Top 10 Young Talent to watch out for in 22/23 season

Football is an ever-growing sport full of Talents. Every team seems to have that one young talent that they rate highly and nothing is more enjoyable to watch in football than young players Improving.

The involvement of young players in a game against mature and experienced players adds to the fun of the game. It is also what gets everybody out of their seats and excited.

Football is lucky to have many extremely good talents showcasing their skills and competencies on the field. These kids have taken over from their illustrious predecessors and now are taking the sport to new heights. As a result, these younger gamers are painting a thrilling destiny for the sport.

But only a few of the numerous professionals playing across Europe have made a name for themselves like Foden, Pedri, Vinicius etc. Every week, people discuss the performances of these players.

You won’t find players from Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester United, PSG, and Manchester City on this page. We’re sure you’re familiar with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden, Vinicius Júnior, Ansu Fati, Pedri, Jude Bellingham, Alphonso Davies, Bukayo Saka, Ryan Gravenberch, and Erling Braut Haaland. But there are players whose talents are not being talked about enough but they possess a great deal of talent, so today we will be looking at 10 of such players.

10. MATÍAS SOULÉ

Paulo Dybala not present at Juventus? No worries. If Juve wanted to find a replacement for their number 10 who has a similar skill and talent, they only had to seek within their academy and recruit Matías Soulé, an Argentine who was born in 2003, whom they signed from Vélez Sarsfield in 2020. Soulé now plays an important role for Juve's under-23 team, which competes in Italy's third level and is ready to advance in his career. 

He is similar to Ex-Juventus team-mate Paulo Dybala in style but more inclined to run in from behind and occupy positions more common to traditional strikers. He is a little short to spend the entire game trying to duel with centre-backs, so masterminding play between the lines maximizes his skill set. His mobility and awareness serve as the foundation of his game.

He is at ease playing in cramped areas, attempting to create for himself off the dribble or passing the ball to teammates, as we saw with a lavish backheel assist for Juventus' first goal in their UEFA Youth League quarterfinal match against Liverpool in 2021–2022.

9. NAOUIROU AHAMADA

Ahamada is a French player who plays for Stuggart and he's a promising athlete who can change pace quickly and effectively with a strong burst off his back foot. He generally has good body control, is quick and well-balanced, and can handle most difficulties because he is robust in contact. His pass selection is straightforward at the Bundesliga level, yet his passing is consistently accurate and swift with good technique.

Ahamada has exceptional technical skill and coordination, making him a powerful dribbler under duress. He excels at breaking pressure, beating defenders, and rolling out and sliding away from opponents. Ahamada is skilled at driving into space after that, but he still needs to make better decisions at the finish of runs. Further limiting his options and making him predictable in possession is his over-reliance on his right foot.

His extreme mobility gives him a significant tactical and defensive edge. He can swiftly regain defensive positions and is nimble when switching between passes, breaking the flow and inducing errors. However, he struggles to manage opponents in direct duels and has sloppy approaches to the ball that show weak technique. There is an upside if he resolves these problems.

8. LYNTT AUDOOR

Audoor is a smart, technical player that plays for Club Brugge. He fills spaces that neither right-backs nor center-backs feel comfortable stepping into when playing off the left. Audoor receives the ball sharply and evades pressure calmly, both crucial skills for cutting through an opposition press. Every time he gains possession, his superb technical quality is evident. It is easy to see how this aspect of his game would translate to a deep-lying midfielder.

He has also proven to be a highly capable goal-scoring threat and creative danger. When seeking for reverse passes for outside runners, he appears to be especially productive as a creator. He is a versatile attacker because he can also create shots for himself off the dribble.

7. ARMEL BELLA-KOTCHAP 

Armel Bella-Kotchap is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and recently signed for Premier League club Southampton.

Bella-Kotchap is and has long been a highly accomplished athlete. He is extremely advanced for his age and uses his size and speed to outmatch opponents. His approach is aggressive yet amazingly incisive; he can employ his skill set in a controlled manner, which is something that many defenders are unable to achieve.

