With the sad reality that the likes of Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Francesco Totti are all coming towards the end of their careers now, we football fans are faced with the prospect of deciding who will be able to replace them? Ever wondered who the next best defender is? Or the man who could be scoring goals for your club in the next few years?
This new series by AFEFootballNews’ focuses on the young stars of the footballing world who could really make a substantial contribution to the beautiful game within the next few years. Here are numbers 1-10 …
Riechedly Bazoer
Age: 19
Position: Central Midfielder
Club: Ajax (Eredivisie, Holland)
Nation: Holland
Bazoer is very much like Paul Pogba in a way, a strong central midfielder who is just as good at attacking as he is at defending, with fine passing and tackling abiilities. He’s been held in high regard at Ajax for quite some time now and it shouldn’t be too long before a big European club comes knocking for him.
Andre Silva
Age: 20
Position: Striker
Club: FC Porto (Primeira Liga, Portugal)
Nation: Portugal
This is a man who has so much promise.Silva is an excellent finisher of the ball and has so far bagged 6 goals in 16 league appearances for his club and 4 goals in 4 matches for Portugal’s first team, including a hat-trick against the Faroe Islands.
Arsenal are said to be keeping an eye on him so look out for Silva gracing a bigger league in the not so distant future (no disrespect to Primeira Liga!).
Ousmane Dembele
Age: 19
Position: Attacking Midfielder/Winger
Club: Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga, Germany)
Nation: France
Having just moved to Dortmund from Stade Rennais in the summer, Frenchamn Dembele has already shown German fans what he is capable of with his blistering runs into the box, his ability to pick out a team-mate well and even managing to pop up with a goal along the way too.
France have also introduce him into the first team set-up of their national squad already so it is clear to see that he could be a big name player real soon.
Mauricio Lemos
Age: 20
Position: Centre Back
Club: UD Las Palmas (La Liga, Spain)
Nation: Uruguay
I’m almost certain that you won’t have heard of Lemos before, as even the most hardcore football fan wouldn’t have noticed him a year ago when he was at Russian side Rubin Kazan and failed to play a single game.
A year can be along time in football though and Lemos’ growth into a fully fledged centre back is proof of just that. He now starts most games for Las Palmas and looks solid and comfortable playing in the heart of their defence.
Goncalo Guedes
Age: 19
Position: Winger
Club: S.L. Benfica (Primeira Liga, Portugal)
Nation: Portugal
Another of Portugal’s wonderkids, Guedes has often been tipped to be the “next Cristiano Ronaldo” but let’s be honest, there will probably never be another player of his class, at least not for many more years to come and putting that tag on Guedes is a little unfair.
The winger is a fine young player though, who possesses a wicked turn of pace and the ability to shoot from distance. He’s become a key part of Benfica’s side since the age of 17 and is now establishing himself as a regular starter there.
Youri Tielemans
Age: 19
Position: Central Midfielder
Club: RSC Anderlecht (Belgian Pro League, Belgium)
Nation: Belgium
Tielemans became the youngest Belgian player to play in the Champions’ League making his debut at the age of 16 years and 148 days. He is considered to be one of the brightest young prospects in world football today and seems to be everything a natural central midfielder should be; calm in possession, great at passing, has the ability to score a goal or two and can also win the ball back for his side.
Many journalists and pundits believe that he could be the next big thing, so keep an eye on this guy!
Renato Sanches
Age: 19
Position: Central Midfielder
Club: Bayern Munich (Bundesliga, Germany)
Nation: Portugal
Sanches recently moved to Bayern Munich over the summer, for a hefty £30 million after enjoying a brilliant cup winning Euro 2016 campaign with Portugal. During the tournament, he became the youngest Portuguese player to play in an international tournament, scored a goal and even won the Young Player of the Tournament award for his impressive displays as Portugal captured the title for the first time in their history.
He is a seriously strong player for his age, as he can keep possession well whilst also setting up an attack for his side. He also possesses an incredible shooting ability, which he proved with his stunning goal against Poland at Euro 2016. His ability to play in a defensive role as well as out wide and in attacking position means that he is a very versatile player too.
He definitely has the potential to be world class.
Jonathan Tah
Age: 20
Position: Centre Back
Club: Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga, Germany)
Nation: Germany
At 6ft 3′ tall, German star Tah certainly looks as though he is built to be a typically strong centre back and he is proving to be just that whilst playing for Leverkusen, who he has now played over 30 times for since his move to the club in 2015.
His impressive performances for Leverkusen saw him called up to the Germany squad for Euro 2016, replacing fellow defender Antonio Rudiger and he has recently been highly tipped to lead his country in years to come.
If any Premier League back is looking for a young defender who could grow into one of the best in the world, then they should most definitely be scouting Tah.
Alen Halilovic
Age: 20
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Club: Hamburger SV (Bundesliga, Germany)
Nation: Croatia
Halilovic is Croatia’s youngest ever debutant, playing first at 16 years old and so although he is still only 20 years old, he has had scouts all over the world watching him for a number of years now. In 2014, European giants Barcelona reached an agreement with Croatian club Dynamo Zagreb for Halilovic’s signature on a five-year transfer to the club, however, he would go on to make just one appearance for the senior team.
Now at German side Hamburg, Halilovic has the chance to finally be a main star in a team again and will be looking to flourish in the Bundesliga, which could be a league that really suits his attacking style of play. His vision is frightening for his age and he loves to set up his team-mates for goals.
The worrying thing for Hamburg is that Barca have a £10 million buy back clause on the Croat’s contract and so they may be looking to activate that if he does perform exceptionally well.
Breel Embolo
Age: 19
Position: Striker
Club: Schalke 04 (Bundesliga, Germany)
Nation: Switzerland
Another youngster who made the move to Germany over the summer, Embolo starred for his country at Euro 2016 and that was enough for Schalke to make a £20 million bid for him, which was then accepted by Basel.
Embolo has been likened to Didier Drogba, due to his powerful style of play, whcih allows him to be both technically strong and decisive. He has explosive pace and is a composed finisher too.
He has so far scored 2 goals in 4 matches for Schalke in the league and if he can keep that sort of form up then we could be looking at a future star from Switzerland.
So there you have it, 10 future stars held in high regard by AFEFootballNews’, make sure to keep an eye out for the second instalment of this series, featuring more young stars for the future (numbers 11-21).
All photos taken from Google image searches for each player and in no way belong to AFEFootballNews.
AFEFootballNews 