Future World XI: A team of the best U-23 players in the world

There's a reason as to why clubs cough up millions for them. Their tenacity, determination to succeed, eloquence on the ball provides an almost irresistible lure for scouts. In addition to that, a neverending diligence to flourish compounded with hard work and application in addition to ability and talent, bodes well for the future of these starlets.The obtrusive paramountcy and emanation of scouting system's for leading clubs around the world can be credited to the unceasing boom of young talent across the globe; the most notable and latest example being 15 year old Norwegian wonderkid Martin Ødegaard who became the youngest player to participate in the history of the European Championship.It is because of player’s like Ødegaard that cash rich clubs like Manchester City have realized the importance of producing starlets and, have consequently splashed a more-than-modest £200m on their new academy; an appreciable effort to help propel academy products into the first team and hence, act in accordance with the stringent FFP rules. On the other hand, neighbour’s Manchester United have been continuing their tradition of deploying academy products in their first team this season too, most notably Tyler Blackett and Patrick McNair.With the inflation in the transfer market increasing like Cristiano Ronaldo's goal tally for Real Madrid along with the implementation of the Financial Fair Play rules, clubs have come to the realization that spending millions cannot virtually be the solution to all their problems on the football pitch. A more efficient way of functioning is required and hence academies have started getting more importance over the years.Here in this article, we have congregated a team of young stars who have been creating waves in the world of football of late with their piquant talent.

#1 David De Gea

It's a bit strange, isn't it? From being the nonchalant, skinny young lad between the sticks for United, to replacing the legendary Iker Casillas as Spain's first choice goalkeeper, De Gea's rise to acclaim demands respect.

His transcendent display against Everton was a testament to the hard work the young Spaniard has put in since his arrival from Madrid in the summer of 2011. After being subjected to a lot of stick initially because of his fragile and submissive style of play, many started labeling De Gea as one of Sir Alex Ferguson's rare mistakes. But such has been the 23 year old's transformation in form, that his critics have been compelled to mince their initial words of criticism towards him. He's gone from strength to strength, stamping his authority as one of the best goalkeepers in the world; leave alone a particular age group.

De Gea is undoubtedly the best shot stopper in the world as of now, even better than Neuer. His distributions are perfect and he has tremendous amount of concentration on the pitch. The only negative point of his game is that he is still not entirely comfortable in aerial duels but given the fact that he has addressed his weaknesses so emphatically, it is only a matter of time before he improves this aspect of his game too.

#2 Nathaniel Clyne

Many of you will question my decision to include Clyne in this team but, based on current form and potential, there is no better right-back in the world at this moment in time (in this age group of course). Clyne, who not that long ago fretted about holding down a first-team place at Crystal Palace in the Championship, has targeted regular involvement in the England set-up following his debut for the national side.

The former Crystal Palace man has excelled during his side's phenomenal start to the season under the guardianship of Ronald Koeman. Clyne's style of play make him an ideal choice for any manager who is on the lookout for an out-and-out right-back.

He packs in some blistering pace, an appreciable work rate, zipping up and down the flanks throughout the course of the game without showing any signs of tiredness and has a delightful right foot, which is capable of ripping defences apart with incisive crosses and scoring some absolute screamers. In addition to the aforementioned, Clyne posseses prolific tackling skills too.

Given Southampton's brilliant start to the season in addition to the fantastic management skills of Koeman, it looks like Clyne is in very good hand's and it is only a matter of time before he becomes one of the best in the business.

#3 Marquinhos

Looking at the kind of growth Marquinhos has shown over the past year or so, it is hard to believe how Roma let this Brazilian wonderkid leave the Stadio Olimpico; nevermind the sizeable fee they recieved from PSG.

The former Corinthians defender has been drawing comparisons with Fabio Cannavaro (even though he's 5' 11) because of the similarity in their style of play. Unfazed by the big occasion, he has a temperament to remain undaunted by big names and has the talent to succeed in addition to being purposeful.

