A plethora of talented youngsters are on the cusp of making their name resonate with football fans across the globe. This article, in four parts, aims to highlight the 20 wunderkinds that are primed to set the world alight in the next 12 months.
A few criteria based on the author’s personal opinion have been set to determine this list. Firstly, the age criterion is not strictly imposed, a talent irrespective of whether he is 17 or 22 could be set for a breakthrough in the coming year.
Although this list includes those that might be known to fans tracking youth development or the players’ respective clubs, this list will try to refrain from including any youngster that is already significantly well known or has already been in the public eye for quite a while. A few examples are Leon Goretzka, Maximillian Meyer, Bernardo Silva, Ante Coric, Youri Tielemans, Marko Pjaca and Piotr Zielinski.
Another view that has been considered for the creation of this list is the situation a youth player finds himself in with his manager or the club. For example, Manchester United academy graduates like Timothy Fosu Mensah or Axel Tuanzebe are not included in this list, because even though Jose Mourinho admires their talent, he’s not known to promote youngsters.
A few others that have just missed out are Manchester City youngsters, Enes Unal and Marlos Moreno, as well as Andreas Pereira, Andre Silva, Gerson and Presnel Kimpembe.
#20 Hirving Lozano
We begin our list with a talent hailing from Mexico City, Hirving Lozano. The prolific young winger, who so far has been a one-club man playing for Pachuca, is a prodigy many believe to be the best of his generation in Mexico. The 21-year-old has certainly become the club’s most important player and it will not be long before he moves across to Europe to compete in a league where he could further his career.
In the recently concluded Liga MX, Lozano was the catalyst for Pachuca’s ascent to the 2nd spot in the table prior to being knocked out in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. During Pachuca’s run till the quarter finals and in the currently ongoing CONCACAF Champions League, Lozano has managed 12 goals and 6 assists in 18 appearances.
Nicknamed Chucky, he first came into the spotlight when he scored the winning goal against Club America on his debut. The tricky left winger is adept at playing across the attacking midfield positions and has been vastly impressive for not only his club but also for the national youth teams.
The Mexican rose to prominence by directly being involved in five goals in the first game of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship last year. The Mexico U-20 squad lifted the Championship, and Lozano was aptly awarded the Golden Boot for his feats during the tournament.
His exploits earned him rave reviews and he has since been constantly linked with a move away. The Dutch giants, PSV had a bid immediately rejected by the club.
During the time he was representing his country in the Olympics, his father-in-law claimed that he was primed to become the next Mexican at Manchester United. A move so far has failed to materialise but there is no doubt that he is one of the world’s finest talents and next year will be pivotal for his development should he finally arrive on the European continent.
#19 Anderson Talisca
Anderson Talisca has been around for over two years but so far, the Brazilian attacking midfielder has not realised his potential. Talisca began his journey in the Brazilian League at Bahia when he joined their youth academy at the age of 15 in 2009.
His professional campaign began against Corinthians on 7th July 2013. His debut goal arrived in the following match against Sao Paulo and he went on to accrue a total of 33 games for the club that season. His time in the Brazilian League lasted just over a year as Benfica stumped up roughly €4.75 million for his services.
Life in Portugal commenced on a fantastic note for Talisca as he scored on his debut en route to a semi-final win over Estoril in the Taca de Honra. In September 2014, Talisca bagged a hat-trick against Vitoria de Setubal and a brace against Estoril and quickly took a lead in the league’s top scorer race. His goal scoring run gradually waned as the season went on and he finished with 11 goals in the Primeira Liga.
Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, the Benfica management hired Rui Vitoria as the head coach in June 2015. The manager deployed the 4-4-2 formation and the Brazilian prodigy suddenly found himself on the bench as he did not suit the manager’s system.
During the 2015-16 season, Talisca started just six league games leading to heavy transfer speculations. A move to Liverpool and the now cash-rich Wolverhampton in England’s second division was touted. A fee in the region of €25 million was submitted by the latter but the player did not receive the work permit required for the transfer and eventually transferred to Besiktas on a 1+1 year loan deal with an option to buy him outright.
Although he’s played just six games in the Super Lig as of now, he currently has the best rating (7.58) amongst the Besiktas squad according to who scored, with four goals and one assist to his name. The 2016-17 season and the next year are crucial for Talisca to rekindle his confidence and flair and to reestablish himself as one of the best Brazilian talents around.
