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Wingers: Leon Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen) and Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
Picking the two wingers was the most difficult part of this XI and there were some really close calls. Ultimately, the two spots went to Bayer Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey and Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele.
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Dembele is arguably one of the best young players in the world at the moment and it is no surprise that Barcelona spent €105 million plus a reported €40 million add-ons to secure his signature last summer.
The Frenchman burst on the scene with Rennes in Ligue 1, scoring 12 goals in 26 games and was named the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year. The following season, he moved to Borussia Dortmund and was named Bundesliga Rookie of the Season and was also included in the Bundesliga Team of the Season.
His only season with Dortmund saw him scored 10 goals and assist 20 in 50 games! Despite being out injured for most of the 2017/18 season, he still scored four times and assisted eight more in all competitions.
Dembele’s pace, dribbling skills, vision and ability to shoot or pass with either foot makes him a dangerous player.
The left-winger in this XI, Leon Bailey, is another pacey, tricky winger with an eye for goal and the Jamaican currently plays in the Bundesliga where Dembele rose to fame.
Bailey was named the Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year in 2015/16 while he was playing for Genk. He scored 16 times in 77 games for Genk before Leverkusen beat several European clubs to his signature in January 2017.
Although the Jamaican didn’t score or assist in his first half season with Leverkusen, he came alive in 2017/18, scoring 12 and assisting 6 in 34 games across all competitions.
At the international stage, he has refused call-ups from the Jamaican team citing the standard of the football. It is rumoured that he is eligible to play for England but no move to help him play for England has happened so far.
The 20-year-old has been linked with a move to several Premier League clubs with Chelsea being the most notable one.
Honourable mentions: Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Malcom (Bordeaux), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham), Goncalo Guedes (PSG), Cengiz Under (Roma) and Patrick Kluivert (Roma)
