The topic that everyone seems to want to question. Who the best young players are, player comparisons, and most importantly, whether they will live up to their potential. There have been numerous young people just in the last five years. Pablo Aimar and Javier Saviola were supposed to be the new Diego Maradona, Antonio Cassano the new Roberto Baggio. The list could go on for the potential failed. Here I am going to list the top 10 players in the world.
10) Mario Balotelli
Current club: Inter Milan
Nationality: Ghana, Italy
Age: 17
Position: Front
Player Comparisons: George Weah
A player with great potential. A big, strong and quick striker who is a specialist in taking set pieces. Aged just 17, his home country of Ghana called him up for a full international squad, although this was declined due to his preference to play for Italy once he turns 18. Baloteli is one of those who look to the future.
9) Juan Dos Santos
Current club: Tottenham
Nationality: Mexico
Age: 19
Position: Attacking Midfielder (Left, Right)
Player Comparisons: Ronaldinho
Giovani Dos Santos arrives at Tottenham with a great reputation. At Barcelona he had Messi, Ronaldinho, Henry, Bojan and Iniesta competing with him for a place in the first team. A skilled winger who can be as strong playing on the right as he is on the left. The £4.7m Tottenham paid Barcelona could be quite a bargain as he plays his role in the Premiership next season.
8) Karim Benzema
Current club: Lyon
Nationality: France, Algeria
Age: 20
Position: Front
Player Comparisons: Nickolas Anelka
The young French striker has just had a fantastic season in France and finished top scorer with 24 goals, ensuring Lyon won La Liga for the seventh consecutive year. His quality has interested the likes of Man Utd and Real Madrid, although he has underscored his determination to stay with the French champions for now. His reputation in Europe has grown to the point that some fans have already predicted that he would become the top scorer at Euro 2008, although this did not happen.
7) Theo Walcott
Current club: Arsenal
Nationality: England
Age: 19
Position: Right Midfielder, Forward
Player Comparisons: Ryan Giggs
It seems that the young English striker has been around forever. It was when he was just 16 years old and playing for Southampton that he convinced Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to sign him against stiff competition. He was later included in the England squad for the 2006 World Cup without playing a single game for Arsenal, although he did not participate in the tournament. Since then he has progressed slowly and this year he hopes to break into Arsenal’s starting line-up.
6) Carlos Vela
Current club: Arsenal
Nationality: Mexico
Age: 19
Position: Front
Player Comparisons: David Villa
Bought by Arsenal after receiving the player of the tournament in the U-17 World Cup for Mexico. Since then he has spent his time on loan in Spain waiting for a work permit. A player very similar to Valencia starting David Villa due to his rhythm and ability to shoot. Like Tottenham signing Dos Santos, he will be looking to make an impact in his first season in English football.
5) Lulina
Current Club: Cortinthians
Nationality: Brazil
Age: 18
Position: Medium Attack
Player Comparisons: Kaka
The only player on the list who plays outside of Europe will show how tall this player is. A highly talented player who could become one of the next great Brazilians. Clubs like Chelsea have been known to make an inquiry, although the Brazilian club won’t let him go unless a £24m offer arrives.
4) Alexander Duck
Current club: AC Milan
Nationality: Brazil
Age: 18
Position: Front
Player Comparisons: Samuel Eto’o
When people discuss the deadliest front lines they do with AC Milan, then for an 18-year-old to be considered to be on that front line it’s a party. It wasn’t until January that he was able to make his first appearance for AC Milan. It was when people started to realize why he was being talked about so much before his debut. Despite being injured and missing a few weeks due to injury, Pato managed to score 9 goals for the club. The club showed so much confidence in him that they started him in the Champions League match against Arsenal ahead of the likes of Flippo Inzahgi. He is currently at the Beijing Olympics where he has already expressed his desire to finish as top scorer.
3) Andersons
Current club: Manchester United
Nationality: Brazil
Age: 20
Position: central midfielder
Player Comparisons: Diego Simeone, Paul Scholes
Purchased for a fee believed to be around £18 million. Utd have high hopes for Anderson and he will be one of the only youngsters in the world deemed worthy enough to take Paul Schole’s place. A very complete midfielder who passed better than any player on this list. He can also tackle and dribble, which is rare these days for a player of his talent. One problem with Anderson is that he’s been pretty prone to injury, so he’s going to have to do everything he can to make sure it doesn’t hurt his career.
2) Bojan
Current club: Barcelona
Nationality: Spain
Age: 17
Position: Front
Player Comparisons: Raul
800 youth goals for Barcelona should be enough to talk about Bojan. He has already been given Barcelona’s number 11 shirt, which could suggest he will be in the starting XI for next season. He scored 12 goals in his first senior season with Barcelona. He seems like he wants to stay at the club for his entire career so he can break all the goalscoring records the club holds, like Bojan did at youth levels.
1) Sergio Aguero
Current club: Atlético de Madrid
Argentina Nationality
Age: 20
Position: Front
Player Comparisons: Romario
Seen alongside Lionel Messi, the future of Argentine soccer. Moving to Atlético Madrid was seen as a big coup for the club as European teams were also interested. He came to the club with a great reputation and it took him a year to settle in Madrid where he was able to show glimpses of his true talent. It was in his second year that he unleashed all of his talents terrorizing defenses all over Spain becoming La Liga player of the year. Join Lionel Messi in becoming the youngest winner of the award in history. Bigger things are expected of him next season, as the club is in the Champions League, where it may have the perfect stage to showcase his talent to the world.
However, the question remains how many of these players will live up to their potential. It is impossible to answer.