Due to his below-average technical skill set, he has little influence when in possession, frequently faltering when pressured and hindering Bochum's build-up phases. Bella-Kotchap has the potential to rise fast through the Premier League ranks if he can resolve a couple of those problems, but he is unlikely to be any better than a player capable of competing for the Europa League. 

6. LIBERATO GIANPAOLO CACACE

Liberato Gianpaolo Cacace is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club Empoli and the New Zealand national team.

Cacace is a battering ram who is not afraid to engage in any physical altercation that stands in his way. His endurance and speed make him a willing final third runner, both wide to cross or into the penalty box to shoot. Cacace has a ton of attacking potential, but his output needs to be more reliable.

Cacace is about as reliable a young full-back as you will ever see on the defensive end. He is built more like a left-back than a center-back; he is about six feet tall and has the strength to go with it. His placement is a little bit more iffy, but as teams attempt to use him in more attacking roles, this should become less of an issue.

5. JAY-DEE GEUSENS

Jay-Dee Geusens is a Belgian football player. He plays for Genk.

The fact that he appears physically prepared to play senior football is quite obvious. He frequently smashes the ball across the field, which helps to widen the far side of the field since he loves to hit it there. In essence, he is capable of kicking a football. He delivered his set pieces with precision and came close to scoring from about 50 yards out. 

Additionally, he retains the ball exceptionally well and is quite challenging to beat shoulder to shoulder. The Belgian can use the ball to maneuver himself out of tight situations and then use it to make wise selections.

4. DENYS YURIYOVYCH POPOV

Denys Yuriyovych Popov is a professional Ukrainian football defender who plays for FC Dynamo Kyiv. 

Popov is both-footed and distributes the ball well in midfield when in possession. Although he is better at clipping balls into wide channels than he is at switching plays, he can occasionally playmake and play out of trouble due to his relative on-ball confidence.

Popov is a "no brakes" defender who frequently overshoots while trying to intercept or tackle the ball. Despite this, he persists because of his quick recovery speed. This, along with his propensity to get ball-focused, has resulted in his positioning becoming exposed against stronger opposition.

However, there aren't many players in the Ukrainian top division who are more proficient in both ground and air combat. Popov has very solid defensive basics for a player his age; he has little trouble competing with strikers of substantial stature but does struggle more with forwards with clever movement.

3. DAVIDE FRATTESI

Davide Frattesi is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Sassuolo and the Italy national team.

Frattesi is one of those athletes that run so much that it exhausts you to watch them play. He does, however, try to dominate and suffocate opponents because he is a big-bodied midfielder, and he is very effective at doing so. His defensive play can occasionally be a little sloppy, but there is great room for improvement.

Frattesi has scored twice in his first ten Serie A outings for Sassuolo, including once against Juventus. His freedom to be more experimental with his positioning stems from his trust in his ability to recover. In 2,500 minutes with Monza in Serie B, he contributed to ten goals (eight goals and two assists). Another essential component of his skill set that contributes to his lethal threat as an attacking midfielder is his desire to be direct with his ball carrying and delivery in transition.

2. ADAM HLOŽEK

Adam Hložek is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Czech Republic national team. 

Adam Hloek is 6'1 tall, thick-set, and has good bursts of speed when allowed room to build up speed. Although he can play everywhere in the attack, his collection of skills makes him most suited to play as a striker. He is physically similar to a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic and possesses similar attacking abilities.

Adam Hloek is capable of a wide range of finishes, including curlers on the half-turn, dribbles past the goalkeeper into an open goal, flicked backheels, towering headers, and long-range thunderbolts.

1. DOUGLAS MATÍAS AREZO MARTÍNEZ

Douglas Matías Arezo Martínez is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Granada.

Arezo has a physique that is typical of a South American striker: he is small, stocky, and has good core strength.  He is below average in terms of speed and has a good burst, but he is not very quick. He compensates for his lack of elite athleticism with deft movement into the box and into depth.

He produces excellent power off both feet as a ball-striker with little back-lift. In most circumstances, this makes him a deadly snap shooter, but his poor shot selection is a major flaw in his strategy. He can produce shots with straight passes or crosses, especially in transition, and he can drop down to relay the ball well. Lautaro Martnez makes the finest partner for him to work with.