2) Kylian Mbappe: AS Monaco
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Once upon a time, Monaco looked to buy their way to the top – just as the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain had done. They bought some stars such as Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez before club owner Dmitry Rybolovlev’s messy divorce saw the spending come to a screeching halt.
Leonardo Jardim was forced to change the club’s philosophy and started promoting youngsters and Kylian Mbappe is one of the diamonds in the rough that has started to sparkle in Europe and it has managed to capture everybody’s undivided attention.
The young French striker, who turned 18 midway through the season, took his time to establish himself at the club. But once he took off, there was no stopping him. The second half of the season saw him burst into the limelight on not only the domestic scene but in Europe as well.
An 18-year-old scoring 16 goals in his last 16 games is an astonishing feat that is hard to miss and he brings back memories of a young Thierry Henry with his movement and running. Of course, Arsene Wenger nearly signed him last summer.
According to reports in Spain, Mbappe has already agreed to join Real Madrid in the summer. But this could be a smokescreen as the club’s vice-president Vadim Vasilyev was confident the club would do everything to keep the teenager who would get plenty of opportunities at Monaco, especially since next year is a World Cup year.
