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Every club has that one player; the super talented youngster who either came through the ranks or was bought from another club, who instantly lights up the field through his performances.
In modern football, youth is valued above all else by most clubs, especially when there's talent of this kind on offer. That being said, let's take a look at some of these young players - ones that their clubs just cannot afford to lose, regardless of the amount of dough that comes their way:
#5 Christian Pulisic - Borussia Dortmund
Christian Pulisic was brought to the Westfalenstadion in the summer of 2015. After scoring 10 goals and setting up 8 others for the reserve team, he was called up to train with the senior squad by then coach Thomas Tuchel. His performances on the pitch have made some call him the 'American Messi'.
Aged just 19, it may be too soon to draw any comparison to the aforementioned legend of the game, although Pulisic has been labeled as the brightest US prospect, already winning 20 caps for his country.
Highly versatile, Pulisic can play on either wing or just behind the striker. His short frame allows him to dribble with the ball at high speed making him a menace for any defender.
While Dortmund has lost some key players such as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ousmane Dembele and Marco Reus struggles with injury problems, the youngster has quickly become an important part of the first team in only the 3rd year of his professional career.
His departure would be a big loss to the team.
#4 Leroy Sane - Manchester City
One of the first purchases of the Pep Guardiola revolution, Leroy Sane was brought to Manchester City in 2016 for £37m from Schalke 04. While he made a slow start to his Premier League career, he is now an integral part of the free-flowing City attack having found the back of the net 6 times and assisting 6 more goals this season.
Sane is a traditional winger, who provides genuine width on the pitch and has a knack for cutting in and taking shots at goal. His pace and trickery make him a nightmare for Premier League defenders.
In 2017, the ex-Schalke winger was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award losing out to Dele Alli.
Aged just 21, Sane is expected to light up the blue side of Manchester for years to come and with coach Guardiola a huge fan, his departure would be a massive loss to the team.
#3 Marco Asensio - Real Madrid
Marco Asensio was brought back to the club after successful loan stints at Mallorca and Espanyol to supplement the fearsome Madrid attack boasting of big names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Gareth Bale.
Whenever an opportunity presented itself due to a tactical switch by Zinedine Zidane or injury/rest to any of the senior players, Asensio showed the gaffer exactly why he needed to play regularly. With pace and creativity, Asensio is now an integral part of the team after the departures of James Rodriguez to Bayern Munich and Alvaro Morata to Chelsea.
With a goal in the 2016/17 Champions League final against Juventus, the young Spaniard has shown he can perform on the big stage. Highly versatile, he can play on the wing or either through the middle, also deployed as a second striker at times.
The Los Blancos faithful have taken a liking to the forward and will not take kindly to him being sold to fund another Galactico arrival.
#2 Gianluigi Donnarumma- AC Milan
Coming through the academy at AC Milan, at the age of 16 years and 242 days, Donnarumma is the second youngest goalkeeper to start a match in the history of Italian football.
Widely believed to be the heir apparent of his namesake, Gianluigi Buffon for Italy, even prompting praise from him, Donnarumma has made a name for himself in world football.
His eye-catching performances at the San Siro combined with his physical strength, agility and decision making have turned the heads of big clubs around the world. After Buffon's retirement, Donnarumma will have high hopes of becoming Italy's No.1 .
While it was initially believed he would leave at the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2016/2017 season, Donnarumma signed an extension that would keep him at the Milan club till 2021.
The hierarchy at AC Milan would like the Italian shot-stopper to stay at the club for as long as possible.
#1 Dele Alli - Tottenham Hotspur
Having won the PFA Young Player of the Year consecutively in 2016 and 2017, Dele Alli is the golden boy of English football. Signed from MK Dons after the 2014/15 season, Alli has become an integral part of a Tottenham Spurs side looking to challenge for honours.
Primarily an attacking midfielder, Alli can also play as a second striker, sharing an amazing chemistry with club and country teammate Harry Kane. The young Englishman scored twice in the 3-1 rout of Real Madrid in the group stages of the Champions League.
Current boss Mauricio Pochettino heaped praised on the forward, saying "In the box, he looks like a striker, and outside the box, he plays like a midfielder". Alli has previously stated that he is a big fan of Steven Gerrard, and tries to learn from the Liverpool legend's style of play.
With Real Madrid showing an interest and Tottenham looking likely to miss out on silverware again this season, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy must be weary of the constant reports linking him to bigger clubs within and outside England.
