We all watch, and talk about the pace of Kylian Mbappe, the movement of Gabriel Jesus, the reflexes of Gianluigi Donnarumma and the touch of Marcus Rashford. The world of football has a bunch of well-known young guns who let their feet do the talking, and we observe in awe. The media raves about them, the fans compare them to greats from the yesteryear, and what not. It seems as if though these young players have got everything going for them.
Having said that, there exists a still larger group of extremely talented youngsters who don't get the coverage they deserve, perhaps due to the fact that they don't play for the European elites, or are yet to break into their nation's senior side and take international football by storm.
On that note, let's have a look at five such youngsters who deserve more limelight than what they currently account for.
#5 Alban-Marc Lafont (Fiorentina)
Position: Goalkeeper
Nationality: French
Age: 19
Market Value: €13 million
Looking for a solid, young player to guard your goal? Not willing to risk having to break Kepa Arrizabalaga's record to bag Donnarumma? Look no further than Fiorentina's 19-year-old sensation Alban Lafont.
The Burkina-Faso born goalkeeper had to play for just over a year for Toulouse's youth side, before first-team manager Dominique Arribage handed him his first Ligue 1 start in November 2015, thereby making him the youngest goalkeeper to play in France's top division.
Lafont was largely responsible for saving his club from being relegated that season with 8 clean sheets in 24 appearances. Toulouse built on that season and survived comfortably in 2016/17, finishing 13th.
However, they needed a playoff win to survive relegation in 2017/18, and it became clear that Lafont needed to find greener pastures in order to develop into the footballer he aimed to. A number of clubs were interested, but the teenager chose to move to Florence, Italy.
Since signing for Fiorentina, he has been a regular for them. He now has 41 clean sheets in 123 senior games.
#4 Reiss Nelson (Hoffenheim, on loan from Arsenal)
Position: Winger
Nationality: English
Age: 19
Market Value: €17 million
Reiss Luke Nelson joined the Arsenal academy at the age of just nine. A decade on, he looks set to become the next big Gunners graduate. It is fairly rare for English players, especially youngsters, to play their trade for a foreign club. Nelson, though, is a player always willing to take on challenges, and he has proved to be a massive hit in Germany.
The fast and skillful Englishman can take on players with ease, and has a fantastic eye for goal. Add to that, his ability to find a teammate and his work rate off the ball, and you have the perfect modern-day winger. He has scored 6 goals and provided one assist in 13 Bundesliga appearances so far, requiring less than 83 minutes to score a goal. He has also played 5 times in the Champions League for Hoffenheim.
Along with Jadon Sancho, he has got the Germans taking English talents seriously, and if all goes well, we could see the two running down both wings for the national team in a few years.
#3 Houssem Aouar (Lyon)
Position: Midfielder
Nationality: French
Age: 20
Market Value: €40 million
Houssem Aouar was a promising young play-maker before he lined up for Lyon against Manchester City in the Champions League. After the two games against the English champions, he had his market value doubled, and was suddenly the midfielder every club wanted at all costs. There was good reason behind the same, though, since the current City side is one of the best in recent football history, and to be able to impress against such a team is no mean feat. Certainly not when you are just 20!
Alongside another French youth sensation Tanguy N'Dombele, Aouar moved the ball around with supreme confidence, spraying one pass after another, whilst carrying the ball forward expertly. His perfect performance left Josep Guardiola raving, and it is speculated that a massive bid from City might be on the cards.
#2 Maxi Gomez (Celta Vigo)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Uruguayan
Age: 22
Market Value: €35 million
Maximiliano Gomez first made it to the newspapers when he was scoring every other game for Defensor Sporting in Uruguay. Three years later, he is now making the headlines every now and then.
It was expected that Maxi's record of scoring over a goal every other game would take a hit when he signed for Celta Vigo in the LaLiga, up against big-time defenders, except for the fact that it did not quite happen. In 49 Liga appearances so far, the Uruguayan has 25 goals.
He had a very promising debut season in Spain, scoring nineteen and setting up five more in 36 appearances. That was no fluke season, as he has been even better this season, scoring nine and piling up five already in 17 appearances. He also has a thing for big games, as he has already inspired Celta to a 2-0 victory against Atletico Madrid this season.
Gómez is a brilliant header of the ball, and possesses good pace for a player of his size. He likes to play long aerial balls, much like Luis Suárez. The youngster is a very clinical finisher, and can draw fouls in dangerous positions. There are a lot of areas where he needs to work on, like his passing and decision-making in the final third, but one can tell that he is destined for greatness.
#1 Nicolas Pepe (Lille)
Position: Winger/Striker
Nationality : Ivorian
Age: 23
Market Value: €40 million
Arsenal target Nicolas Pepe has footwork that most players can only dream of. He is nothing short of a wizard with the ball at his feet, and his smoothness with the ball will leave you drooling. Despite playing as a winger, he has vision that you'd usually associate with creative midfielders. He can spot a run, and has the tools to find the man. It really is rare to find a winger with such good passing ability.
Since moving from Angers to Lille in 2017/18, Pepe has upped his game, particularly in this season. He has added goals to his game, thereby becoming a complete winger. As of now, he has 12 goals and 7 assists in 19 Ligue 1 games this season. That's a direct contribution to a goal every game.
If the Gunners do manage to sign the French-Ivorian, they'll have a seriously hot prospect in their hands, who could very well light the Premier League up. Along with a brand-new back four and creative midfielders, Pepe might be what Arsenal need to finally challenge for the title.