Best Footballers in the World: 10 Best U-21 Players This Season

The charm of football always lies in witnessing young talents propping out amidst the presence of several legends playing the game.

To watch a young lad develop through the ranks, and then eventually make his name at the top level is reassuring as a football fan.

It re-enforces your faith in the game, in the sheer innocence with which a boy takes up a football and dreams of overcoming several obstacles in life to eventually achieve his dream.

These players have been selected from various leagues, and some statistics are also used to justify the selections. However, at a younger age, players aren't able to rack up excellent numbers consistently, so try to go a little easy and interpret their talents instead of sheer numbers for now.

Here, we try to appreciate these footballers, the younger ones, particularly lads of U-21 age category. Players of that age group, who have performed exceptionally well this season have been included in this list.

#10 Nicolo Zaniolo

Nicolo Zaniolo has been a revelation for AS Roma this season after having risen to prominence with some good displays in the Serie A. The Italian is capable of playing through the center or from the right flank, and is quite dynamic in his approach.

His footwork is bamboozling, and hence allows him to beat defenders at will. His best position is when he plays behind the striker, and is the focal point of the offensive operation of the team.

His first touch is silky, which allows him to play simple passes and carve in some through-balls to beat rigid defensive lines. The 19-year-old has scored thrice and assisted twice in the Serie A so far.

In addition, the lad also notched two goals in the UEFA Champions League. There’s a lot of hype surrounding Zaniolo currently, and he surely possesses the talent to even better his performances from this season, next time around.

#9 Gianluigi Donnarumma

Gianluigi Donnarumma has gained far too much experience for a 20-year-old, hasn’t he?

The Italian custodian has already become one of the topmost players in his position in Europe currently and a lot of it is due to his exceptional talent as well.

He is someone who has developed on the physical aspect of his game quite quicker than his adversaries, and that has a big impact in his overall performances as well. Donnarumma is the first-choice goalkeeper for both his club and country at a very young age.

To be fair, his performances do justice to this fact too. The 20-year-old is unafraid during one-v-one situations, as he makes himself bigger and prevents the ball from going in.

Similarly, Donnarumma holds a command inside the box and is quite vocal to express his displeasure whenever his defensive line lets him down.

He has passing accuracy of 82.1% in the league, which is an excellent figure for a goalkeeper. With a long career ahead of him, Donnarumma will only progress from hereon.

#8 Declan Rice

Declan Rice primarily played as a center-back last season. However, he has made an excellent transition to the center of the midfield three this season.

He is a brilliant reader of the game and very swift and incisive with the ball at his feet. He has become a regular presence in West Ham’s midfield this season and has definitely earned his place in the side due to his mature displays and visible improvement in his game.

Rice fills the important hole in front of the back line. To fulfill it, a lot of patience and concentration is required. With such crucial responsibilities up his shoulder, Rice has demonstrated his true temperament and showed that he is here to stay.

He has scored two goals and has an 85.6% passing success rate in the league.

The 20-year-old tackles thrice in each match on an average and intercepts the ball on 1.4 occasions per game too.

#7 Houssem Aouar

Houssem Aouar plays at the heart of the midfield for Lyon and has impressed one and all with his consistently good performances. His composure with the ball at his feet is appreciable, considering his relatively young age and the crucial position that he plays in.

Aouar’s passing acumen is brilliant, and he knows how to break the opposition’s midfield lines by playing some perfectly weighted passes. He can set and control the tempo of the game by linking regularly with his teammates and also provides to be a creative outlet.

Aouar is tenacious and defensively responsible too, an attribute that is generally lacking from younger midfielders. The Frenchman has been a pivotal part of Lyon’s midfield trident and is set to be subjected to bids from better clubs in the coming summer too.

He has scored seven goals and notched two assists in 28 Ligue 1 matches. He delivers 1.2 key passes per game and completes 1.4 dribbles too on an average in each match in the league.

At just 20 years of age, he will definitely mature more in the coming years to become probably, one of the best players in his position.

#6 Achraf Hakimi

Achraf Hakimi spent the initial years of his senior career at Real Madrid before making the fruitful loan move to Borussia Dortmund this time around. As it has turned out, Hakimi has developed tremendously at the German club, bringing new aspects to his game play.

Dortmund is usually considered as the best grooming club for young lads, and Hakimi is definitely a product of the same. Equally capable of playing from both the flanks as a fullback, the Moroccan international possesses bundles of energy and is excellent with the ball at his feet too.

Hakimi’s footwork is excellent, as he can carry the ball ahead by beating his adversaries with ease and is capable of putting in some mean crosses inside the box.

