In the world of football, there is nothing more exciting than the discovery of a mercurial young new talent who shows the promise to fearlessly take on the world while at the same time pulling his team and ”experienced” teammates out of their slumber in the anticipation of achieving something momentous. Such talents are few and far between but the current generation in Europe seems to have been blessed with extraordinary talent.
FIFA gamers who play manager mode often buy such talents with the aim of buying a player for cheap who will soon be good enough to play against the best in the business, at least in the virtual world.
Also read: FIFA 18: New features added to 'Journey Mode'
The past season was also characterised by several young breakout stars who took their clubs out of monotony and gave fans a sense of excitement and anticipation every time they touched the ball. These player were virtual unknowns before breaking out in a spectacular fashion and in this article, we predict those players who will be the best youngsters in the upcoming FIFA edition.
FIFA 18 manager mode players take note and remember these names. They could lead you down the road of ultimate domination in your league.
# Kylian Mbappe
The 19-year old Frenchman is the most in-demand player in world football at the moment. The winger/striker decimated defences in France and Europe this past season and that has attracted the attention of the biggest spenders in Europe, Real Madrid. The Spanish champions have expressed their interest in the attacker and if some news reports are to be believed, they have already offered the youngster a starting spot in the first eleven.
Mbappe was virtually unknown in Europe when the season began and was given an overall rating of 71 at the beginning of FIFA 17. Eight impressive months later FIFA, through various upgrades, increased his rating to 79, with a potential rating of 92 which is an indication of how highly regarded he is as a player.
Mbappe was the spearhead of a youthful Monaco team which reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and while the team has already Bernardo Silva to Manchester City, Mbappe is still at the club. Regardless of whether he moves to another club or not, his profile in football has been immeasurably raised and so will his FIFA 18 rating. Expect him to line up for Monaco in the next FIFA edition with an overall of around 83-84 points.
#2 Ousmane Dembele
Another highly in-demand youngster after an impressive 2016-17 season, Ousmane Dembele is only 20 years old but is already being spoken of as one of the best attackers in the game. Ambidextrous and capable of playing anywhere across the attacking line, the Frenchman is a versatile player who provided more than 15 assists last season in addition to his 7 goals.
After this past season’s performances, it would seem that Dembele was slightly underrated in FIFA 17 with an overall rating of 77. Now that clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United are rumoured to be in the running for his signature, it should wake EA from its slumber and cause them to hike his overall rating to at least 82 or 83. The youngster deserves that after an outstanding breakthrough season in Europe.
#3 Kasper Dolberg
The famed Ajax youth academy finally sputtered back to life this season, producing its best generation of talent in a while. The Ajax team, with an average age of about 20, made it to the final of the Europa League, playing the kind of football the Ajax sides of old are famous for. Although the Dutch team lost the final to a seasoned Manchester United, they left an impression on the tournament and were undoubtedly better to watch than the Europa League winners.
One player who stood out from this youthful Ajax side was striker Kasper Dolberg who is already drawing comparisons with Marco van Basten. Although he has a long way to go if he is to fulfil those expectations, it says something about the 18-year old that he is already being compared to one of the game’s legends. Dolberg was relatively unknown before his exploits took Ajax to the Europa League final, a fact which was evident by his FIFA 17 rating which was at 77.
After a season where he scored 24 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions, the tug-of-war for his signature is likely to heat up in Europe. His rating is also likely to increase to a level of around 82 given his consistent end product last season.
#4 Marcus Rashford
It is easy to forget that 2016-17 was Marcus Rashford’s first full season at Manchester United, such is the speed at which he has made himself indispensable to the club’s future plans. He scored on debut as an 18-year old against Arsenal under Louis van Gaal and has gone from strength to strength since, scoring on his England and European debuts. Jose Mourinho, who doesn’t have the reputation of being the most youngster friendly coach in the world, also persisted with him and played him throughout the season.
Although Rashford’s goal output declined due to being played out of position on the wing, he still impressed and more than made up for Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s absence in the latter part of the season where he often had to rescue the Red Devils from tepid draws or possible losses. Rated at 78 at the launch of FIFA 17, Rashford rose to 82 by the time the last update had arrived.
Also read: Top 5 predicted Premier League forwards for FIFA 18
Romelu Lukaku’s impending arrival at Old Trafford might put a spanner in the works for Rashford’s plans at United but if he continues to show the work ethic he did last season and puts the team first, he is bound to get his opportunity sooner rather than later. On the back of an excellent 2016-17 season, expect him to be rated at a level of somewhere around 83 rating points.
#5 Gianluigi Donnarumma
Gianluigi Donnarumma is one of those talents that come by once in a generation and AC Milan were fortunate to have him. The number of times the 18-year old has saved Milan from a tight spot is not funny and it is anybody’s guess as to where Milan would have been in the Serie A table if it were not for his efforts. A goalkeeper of such talent was always meant for things bigger than Milan’s current mid-table struggles and it is no surprise that he has made his desire public to move on from Milan.
The Juventus target was a top rated shot-stopper in FIFA 17 with an overall rating of 81 and after another impressive individual season where Milan again finished outside the European spots, the 18-year old feels it is time to leave. He has long been touted as a successor to Gianluigi Buffon’s throne in the Italian national team and made his debut after replacing the veteran in a match against France aged only 17 years and 189 days.
Donnarumma has enjoyed another stellar year with Milan which has seen his stock rise across Europe. Heavyweights like Real Madrid and Juventus are said to be interested in his services while Milan are battling to keep him at the San Siro. Regardless of whether or not he stays at Milan, Donnarumma will ply his trade at one of Europe’stop clubs next season. His FIFA 18 rating is also expected to climb and a rating in the zone of around 82-84 should be just right for the youngster.
