Pundit Arena Because Sport Is Everything
The paper has compiled the best young talents in world football born in 1998.
The Guardian released a similar list of Premier League talents of the same age yesterday, so the lack of English players in today’s compendium shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
Some notable entrants include:
– Davor Lovren, who, to quote the article: “To answer your first question – yes, he is Dejan’s brother, but don’t hold that against him until you’ve seen him play.”
– FC Viitorul’s Ianis Hagi, who is the son of the legendary Romanian Gheorghe Hagi. The former Madrid Maestro had this to say about his offspring;
“He is way better than I was at his age. He is full of talent and he is a future Romania captain and leader. His quality is amazing.”
– Martin Odegaard makes his obligatory appearance along with fellow Norwegian sensation Rafik Zekhnini, who famously impressed the hell out of German and Borussia Dortmund centre back Mats Hummels – prompting him to ask:
Post-game Mats Hummels and reaction to 17-year old winger Rafik Zekhnini pic.twitter.com/XEiSXYyM3J
— Ashwin Johri (@AshwinJohri) August 20, 2015
In terms of youngsters plying their trade for Premier League clubs, Manchester United youngster Timothy Fosu-Mensah of the Netherlands leads the charge, having been called ‘the next Paul Pogba’.
Arsène Wenger’s love affair with French youngsters continues in earnest, with Jeff Reine-Adelaide representing the Gunners in the list, while Dutch Manchester City midfielder Javairo Dilrosun has impressively scored a hat-trick in an under-18 friendly against England.
City’s burgeoning youth academy also avail of the services of Zackarias Faour, a highly-rated Swedish forward.
Check back here in about 5-10 years to see how they’ve all done.
