Mustering a list of the top 10 very-best performers of the season across Europe’s top five leagues is an onerous task, of course. It’s one to debate in the pub with your mates or round the dinner table with your dad, who insists on including the likes of Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham, despite their playing days being so far behind them, they are no longer visible.

Sit and ponder the question, though. Who – in European football – has shone the most this season? The forwards that have put up numbers that Pele would be proud of, midfielders that are often the metronome in Europe’s top sides, or defenders that resemble a brick ball.

Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo make the grade, given they now ply their trade outside of Europe for Inter Miami and Al-Nassr, respectively. No need to fret, however, as the young and hungry stars of European football are on hand to take their place, with some racking up jaw-dropping goalscoring figures.

Still trying to figure out your personal top ten? Don’t worry – the folks over at WhoScored, despite the 2023/24 season being far from over yet, are here to save the day and have used their complex statistical algorithm to rank the top 15 players in Europe by virtue of their average matching rating. Let’s not waste any more of your precious time and dive in, shall we?

Leroy Sané has impressed so much during 2023/24 that former Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola is reportedly sniffing around his services once again – and it’s clear to see why, as he, according to statistics, is the most in-form player in Europe’s top five leagues.

Avid watchers of English football would already know how much of a threat that Sane could be, but now we are witnessing the German wide man at the peak of his powers. Possibly helped by Harry Kane’s introduction, the lightning-quick winger has notched eight goals and an additional six assists in 11 Bundesliga fixtures this term.

Close behind Sane is Stuttgart ace Serhou Guirassy, who is quickly becoming a household name in football circles. And why not? The eight-cap Guinea international has plundered a mouth-watering 15 goals in 666 league minutes, which equates to one every 44.4 minutes. Wow.

Currently in red-hot form, the striker has piqued interest from a host of Premier League clubs, including Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Bournemouth. Whether his goalscoring record could translate into arguably the toughest level in the world is, however, a conversation for another day. Mooted as a potential Michail Antonio replacement, his high-profile move could well be just a matter of months away.

17 goals. 11 appearances. Need we say more? Of course, we all knew Kane to be a potent goal threat thanks to his time at Tottenham Hotspur, where he found the back of the net 278 times in his 430-game career. But even by his standards, his numbers are out of this world.

Emerging as one of the leading candidates to win the Ballon d’Or in 2024, the Englishman has taken to the Bundesliga like a duck to water and has scored 17 goals in 11 games, all the while averaging 4.5 shots per game. Such an impressive goal return has amassed an average 8.36 match rating, and it’s quite ludicrous that such a high rating is only ranked third. The competitiveness of European football, eh?

12 Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid – 8.04

Here he is. In quite emphatic fashion, Jude Bellingham – still just at the tender age of 20 – has taken La Liga by storm and is considered one of the best players in the weird and wonderful world of football. So much so that it’s hard to envisage the last time any player arriving on the shores of Madrid and having such an immediate impact as the England regular has.

Without breaking a sweat, the Birmingham-born world-beater has silenced any critics, who had doubts over his £88.5m price tag, within a four to five-month period. It’s mind-blowing to suggest that this is him just getting started, but that’s how much of an out-of-this-world talent he has proven to be. Scary hours.

Considered the heir to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s shared throne, Paris Saint-Germain’s crown jewel has – perhaps quietly – enjoyed another goal-filled season in the French capital so far, having netted 13 times in 11 domestic outings. Scoring goals and dumbfounded defences is becoming a weekly occurrence for the 24-year-old and long may it continue.

2023 has been a somewhat tumultuous year for Kylian Mbappé – surprisingly the tenth most expensive footballer as things stand – at his current employers, Paris Saint-Germain, what with the uncertainty of his future and the departure of none other than Lionel Messi, which meant the hopes and dreams of the Parc des Princes faithful are now coherently in the hands of the dazzling Frenchman.

The epicentre of the Xabi Alonso-led revolution currently unfolding at Bayer Leverkusen, Victor Boniface has been in a rich vein of goalscoring form since making the summer switch from Union Saint-Gilloise, accruing 12 goal involvements (7G, 5A) in 11 league fixtures. Goal-shy Everton were also linked to the perennial goal threat and will look back on their failed pursual glumly.

On the back of receiving £51m from Aston Villa in exchange for Moussa Diaby, Leverkusen’s hands were tied as they opted for Boniface – and honestly, they have not looked back since, especially given he was ranked as one of the best signings of the summer. Likely to double and – even possibly – triple their profits when he inevitably leaves for bigger things as he continues to make himself more well-known.

One of the lesser-known talents on the list is 20-year-old Argentine starlet, Matias Soule. The gifted wide forward was a beacon of hope for Juventus’ youth sides and was afforded a shot at first team action in December 2022. Now on loan at Serie A side Frosinone, he has chalked up a goal every other game with the solitary assist on top.

