10 players who will become household names in 2018

#7 Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)

A rare, successful product of Chelsea's academy

Age: 21

The Danish centre-back was one of several Chelsea youth players who were shipped out to mid-tier clubs throughout Europe. In 2015, he joined Borussia Monchengladbach on a two-year loan deal.

He was quite consistent in the Bundesliga, and soon became one of the hottest young talents in Germany. He was even voted Gladbach's player of the season in 2016 ahead of current Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka.

He continued to impress in his second season, and Antonio Conte decided to keep the 21-year old at the club for the 2017/18 season instead of loaning him out.

And it has proven to be a wise decision. He made his first appearance in the 3-2 defeat to Burnley after Gary Cahill got sent off, and made his first start a week later in a 2-1 win against Tottenham.

David Luiz's falling out with Conte has seen him make only 8 appearances in the Premier League this season, and that has given Christensen several opportunities to impress the Italian.

His performances have clearly established him as one of the best young defenders in England right now, and he's been good enough to attract interest from Barcelona, who have been weighing up a surprise January move for him.

Chelsea are, however, working on a new deal for him, and it's difficult to see him moving away from London right now, especially considering that he has just become a first-choice player.

One thing is for sure though - he's slowly shaping up to becoming one of Chelsea's major players for the next decade or so.