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The importance of the youth system in football is not given the recognition it deserves, because if it wasn’t for these youth systems we would never have seen several bright prospects come out and shine.Clubs like Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Southampton have several youth products playing for their first team for many years now, while other clubs are slowly mixing youth with the first team to provide for their own needs instead of splashing money heavily on proven players.So here is a look at 10 youth products of several clubs around Europe who have impressed in the first team of their club this season.Honourable Mentions: Sandro Ramirez (FC Barcelona), Carles Gil (Valencia CF), Sergi Samper (FC Barcelona), Tyler Blackett (Manchester United) and Rolando Aarons (Newcastle United).
#1 Munir El Haddadi FC Barcelona
Munir made his Barcelona B debut only in 2014, but in the same year, he made
his official debut for the first team in the La Liga, against Elche at the Camp Nou. He started the game and scored the second goal in an eventual 3-0 win, before being substituted for Pedro in the 67th minute.
It will be difficult for the teenager to get a regular starting role at Barcelona due to the presence of players like Messi, Neymar, Suarez and Pedro, but Munir has time on his hands to slowly and steadily establish himself in the team. He has made 13 appearances in total for the Catalans this season and has scored once and provided one assist.
Munir was called up to the Spain National team by Del Bosque after his impressive form with Barcelona earlir in the season and he made his International debut against Macedonia as a substitute.
#2 James Wilson Manchester United
Wilson announced himself to the Football world last season when he made his debut for Manchester United. The 19 year old was given a start for United against Hull City and he marked the occasion with two goals before being substituted off.
Big things are expected from Wilson and Louis van Gaal was ready to give the teenager the chance to prove himself as he was given a bigger role in the first team after the departures of Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez.
Wilson managed to get decent playing time this season for the first team following an injury to Radamel Falcao, but the 19 year old hasn’t made the best of out the chances that were given to him. He has still made 10 appearances for Man Utd this season despite fighting for places with players like Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao.
#3 Ryan Mason Tottenham Hotspur
Ryan Mason has been at Tottenham for quite a while now. The 23 year old has spent several years on loan with lower league clubs, but was never a big hit at any point in his career. In fact Mason was not even capped at the U21 level for England. But Mason has done well to break into the Spurs squad this season and that too at this age. He made his first team debut back in 2012, but it took him two more years to establish himself in the first team.
He scored for Spurs in a League Cup game against Nottingham Forest and later that week he made his league debut in an away game to arch rivals Arsenal. Mason is now a regular in the Spurs side and has started in 12 Premier League games for the North London Club. Overall he has made 15 appearances for Spurs this season and racked up one goal and two assists.
#4 Adam Armstrong Newcastle United
Armstrong made his league debut for Newcastle last season when he came on a substitute against Fulham and this made him the second youngest player to play for the club.
This season, Armstrong started for Newcastle in a League Cup game against Crystal Palace. The Toons won the game 3-2 in extra time and the 17 year old provided the assists for two of the goals. He was later given a start in Newcastle’s League cup win over Manchester City as well.
Armstrong made several appearances for the first team as a substitute in the league games and was eventually given a start by manager, Alan Padrew, on Boxing Day when Newcastle played Manchester United.
#5 Paddy McNair Manchester United
McNair was given the taste of first team action earlier this season as a starter in a league game against West Ham United. He was drafted into the first team following an injury crisis for Man Utd. The Irishman impressed on his debut and made a vital headed clearance when United were down to 10 men and he was praised my manager Louis van Gaal and the fans for his performance on his debut.
McNair has started six games for Man Utd this season and despite his inexperience, the club are yet to lose a game he started. The 19 year old also has 2 substitute appearances under his belt. He was called up to the Northern Ireland senior team for a European qualifier, but he did not play.
#6 Ricardo Kishna AFC Ajax
Kishna is a Dutch player with Hindustani origin. The 19 year old has progressed through the Ajax academy and made his first team debut earlier this year in a Europa League game, but it was only in this season that he became a regular with the first team. His favoured playing position is in the wings, but he is also capable of operating as a striker.
He has racked up 21 appearances for the Ajax first team this season even though a vast majority of them have come from the bench, but nevertheless he has scored 2 goals and provided 4 assists so far. Kishna was very impressive for Ajax in the Champions League games he played and was even named man of the match in for their home game against APOEL Nicosia.
#7 Saul Niguez Atletico Madrid
Saul made his first team debut for Atletico Madrid back in 2013 when he came on as a substitute for fellow youth graduate Koke. He was then sent out on loan to Rayo Vallecano for the entire 2013-14 season and was highly impressive during his loan spell.
This season, Atletico decided to retain the services of Saul, instead of sending him out on loan again. After his return he featured in the two legs of the Supercopa de Espana against Real Madrid and started the first game.
Saul has featured 14 times for Atletico across all competitions and has scored twice in very few starts in the league. At the age of 20, he has a bright future ahead of him and could go on to become another star midfielder from Spain.
#8 Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur
Two years back, Harry Kane was struggling to make a impact at Norwich City after he was sent on loan there, but now Kane has scored in four consecutive games against Premier League opponents.
Kane made several appearances for Spurs last season and impressed towards the end of the season. But in the 2014/15 season, the 21 year old has been in terrific form. He started the season by providing an assist for the winning goal on the opening day of the season.
His major contributions for Spurs initially came in the cup games. His late goal against Nottingham Forest in the League cup sent them through to the next round and he scored seven times in six appearances in the Europa League. His impressive performances in the cup games eventually gave him more chances in the league and he didn’t let the fans or manager down.
Kane has now taken his tally for the season to 15 goals in 23 appearances.
#9 Jose Luis Gaya Valencia CF
Prior to the start of the current season, Valencia lost Juan Bernat, who was a key player in their squad to Bayern Munich. Instead of searching for Bernat’s replacement from another club, Valencia promoted Jose Luis Gaya from their youth setup.
Gaya’s first appearance for Valencia was back in 2012, when he played the entire 90 minutes in a Copa del Rey game. His first league game for his club was towards the end of last season when he started and finished the game against eventual Champions, Atletico Madrid.
Gaya was made a starter by new manager Nuno Espirito Santo. He has played 16 times this season and has provided one assist and scored once for his club. Whoscored rating for Gaya at present is 7.13, which is an impressive rating for a 19 year old full back.
#10 Samu Castillejo Malaga CF
Castillejo came through the academy of Malaga who recently produced players like Isco. He played for several years with Malaga B in the Tercera division and impressed manager Javi Garcia. Garcia called Castillejo to the first team squad for the preseason tour and the 19 year old impressed in a 3-1, friendly win over Newcastle and scored a brace in the game.
On 29th August, he was given his official first team debut as he came on for fellow youth graduate Juanmi . Castilejo has 14 first team appearances for Malaga at present including 10 starts and has given 2 assists. At the very young age of 19, it will be interesting to see if he will follow in the footsteps of Isco.