#18 Sardar Azmoun
A name that has recently been in the news is a phenomenon from Iran – Sardar Azmoun. Currently, at FC Rostov, the striker has had a nomadic career right from age 9 when he began playing for Oghab Gonbad.
In the subsequent years, he plied his trade for the youth teams of Shamoushak Gorgan and Etka Gorgan before he made his journey to Sepahan. But before Sepahan could get his signature for a professional contract for their first team, Rubin Kazan swooped in and acquired his services in 2012.
A year later, Azmoun debuted for the first team in a Europa League match against Jagodina. He marked his league debut in October, a 20-minute substitute appearance, with a goal and an assist. His first season at Rubin Kazan was full of promise as he scored five goals in 17 appearances, but it was followed up with a poor second campaign.
FC Rostov subsequently brought him on loan for two seasons before purchasing him outright this season. In the first year at Rostov, he saved the club from relegation with three crucial goals. A year later, he followed it up at the opposite end of the table as he was a catalyst in helping Rostov to the 2nd spot in the table and a place in the Champions League.
Although the current league campaign does not reflect his real potential, his performances in the Champions League does. During the playoffs, he scored against both, Ajax and Anderlecht and then went on to catch the eyes of fans in a group consisting of Atletico Madrid, PSV and Bayern Munich, as he managed to score against the Madrid side.
His performances for the Iran national team have been exceptional, as he has 16 goals so far in 22 appearances. Carlos Queiroz, the former Real Madrid manager has labelled him as a potential world class player.
The Iranian Messi as he is called despite his 6’ 1” frame, Azmoun should, in the following year, build on his past laurels and outperform expectations that have garnered the attention of clubs across Europe.
#17 Felix Passlack
Borussia Dortmund is a club with an embarrassment of riches in the talented youth section. Alongside the likes of established stars like Aubameyang and Reus, Dortmund have recently developed a number of talented youngsters.
In the past transfer window, they acquired some of the finest talents available – Ousmane Dembele, Emre Mor, Raphael Guerreiro and Marc Bartra. But another player on the cusp of the first team has been brought in from their youth academy itself – Felix Passlack.
A right back by trade, the German moved to Dortmund’s youth academy from RW Oberhausen in 2012 and has just been promoted to the first team this season. In a surprising start to the campaign, Thomas Tuchel named Passlack in the right back slot over Lukasz Piszczek in the DFL-Supercup against Bayern Munich. In what was supposed to be an extremely tough outing against the left wing combination of David Alaba and Frank Ribery, Passlack put in a man of the match worthy shift.
The German U-19 player is pretty handy in the final third as well. While playing for the U-17 and U-19 squad for Dortmund, the right back managed to score 37 goals while also assisting another 32 in just 64 appearances. In Germany’s first match of the U-17 Euros last year, he scored what was possibly the goal of the tournament.
This season, he has bagged a goal for the senior side in the Champions League as well. His stability at the back has been very good, but his past exploits in front of goal highlight his impeccable technique.
The heir apparent to Piszczek is mounting a serious challenge against his senior for the right back role this season. And 2017 could be the year where Passlack overtakes Piszczek for the spot he has had for the major part of the past decade.
#16 Diogo Jota
Atletico Madrid, in recent years, have had a knack of picking up youngsters with potential and have themselves developed a large number of superstars from within. Some of their recent successes in the youth market include the likes of Yannick Carrasco, Jan Oblak, and Jose Gimenez.
From their own academy, they have produced the likes of Koke, Saul, Fernando Torres and Sergio Aguero. Another addition to this esteemed list of youngsters who have gone on to impress in the first team is Diogo Jota.
Jota, born in Porto, emerged onto the scene at Pacos Ferreira in the 2014-15 season. At the age of 18, he became the club’s youngest ever goalscorer in the Primeira Liga. His second campaign earned him rave reviews as he was voted the best young player in the league after he scored 12 goals.
Atletico purchased him for roughly €7 million and then loaned him out to FC Porto for a year. In 17 appearances so far this season, Jota has managed to breach the opposition net five times and has assisted four times.
The youngster turned down several offers due to his appreciation for Atletico’s handling of their youth talents in the past and he hopes to emulate one of them, Antoine Griezmann. His confidence is immense and he believes he is similar in style and physicality to the Frenchman and feels he will follow the same path.
2017 will most likely see him emerge as a fantastic talent at Porto before being given a chance at Atletico’s first team in the summer.
