Top 5 young footballers in Ligue 1 this season

It is always exciting to see young players in the field and their path to make a name for themselves in football. Even though the French Ligue 1 is criticised by many for being less competitive and as a league in which PSG dominates, it never had scarcity when it comes to producing talented young footballers.

From Eric Cantona of Auxerre, Zinedine Zidane of Cannes, Eden Hazard of Lille, and Ousmane Dembele of Rennes; academies of French clubs have produced a bulk of talented young footballers who later migrated to other leagues and became superstars.

However this is not an article about the superstars of past, but superstars in the making. Only the players who are aged 21 or below have been considered for this list. Here are the top five young footballers who currently ply their trade in French Ligue 1.

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#5 Issa Diop – Toulouse

Issa Diop is a regular in France's youth teams

Age - 21 (Born 9 January 1997)

Nationality - French

A name which might be highly unpopular among the football fans outside France, Diop is one of the best young French defenders at present. An academy product of Toulouse, Diop joined Les Pitchouns at a young age of nine and made the senior debut for them in 2015.

A centre-back who is physically well built, he is a player who has clear dominance in aerial duels due to his height. Football was never a strange sport for young Diop; he is the grandson of Libasse Diop, the first Senegalese footballer to play in French first division.

Issa Diop, however, decided to represent France in international football. Despite his young age, Issa Diop has been rewarded by the captain's armband several times this season by manager Pascal Dupraz due to his passion and leadership.

Capped almost 40 times by different youth national teams of France so far, Diop was also part of French squad which won Under-19 Euros in 2016. With a bulk of senior players ahead of him in the pecking order now, it would be difficult for Diop to break into Les Bleus right away. However, he has faith in himself and already rejected a possibility of representing Senegal.

Diop had offers from Monaco and Inter Milan in last summer but decided to stay with his hometown club. Even though his club is going through a tough season as of now, challenges like these would only bring out the best in Diop and would be helpful in fulfilling his potential.

#4 Houssem Aouar – Lyon

Another product of Lyon's academy, Houssem Aouar is a highly versatile youngster

Age - 19 (Born 30 June 1998)

Nationality - French

3 things are certain in this world – birth, death and Lyon’s academy producing talents. The third thing, the academy of Olympique Lyonnais, the never-ending treasure has produced one more jewel – this time in the form of Houssem Aouar.

Already rated highly by pundits and fans alike, Aouar is someone who can play anywhere in the midfield. Even though he is predominantly a central midfielder, his ability to play as deep midfielder, as a wide man, and even as a No. 10 in this short time has caught the attention of several clubs inside and outside France.

A player with roots in Algeria, Aouar started getting playing time during the final phase of last season, but it was this season which concreted his place in the squad. With Corentin Tolisso, Maxime Gonalons and Rachid Ghezzal (all of them are Lyon’s academy products too in case you didn't notice) left the club in the summer, it was necessary for Lyon to rebuild their midfield.

Unsurprisingly, manager Bruno Genesio decided to give this teenager a shot. With regular playing time, Aouar started giving stellar performances and even benched several senior players. He is already one of the best dribblers not only in his team but also in the league.

Even though he is not as fast as many of his teammates, his ability to understand the opponent and keeping the ball when pressurized is well beyond than what you expect from a teenage footballer. An output of 4 goals and 3 assists from 20 matches is not bad for a 19-year-old, but Aouar belongs to that group of players who are ‘just not stats’.

Currently a French U-21 international, Aouar can be a key player in not only Lyon’s Europa League hopes this season, but also for ensuring an automatic UCL spot next season by finishing in the top two in the league.

#3 Lucas Tousart – Lyon

Lucas Tousart (in white) captained the U-19 France squad to European glory

Age - 20 (Born 29 April 1997)

Nationality - French

When France won the U-19 Euros in 2016, a piece of recognition also went to their captain. A rock in the midfield, he played an important part for that team in their journey to success. That tournament was enough to know the potential of that one player – none other than Lucas Tousart – who is now one of the best defensive midfielders in France.

