Erling Haaland, William Saliba and GOAL's Under-23 Team of the Season for 2022-23

It's not been an easy season for Marco Carnesecchi. During a loan spell at Cremonese, the Atalanta-owned goalkeeper has been given little protection by the second-worst defence in Serie A, statistically-speaking.

However, Carnesecchi has managed to forge a reputation as one of the best young shot-stoppers in Italy, with 111 saves and, even more impressively, a save percentage of 69.4 percent - which is better than that of Liverpool ace Alisson (68.5%).

Consequently, the 22-year-old is now being linked with a summer move to Juventus, who are reportedly considering offloading Wojciech Szczesny.

Manchester United are reportedly leading the chase to sign Jeremie Frimpong this summer, and that's not in the least bit surprising. Erik ten Hag needs a right-back that offers more going forward than either Diogo Dalot or Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and the Bayer Leverkusen speedster certainly fits the bill.

Frimpong, who has sometimes played on the wing, has run riot this season, directly involved in 19 goals in all competitions, scoring nine himself. Don't be surprised if United end up paying a hefty fee for the 22-year-old Dutchman, who came through the youth system at Man City.

It's highly likely that Manchester City would have eventually overhauled Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table no matter what. Pep Guardiola simply had a deeper and stronger squad at his disposal than Mikel Arteta.

And yet one cannot help but wonder what might have happened had the Gunners not lost William Saliba to injury. Arsenal kept just two clean sheets after the Frenchman suffered a season-ending back injury in March, and both of those arrived after the momentum had shifted completely in City's favour.

Hardly surprising, then, that the Gunners are now doing "everything we can" to convince the centre-half to sign a new contract after belatedly making a massive impact at the Emirates after spending the previous two-and-a-half seasons out on loan.

There is no denying that Matthijs de Ligt disappointed at Juventus. The former Ajax captain played well at times but became worryingly error-prone. And yet there was always the nagging feeling that he was simply a bad fit for Juve. And so it proved.

Bayern Munich may not have made many good signings last summer, which led to the dismissal of sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, but De Ligt eventually became the key man in a title-winning defence.

The 23-year-old didn't just make a difference with his perfectly-timed tackles and interventions, either; he also chipped in with a couple of crucial goals during the run-in, against Stuttgart and Freiburg.

Alejandro Balde's season may have come to a slightly premature end because of injury, but the versatile defender will look back on the 2022-23 campaign with nothing but fond memories.

After making his Spain debut at the World Cup in Qatar, the 19-year-old went on to establish himself as Barcelona's first-choice left-back during a title-winning campaign, with Balde earning himself inclusion in La Liga's Team of the Season after scoring one goal and creating six others.

Jordi Alba may have just bid a fond farewell to Camp Nou, but the Blaugrana look to have already found the perfect replacement.

Like many Bayern Munich players, Jamal Musiala suffered something of a spring-time slump, but boy did he come up trumps when his team needed him most, with the 20-year-old scoring the goal that decided a dramatic Bundesliga title race.

The Germany international scored 16 times in total in all competitions, while also weighing in with 13 assists, underlining the fact that we're talking about a young man that is already pretty complete. His potential, then, is scary.

As Lothar Matthaus told the BBC last November, "Musiala is clever with his thinking, has great passing and loves football. He can be the next Messi!"

With Pedri having already racked up more than 100 appearances for Barcelona while still only 20, it's probably safe to say that the Catalans have unearthed another midfielder capable of defining an entire era. The €5 million (£4.3m/$5.4m) signing from Las Palmas really is that good.

The Spain international's 2022-23 campaign may have been interrupted, and then cut short, by injury, but he played an integral role in Barca's title triumph, as underlined by the fact that he made La Liga's official Team of the Season for the second year in a row.

Even more encouragingly, before being first sidelined in February, Pedri looked to have added goals to his game, which would obviously make him a terrifying prospect for opponents, given he has already proven himself to be a wonderful dribbler and an outstanding passer of the ball.

Would Borussia Dortmund have blown the Bundesliga if Jude Bellingham had been fit to feature in their final fixture? One suspects not. The 19-year-old was their primary source of inspiration throughout the season, chipping in with 14 goals and six assists from midfield.

Obviously, what will make their title woe even tougher to take is that Bellingham appears bound for Santiago Bernabeu, with Real Madrid set to snap up the most coveted teenager in world football, who was in tears at the end of the decisive draw with Mainz.

It would have been beautiful had the best player in this season's Bundesliga (officially) bowed out with a title, but Dortmund will take some comfort in the colossal profit they are going to make on a player they paid an initial £25m ($31m) for in 2020.

Bukayo Saka has already admitted that it "hurts" to talk about the late-season collapse that cost Arsenal the Premier League title. But while his campaign may have ended in disappointment, the academy product has proven himself one of the best attacking talents in world football over the past 10 months.

The 21-year-old was one of the driving forces behind the Gunners' surprise rise to the summit of the standings, and he ended with 15 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

Arsenal fans will also take heart from the fact that there is clearly even more to come from the England winger, with a first taste of Champions League football likely to bring the absolute best of a budding superstar who has just committed himself to the club until 2027.

The No.9 shirt couldn't be filled by anyone other than Erling Haaland, who produced the most devastating debut season English football has ever seen. The Norwegian scored 36 times in the Premier League alone, obliterating the goals record for both a 38 and a 42-game campaign.

He's not done yet either, as he can still add to his overall tally of 52 goals in 51 just appearances in all competitions by firing Manchester City victory in both the FA Cup and Champions League finals.

What's truly terrifying for defences all over Europe is that Haaland is still only 22, which means he's actually going to get better! If he stays fit, expect him to break every goalscoring record in the book.

Vinicius Junior and Gabriel Martinelli were obviously serious contenders for the left-wing berth but, in all honesty, it was impossible to look past the revelation of the 2022-23 season.

However, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia didn't just prove a great bit of business by Napoli - he was signed for just €10m (£8.7m/$10.7m), remember - he also established himself as one of the most exciting attackers in world football, racking up 14 goals and as many assists in all competitions as Luciano Spalletti's scintillating side ended the club's 33-year Scudetto drought, while at the same time reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time ever.

It was very much a team effort, but the fact that their 22-year-old Georgian was nicknamed 'Kvaradona' by the locals tells you everything you need to know about the impact he made in Naples.