3) Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria) – 2013
From a very young age, Kelechi Iheanacho showed a lot of Promise – and we’re not just talking about his middle name. The striker has played for a number of Nigerian youth teams, the first of which was the U-13 squad. It wasn’t until he made the U-17 squad that he made a name for himself.
His first major outing was the African U-17 championship – a tournament he played in just soon after he lost his mother and he dedicated a hat-trick scored against Botswana to her. Although Nigeria lost in the final to Ivory Coast, they would go on to win the U-17 World Cup in the UAE where they beat Mexico in the final.
Iheanacho was awarded the Golden Ball for his stunning return of six goals and seven assists. He was also awarded the Most Promising Talent of the Year award by the African football federation. Although he failed to make the Olympic team, he would eventually get his call-up to the senior team.
Manchester City soon came calling and Iheanacho signed a pre-contract that saw him join the club when he turned 18. He was straight away thrown into the gauntlet when he was selected in the senior team’s matchday squads and soon became an impact substitute. Having just turned 20, he already has 20 goals for the club and has a long and promising career ahead of him.