His career began in Ligue 2 with Valenciennes, but his services were soon acquired by Lyon. He started playing in Lyon’s B team and made into the senior team within a year. Even though he was supposed to be an understudy to club Captain Maxime Gonalons, he soon started getting more playing time, thanks to some stellar performances.

By the second half of 2016-17 season, it was evident that Tousart had developed a lot in a short span of time and was ready to replace Gonalons. As expected, Gonalons departed to Roma in the summer.

If one saw matches of Lyon this season, he wouldn't say they are affected by the departure of Gonalons. Tousart as a replacement has been that instrumental for Les Gones. A player who can tirelessly work the whole 90 minutes and provides defensive protection, Tousart literally became an integral part of the squad.

He has already picked up the nickname “The Scavenger” with comparisons made to the likes of Didier Deschamps and N'Golo Kante. Defensive midfield is a position which often gets less credit and Tousart, who is already considered being the future club captain knows it well.

He has started all the 19 league matches of Lyon this season and worked so well that several European giants such as Manchester City and Juventus sent scouts to monitor him.

With France national team currently having immense squad depth, a call-up to the 2018 World Cup squad seems unlikely for Tousart. However, with his set of skills and potential, Tousart will be representing the Les Bleus sooner or later.

#2 Malcom – Bordeaux

Malcom is the only good thing about Bordeaux this season

Age - 20 (Born 26 February 1997)

Nationality - Brazilian

When this Brazilian right winger arrived in Bordeaux for around 5 million euros back in January 2016, he was only considered being one among the long list of Brazilian youth footballers who are shipped to Europe with a tag of 'wonderkid'.

There were right reasons to think the same. Even though Malcom started to get popular in Brazil by that time, he was hardly known among the football followers in Europe. But when one looks at things now in January 2018, Bordeaux is known for being Malcom's club among people who don't follow French football.

That much has been the impact he had made with Les Girondins. Considering how Bordeaux has been performing this season, it won't be an exaggeration to call them as Malcom’s club either. This 20-year-old right winger has been the only bright spot for them who are currently going through a worse situation.

Despite starting off the season in some fashion with collecting some quick points, the navy-and-whites succumbed to unexpected defeats. Malcom, who also got affected by the team’s performance, however, managed to create some headlines.

With 7 goals and 4 assists from 18 league matches this season, Malcom is currently a hot property in the transfer market. A move to EPL seems inevitable.

When a €35 million offer from Borussia Dortmund for this Brazilian sensation was rejected by Bordeaux in last summer, many would have thought it was a huge mistake from the Ligue 1 outfit.

However, it seems to be a right decision, as the market value of the right winger has only increased in past few months. With goal scoring prowess and versatility as his main assets, it won't take him too long to get featured in the Brazil national team

#1 Kylian Mbappe – Paris Saint-Germain

Kylian Mbappe is the best teenage footballer in the world right now

Age - 19 (Born 20 December 1998)

Nationality - French

Who else would be #1 other than this teenage superstar! Joining PSG as a loanee from the reigning champions Monaco, Mbappe started things from where he left off last season.

Along with world record transfer Neymar and current Ligue 1 player of the year Edinson Cavani, Mbappe has become a part of a deadly trio which literally bullies the opponent defenders and scores for fun!

Set to be the second most expensive transfer of all time in the upcoming summer, Mbappe scored on his both league and UCL debut for the capital club. In other means, it was also important for Mbappe to prove that he is not a one season wonder and to continue his goal scoring form which he had in Monaco. He is exactly doing that.

With 14 goals and 13 assists from 25 matches this season, it won't be an overstatement to call him the best teenage footballer in the world right now. Described as an “amazing football talent” by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger; Mbappe was part of the French Under-19 team which won U-19 Euros in 2016. He also finished second highest goal scorer in that tournament, only behind his compatriot and former PSG wonderkid Jean Kevin Augustin.

By using both pace and skills at the same time, Mbappe also grabbed some individual honours this season which includes Golden Boy award and a top-10 finish in Ballon d’Or. Already capped 10 times by Les Bleus, Mbappe would play an important part of French squad which has high hopes for 2018 World Cup.