These are the 40 best young soccer players on the planet right now
Benoit Badisashile — (AS Monaco/France)
Age: 18
Position: Defender
Badisashile was handed his AS Monaco debut by World Cup winner Thierry Henry in November 2018 in a 4-0 loss to PSG.
Samuel Chukwueze — Villarreal CF/Nigeria
Age: 20
Position: Winger
Chukwueze helped Nigeria finish third in the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, and was subsequently named as one of UEFA's 50 youngsters to watch in world soccer.
Michael Cuisance — FC Bayern Munich/France
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
Cuisance was snapped up by Bayern Munich in August 2019 for $10.9 million after two impressive seasons with Borussia Monchengladbach.
Alphonso Davies — FC Bayern Munich/Canada
Age: 18
Position: Winger
Davies has begun to establish himself as a regular feature at Bayern Munich this season, making four appearances and scoring one goal.
Tom Dele-Bashiru — Watford FC/Nigeria
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
Formerly of Manchester City, Dele-Bashiru signed for Watford FC on a six-year deal during the summer.
Matthijs de Ligt — Juventus/Netherlands
Age: 20
Position: Defender
Last year's winner, De Ligt's impressive 2018/19 campaign with Ajax earned him an $84.3 million move to Juventus in the summer, where he's since made five appearances.
Krepin Diatta — Club Brugge/Senegal
Age: 20
Position: Winger
Diatta was named the Best Young Player of the tournament at this year's Africa Cup of Nations after his performances for Senegal, who lost in the final to Algeria.
Gianluigi Donnarumma — AC Milan/Italy
Age: 20
Position: Goalkeeper
It's hard to believe Gianluigi Donnarumma is just 20, given as he has already made 170 appearances for AC Milan, and 14 for Italy.
Denis Dragus — Standard Liege/Romania
Age: 20
Position: Winger
Dragus made his name in his home country with FC Viitorul Constanta. However, he joined Standard Liege this summer for an undisclosed fee.
Eljif Elmas — SSC Napoli/North Macedonia
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
Elmas made his debut for the Macedonian national team aged just 17, and scored his first, and second, goals in a 3-1 win over Latvia in March 2019.
Florentino Luis — SL Benfica/Portugal
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
Portugal has a bright footballing future, and Benfica star Florentino Luis could be right at its heart. Manchester City and PSG are already keeping tabs on the 20-year-old, say Goal.
Phil Foden — Manchester City/England
Age: 19
Position: Midfielder
Pep Guardiola described Phil Foden as the "most talented player" he's ever seen, according to the BBC, and the Spaniard has worked with Lionel Messi. Quite the compliment.
Matteo Guendouzi — Arsenal/France
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
Guendouzi is promising the be the midfield general Arsenal have craved since the departure of Patrick Vieira back in 2005, having already become a regular and important figure in Unai Emery's new-look side.
Erling Braut Haland — Red Bull Salzburg/Norway
Age: 19
Position: Striker
Erling Braut Håland, son of former Manchester City defender Alf-Inge Håland, has already scored 17 goals in 10 games this season, including four hat-tricks.
Kai Havertz — Bayer Leverkusen/Germany
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
His country's next big thing, Havertz has already been hailed as "world-class" by ex-Germany international Mattias Sammer, as well as "exceptional" by current Mannschaft coach Joachim Low, according to Bundesliga.com.
Alexander Isak — Real Sociedad/Sweden
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
Isak announced himself to the world last season while on-loan at Dutch side Willem II, where he scored 12 goals in his first 12 games. He joined Real Sociedad this summer for $7.2 million.
Joao Felix — Atletico Madrid/Portugal
Age: 19
Position: Forward
The world's most expensive teenager ever — Joao Felix cost Atletico Madrid $137 million from Benfica this summer. Tipped as Portuguese soccer's biggest talent since Cristiano Ronaldo however, it'll be hoping he will prove to be worth the money.
Dejan Joveljic — Eintracht Frankfurt/Serbia
Age: 20
Position: Striker
Eintracht Frankfurt will be hoping summer signing Joveljic, who scored 14 times for Red Star Belgrade last season, can fill the boots of Luka Jovic this season after his transfer to Real Madrid.
Boubacar Kamara — Olympique de Marseille/France
Age: 19
Position: Defender/Midfielder
Kamara is as versatile as he is talented, having played at left back, centre back, and defensive midfield during his professional career with Marseille.
Moise Kean — Everton FC/Italy
Age: 19
Position: Striker
Juventus' loss was Everton's gain this summer after Marco Silva's side secured the signature of the promising Italian for $32.8 million. He scored seven times in 17 appearances last season.
