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On transfer deadline day, Manchester United was a very busy club as it had a plethora of outgoing transfers. However, the biggest headline was for a transfer in and it was one that came as a surprise to many as the Red Devils parted with £36m to land 19-year-old French striker Anthony Martial from AS Monaco.Martial’s transfer made him the most expensive teenager surpassing the record previously held by two of his current teammates, Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw, at a certain point in time. His transfer to United is a huge gamble and it is one that the club is familiar with.Eleven years ago, the club rolled the dice when they paid £26m to land an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney and it was a gamble that paid its dividends as Rooney went on to score 233 goals for the club, which currently puts him third in the club’s all-time leading goal scorers.Martial is very lucky to be at a club like Manchester United at such a young age and just like the Frenchman, there are many other promising teenage strikers who are waiting to be picked up by the big clubs. In some cases, they swoop has already happened. So here are seven highly talented teenage strikers like Anthony Martial you should know about.
#1 Kelechi Iheanacho
Age: 18
Club: Manchester City
The Nigerian caught the eyes of clubs across Europe when he helped his country to the final of the 2013 African U-17 Championship where they lost to Ivory Coast on penalties. Later that year he won the Golden Ball award at the U-17 World Cup after helping his side lift the trophy.
He scored six times, including once in the final, and provided seven assists in seven games during the tournament. To add to his glory, he was also named as Confederation of African Football’s most Promising Talent of the year in 2014 – an award previously won by players like Mohamed Salah, Kwadwo Asamoah, Salomon Kalou, John Obi Mikel and Obafemi Martins.
Iheanacho has been described as a player with excellent close control but is not the fastest of players. The Nigerian is also very good with both feet and has scored several goals with his right foot despite being a left-footed player. Another key trait of his is his versatility; he is capable of operating as wide forward, a centre forward and as an attacking midfielder.
He was signed by Manchester City in 2014, but he could only join the club once he turned 18. The player still went on tour with the club for the pre-season in 2014 and scored in consecutive games against Kansas City and AC Milan.
Manuel Pellegrini seems to have faith in the 18-year-old as he is currently the third choice striker at the club behind Sergio Aguero and Wilfried Bony. So the teenager will get a number of chances to prove himself. Recently, he came on as an 89th minute substitute for Wilfried Bony in a league game against Crystal Palace with the score level at 0-0, and then scored the winning goal minutes after he came on to help City extend their perfect winning start to the season.
#2 Breel-Donald Embolo
Age: 18
Club: FC Basel
Breel-Donald Embolo is a youth product of Basel’s famous academy which has produced players like Ivan Rakitic and Xherdan Shaqiri in recent years. He made his debut for Basel when he was just 17 in a Europa League fixture and later scored just four minutes into his league debut.
During the 2014/15 season, the teenager got a bigger role with the first team and scored 17 goals across various competitions, including the Champions League. He has started the current season brightly for Basel by scoring two league goals and another in a Champions League play-off game.
Embolo was eligible to represent Cameroon on the international stage but he chose to represent Switzerland instead. He made his international debut for Switzerland in March 2015 as a substitute for Josip Drmic. On September 6, he came on as a substitute for Admir Mehmadi in a Euro qualifier game against Slovenia with the Swiss trailing by two goals and then assisted Drmic’s goal which was his side’s first of the night. The Swiss eventually won the game 3-2 and Embolo made a great impact as a substitute.
The prodigy is making a name for himself as a striker, but his versatility is his strong suit. He is capable of operating as a second striker, an attacking midfielder and as a central midfielder and has featured in all these roles. He has a strong build for a teenager and is known for his quick passing game, his first touch and his off the ball movements.
#3 Richairo Zivkovic
Age: 19
Club: Willem II (On loan from Ajax)
Zivkovic started his career with Dutch club FC Groningen before moving to Ajax in the summer transfer window of 2014. His first two clubs are the same clubs Luis Suarez first played for in Europe. He made headlines when he was 17 after he scored for Groningen to become the club’s youngest ever goalscorer, breaking the record set by Arjen Robben years ago. The teenager has represented Netherlands at youth levels, but he is also eligible to represent Serbia because of his Serbian mother.
Zivkovic is more of a natural striker with poacher instincts and is not similar to Suarez who likes to dribble and create goals by himself. His pace and agility are his defining attributes and he could turn into a striker who runs behind the defence and feeds on through balls.
He had his breakthrough season in 2013/14 with Groningen when he scored 11 league goals in 33 games. This was when he was just 17 years old! Having seen incredible potential in the player, he was snapped up by Ajax, but he struggled for game time at the Amsterdam club and featured for the reserves side more than the first team. He scored 18 times in 25 games for the reserves side and once for the first team last season.
It is rumoured that Ajax’s first team coach Frank de Boer preferred Arkadiusz Milik over Zivkovic because of the latter’s attitude problems. With the arrival or Yaya Sanogo on loan, playing time was becoming more difficult for Zivkovic and hence he was loaned to Willem II for the current season.
Despite a dull season following his breakthrough campaign with Groningen, Zivkovic has the potential and ability to become a future star. But he needs to keep his head grounded and work hard.
#4 Santi Mina
Age: 19
Club: Valencia
Before Luis Enrique became the manager of Barcelona, he was the manager of fellow La Liga team Celta Vigo – a club placed at the lower end of the table at that time. However, the club had a number of promising youngsters to rely on. One of the main reasons why Vigo trusted Enrique was his experience with youth players during his time with Barcelona B.
