Hello All, welcome back to the blog. Over the years, this blog has had a number of yearly posts; Top 10 most highly valued Brazilian Players or the Bob and Jim awards (working on it now) for instance. This is probably the one with more reputation for being yearly than any other one. In the first two editions of this post, we’ve seen some great future stars. In the first list we saw players like Youssoufa Moukoko, Mathys Tel, and in the second list we saw the likes of Endrick and Jobe Bellingham. Let’s see who’s on the list this year, as surely we’re bound to see some future stars. Without further ado, let’s begin the list!
#10: Moises Paniagua
Position: ST
Team: Always Ready
Birthday: Aug 16 2007
Nationality: Bolivia
Market Value: 400k
Having his 16th birthday last week, Moises Paniagua is the youngest player on this list. Despite being deployed as a striker, he isn’t a typical #9, excelling more on the wing and as a false 9. His tricksty dribbling is the best part of his game, and he can still unleash a great shot when he wants to. He’s been described by some as the “Best Bolivian talent ever”, and has been a super sub for Always Ready so far this season, making 14 appearances which isn’t at all bad for someone who turned 16 last week. He even scored once.
#9: Faniel Tewelde
Position: LW
Team: Odds BK
Birthday: Sep 9 2006
Nationality: Norway
Market Value: 500k
Despite being one of the oldest players on this list, Tewelde is a very exciting talent who’s been getting just the amount of game time he should be getting. From what I saw, he’s one of the taller LWs I’ve seen, but he’s deceptively good at dribbling and passing. He’s not hesitant to use a skill move to get by an opponent, and he’s good at them too. He’s played 11 games off the bench for Odds this season, and has even scored twice.
#8: Matai Akinmboni
Position: CB
Team: DC United
Birthday: Oct 17 2006
Nationality: USA
Market Value: 500k
This guy is… an unorthodox Center Back. Maintaining a fair level of ball winning ability, Akinmboni’s best trait comes in the form of his unnaturally good passing and vision. The American U17 international has been known to complete multiple exceptional long passes per match, but as I said, still has a very good ball winning ability. He’s played occasionally with the senior side, but still has a way to go until he becomes a regular.
#7: Jovan Mladinovic
Position: GK
Team: Red Star Belgrade
Birthday: Jan 20 2007
Nationality: Serbia
Market Value: 700k
Seeing a wonderkid Goalkeeper is a truly rare sight indeed. Because it’s such an important position and there’s only 1 per team, we don’t see many. As such, Mladinovic is still yet to make his debut for Red Star’s senior side, but he’s been outstanding in the youth teams. He’s got 14 clean sheets in 37 games with the youth teams, which is very good. It’s only a matter of time before he makes his senior debut.
#6: Karol Borys
Position: CAM
Team: Slask Wroclaw
Birthday: Sep 28 2006
Nationality: Poland
Market Value: 800k
One of the flashiest wonderkids I’ve seen, Karol Borys’ dribbling ability and his talent of getting by opponents is incredible. I am firmly on his hype train, and he’s finally starting to get some games with Slask Wroclaw. I can’t wait to see this guy burst onto the European stage.
#5: Sverre Nypan
Position: CM
Team: Rosenborg
Birthday: Dec 19 2006
Nationality: Norway
Market Value: 900k
Both Manchester clubs have kept tabs on this “Frenkie de Jong clone” recently, and it’s not hard to see why. He’s a steady and dependable player, who’s even chipped in with some goals and assists. His idol is Cristiano Ronaldo, which could lead to him picking Man Utd over City, but nothing is done yet.
#4: Noah Darvich
Position: CAM
Team: Barcelona
Birthday: Sep 25 2006
Nationality: Germany
Market Value: 2.5m
Meanwhile, Noah Darvich is someone who’s got his big move already. Having moved to Barcelona less than 3 weeks ago from Freiburg, Darvich is settling into life in the Catalan city. His dribbling and chance creation ability is amazing, and he’s set to fit right into the B-Team, while making some appearances for the senior team, probably.
#3: Kendry Paez
Position: CAM
Team: Independiente del Valle (Joins Chelsea in 2025)
Birthday: May 4 2007
Nationality: Ecuador
Market Value: 5m
Making some headlines in the summer for being the youngest player in the U20 World Cup as well as his Chelsea move, Kendry Paez is set to develop well for the next 2 years in Ecuador before his big move to Chelsea in 2025 after his 18th birthday. He has a great burst of speed, which leads to him barely ever losing shoulder to shoulder duels. He is definitely one of Ecuador’s best ever wonderkids, perhaps only matched in hype by Moises Caicedo, although he burst onto the scene well after Paez did.
#2: Luka Vuskovic
Position: CB
Team: Hajduk Split
Birthday: Feb 24 2007
Nationality: Croatia
Market Value: 6m
While he’s been under the radar in favour of players like Kendry Paez or the player in our #1 spot, Luka Vuskovic has been linked to teams like Man City, Real Madrid, and PSG, and he’s a highly touted talent among Europe’s elite. Vuskovic has become an undroppable for Hajduk Split at the age of 16, and is potentially Croatia’s most exceptional young talent ever. He has a very bright future, and whoever gets him will have a super talent on their hands.
#1: Lamine Yamal
Position: RW
Team: Barcelona
Birthday: Jul 13 2007
Nationality: Spain
Market Value: 25m
Who else? Lamine Yamal is the most exciting young Barcelona talent we’ve seen in a long time. He’s already proven himself to be a major part of Barcelona’s winger rotation, made history last season for being the youngest Barcelona debutant ever and then made history on the weekend for being the youngest Barcelona and La Liga player to ever make a start. If you watch any Barcelona game where he’s playing, his talent is absolutely there for everyone to see.
There’s my list, and I think that this could be the most talented group of players we’ve seen from any of the 3 editions. I think that most of these players will end up being major players in the world of football, hopefully I’m right. I’m Jim James, until next time.