Proving he can cut it in one of Europe’s top leagues, the next step-up for Soule will be returning to Turin, with more experience on his CV, ready to cement himself as a regular. With the likes of Messi and Sergio Aguero to look up to as fellow countrymen that have taken the footballing world by storm, the future of Argentinian football is in extremely safe hands.

Bayer Leverkusen and Spain left-back, Alex Grimaldo, has bided his time and quietly become a constant goal threat for Alonso this season. He’s totted up six goals and four assists since the 2023/24 campaign got underway, earning himself an average match rating of 7.78 from those over at WhoScored.

Well accustomed to operating in advanced areas, the Spaniard is rarely faulty in the final third, while assuring his defensive duties are completed to a high standard, too. His dependable ball-striking ability makes him a huge threat and is exhibit A of why he should be getting a look in to fill Spain’s wide left defender berth for Euro 2024.

A name often thrown around alongside some of the Premier League powerhouses summer upon summer, Lautaro Martinez has swiftly gone under the radar this campaign. With 12 goals and one assist to his name in 2023/24, the Argentine has – once again – proven his worth at the Nerazzurri, a side he is willing to commit his future to.

Known as the most expensive 26-year-old in world football, his impressive domestic form last season earned him a spot in his nation’s World Cup winning outfit and, should his performances persist, he’ll certainly be a key figure for Lionel Scaloni for years to come.

The first of three Manchester City assets, the Norwegian star just about cracks the top ten. On the back of a record-setting season in the sky blue of the Cityzens, there were many doubts about whether Erling Haaland, included in GIVEMESPORT’s Premier League Team of the Season so far, would be able to continue scoring like it was going out of fashion or whether he’d face a period of plateau.

But nope, he was straight back to his outrageous goalscoring exploits. 12 top flight appearances and 13 goals later, and he’s been given a 7.67 match rating from WhoScored. Oh, and here’s your daily reminder that Haaland is only 22. Twenty-two!

Haaland this, Haaland that. It is lynchpin-like players such as the ever-reliable Rodri, who is just behind club teammate Kevin De Bruyne in the league’s best midfielders list, that are the glue to Guardiola’s growing excellence in Manchester. Defensive midfielders often go unnoticed thanks to fans’ affinity to goal-gobbling strikers, but the Spaniard, in particular, deserves all the plaudits that are thrown in his direction.

An integral piece of Guardiola’s treble-winning outfit of 2022/23, the chasm between performances when he is in and out of the team is unfathomable and just proves – once again – why he is the greatest of the modern era. Ask yourself this: when was the last time that Rodri put in a poor performance? Exactly.

Alonso, manager of Leverkusen, has clearly shown a knack for turning things up a notch – and Jonas Hoffman is the prime example of this. By no means a poor player at all, the 31-year-old has finally reached what seems the best of his ability and has five goals and assists apiece – a glowing testament to his evident improvement on the wing.

A fully-fledged Germany international, the former Borussia Mönchengladbach man signed for rivals Leverkusen in the summer and simply hasn’t looked back since. On route to a potential league-rocking triumph, his provisions in the final third will be imperative to Boniface as the pair continue to enjoy life under their new coach.

Arsenal’s renowned star boy sits – surprisingly – far down on this list. For countless seasons in a row, the expectations of north London’s red side have sat solely on the young shoulders of Bukayo Saka, who is predicted to become a Gunners legend.

After finishing five points off the pace last time out, Mikel Arteta’s side – spearheaded by the Englishman – are keen to better their chances and Saka has clearly started off on the right foot in their pursuit of English champion status. There’s much more to Saka’s all-round play than meets the eye, however, but it would be remiss to ignore his four goals and four assists tally in 11 games.

Hitting the ground running in the Premier League is a feat that even some of the very greatest have struggled to do over the years. Jeremy Doku, however, has had no trouble finding his feet and nothing embodied his talent better than his four assist-haul against Bournemouth as he became the latest to join the exclusive club.

The Belgian, who Pep Guardiola parted ways with £55.5m for, has injected their front line with spark and excitement – aspects that someone of Haaland’s ilk doesn’t exactly bring in abundance. Still just 21 years of age, the former Rennes ace has registered two goals and five assists in 556 minutes of Premier League so far and could be a mainstay on the wing for Guardiola and his entourage for the foreseeable future.

A world without Kane initially seemed to be a gloomy one for fans of Tottenham, but the Englishman, formerly of Leicester City, has certainly stepped up to the plate since his compatriot’s big-money departure. Alongside Kane’s former partner in crime, Heung-min Son, Spurs’ creator-in-chief, James Maddison, has formed a two-man partnership that has turned the north Londoners into potential title challengers.

With eight goal involvements (consisting of three goals and five assists) coming in the league, the playmaker has stormed the capital club to there or thereabouts at the top of the tree – but can he do one better and fire them to a taste of silverware come the end of the season? Admittedly, he’s out nursing an injury at the time of writing, but if he can return and continue to fire all cylinders, they may begin to dust off the party poppers.