie.

Gravenberch will hope to convince Thomas Tuchel of his talents to feature a lot more often next season, so a standout U21 Euro campaign should help his case.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis - England

Birth Year: 2002

Club: Manchester City

Position: CB

ETV: €7.7M – €12.8M

England’s captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis has developed a lot over the last two years, and that should come as no surprise since he has been learning from the best.

The young centre-back has spent the last two seasons under the tutelage of Vincent Kompany, following him from Anderlecht to Burnley on loan from Manchester City on both occasions. After a slightly shaky start to his time in Belgium, he has matured into a commanding centre-half, impressive both off and especially on the ball for the Championship-winning Clarets.

England will need him to be at his best at the back if they are to lift this trophy for the first time since 1984.

Manu Kone - France

Birth Year: 2001

Club: Borussia Monchengladbach

Position: DM/CM

ETV: €11.7M – €19.6M

Manu Kone should be a familiar name to Liverpool fans given the fact that he has been extensively linked with a move to Merseyside this summer, so they should tune into France’s matches in this tournament.

The 22-year-old midfielder spent most of this season on the left of a double pivot in midfield for Borussia Monchengladbach, where one of his chief tasks was carrying and passing the ball forward after receiving in fairly deep areas. His off-ball defensive work-rate also stood out, so watch out for these qualities.

Lois Openda - Belgium

Birth Year: 2000

Club: RC Lens

Position: ST

ETV: €21.3M – €35.6M

Lois Openda is among a few players in this tournament who have already been capped at the senior level, so you can expect him to blow away defences here.

Indeed, that is exactly what he has been doing for the last couple of years. Lens signed him last summer on the back of a 19-goal season in the Eredivisie with Vitesse, and he went on to bag 21 in Ligue this time as Lens qualified for the Champions League.

He might well be on the move again this summer as many big clubs are after his signature and RB Leipzig have already had a bid rejected, but not before wreaking some havoc in Romania.

Arnau Martinez - Spain

Birth Year: 2003

Club: Girona

Position: RB

ETV: €20.2M – €33.7M

It should be very interesting to see how Spain utilise Arnau Martinez because although he is a right-back, he has spent most of this season operating in midfield in possession while playing an inverted full-back role for Girona.

He has looked incredibly impressive in the last year – tidy on the ball, adept at getting it forward, secure defensively and tough to beat one-on-one. He has even chipped in with a few goals and assists for good measure.

Girona and Spain have a real gem on their hands, and he should be expected to shine in Romania.

Youssoufa Moukoko - Germany

Birth Year: 2004

Club: Borussia Dortmund

Position: ST

ETV: €24.2M – €40.3M

Speaking of gems, Youssoufa Moukoko certainly is one. He holds the records for being the youngest player to appear in the UEFA Champions League and German Bundesliga having done so just after turning 16 years old, so even though he has been around for quite a while, he is still only 18.

The German striker boasted a scary goalscoring record of 141 goals in 88 games for Dortmund’s under-17 and under-19 teams while playing well above his age level, but he has since evolved into a more well-rounded forward. He has played in other positions across the front line when needed, making clever off-ball runs, setting up his teammates and leading presses besides scoring goals.

Mykhailo Mudryk - Ukraine

Birth Year: 2001

Club: Chelsea

Position: LW

ETV: €27.1M – €45.1M

Mykhailo Mudryk is the most expensive player at this tournament in terms of transfer fees, as Chelsea splashed €70M (plus upto €30m in add-ons) on him in January. He arrived at Stamford Bridge with a lot of hype surrounding him, and rightly so too given his performances for Shakhtar Donetsk which we analysed.

Some of that excitement has died down after he has seemed to have had a tough time adapting to new surroundings at a time when Chelsea themselves have been in turmoil, so this tournament should provide him with a great opportunity to regain confidence and toy with opposition defenders like he did in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Pedro Neto - Portugal

Birth Year: 2000

Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers

Position: LW

ETV: €12.1M – €20.2M

Pedro Neto is in a similar position to Mudryk in the sense that he too will be keen to impress at the U21 Euros to remind everyone of his talents, albeit for very different reasons.

His best time in terms of on-field performances came in the 2020/21 season when he really caught the eye for Wolves with his electric dribbling and ability to make things happen in the final third, but a serious knee injury at the end of the season rather stole his thunder.

He missed close to a year’s worth of football because of that, and not too long after making his return in 2022, he suffered another injury which also derailed his World Cup dreams. So, he too will look to start working to get back to his best with a good tournament in Romania.

Giorgio Scalvini - Italy

Birth Year: 2003

Club: Atalanta

Position: CB

ETV: €19.4M – €32.4M

The last player in our list is centre-back Giorgio Scalvini. The 19-year-old centre-back has the potential to be one of the best of his kind, which he has showcased in an all-action wide centre-back role for Gian Piero Gasperini’s very fluid Atalanta side.

That pizza chart says a lot in itself so we need not speak much about Scalvini’s performances in Serie A, but he might not be asked to throw himself about so much in this tournament. Depending on the sort of tactical system Italy use, the teenager could well be asked to restrain himself a return and stay more fixed in the back line, so it should be quite intriguing to see how he plays such a role.