Euro 2012 Top Fives - Forwards

1st June 2012By: Fantasy League

Goooaaalll!!! And on to the hit-men taking the glory up front

Europe is producing some of the most exciting attacking talents in the world right now, as this summer's transfers are proving.

Here is our pick of the forwards who we think will provide the most bang for their buck during the tournament.

Nicklas Bendtner - £11m

A player who's never seemed to really take off in the Premier League, it might shock a few people to learn that Nicklas Bendtner has an impressive international record.

He's scored 17 goals in 46 appearances for Denmark, including a fantastic run in qualifying and the friendlies preceding the tournament so is worth the £11m Fantasy League Classic asking price.

Big, surprisingly quick and just about as confident as they come, Bendtner could finally show the world what he's really made of during Euro 2012.

He'll be up against some true heavyweights in the form of Germany, Portugal and Netherlands in the group stages, but such daunting opposition could well underestimate the one team in the group that appears slightly weaker.

If Denmark are going to spring an upset, Bendtner may just be the man to initiate it.

Aleksandr Kerzhakov - £9.5m

Pavel Pogrebnyak displayed fine form for Fulham since joining in January and Alan Dzagoev is the rising star of Russian football, but Aleksandr Kerzhakov could be the man to watch upfront for Russia.

Having made his professional debut over a decade ago, the 29-year-old has only recently started to find the form that his undoubted talent promised all those years ago.

His record for Russia is a decent though unremarkable 18 goals in 58 matches, but it was his performances for Zenit St. Petersburg last season that should really frighten his opponents in Group A.

He scored 19 goals in just 28 league games, proving unstoppable despite his diminutive size so £9.5m could be a bargain.

Russia are favourites to qualify from Group A and will be looking to match or even beat their semi-final exit in 2008.

Nikica Jelavic - £10m

A player who shone in the Premier League last season after a January move, Nikica Jelavic is as ruthless as they come in front of goal.

He's a strong, old fashioned poacher who crops up in excellent areas, often from deep, and causes defences real problems.

He's coming into this tournament on the back of a great run of form, having scored 27 fantasy football points in 10 games for Everton.

One worry for fantasy football managers will be Croatia's appearance in a group alongside the tiki-taka approach of Spain, the solid resilience of Italy and the nothing-to-lose attitude of Ireland.

It may be a gamble to include him, but considering that he will likely play the pivotal target man role for his side, it might just pay off for £10m.

Miroslav Klose - £14.5m

At £14.5m, Miroslav Klose is going to set you back some.

However, the Lazio forward's superior striking prowess and phenomenal experience demand that he's at least considered for inclusion.

Euro 2012 is likely to be the final hurrah to end a glittering career that has seen Klose score 63 goals in 114 appearances for Germany.

However, he isn't slowing down quite yet, netting 13 times in 27 games for Lazio last season and scoring the second highest number of goals out of anyone during qualifying with nine.

Germany are expected to go far this summer and you can bet that Klose will score some important goals on their way to the latter stages.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - £13.5m

And finally, the Dutch striker it's impossible to ignore and we're not talking about Robin van Persie.

While his compatriot may be getting all the accolades at the moment, it was Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who actually scored a remarkable 12 goals in eight games during qualifying, next to van Persie's six.

Cheaper than his fellow forward, Huntelaar not only has a much more impressive record at international level than van Persie with 31 goals in just 50 games, he's also going to be a less popular buy than the Arsenal man so could be superb value at £13.5m.

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