Eight breakthrough prospects who could light up Euro 2024 - from a Chelsea target to the next Luka Modrić

The European Championships are finally underway and there are storylines waiting to be written all across Germany – and players preparing to write them. Most of the biggest moments will come from the boots of established stars and players around whom huge hype trains have been generated, but one of the great thrills of major tournaments is always the unexpected stars born as a result of brilliant performances on the biggest stage.

Guessing which players will suddenly burst into the consciousness of football supporters across the continent is a fool’s game, of course - who would have predicted Theo Zagorakis being the player of the tournament back in 2004? – but then what are people who take up sports journalism for a career if not fools? Here are eight players who could write their name in the stars this summer, most but not all of them young and on the cusp of apparent greatness, but all poised to do something very special if those same stars just align.

One thing we’ll say before we start is that the idea is to highlight players who haven’t already played a starring role in top level football. The less engaged football fan may not yet know about Warren Zaïre-Emery or Benjamin Šeško, perhaps, but all the players highlighted here are those who have as yet only played a relatively minor role in a big five league or who ply their trade elsewhere. Basically, we’re assuming we won’t blow your mind with Jamal Musiala. Anyway…

Georgiy Sudakov - Ukraine

The Ukrainian midfielder will be a familiar name to the kind of Chelsea fans that spend a little too much time reading up on the latest transfer rumours – he’s been linked with a move to London a few times in recent months, and you can see why Behdad Eghbali and the rest of the brass at Stamford Bridge could be excited by him.

An elegant and fluid number ten with an eye for a killer pass and increasing assuredness around goal, the 21-year-old is Shakhtar Donetsk’s creative spark and looks set for a big move very soon. A youngster with flair, talent and the audacity to pull off the remarkable (when he scores, it’s often a cracker) he has cult Euros hero written all over him.

Adam Obert – Slovakia

The 21-year-old Cagliari centre-half could well start in the heart of Slovakia’s defence alongside Milan Škriniar after an impressive season in Serie A – and if he does, he would provide his team with some impressive defensive quality and penetrative passing.

Not the kind of gigantic defender you find wrestling attackers in the box, Obert reads the game exceptionally well and is usually found stepping out of the back line to press his opponents and pick off their passes – often before firing raking passes upfield or dribbling the ball out of defence himself. A thoroughly modern centre-half who could easily make his name if Slovakia go on an unexpected run.

Georges Mikautadze – Georgia

To say the 23-year-old has had a mixed season would be putting it mildly. After scoring 23 goals in Metz’s Ligue 2 promotion campaign last year he was snapped up by Ajax for €16m – only to play just nine games before they sent him straight back in January on a deal which features a clause that could see him return him to Metz at a dead loss of several million. Having failed to find the net a single time in the Netherlands, however, he promptly scored ten goals in ten games in Ligue 1.

So will the real Mikautadze please step forward? Is he the pacey, tricksy forward whose dribbling leaves defenders in the dust as he surges towards goal? Or the deeply disappointing dud who couldn’t get on the end of anything when he took a step up? If he’s the former – and ten goals in 25 international games suggests he might be, even if four of them did come in one rather pointless game against Thailand – then Euro 2024 would be a good time to prove it. Also the owner of a smashing chinstrap beard.

Kristjan Asllani – Albania

Not too much is expected of Sylvinho’s Albania at this tournament, not least because they’ve been drawn in a truly brutal group which also involves Spain, Croatia and reigning champions Italy – but this could still be a great chance for 22-year-old midfielder Asllani to make his name among supporters outside the San Siro.

Asllani has made 60 appearances for the Nerazzurri already, albeit mostly from the bench, and still betrays his inexperience by trying to dribble his way out of tight corners a little too often, but he’s a composed presence in the centre of the field and a sublime passer with a lovely range – think Andrea Pirlo, even if he isn’t there just yet. He could very easily shine and if Albania do spring a surprise somewhere, his creativity and vision will likely have a starring role.

Martin Baturina – Croatia

A Football Manager favourite, the Dinamo Zagreb midfielder is pushing hard for a place in Croatia’s starting line-up and a big tournament could see him anointed as Luka Modrić’s heir apparent.

He may well have to do it all from the bench given the quality Croatia have with the likes of Mateo Kovačić and Marcelo Brozović but the ability is all there – he’s an all-action attacking midfielder with a growing passing range, brilliant dribbling skills and exceptional vision. A big move across the continent seems inevitable soon and he’s been tentatively linked with Arsenal, but he’s developing in relative obscurity for now. That won’t last.

Jerdy Schouten – Netherlands

The 27-year-old midfielder hasn’t had a particularly remarkable career, bouncing around between various Dutch teams and Bologna in Italy and catching few eyes before signing for Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven last summer – but out of nowhere, with a string of injuries striking the Netherlands’ first-choice midfielders down, Schouten finds himself a likely starter for the Oranje.

A defensive midfielder who can also play at centre-back, Schouten was PSV’s engine room this past season, generating tons of turnovers, sparking attacks and demonstrating a deep range of passing. But he’s never done it at the very highest level before, and while he was a regular for a mid-table Serie A side for a few years, this is still a massive step up. Take that step with a team who have a lot of quality and he could be set for cult hero status.

Aster Vranckx – Belgium

Is Belgium’s golden generation fizzling out? With the last holdouts like Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku sliding into their thirties the chance for glory may seem to have passed – but there is still some serious talent coming through in Belgium, and Wolfsburg holding midfielder Vranckx could be a key component for them for years to come.

21 years old, Vranckx plays for VfL Wolfsburg and is a destructive defensive midfielder who’s gutsy, strong and times his tackles well. Alongside Everton’s Amadou Onana, he could well be the beating heart of the Belgian midfield in the very near future – and while he probably won’t be a game one starter for his national side, don’t be surprised if he makes an impact somewhere down the line and generates an overdue hype train.

Arda Güler – Turkey

To be honest, most people who know football in depth know all about Arda at this stage – a colossal talent plucked from Fenerbahçe by Real Madrid, he was promptly injured almost as soon as he arrived at the Bernabeu and spent much of the season on the sidelines, frustrated that he wasn’t able to make his mark.

But after he got his health back, he reminded everyone of just what a stellar player he is – he scored six goals in his first ten league games, most of them from the bench, as Real cantered to a league and Champions League double, and showed off all of the magnificent technique, touch, and inventiveness than have seen him stand out as one of the most talented players in the world. Turkey’s chances of success are hard to predict, but this is Arda’s chance to announce himself to the parts of the football world that don’t pay such close attention. A quite staggering young player who could well be a genuine superstar very soon.