Ten lesser-known stars Premier League teams should target this summer

With the transfer window opening soon, we take a look at 10 lesser-known players impressing in Europe's top five leagues that Premier League sides could target this summer...

Teji Savanier 

A surprise name ranks third for the top rated player gong in Europe’s top five leagues this season with Nimes star Teji Savanier (7.89) taking his place on the podium. The French midfielder, now 27, has been a revelation in his debut Ligue 1 season and while a household name in France, he remains a relative unknown across Europe. That, though, could change this summer.  

Savanier really shot to prominence with his fine strike in Nimes’ 2-0 win of Dijon back in February and his performances this season suggests a more direct side that focuses on set-pieces would benefit immensely from the midfielder. Indeed, he ranks top for key passes from set-piece situations (47) and fifth for accurate long balls (163) of all outfield players in Ligue 1 this season. Offering up returns of 3.2 tackles and 2.2 dribbles per game, the Frenchman is the perfect all-round midfielder and Nimes may ultimately have a tough time keeping their midfield lynchpin this summer. 

Sebastien Haller  

Having previously excelled for FC Utrecht, Sebastien Haller was tentatively linked with moves to Aston Villa and Norwich, before Eintracht Frankfurt confirmed his capture in 2017. It was a so-so debut season in Germany, but the Frenchman has begun to really shine in his second campaign with Eintracht, chipping in with 14 goals and nine assists to return a WhoScored rating of 7.63. 

Luka Jovic may be the headline hogger for the Bundesliga side, but Haller is proving the perfect foil for the Serbian hitman. Winning an average of 7.2 aerial duels per game, it’s somewhat remarkable that no Premier League has seriously considered a move for the 24-year-old, yet that could all change this summer. His skillset is ideal for the physical rigours of English football and his capture would be an astute one for any top-flight team, save one or two of the leading pack. 

Willi Orban 

Remaining with the Bundesliga, RB Leipzig have been gaining some serious momentum in their quest to finish in the top four with their solid defence the foundation upon which their push for Champions League football is built. Indeed, they’ve conceded fewer goals (22) than any other Bundesliga side this season and kept a clean sheet in each league game in March, that fine run coming to an end in a 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen, with centre-back Willi Orban hugely impressive at the heart of the defence. 

The Hungarian is RB Leipzig’s second highest rated player, with a WhoScored rating of 7.50, and is a current feature in the European team of the season. Orban my be relatively ineffective at playing the ball out from the back, returning a 77.3% pass success rate this season, but his no-nonsense, proactive approach has worked wonders for both player and club with the 26-year-old averaging 6 clearances per game in the Bundesliga this term, that ranking fifth in Germany’s top tier. 

Marcel Halstenberg 

It’s not just Orban who has impressed for RB Leipzig this season, with defensive teammate Marcel Halstenberg also excelling. The German is the best rated left-back in Europe’s top five leagues this season, with a WhoScored rating of 7.51, and for good reason too. No player has created more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities than Halstenberg (14) in the Bundesliga this season and his attacking output has returned six assists. 

A set-piece specialist to boot, Halstenberg (27) ranks second for key passes from set-piece situations  in the Bundesliga this season, while 2.5 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game how effective he is at both ends of the pitch. At 27. Halstenberg, like Savanier, is something of a late bloomer, but with the German coming into his prime, a big money this summer could be on the cards and if his performances this season are anything to go by, the German could prove a handy pickup when the transfer window opens. 

Rodrigo De Paul 

It’s been a fairly tumultuous season for Udinese, who sit just five points above the Serie A drop zone. A 3-2 win over relegation rivals Empoli boosted their chances of survival, but it’s been another disappointing campaign for Le Zebrette, bar for one standout performer. Rodrigo De Paul’s eighth and ninth goals helped Udinese to all three points on Saturday, with the Argentine securing a WhoScored rating of 8.47 in the victory. 

With nine goals and four assists to his name, De Paul (7.31) is far and away Udinese’s highest rated player and the only one for the team to have achieved a rating in excess of 7.00 this season. His departure would be a significant blow to the club and while he penned a new deal earlier in the campaign, it won’t stop rumours over his future with the Serie A side. AC Milan have been linked with a move, as have Tottenham, for the attacker, who has made more accurate through balls (8) than any other player in Serie A this season. 