He completes 1.8 dribbles per match, and has also scored twice whilst having assisted four times in 20 Bundesliga games so far. Defensively too, he tackles 1.7 times per match, in addition to 1.5 interceptions and 1.9 clearances per game too.

Madrid might look for a defensive overhaul sometime in the near future. In that case, they might not worry about the fullback position at all. Hakimi has shown incredible signs of progress and would only get better with age.

#5 Kai Havertz

Kai Havertz rose into prominence last time around itself. However, it is this season when his statistics are backing up his talent and the potential that this lad possesses.

The German international is an attacking midfielder, someone who likes to play either centrally or sometimes drift wider too. However, he predominantly operates from that hole behind the striker from where he controls whatever happens in the final third.

Havertz has a silky demeanor in his game, something that allows him to glide past opponents with utmost ease using his dribbling skills to perfection. He is quick and can play short passes on the run, which makes him a counter-attacking threat too.

This season, Havertz has appeared in 26 Bundesliga matches, and notched 10 goals already. He has also recorded three assists and takes 2.3 shots per game.

Havertz completes 1.3 dribbles in each match too. If the 19-year-old manages to continue these sort of performances for a longer period of time, Havertz can aim at becoming a mainstay in the senior German squad in a couple of years too.

#4 Ibrahima Konate

RB Leipzig has been a place where the club has nurtured some good young talents and the latest of them has to be French international Ibrahima Konate.

Firstly, it should be noted that the 19-year-old is a very well-built player for someone of his age. So, the physical development aspect of his game is well and truly covered. However, due to this, his skills as a defender shouldn’t be ignored.

Konate possesses all the attributes that one would demand of a quality central defender. He is very dominant aerially, and wins 3.7 aerial duels on average in each match.

Konate is a strong tackler and notches 1.7 of those in each match in the Bundesliga. The Frenchman’s ability to interpret the game is accurate too, as he intercepts the ball on 2.1 occasions per game.

Additionally, he also clears the ball four times on an average, which indicates that he is quick to react under seemingly pressure situations too.

Konate has also scored and assisted once in 21 Bundesliga matches so far this season, and deserves applause and recognition for maintaining a good amount of consistency in his game play.

#3 Trent Alexander-Arnold

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s development has boosted under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp and he has become a vital cog in Liverpool’s team, which is well in course to marching towards the Premiership title.

The young Englishman is an absolute menace to any opposition when he moves ahead with the ball. Arnold adds a new dimension with his fantastic energy levels and offensive contributions.

He is quick with the ball at his feet, can get past the opposition quite easily and puts in the perfectly desired delivery into the box almost every time. His crossing technique is impeccable, and so is his ability from set-pieces.

Arnold gets the ball to curve in tremendously well and has already notched six assists in the Premier League this season.

He also delivered 1.5 key passes per match, and notches 1.8 crosses on an average in each game too. Defensively, he tackles twice, intercepts on 1.3 occasions and clears the ball 1.9 times on an average.

He also played in the FIFA World Cup for England and can effectively play in both the fullback and wing back positions with ease.

#2 Jadon Sancho

Jadon Sancho has certainly taken the Bundesliga by storm with his immense technical prowess in his initial years at the club.

The England international has started most of the matches from the right flank and left most of the people awestruck with his close control, finishing touch and passing range.

He is quick and an amazing dribbler, something that allows him to carry the ball forward by beating defenders at will. He seems to be quite mature whilst dealing with physically stronger defenders, something that is often missing from players of his age.

Sancho has recorded 12 assists in the league so far this season, which is on par with Lionel Messi. This is quite an achievement for a player who has just kicked off his career in senior football.

There has been a buzz around him for quite some time but it is appreciable how Sancho has dealt with it and not let the initial burst of fame affect his game play.

Sancho has also scored eight goals in the league, and has gained successive call-ups to the national team too.

#1 Kylian Mbappe

Was there any doubt about this?

Kylian Mbappe started off this season on a high, by playing an instrumental role in France’s World Cup winning campaign.

The Frenchman scored in the final of the tournament too, and was a crucial cog in the national team’s setup. He has stepped up and taken an even more important role at PSG this season, often leading the forward line at times.

Technically, he has only gotten better, which is visible with his decision-making in the final third. With 26 goals in 23 Ligue 1 appearances, his goal-scoring spree has continued even in the absence of teammate Neymar.

Mbappe has also recorded six assists and delivers 1.7 key passes in the league on an average. He also completes 2.3 dribbles on an average, and has increasingly become a better counter-attacking threat with the pace and skills that he possesses.

With his increasingly improving outputs, should the 20-year-old look for a better, fresher challenge somewhere else? Only time will tell. For now, he undoubtedly is the best U-21 footballer in the world currently.

Edited by Akarshak (Ishu) Roy