Mina made his debut in February 2013 as a substitute. However he only got regular first team opportunities once Enrique took charge at the club. He scored his first goal for the club against Athletic Bilbao in September 2013 and thus became the team’s youngest goal scorer in the first division. In April 2015, the teenager made headlines when he scored four goals in a league match against Rayo Vallecano, becoming the youngest player to do so in La Liga.
The Spaniard is seen as a conventional striker by many and that’s a stark contrast to Spain’s recent crop of nimble footed forwards with incredible flair. Mina was a prolific scorer at the youth levels. He is not a very tall forward but is still a very good header of the ball and his upper body strength makes his hold up play very good. His main strength though is his excellent movement.
Mina has mainly played as a substitute during the last two seasons with Celta Vigo, but he still managed to score 12 goals for the senior side. During the recently closed transfer window, the Spanish U21 International made a switch to fellow La Liga club Valencia for a fee of €10m.
Valencia have Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo and Paco Alcacer in the team, but the manager Nuno Espirito Santo is a man who gives young players opportunities to shine. He did the same with the likes of Joao Cancelo, Ruben Vezo, Jose Gaya and Andre Gomes last season.
#5 Enes Unal
Age: 18
Club: KRC Genk (On loan from Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling was not Manchester City’s first summer signing of the season as the Citizens wrapped up the signing of Turkish striker Enes Unal early in the window. It is said that Enes is potentially the best striker in the country and could go on and eclipse the achievements of Hakan Sukur.
Enes is the son of Mesut Unal who played for Bursaspor and Enes took strides forward as a footballer with Bursaspor’s academy. It is reported that European clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid tried to poach the player from Bursaspor when he was 15, but the player preferred to stay in Turkey to continue his development.
He made his debut in August 2013 as a substitute against Galatasaray and scored his first league goal three minutes after coming on. It made him the youngest player to score in the Turkish League at 16 years and 107 days. He featured for Bursaspor mainly as a substitute, but his development was incredible for his age.
City signed the player on 7 July and took him on tour to Australia, where he made his debut against Adelaide United. On 31 July, City sent the player out on a two-year loan to Belgian club KRC Genk in a quest to gain valuable first team experience. Enes is also capped by Turkey at the senior level when he made his debut as a substitute against Luxembourg in a friendly in March 2015.
The teenager’s biggest strengths are his work rate, his movement, his ability to take on players and his finishing. His ball control and first touch are also world class. He has been appreciated for his modesty and determination both on and off the pitch. The youngster’s idol is Robin van Persie and it would be wonderful to see him reach the level of the Dutchman.
#6 Siebe Schrijvers
Age: 19
Club: KRC Genk
Siebe Schrijvers has been playing for Belgian Outfit KRC Genk since he was an 8-year-old. The club is famous for developing some of the well-known Belgian internationals such as Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Benteke, Divock Origi and Dennis Praet. Schrijvers could be the next in line to join the list.
Aged just 15, young Schrijvers made headlines when he scored a hat-trick for the club’s first team in an exhibition game. However, considering his tender age, he was sparingly used for first team games during the 2012/13 season despite training with them. He made his debut during that season in a Europa League game against FC Basel and impressed many with his performance. But he had to wait for the next season to score his first official goal for the club.
The Belgian’s key strengths are his pace and acceleration. These attributes along with his movement on and off the ball make him a typical modern day striker who runs in behind the defence and feeds off through balls. His skill set has drawn comparisons with Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain and England captain Wayne Rooney. If he can replicate either one of them, he will have an amazing career to look forward to.
Schrijvers has represented Belgium from the U15 to the U19 level and has been a consistent scorer for his team. At club level, he has scored seven league goals for his side in 47 games so far. This figure might seem poor, but Schrijvers played a lot of games as a substitute early on in his career.
Aged 19, he still has time to improve the figure massively and he believes that he can grow as a player at Genk – like his compatriots from the club’s academy who went on to play for the national team.
#7 Gabriel Barbosa
Age: 19
Club: Santos FC
Brazilian club Santos has been credited for producing world class players like Pele, Neymar, Robinho and Diego Ribas to name a few. Gabriel Barbosa or Gabigol could join the illustrious list in a short period of time.
Gabriel has been often compared to his compatriot Neymar, but his style of play is different to that of Neymar’s. The teenager’s style of play is best compared to Luis Suarez. Gabriel’s preferred position is up front even though he is capable of playing out wide. If he can develop into a top striker then it will be a huge relief for Brazil national team as the team is short of good goal scorers.
The Brazilian is a two-footed player, very skillful and loves to run behind the opposition defence. Comparisons with Luis Suarez stem from the fact that he has a very high work rate and can be seen pressing the opposition players like the Uruguayan. The only downside for him is his lean build, which could be a problem while playing against tall and strong defenders in Europe.
He made his debut at the age of 16 and has been praised for showing experience and maturity beyond his age. As of now, Gabriel has scored 34 goals for Santos in 106 appearances across various competitions and he finished the 2014 season as Santos’ joint top scorer and also finished as the joint top scorer of the 2014 Copa Do Brasil.
Gabriel’s move to Europe is inevitable, but it remains to be seen if he will stay put with Santos for a couple more years like Neymar did or move to some European club at the first time of asking.
