Best teenagers in world football right now | OneFootball

You know the phrase. Out with the old, in with the new. And that bodes well in the footballing world, especially when there is a boatload of talented youngsters waiting patiently in the wings for their shot at senior action or are already tearing it up. Teenagers often bring a different layer of possibility to a team: a tireless work ethic, the willingness to bust a gut a penchant of grasping every opportunity with every fibre in their body – aspects that often go amiss in more established senior players.

But not all academy prospects get that chance because, well, football is a business at the end of the day and, despite the warm feeling of a youngster being promoted to senior action, the best players tend to get game time, irrespective of age. It’s as simple as that.

That being said, there are a host of teenage phenomenons currently stamping their authority in the weird and wonderful world of football – from ever-flourishing defenders to midfielders wise beyond their years to forwards that just have that knack for goalscoring.

So, what better way to celebrate the exuberance of youth coming through into the senior world of football by amassing an XI of the best teenage talent in world football? We’ve done just that here at GIVEMESPORT – so, strap in and enjoy!

A Toulouse-born ace becoming the club’s first choice at the tender of age of 18? It really is the stuff of dreams. After keeping seven clean sheets in his 16-game season for the club’s B team in 2022/23, a promotion to rubbing shoulders with the senior boys beckoned – and rightfully so. Since, the 2005-born shot stopper has played every single minute for the Ligue 1 outfit since the campaign got underway, while experiencing his first taste of European football in the process. France’s conveyor belt of talent just continues to churn out the next generation of world-beaters, and Restes is just one that has every chance of breaking into senior international football in years to come.

Right back: Ivan Fresneda (Sporting Lisbon)

Mooted for a switch to the Premier League over the summer, the Spaniard upped and left Real Valladolid for Sporting Lisbon instead, though has been faced a constrained amount of game time since his arrival in the Portugal sun. Regarded as one of the most promising talents of the current era of young, bustling stars, it’ll take a pretty penny to ensnare his signature. But he has the tools in his arsenal to make that move. Able to underlap and overlap to an astute level, while delivering the inverted role to a high standard, too, Fresneda is a superstar in the making. Long gone are the days of kids growing up not wanting to be a full back, the 18-year-old makes that role look thrilling.

Centre back: Ousmane Diomande (Sporting Lisbon)

You can count on one hand how many players in his age range that have stamped such authority on football in their career infancy. Commanding, strong, intelligent. Diomande, 19, is already looking like an established, fully formed centre back as he continues to peel back more layers as the days float by. Seemingly tailor-made for Premier League suitors Manchester City and Arsenal, either of the duo could steal a march on the league by forking out a hefty fee for the ever-flourishing Ivorian. His electric pace married with his ball-playing capabilities persistently shape him look well beyond his years. With his career still in its infancy, the world is Diomande's oyster, shall we say.

Centre back: Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta)

Capped by Italy seven times as things stand, that tally is only expected to rise exponentially as he progresses up the ladder in world football. The Italians have long relied on the cohesiveness between Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini to provide the anchor but now emerging is the new grade and 19-year-old Scalvini is the centrepiece of that unearthing of talent. A giant at his tender age, the Italian has it all: the mazy runs from deep, calmness in possession and the near-perfect ability to make well-time tackles, despite one of the all-time great defenders suggesting making a tackle only comes once a mistake has been made.

Left back: Rico Lewis (Manchester City)

Admittedly, the glistening 18-year-old typically plays on the right of the defence and is then transformed into a central midfielder in-game, but there’s no way he was missing out. After all, Lewis has become one of Pep Guardiola’s many Swiss Army Knives. Able to play an array of roles, it may come as a surprise that Gareth Southgate hasn’t gone out the phonebook to find the Bury-born ace’s phone number yet. Having already featured in 30 Manchester City games, his well-rounded game is second to none and will surely become a legend of the club should neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid come sniffing in the future.

Centre midfield: Gavi (Barcelona)

Another ace to have graduated from the storied depths of Barcelona’s La Masia – the most decorated academy in football – is Gavi and, to little surprise, has gone on to become one of the brightest stars in world football, regardless of age. Willing to provide whatever is asked of him by Xavi, the composed, well-illustrated youngster will be looking to surpass the likes of Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and the Barça manager himself. The ever-vacant hole left by the aforementioned three is beginning to be alleviated and Gavi is at the fore of that change, as he will be over the next decade of Spanish football. Watch this space, Barcelona have a world-beater on their hands. And they most certainly know it.

Centre midfield: Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)

Out goes Marco Verratti, in goes Zaire-Emery - almost a like-for-like replacement. In a team bolstered with players with staggering price tags and heaps of elite level experience, the 17-year-old (yes, 17-year-old) waltzed into the centre of the park with admirable ease. Embodying the ‘old head on young shoulders’ phrase, the importance of Zaire-Emery in the French side highlights a changing of the guard as he represents a commanding figure, despite not being old enough to buy a pint in most countries. He can dictate games better than some of Europe’s most seasoned midfielders. Scary hours for those in the French top division.

Centre midfield: Arda Guler (Real Madrid)

The fresh-faced midfielder, likened to Arsenal cult hero Mesut Ozil, shone for Fenerbahce in his native country of Turkey, scoring nine goals and chalking up a further 12 assists in his 51-game stint. So much so that none other than Real Madrid had their ears pricked once they learned he was available. An elite playmaker in the making, Guler is yet to kick things off in the Spanish capital – thanks to an unfortunate meniscus injury - but you best believe he’ll be looking to add creativity and flair to the muscle and bustle of Carlo Ancelotti’s side upon his return to action.

Right wing: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

Being produced by the same academy set up that formed the brilliance of Lionel Messi that all football fans know and adore is no easy feat. The pressure, especially just at 16 years of age, is enough to make the finest of footballers to crumble but not Lamal. He has taken to senior life in Blaugrana like a duck to water. The teen phenomenon has featured in all 10 games Barcelona have played in the La Liga this campaign and, while opponents currently considering his story awe-inspiring, that will not be the case for much longer should he continue this stratospheric trajectory.

Striker: Evan Ferguson (Brighton & Hove Albion)

With the talismanic Harry Kane upping and leaving the Premier League in the summer, there is a need for someone to fill his boots and what perfect way for Ferguson to stake his claim with his first hat-trick in senior football just weeks after his switch the Englishman’s Bavaria. Boasting all the tools to become a net-busting centre-forward for years to come in Europe, he has – effortlessly – taken the mould of an established No.9 in England. Brighton & Hove Albion will be counting their lucky stars that the 19-year-old opted for pebbly beaches over than the vibrant culture that embodies the cities of Liverpool and Manchester.

Left wing: Antonio Nusa (Club Brugge)

Young Scandinavian forwards seem to be all the rage nowadays – just look at Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and their cross-city rival’s sharpshooter Rasmus Hojlund. Versatile enough to bless both flanks, Nusa really does have every chance to becoming a vital player for Norway and whichever domestic club gets their hands on the gifted 18-year-old. Piquing interest from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur alike, it’s fair to say he is the apple of the eye of the continent’s top clubs – and it’s so abundantly clear to see why. Dynamic, explosive and keen to make an instant impact, there’s not much to love about the young Norwegian gem.