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The 22nd Edition of the UEFA Under-21 European Championship is set to kick off in Italy and San Marino with the inaugural match scheduled for 16th of June. European heavyweights Spain, France, Croatia, Italy and defending champions Germany feature among the 12 teams vying for continental glory.
With a host of young talents taking part, top European club sides are looking to the tournament to unearth hidden talents to bolster their squads ahead of the 2019-20 season. The 12 teams are divided into three groups of 4 teams each. The group winners and the best runner-ups among the three groups advance to the semi-finals and qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
In this article, we look at the top 5 players to watch out for in what promises to be a glittering tournament.
#5 Phil Foden (England, Manchester City)
19-year-old Manchester City attacking midfielder Phil Foden has been England's best player in the junior age groups for some time now. He first grabbed international attention when he lead England to the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 where he also won the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola thinks so highly of his prodigious midfielder that he gave him his first senior City debut at age 17 in a 2017 Champions League match. Foden then went on to break the record of being the youngest English player, at the age of 17 years and 192 days, to start in a UEFA Champions League match - doing so in a 2–1 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk. He also became the first player born in the year 2000 to start a match in the competition.
Foden managed to make 3 starts in the Premier League for the Citizens this season, a remarkable feat considering the plethora of midfield talent Guardiola has at his disposal. The dimunitive attacker contributed to 7 goals across all competitions for Manchester City as Guardiola's side completed an unprecedented domestic treble.
The heartbeat of Aidy Boothroyd's promising England Under-21 side, Foden alongside Crystal Palace's Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Aston Villa's Tammy Abraham and Leicester City's James Maddison make up a strong Young Lions outfit capable of bringing the cup 'home'.
#4 Lucas Klostermann (Germany, RB Leipzig)
23-year-old Lukas Klostermann has been a revelation this season for RB Leipzig, as the Geman club finished a respectable 3rd in the Bundesliga and went down 3-0 to Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal Final. Having started 22 games in the Bundesliga this season, the VfL Bochum academey product notched up 5 goals and an assist for Die Bullen, catching the attention of German senior team coach Joachim Low who awarded him his first full cap in March 2019.
A vital cog in Leipzing's revolutionary 4-2-2-2 formation that has brought so much success to the young club, Klostermann has played for Germany at the u-17, u-19 and u-21 levels and also represented the German Under-23 side that won the Silver Medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
A right-back blessed with blistering pace and physicality, Klostermann alongwith AS Monaco's Benjamin Henrichs, Dortumund's Mahmoud Dahoud and Hoffenheim's Nadiem Amiri make up a strong German contingent set to vie for the Under-21 title, under the tutelagre of Stefan Kuntz.
#3 Dani Ceballos (Spain, Real Madrid)
Real Madrid attacking midfielder Dani Ceballos was the star of the 2017 Under-21 European Championships, guiding La Furia Roja to the final where they narrowly lost out 1-0 to Germany. His fantastic performances throughout the tournament was recognised by UEFA, awarding him the Player of the Tournament honour.
Prompted by his great showing at the continental tournament, Real Madrid signed the Real Betis academy product in July 2017 for a reported transfer fee of €18 million. 22-year-old Ceballos however, has been unable to nail down a regular spot in the star-studded Los Blancos first eleven, starting 13 La Liga games this season, scoring three goals.
Alongside Barcelona's Carlos Alena, Real Sociadad's Mikel Oyarzabal and Napoli's Fabian Ruiz, Ceballos is part of one of the most fearsome looking midfields in the competition with manager Luis de la Fuente looking to take Spain all the way to the title.
#2 Moise Kean (Juventus, Italy)
19-year-old Juventus striker Moise Kean has had a breakthrough season in 2018-19, bursting into the Bianconeri fray and the Italian senior sides with some scintillating performances. A product of the Juve academy, the striker impressed with his speed and strength, scoring 6 goals in 5 starts for the Italian champions.
With his stellar performances for the Turin club, the Italian senior team manager Roberto Mancini quickly came calling and the youngster showed no signs of nerves playing for his nation at the biggest of stages, scoring 2 goals in his opening two Euro 2020 Qualifier appearances.
With the pressure of being the home side, Luigi di Biagio has selected a strong side to challenge for the title, with Kean one among a galaxy of stars the Azzurri will unleash this June - such as AS Roma's Niccolo Zaniolo, AC Milan's Patrick Cutrone and Atalanta's Gianluca Mancini.
#1 Luka Jovic (Real Madrid, Serbia)
Serbia's 21-year-old striker Luka Jovic had hit the headlines recently with his €60 million move from Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt to La Liga giants Real Madrid. He is a part of a series of signings Los Blancos manager Zinedine Zidane has already sealed as he looks to rebuild after a dismal 2018-19 season. With an incredible 27 goals and 6 assists for Eintracht Frankfurt this season, Jovic finished as the Bundesliga's 3rd top scorer as well as the second highest scorer in the UEFA Europa League.
Having come throught the Red Star Belgrade academy, the lethal inch striker has represented Serbia at the u-17, u-19 and u-21 levels and made his senior debut in 2018 in a friendly against Chile. In March 2019, Jovic scored his first senior international goal in a friendly against Germany and is widely regarded as the heir-apparent to (and possibly an upgrade on) Serbia's regular Number 9, Fulham's Aleksandr Mitrovic.
Composed of a good group of up-and-coming youngsters like Torino's Sasa Lukic, Marseille's Nemanja Radonjic and Benfica's Andrija Zivkovic, Jovic leads a Serbian side capable of upsetting the big boys in Europe's most prestigious junior continental competition.