Having world class teammates by his side like Thiago Silva and David Luiz has helped Marquinhos sharpen his skills and learn the nuances of the game faster than he would have expected. At 20 years of age, he has already generated a huge amount stir in the footballing world and his contributions in big games, like the match winning block on Jordi Alba's shot during a Champions League group stage encounter earlier this season has catapulted his name on the top of clubs' wishlist's.

A sure-shot future master of the well timed tackle, it will be interesting to see whether PSG will be able to hang on to this anazing talent in the years to come given the meteoric rise he's depicted.

#4 Raphael Varane

Varane became an overnight superstar after sensationally denying Lionel Messi from scoring on a plethora of occasions in an El Clasico clash which is best remenbered for the Frenchmen's exploits in defense.

There is no denying that Varane always possesed an amazing amount of talent, but that performance against Barcelona was instrumental is instilling trust in his manager's mind; a trust that he had the mettle to be Madrid's first choice centre-back. Jose Mourinho invested huge amount of faith in the lad and was a big admirer of the former Lens defender.

Varane is a tall, strong and tough centre-back and posseses a decent amount of speed; a quality which he is lauded for very often. He too, like David Alaba, can operate in a number of positions which again comes handy especially when your first choice centre-back can be deployed in an alternative position.

He recently signed a long term contract which will keep him at the Bernabeu until 2020, and looking at the form he is exhibiting, it is all but certain that the 21 year old is tipped for a very bright future.

#5 David Alaba

David Alaba has the potential to take the world by storm. Barely out of his teenage years, the Austrian international is already considered one of the best left-backs in Europe.

The young Austrian has become a permanent fixture in Bayern Munich’s starting XI over the past year-and-a-half and has continued to impress both his coach and people all around the world with his strong performances. Many were left scratching their heads when Bayern elected to move Philip Lahm over from the left to the right to make room for the talented young Austrian, but once again they struck gold.

One of Alaba's impeccable qualities is his versatility. The youngster can play in the left-back, central-defensive midfield and the left side of the pitch. Often able to play further forward, he has emerged as a potential long term replacement for the ageing Franck Ribery as he shares the same pace, power and quick feet as the Frenchman. He has shown great amount of promise and being in a winning atmosphere will help his character develop and will give him ample amount of self confidence.

#6 Isco

Winner of the 2012 'Golden Boy' award for the best young player in Europe; winner of the 2011-12 La Liga Breakthrough Player award; winner of the 2013 European Under 21 Championship MVP award, this Spaniard is someone really, really special.

It is this speciality and talent which compelled Real Madrid to shell out €35 million euros to secure his services after an excellent spell at his former club, Malaga. Isco is a lifelong Barcelona fan and has a dog called Messi, but he grew up idolising Andres Iniesta - and it shows.

Like his hero, the Malaga star is a mesmerising dribbler who possesses balletic balance and can slice open any defence with a sudden burst infield from the left wing followed by a perfectly released pass or accurately curled shot.

With the influx of star player's at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, Isco has found regular football hard to come by, but such is the talent of this youngster that he can successfully turn his fortunes and become a mainstay in the Madrid side for years to come.

#7 Mario Goetze

Having scored the winning goal in the final of the FIFA World Cup, Mario Götze has the world at his feet. Not only did he clinch the World Cup for his country, he also proved to the world why he is more effective than Lionel Messi.

After sealing his switch to Bayern from Dortmund, this youngster has proved to the world why he is one of the best player's in his position at such a tender age. He is blessed with some amazing ball control, dazzling speed and a great understanding of the game.

Gotze has a long way to go if he is to cement his place in the history books as a legend of the game. But time is on his side. Operating as either an attacking midfielder or as a second striker, he has been a key part of Bayern's continued dominance and will be looking to take the world stage by storm.

