Moussa Dembélé is a 20-year-old French footballer who currently plays for Scottish champions Celtic. Born in Pontoise, France, he spent eight years in PSG’s youth academy. He left the academy when he was 16 to join Fulham, where he got first team opportunities. He scored 15 goals in 56 appearances for the London club and attracted many teams across Europe.
He eventually decided to join Celtic over this summer and already has an impressive record of 12 goals in 16 appearances. He scored twice against Manchester City last Wednesday and the second one was truly a thing of beauty. If he keeps up with impressive performances like this, he might not be in Scottish League for much longer.
Ángel Correa is a 21-year-old Argentine footballer who is currently playing for La Liga giants Atlético Madrid. Born in Rosario, he joined San Lorenzo’s youth academy when he was 12.
From there, he got promoted to the first team when he was just 17 and went on to score 10 goals in 49 appearances. He caught the eyes of Atlético Madrid and Diego Simeone and made the move to La Liga club in 2014.
Since then, he has scored seven goals in 30 appearances for Rojiblancos. He was also called up to Argentina national team in September of 2015 and scored in his debut against Bolivia. He has been compared to his compatriots such as Sergio Agüero and Carlos Tevez due to similar physicality and playing style.
With Fernando Torres misfiring and Kevin Gameiro failing to adjust to the team, Correa might have a shot at being a permanent starter as the season progresses.
Christian Pulisic is an 18-year-old American player for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. Born and raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania, he played for PA Classics before joining the German giants in 2015. After completely dominating at U17 and U19 levels in Dortmund, where he scored 10 and assisted eight in just 15 matches, he was called up to the first team in January of 2016.
Since then, he has made 17 appearances in all competition and scored three goals. He has already been called up to United States Men’s National Team, and has three goals in eight matches for the Americans. He is already labeled by many as the best player ever to come out of the United States, and, if he keeps his performance up, that might just well become true.
Ousmane Dembélé, just like Moussa, is a young French prospect ready to break through this season. The 19-year-old was born in Vernon, France and joined Rennes two seasons ago. After spending time in the reserves in 2014/15, where he scored 17 times in 22 matches, he was given a chance to play for first team in the following season.
His impressive showing of 12 goals in 26 appearances put him in radar of many European giants and he finally chose to move to Borussia Dortmund over the summer. So far, he has scored once in seven appearances for his new club and was already called up to French senior side back in September. He’s looking like a hidden gem in the process of becoming a star and it will be hard to stop him once he is fully developed.
Leroy Sané is a German winger who recently joined Premier League side Manchester City. Known for his lightning speed and dribbling skills, the 20-year-old starlet cost City a reported £37 million fee. He was born in Essen, Germany and joined SG Wattenscheid 09 in 2001 when he was just five years old.
He then joined Schalke 04 in 2005 before leaving for Bayer Leverkusen in 2008, only to return in 2011. He made his first team debut in April of 2014. Since then, he went on to score 11 times in 47 matches for Schalke. He was also called up for Germany in 2016 European Championships. Under Pep Guardiola’s guidance, he looks set to explode in the Premier League this season.
Joshua Kimmich is a 21-year-old German who can play in numerous positions across the pitch. Known for his intelligence on and off the ball, he is capable of playing center back, full back, defensive midfielder, central midfielder, attacking midfielder and winger.
Born in Rottweil, Germany, he began his career in VfB Stuttgart before moving onto RB Leipzig. He was bought by Bayern for €7 million in 2015 and made his league debut for them by September. Since then, he has gone on to make 44 appearances for the club in all competitions and he received a national team call up earlier this year.
He was selected to participate in 2016 European Championships and went on to play in four matches as a right back. This is a star in the making and his versatility, intelligence, and maturity put him above most players his age.
Marco Asensio is a 20-year-old Spanish footballer who can either play as an attacking midfielder or a winger. Born in the Balearic Islands to a Spanish father and a Dutch mother, Asensio started his career with the local side Mallorca. After playing a season with Mallorca first team in 2013/14, he gained interest from Real Madrid and was bought for a €3.9 million fee.
He wa loaned back to Mallorca for 2014/15 season before going out on loan again to Espanyol in 2015/16 season to gain experience in La Liga. His outstanding performances last season got him a call back to Real Madrid's senior side this season.
Although competing against very good players in Madrid, Asensio has already made six appearances in all competitions, scoring three times. He has also been called up to Spanish national team, despite facing strong competition, and has made two appearances so far. With all these outstanding performances, he can become one of the main players for Madrid this season.
Marcus Rashford plays for Manchester United as a striker and a winger. With his drizzling speed and an eye for the goal, he has been rated very highly by the English media.
The 18-year-old was born in Wythenshawe, a district in the south of Manchester, and joined Manchester United academy at the age of seven. Rashford made his debut for the senior side against Midtjylland in Europa League in February, where he became the youngest-ever scorer for the club in a European competition after scoring twice in the match.
He got his first-ever Premier League action against Arsenal three days later, and he scored twice and assisted once to help the Red Devils get an important home win. He also scored the game-winning goal in the Manchester derby a month later and quickly became one of the most important players for the team.
His record of eight goals in 18 total appearances in all competition got him a call up to the England national team for the 2016 European championships. With the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, some feared he might not feature as much as he did last season. However, Jose Mourinho has been playing him as one of the attacking midfielders or a winger in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and he is still excelling, with four goals in eight matches so far.
He is the one of the hottest prospects in European football currently and still can develop into a much better player as he grows up.
Kelechi Iheanacho is a 20-year-old Nigerian striker who plays for Manchester City. Born in Imo, Nigeria, his career took off during 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where his performances got several European clubs’ attention.
He ended up joining Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad in January of 2014, before going to the United States to train with Columbus Crew of MLS until mid October.
After impressive showings in 2015 pre-season tour, he was promoted to the senior squad for 2015/16 season. He made 35 appearances for the team in all competitions and scored 14 goals. He also has three goals in five games for the Nigerian national team. This season under Pep Guardiola, he’s already played in seven games and scored scored three times ,including in the Manchester derby. He has an amazing record, averaging a goal every 80 minutes and looks like a goal machine in the making.
Nobody can deny that this youngster is one of the hottest properties in world football right now. He played a major role in Portugal’s win in 2016 European championships despite being only 18.
His very impressive season at Benfica caught the eyes of Bayern Munich who paid €35 million to bring his talents to Bavaria. After his performance in the Euros, Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admitted that the price was a bargain and they wouldn’t have been able to afford him if they were to buy him after the tournament.
Sanches has been playing so well that some even accused him of lying about his age (he isn't). Now 19, he’s ready to step into the next level with Bayern. Although Carlo Ancelotti has been using him cautiously so far this season, with his talent it’s only a matter of time before he broke through the starting 11.
