We’ve scoured the globe in the hopes of uncovering all the brightest young talents in world football. The most frightening part is that we’re looking at players aged 17 and younger, in other words, promising footballers born in 2004 and before. How scary is that? With players like Haaland, Mbappe, Pedri, Saka and Bellingham already lighting up the world stage at the highest level, we want to see who out of these young guns is worth betting on being one of the best as they go from strength to strength.
Youssoufa Moukoko – Borussia Dortmund
At 16 years and one day, Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko is the youngest player to appear in the Bundesliga and then the Champions League just 17 days later. He ticked another box by becoming the youngest goal scorer in Bundesliga 11 days after that, and then smashed another record by being youngest player and youngest goal scorer for the Germany under-21 team – before he turned 17.
This lad is a record-setting machine, and he’s not even in his final year of school yet.
It’s also not like he’s playing for some bottom-half Bundesliga team. He’s proving to be a key factor for Champions League participants Borussia Dortmund and has scored three goals in 19 Bundesliga appearances at the age of 16.
Born in Cameroon, Moukoko came to Germany at the age of 10, and started playing football at St Pauli in Hamburg. Two years later, German giants Dortmund signed him. At youth level he simply outclassed his classmates and became part of the professional setup at the age of 15. That’s right – 15!
Elias Solberg – Juventus
Norwegian club Ullensaker/Kisa were looking like they were going to be relegated in August 2020 and were all tied up against rivals Stjørdals-Blink in the match that would decide their fate.
That’s when 16-year-old Elias Solberg made his debut with four minutes to go.
Solberg scored the winner and, as it happened, that goal saved the club from being dragged into a second division relegation playoff.
But it was not just the goal. The unbelievably dynamic and pacey midfielder did more than that. Solberg fast established himself as an important player for his local club and his undeniable talent was too good to ignore. Top Italian and Spanish clubs began to take notice and Solberg met with Milan legend Paolo Maldini, but still decided to sign for Juventus academy.
Juventus almost signed fellow Norwegian Erling Haaland a few years ago and were hellbent not to miss out on another Nordic prodigy. If Solberg follows in Haaland’s footsteps, it won’t be long before the young dynamo starts to see some first team football for The Old Lady.
Hugo Felix – Benfica
No, that surname isn’t a coincidence – Hugo Felix is in fact the brother of Atletico Madrid star forward João Felix.
This story is actually super romantic.
In Hugo’s first game as a ball boy for Benfica at Estádio da Luz, he had the opportunity to hug his brother, João Felix, after the his big boetie scored a goal to seal a win against Sporting CF. Now it’s Hugo who dreams of making it to Benfica’s first team, the club he has been representing since 2016.
He plays a little deeper than his brother, as an attacking midfielder, but is always looking for an opportunity to score. It will not be easy to follow João’s footsteps, but Hugo seems to have the right support, judging by the maturity he is showing and the competitiveness with which he approaches every game.
It’s crazy to think that João Felix is still only 21, as it feels like we’ve been watching him for years. If Hugo is cut from anything resembling the same cloth, the future of Benfica and Portuguese football looks like it’s in unbelievably promising hands, or feet.
Gavi – Barcelona
In the recent UEFA Nations League, Spanish manager, Luis Enrique insisted he was still convinced that he’d made the right call when he called up Gavi to the senior squad to face Italy – even though he had only just turned 17 and played just 289 minutes in the Barcelona first team.
Luis Enrique was right of course, and Gavi became the youngest ever Spaniard to represent La Roja at 17 years and 62 days as he not only started, but impressed in the 2-1 Nations League win.
Luis Enrique had watched Gavi in the Barcelona youth system, La Masia, which he joined from Betis aged just 11. They say that Gavi sets the benchmark at La Masia – which has produced some of the best footballers of all time – household names like Messi, Xavi and Iniesta.
Some have even gone so far as saying that Gavi might just be a mix of Iniesta and Xavi, which means he might have the gas to be one of the most intelligent ball-playing mids the game has ever seen.
It must be tough to be just 17 and already being compared to some of the greatest to ever do it – so let’s hope this young lad can keep his head and keep improving. The state of Barcelona at the moment would suggest that he’s about to see quite a lot of first team football.
Julen Jon Guerrero – Real Madrid
El Galacticos have a wunderkind of their own! Julen Jon Guerrero, son of Bilbao legend Julen Guerrero, has pundits and scouts sitting up and taking notice at Real Madrid and Spain’s under-18s.
Whilst we haven’t seen too much of him ourselves, he’s said to be a technical, tall No.10 with an eye for a goal and arrives in the area when things are at their hottest.
He first joined Málaga when Julen Sr. was working there and, when his father became a coach at the Federation, moved to the capital and joined the youth system at Madrid. He made his UEFA Youth League debut at the end of September – and scored within three minutes of coming on.
If he’s anything like his papa you can rest assured that there will be a lot of Guerrero shirts flying off the shelves in Spain for years to come. Having a high profile footballing father can’t be easy, but the young lad seems to be showing that he’s made of something special – maybe even more so than his dad. Only time will tell.
Bet on the youth
All these prodigies only serve to make us question our own life paths. As we watch on in wonder, delight, and more than a little envy we can only imagine what life must be like to have that talent, discipline, and work ethic.
While we might not (okay, definitely will not) ever be a footballing sensation – never mind a young footballing sensation – we can still enjoy their skills and possibly even make a little bit of money on the side but betting on the future of these rising stars.
Mike Williams, father of Welsh rugby international legend Shane Williams, bet that his son would break the all-time Welsh rugby try scoring record – when his son was still a kid playing junior rugby.
His £25 bet at odds of 2,000 – 1 paid off in 2008 when Shane Williams scored the match-winning try, sealed the Grand Slam for Wales, broke the Welsh try-scoring record – and won his dad £50,000!
Which one of these youngsters is going to score on debut? Which one will seal victory in a World Cup? Which one will go on to become the new Pele or Maradona or Ronaldo or Messi?
We bet that only time will tell.