At Bayern, he has some fantastic teammates to learn from and a coach who can give his game another dimension altogether thereby enhancing his chances of becoming one of football's greatest ever players.

#8 Paul Pogba

Widely regarded as Sir Alex Ferguson's biggest mistake at Manchester United, Pogba has taken the world by storm since joining Juventus.

His bamboozling goals from long range, quick witted passes and a sudden burst of pace has left defenders baffled and managers scratching their heads in dismay. Pogba hasn't settled well in Turin; he's invaded it. The 20-year-old played more than 30 games for Juve in his first season, joining the all-star cast of Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal in the centre of the park. Marchisio and Vidal are world-class players. Pirlo's a living legend.

And oddly enough, the upstart Pogba looks right at home. There's still room for improvement, of course. But that's what makes him such an exciting player. He's already very good, but he has the potential to become great, in the true sense of the word.

The energy, wide array of passes and a bag full of screamers he could've brought to United would have catapulted their game to another level. United's loss turned out to be Antonio Conte's gain who wasted no time in integrating the youngster in the first team.

Playing alongside the likes of Pirlo and Vidal is going to be beneficial for Pogba who can learn alot from them and further enhance his skills to become one of the games greats.

#9 Eden Hazard

This Belgian starlet was the talk of the town when he joined Chelsea in a highly-publicized, big money move in June 2012.

Primarily operating as a winger, Hazard can also play in the central-attacking position im midfield given the kind of speed and spectrum of passes he posseses. Hazard's style of play has been compared to that of Messi solely because of his lightning speed and inability to be dispossessed easily. The former Lille winger plays with a flair similar to that of Cristiano Ronaldo and, has a bag full of tricks with which he terrorizes defenders all around the world.

Hazard recently claimed that there are only 5 better player's which are better than him currently, namely Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Arjen Robben, Frank Ribery and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. For me, this was quite an overstatement. I agree Hazard is one of the best talents on the planet as of now but he isn't a complete player as of now and, forgot to mention a certain Angel Di Maria, who has been in the form of his life over the past year-and-a-half.

At just 23 years of age, this Belgian has the world at his feet and can go as far in football as he wants.

#10 Raheem Sterling

From being an inconsistent team to becoming Liverpool and England's key player, a lot has changed for Raheem Sterling over the past couple of years.

From being embroiled in a spat with Brendan Rodgers at the age of 17 to becoming an invaluable component of an underperforming Liverpool side, Sterling's glittering form has made him the most sought after teenager in Europe. His maddening pace, trickery on the ball, finishing and analysis of the game is coupled with an eye for an amazing pass is commendable. There is always a fear with younger players that the hype could get to them, that they’ll start to believe the publicity, take their foot off the gas and fall by the wayside. Sterling is certainly getting the hype, but he isn’t the type to fall for it and seems unfazed by the expectations.

His confidence has grown to the extent that when seeing him in action, it’s easy to forget that he is still only 19. Sterling has matured and how; his decision-making has come on leaps and bounds. The speed merchant is getting better with time and it is all but certain that a big club will come knocking to lure him away from Anfield.

#11 Neymar

Here is one player who captures the imagination like few others in football, and he is set to be the focal point of everything Brazil and Barcelona do in the years to come.

I can hardly recollect any player being able to create the kind of buzz Neymar had generated before his big money move to the Catalan giants. He had caught the eyes of people around the world without leaving his homeland ir participating on a World Cup which is quite an achievement.

When Pele said that Neymar is a talent which comes about once in a generation, i completely agreed with his stance. When you look at the style of play adopted by the Selecao superstar, your certain to sit back and think how can he execute everything so effectively on the field.

His common traits are momentous finishing, beating players of the dribble, feints and playmaking which are reminiscent to his compatriot Ronaldinho. His persistent comparison to Messi's style of play is the testament to the kind of talent this phenomenon possesses.

He may be far from their respective levels at present, but talent will never be an issue for the brightest of all the Meninos da Vila.