At just 20 years old, Jude Bellingham is already considered one of the best players in the world and is already on the verge of winning the Ballon d’Or. There are many actors in their twenties who are ready to step into the spotlight: let’s go and discover them.
Highly successful, progressive twenty-year-olds
Today, the best young players make a difference in the most important teams in Europe. Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, to name just a few, cannot be ignored at the moment. talents under 21. But there was a time in continental football when it seemed impossible to build a squad that still relied on a strong core of beardless boys: the other time.
In contemporary football, athleticism, speed, dynamism must coincide perfectly with technical skills, the downside is that age is very important. In fact, the prototype of the modern game A football player who can play anywhere on the fieldattack and defense, kicking casually with two feet, throwing, heading well, seeing the game in an instinctive and coded way.
The best under-21 players in modern football
In short,The perfect example of today’s football is Jude BellinghamPerhaps it is the skill that best expresses the enthusiastic energy of young men starting to play football. Bellingham, born in 2003, who was bought from Real Madrid last summer for 103 million euros (could be 134 million euros under certain conditions), shows that he does not feel the pressure associated with the move from Borussia Dortmund to one of the most prestigious clubs. in the world. in the world.
In this first half of the season he confirmed all the great expectations that have surrounded him for some time, scoring 13 goals in 15 matches. For a kid who is only 20 years old, he has already played 27 games with the English national team and scored 2 goals. technical concept of complete midfielder.
We find it right behind Jamal Musiala, Bayern Munich attacking midfielderHe is a player who played 99 matches for the German club in 2003 and scored 25 goals, and is on his way to becoming a leader in the German national team. Born in Stuttgart to a German mother and a British-Nigerian father, Musiala was torn between the English shirt and the German shirt for a long time. However, he eventually chose to play with the Teutonic team, for whom he made 25 appearances. Versatile, ambidextrous, above all an outstanding player in moving in space, he is today valued at 110 million euros on the Transfermarkt website.
The last step of the podium Pedro Gonzalez Lopez, better known as Pedri. Born in Tegueste, Canary Islands, on November 25, 2002, Pedri is starting his fourth consecutive season with Barcelona’s Blaugrana. He has often been compared to Iniesta due to his ability to cover every area of the midfield, dribbling in tight areas and his superior quality in ball management. Pedri, whose value is over 100 million, is not a product of Barça’s legendary cantera, contrary to popular belief. Coming from Las Palmas youth teamHe also played the entire Segunda Division season (36 matches and 4 goals) in the 2019/2020 season.
From Camavinga to Xavi Simons, a phenomenal generation
He came to Real Madrid in August 2021 for 31 million euros plus bonuses, Eduardo Camavinga enters his third season He plays for the Merengues and although he is only 21 years old, he is already considered one of the experienced players of Spain’s vice-champions squad. The young midfielder, who was born in a refugee camp in Angola, has repeatedly stated that he finds great motivation in the desire to lift his family out of poverty. Mezzala, the midfield metronome and even left back under Ancelotti, Camavinga combines athleticism and technique as well as a great shot from outside.
Among the big surprises of the last few months, less publicized than most of the players mentioned in this roundup, Xavi Simons literally blossomed in the last year and a half. The player, who was born in Amsterdam in 2003, transferred to the Barcelona youth team in 2010, and purchased by Paris Saint Germain in 2019, seemed to be lost in the ranks of the French team, but he found his brilliance and talent again in Eindhoven’s PSV last season. . Returning to PSG with a buyback clause of 6 million euros, the player was immediately loaned to Leipzig, where he started again where he finished: goals, assists and an extraordinary attacking talent.
We close with two important names. The first of these is Josko Gvardiol, whose market value is 80 million, who transferred to Manchester City in the last transfer window and is already an absolute hero in the team coached by Guardiola. A modern defender skilled in both marking and attacking projections, the Croatian central defender had already impressed at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, where he was unanimously recognized as the best player. best defender in the competition.
If the second Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, known to most as Gavi. The midfielder, who has been halted this season by a nasty right anterior cruciate ligament injury, is regarded as one of the world’s greatest talents and a definite leap forward in quality is expected from him; There is a possibility that he will even win the Ballon d’Or when he returns to the field. .
