5 very fun attackers off to hot starts this season

We’re just starting to get into the kind of sample sizes that let us put together reasonably well-informed hypotheses about teams and players (as you’ve seen with the start of English/UCL action on Variance Betting), so I thought I’d highlight some guys who are trending in the right direction.

You will be unsurprised to learn who some of the top performing attackers are across Europe’s top leagues at the moment, but there are a couple who I’ve got to admit I really didn’t see coming.

Maghnes Akliouche, Monaco

Long-time readers will know this is absolutely one I saw coming. Akilouche was heavily linked to Premier League transfers that never materialized over the summer, with Monaco reportedly asking for a fee somewhere in the neighborhood of €70m. I think worse players were going for the same or larger fees.

Akilouche continues to get himself into high-value shooting positions regularly. Two of his goals were easy ones from shots on 0.8+ xG, but you have to get into those positions in the first place to get the tap-ins. Also encouraging is that he’s popping up a lot more through the center or off the left after spending last season almost exclusively playing on the right wing. He’s had a tap-in goal vs. Le Havre and a great assist vs. Strasbourg from the left half-space.

Nico Paz, Como

There aren’t a lot of No. 10s in the world that have Paz’s combination of playmaking ability and shot volume. That he’s putting up these numbers on a team that just got promoted last season and doesn’t quite have the firepower of Serie A’s historical giants remains extremely impressive. He decided to wait for a potential Real Madrid return instead of finding a stepping stone this summer, and he might end up getting it if he keeps this up.

His two big plays in a recent win over Lazio were absolutely outrageous. This through ball assist and free kick goal are both going to be in contention for best play of the season in Serie A.

Jérémy Doku, Manchester City

You’re probably saying you’ve seen this before. Classic Jérémy Doku, amazing dribbling with no end product. And yes, he’s still a totally nothing shooter, but there are some signs that his passing has improved quite a bit.

A system that’s focused less around keeping the ball and more around finding Erling Haaland the ball in as much space as possible seems to be benefitting Doku, who already has 2 assists, plus a 0.9 xGA pass to Haaland in the box that the City striker uncharacteristically missed the target with.

Michael Olise, Bayern Munich

No one will be surprised to see Olise on this list after his sensational debut season with Bayern Munich, but he’s probably not getting enough love in the “best attacking players in the world” discussion. He’s providing more dribbling value to his team than just about anyone in the world right now, while also regularly assisting Harry Kane and scoring bangers of his own.

Olise was Bayern’s best player on Tuesday too, scoring a goal and notching 2 assists in their 5-1 Champions League win over Pafos. Pretty much everyone on Bayern was excellent in their 6-0 demolition of Leipzig, but I thought he was the clear man of the match.

Nicolas Pépé, Villarreal

Yes, that Nicolas Pépé. The famous Arsenal flop found his way to Villarreal last year, where he had a respectable but not quite sensational debut season. This year, he’s shockingly the Yellow Submarine’s best player through 7 La Liga games. He’s got 2 goals and 1 assist, and he’s unlucky not to have more.

Villarreal’s 4-4-2 system where Pépé plays as an extremely wide striker has fit him perfectly. He’s not a good enough passer to make a positive impact from a deeper position and he’s not strong enough to be a lone center forward, but in a system where he’s supposed to stay high and drift off into the right half-space, he’s a menace.

If you’re pretty much a Premier League/Champions League-only football viewer and don’t believe me, check him out vs. Juventus on Wednesday night.

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