The Euros are now in full swing and we’ve a few weeks of great football ahead. But, who is going to come out of leftfield to be one of the less likely top goal scorers. We take a look at some of the ones worth a punt.
- Gareth Bale
What? Did you honestly believe we would reveal some unknown superstars ahead of the summer tournament? Were you truly expecting to read about the next breakthrough star following in the glorified footsteps of Milan Baros and Karel Poborsky? The next player to earn a move after performing some outstanding shots?
The man is Gareth Bale. You may have heard of him. Bale is one of the most expensive football players on the international scene and he is currently playing for Real Madrid. Manchester United are desperate to have him; bless them.
Gareth Frank Bale was originally a left-back who was unable to be a game ahead of the well known Benoit Assou-Ekotto. Nowadays, he is available at a 50/1 betting rate at various booking agents, including Paddy Power, to finish Euro 2016 as the top goal scorer.
Bales is a Welsh football player and he scored 7 of the 11 goals for Wales during their 10 qualifying matches. As a player he will be taking all penalty kicks and free kicks. His, and all the other players, skill have put Wales in a place where they are likely to progress past the group stage providing this 26-year-old with unlimited goal scoring opportunities. It will be the first time since 1958 for them and as you can see since then the football kits have changed a lot. Furthermore, he will face Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill for 90 minutes on the pitch; or John Stones. Shudder.
- Daniel Sturridge
Daniel Sturridge is a football player for the Liverpool football club. This well known striker will not begin the English versus Russia opening game. Instead, Roy Hodgson is looking to crowbar Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney and Dele Alli into a similar system. I’m not sure this will work Roy.
Despite Sturridge beginning the tournament as an onlooker from the bench, he is in top form. The 26-year-old player was able to score 13 goals in 25 games during an injury-hit season. The odds at the moment are 66/1 for him to complete the season as the top goal scorer, and it’s looking quite a good bet. Aside from the team captain, Sturridge is the one footballer to have scored any tournament goal for England. Good grief.
- Andre Schurrle
Another player who is not in his country starting XI, but who has perfected being an impact substitute, is Andrew Schurrle. In the 2014 World Cup, he was able to score 3 times including a goal and assisted goal in the Germany v. Algeria quarter-final.
This superb footballer playing for Wolfsburg was able to score 9 goals in 29 of his teams Bundesliga games over the last season despite having to play on the wing behind NicklasBendtar. Fear not, Schurrle may find himself with more playing opportunities in the near future due to Joachim Low’s embarrassment of riches for his attacking focal point – Mario Gomez, Mario Gotze, or even Lukas Podolski.
- ArkadiuszMilik
If you have not heard of ArkadiuszMilik, then where have you been? You have missed out on the joy that is a 22-year-old Polish striker – the Robin to Robert Lewandowski’s Batman. Milik is Bayern Munich’s top scorer scoring 6 of the 13 goals Bayern Munich played in the qualifying matches for this upcoming tournament. On the club scene, Milik has begun earning some supportive and impressed looks from members of the Premier League after scoring 21 goals in 31 Eredivisie matches during his first season with Ajax. You just have to ignore the fact that Luuk de Jong was one of the other two who may or may not have put more goals on the board.
- Lorenzo Insigne
“More youth gone to waste” – the overall consensus of football player Andrea Tallarita stating that this forward was once Italy’s hope to be the “last fantasista”; however, that was before Lorenzo Insigne. Insigne is a 25-year-old player caught in the middle of two eras of the Italian national football team. Despite his overwhelming experiencing in Serie A with the 13 players in the squad aged over 28, only two of these players have fewer international caps in Conte’s squad.
Insigne may be in the middle, but his scoring is not mediocre at all. Through his nine appearances for Italy he has scored twice and has provided 12 goals in this season alone as a forward and free-kick expert.