Top 10 Most Highly Valued Under-16 Players
By Jim James
The Young players are the future, and everyone is always scrambling to say: “I called him before he was great”. I am one of those people. I admit it, so with that out of the way, time to look at some players who will be in the spotlight as wonderkids in the near future. Players that maybe aren’t in the public eye yet, but might be soon. Without further ado, however, let’s begin looking at the stars of tomorrow, the future, now.
*NOTE* The values are from transfermarkt.com, not my own personal opinions
- Antoni Milambo: 16 y.o, Attacking Midfield, Dutch, Feyenoord, 1m
Having stayed in the ranks of Feyenoord since 2014 after previously being in the ranks of non-league sides SV DEH Musschen and SV Charlois, Antoni Milambo has finally got into the first team of the side. Yet to make his debut, you have to know that it will be soon.
He’s played in the U17 and O21 divisions, scoring a total of 6 goals, and he’s got 2 goals in 4 Dutch U15 Caps, and 3 goalless ones for the U17s.
- Abdoulaye Kamara, 16 y.o., Defensive Midfield, Guinean, Dortmund, 1m
He has his 17th birthday next month, so he still counts, but to me, Abdoulaye Kamara screams Ilaix Moriba. Same country, same position, and same way of snaking out of their clubs to go to the Bundesliga.
Sorry, inner Barca fan coming out there.
But Kamara has done well for Dortmund, a regular at this point in their B side in the 3. Liga. He has also played a lot in the UEFA youth league for Dortmund, and his former club, PSG. He also played twice in the Coupe Gambardella for PSG, a youth domestic club, however it says a lot when Auxerre has won it 7 times.
He left PSG this summer for Dortmund after climbing the ranks there, and has now played for two of the biggest clubs in the world. To all the FIFA heads out there, due to his regular appearances for Dortmund II and their being in the game, he should get added soon in an update.
- Luka Romero, 16 y.o., Attacking Midfield, Argentine, Lazio, 1m
Anyone remember Luka Romero? The guy that became the youngest debutant in La Liga history at 15 years old? Yeah, that is who this is. Only 16, with his 17th birthday tomorrow.
If you noticed, he’s not a Mallorca player anymore. This past summer, he got transferred to Lazio for about 200k euros. A transfer that slipped through the cracks, that’s for sure. Since his debut for Mallorca, he played 6 more games with the Spanish side, and 1 game for the senior Lazio side and the U19s. One of the more accomplished players in our list, but at the minute he’s looking like he’ll take the Freddy Adu way and not the Sergio Aguero way. Good luck for him, though.
- Mathys Tel: 16 y.o., Right Winger, French, Rennes, 1m
Oddly, only the second one that has played for only one club at major youth levels or senior levels, Mathys Tel has made 4 senior appearances for Rennes, including 1 in the conference league. A right winger, who before 2020, was bouncing around small teams a lot. First it was JS Villiers-de-Bel, then Ligue 2 side Paris FC, AS Jeunesse Aubervilliers, Montrouge FC 92, and then Rennes, in the space of 4 years.
He’s made 2 U-18 caps, and scored 2 goals.
- Antonio Nusa, 16 y.o., Left Wing, Norwegian, Club Brugge, 1.5m
Nusa is a player who is only just getting in the game. The Norwegian signed for Brugge on deadline day after making 11 appearances for Stabaek in the Norwegian top flight. He’s made 1 appearance for Brugge’s senior side. He’s got 3 goals and 1 cap with the Norwegian Under 16’s.
- Roger Fernandes, 15 y.o., Left Wing, Portuguese/Guinean-Bissau, Braga, 2m
The only player on this list who is yet to turn 16, I think that Roger Fernandes has the most potential on this list barring the #1 here. Because of him being only 15, we don’t know very much about him, The only youth system we know that he was in was the Braga one, where he has now become a senior player, and debuted at 15 months and 8 days in the Supertaca Candido de Olivera, the youngest ever to play in it.
- Zidan Sertdemir, 16 y.o, Center Midfield, Danish, Leverkusen, 2m
A new arrival in Germany, we all know who Zidan Sertdemir, a player born in 2005, was named after.
Sertdemir joined the German side this summer for 2.5 million after getting traded around between Brondby, then Nordsjaelland. He’s got a total of 6 caps in Denmark’s youth ranks, scoring twice. He’s got 33 underage caps between Nordsjae and Leverkusen, with 7 goals and 2 assists solidifying his place on our list
- Noah Mbamba, 16 y.o., Center Back, Belgium, Club Brugge, 3m
He is the most highly valued player born in 2005 at the minute, with, surprisingly, not as impressive a resume as some of the other players on this list, with only 8 Brugge appearances, and 2 U15 Belgian appearances. However, he gained his spot on this list for a reason, and it is because he is a rock at the back and versatile. An all-rounder, for sure.
- Angelo Gabriel, 16 y.o., Right Wing, Brazil, Santos, 7m
38 Appearances as of yet, an amazing tally for a 16-year old, but only 1 goal, as most of his appearances have been off the bench, for example, he’s only played 43 minutes in Brazil’s Serie A this season despite appearing in 6 games. He has played only for Santos, at senior or youth level, and has made 10 caps for the Brazil U15s and 2 for the U19s. He just needs to be utilised more.
- Youssoufa Moukoko, 16 y.o., Center Forward, German, Dortmund, 18m
THIS MAN IS A BEAST. ON transfermarkt, he has scored 146 goals from senior and underage level. In 111 GAMES. He has averaged 3.88 goals per game at underage level, and has got 3 goals from 23 games at senior level, and that may not sound like much, but remember, he’ll not be at his full potential for over a decade. Remember the name, Youssoufa Moukoko.
With that, our list is done. This is a lot longer post than usual, so I hope you enjoyed, and I hope to see you soon. This is Jim James signing off.