Kerem Demirbay 

Back to the Bundesliga and this time with Hoffenheim and, specifically, Kerem Demirbay. The Germany international has previously been linked with Premier League pair Arsenal and Liverpool, but there proved to be no substance in the rumours. Any reports over a Premier League switch have quietened in recent months, but Demirbay has continued to go about his business effectively. 

The midfielder is top for key passes from set-piece situations (30) in the Bundesliga this season, and is second to James Rodriguez (4) for key passes per 90 (3.6) in Germany’s top tier this term, reinforcing a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘key passes’. Hoffenheim are maintaining their push to secure a top six finish and should they end the campaign in the European places, Demirbay will have been key. Failure to do so, however, and Hoffenheim may face the realisation of their prized asset's departure.

Youcef Atal 

One of the surprise stars in Europe’s top five leagues this season, Youcef Atal has proven a shrewd signing for Nice, with the Algerian right-back a solid pickup from Paradou AC last summer. He has very much shot to prominence in France with his WhoScored rating (7.44) better than any other right-back in Europe’s top five leagues. Able to play in any position down the right flank, his versatility is an added bonus and allows Atal to maximise a WhoScored strength of ‘dribbling’. 

Indeed, Atal has completed more dribbles (77) than any other defender in Europe’s top five leagues this season and at 22 years of age, there is plenty more to come from the youngster. Tottenham are supposedly in the market for a new right-back this summer, with Kieran Trippier and Serge Aurier both available at the right price, and while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is their first choice target, Atal would be a solid pick up provided they could convince Nice to sell. 

Filip Kostic 

Another Eintracht Frankfurt player whose form has gone under the radar somewhat is Filip Kostic, whose assist in a man of the match display against Schalke means he has had a direct hand in a goal in his last six league appearances. The Serbian has five goals and nine assists to his name now, with five of those assists coming for compatriot Luka Jovic to score, that the best assist-to-goalscorer combination in the Bundesliga. 

He may not be the most glamorous winger in world football at present, but at least Jovic is a hard working wideman having averaged 1.9 tackles per game in the Bundesliga this season. The 26-year-old is impressive in possession too, as returns of 1.2 key passes and 1.6 successful dribbles per game suggests. In Haller, Kostic and Jovic, Eintracht would be unwilling to lose their three prized attacking assets this summer, with Jovic the likeliest to leave, but that isn’t to say teams shouldn’t chance their luck for Kostic after another fine campaign in Germany. 

Guillermo Maripan 

Alaves have been something of a surprise package in La Liga this season, with Abelardo Fernandez masterminding their push for a top-six finish. A relatively solid rearguard has been one of the reasons for such a commendable campaign so far, though it could have been so much better had Guillermo Maripan been available for all 31 league matches this season. 

The Chilean has made just 21 La Liga starts this term, but Alaves’ win ratio increases from 30% to 42.9% when he does feature from the off. As one might expect, they concede fewer goals per game when Maripan starts (1.14) than when he does not (1.4) and his good form has seen him linked with a move to West Ham. The Hammers are thought to have seen an £8.5m offer rebuffed, with Alaves holding out for the £23m release clause, but with West Ham boasting one of the worse defensive records in the Premier League, a centre-back who averages 2.1 tackles, 1.8 interceptions and 5.7 clearances per game will only improve their defensive solidity. 

Joelinton 

Having established himself as a first team regular for Hoffenheim, Brazilian Joelinton is impressing for the German side with seven goals and five assists to his name. However, it’s his work off the ball that has interested Newcastle, among others, in recent weeks, with his intelligence out of possession and his high work rate part of the reasoning behind the rumoured race for his signature. 

The 22-year-old has put up averages of 1.5 key passes and 1.8 successful dribbles per game in the Bundesliga, while 2.2 shots per game notes his confidence in his goal getting ability. This dogged approach has become a staple of Brazilian forwards of late and if Joelinton can maintain his good form between now and the end of the season, he could prove a shrewd pickup for any team this summer.