Spain's Latest Rising Star

The Europa League can be the platform for many young players to make their name. We enjoyed success backing Mohamed Salah when he burst onto the scene with Basel and now he’s an £11m recruit for Chelsea. In future, we could be saying the same about Paco Alcacer.

Already attracting the interest of Arsenal, the 20-year-old is making waves for Valencia by scoring seven goals on the club’s run to the semi-finals where they now meet La Liga rivals Sevilla.

There’s no doubt what the youngster’s career highlight to date has been - it came only a fortnight ago. Valencia trailed Basel 3-0 after a disastrous first leg, only for Alcacer to grab a hat-trick as the Spaniards made history by overcoming the deficit, winning 5-0 at the Mestalla. After that, they will feel their name is on the trophy.

It’s been a remarkable rise for a player who has just broken into the first team in 2013-14. The youth international found the net three times in the group stages, when he was often coming off the bench, before adding to his tally in the round of 16 against Ludogorets.

The second highest scorer in the Europa League, Alcacer is now a pivotal member of the team and undervalued at a best price of 10/3 (Bet365) in the anytime goalscorer market.