Justin Kluivert — AS Roma/Netherlands
Age: 20
Position: Winger
Justin, son of Barcelona great Patrick Kluivert, once revealed that Jose Mourinho called him "the special one" and tried to tempt him to Manchester United during an encounter in the Europa League, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Ibrahima Konate — RB Leipzig/France
Age: 20
Position: Defender
At 6-foot-4, Frenchman Konate is an imposing figure at the back for RB Leipzig, where he's become a regular since joining it from FC Sochaux in 2017.
Alban Lafont — FC Nantes/France
Age: 20
Position: Goalkeeper
Lafont became the youngest keeper ever to appear in the French top division when he stood out for former club Toulouse aged just 16 in 2015. He's now with Fiorentina, but back on-loan in his home country with FC Nantes.
Diego Lainez — Real Betis/Mexico
Age: 19
Position: Winger
$14 million Lainez, who joined Real Betis in January 2019 from Club America, cites Lionel Messi as his footballing idol, according to Goal. Who doesn't?
Lee Kang-in — Valencia CF/South Korea
Age: 18
Position: Winger
Lee Kang-in was the star of the U20 World Cup earlier this year, winning the tournament's best player award — the "Golden Ball" — as South Korea finished as runners up to Ukraine.
Andriy Lunin — Real Valladolid/Ukraine
Age: 20
Position: Goalkeeper
Lunin, like Lee Kang-in above, also shone at the U20 World Cup this summer, winning the Golden Glove as the tournament's best keeper. He kept three clean sheets as Ukraine lifted the trophy for the first time.
Donyell Malen — PSV Eindhoven/Netherlands
Age: 20
Position: Winger
Malen has scored 11 goals for club and country already this term, five of which came in a single game against SBV Vitesse last month.
Mason Mount — Chelsea FC/England
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
After spending last season on-loan with Derby County, Mount followed new Chelsea boss Frank Lampard back to Stamford Bridge and has since been a star for his boyhood club, scoring three times in nine games.
Nehuen Perez — FC Famalicao/Argentina
Age: 19
Position: Defender
Atletico Madrid has a solid track record of signing some of the most talented young defenders in the world. Teenager Nehuen Perez was its latest addition in 2018, though he spent last season, and now this season, away on-loan.
Reiss Nelson — Arsenal/England
Age: 19
Position: Midfielder
Nelson was one of the Bundesliga's stand out youngsters last season while on-loan with TSG Hoffenheim, scoring seven goals. He's back with Arsenal this term, and already a firm fixture in Unai Emery's squad.
Abdulkadir Omur — Trabzonspor/Turkey
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
Omur was linked with a move to Liverpool in January, and subsequently hinted at his desire to move to Anfield, telling ESPN that it is "one of the greatest clubs in the world."
Strahinja Pavlovic — FK Partizan/Serbia
Age: 18
Position: Defender
He doesn't look 18, and he certainly doesn't play like he is either. Pavlovic is already a regular at FK Partizan, and came close to joining Lazio in the summer, say Football Italia.
Rafael Leao — AC Milan/Portugal
Age: 20
Position: Striker
Dubbed the "Portuguese Mbappe", Leao left LOSC Lille in the summer for AC Milan in a $38.3 million move. He scored his first (and quite brilliant) goal for the Italians in a 3-1 defeat to Fiorentina at the end of September.
Rodrygo — Real Madrid/Brazil
Age: 18
Position: Winger
Rodrygo made quite the mark on his Real Madrid debut last month when he came off the bench to score a scorcher in a 2-0 win over Osasuna. Zinedine Zidane will be hoping for plenty more of the same in the future from his $49.3 million talent.
Jadon Sancho — Borussia Dortmund/England
Age: 19
Position: Winger
Sancho was Europe's top provider last season with 23 assists, and he's already added another six this term, as well as four goals in what's been a blistering start to the new campaign.
Luis Sinisterra — Feyenoord/Colombia
Age: 20
Position: Winger
Colombian Sinisterra has had a positive start to his second season in Holland with Feynoord, scoring one and assisting three in his first seven games.
Jean-Clair Todibo — FC Barcelona/France
Age: 19
Position: Defender
Jean-Clair Todibo joined FC Barcelona in January 2019 and was immediately handed the number six shirt — Xavi Hernandez's former number. No pressure.
Ferran Torres — Valencia CF/Spain
Age: 19
Position: Winger
Torres is already en route to becoming a Valencia great, having been with the club since he was just six, and in the first team since he was only 17. He's since made 59 appearances, and scored three goals.
Vinicius Junior — Real Madrid/Brazil
Age: 19
Position: Winger/striker
The world's most decorated soccer player, Dani Alves, recently told Business Insider he believes Vinicius Jr is the best young talent in the game.
Nicolo Zaniolo — AS Roma/Italy
Age: 20
Position: Midfielder
Nicolo Zaniolo told The Guardian he aims to be as good as AS Roma and Italy icon Francesco Totti one day. Lofty ambitions, but his debut season, in which he scored six goals and set up two, is a sign of bigger things to come.
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