New stars regularly appear in world football. Not all of them manage to become true legends of the sport – some fame is very short-lived. But before they become famous, players are listed as “hopefuls”.
Potential football stars of the world
In football athletes’ careers are short-lived. By the age of 30, most players are considered veterans and so from the age of 15 future stars try to make their way to a big club to get their first real contract. Some manage to make a name for themselves at a young age. And it’s players like Pele, Ronaldinho or Maradona who go on to become football kings.
Joao Feliz
At the age of 22, the Portuguese forward is already playing for Atletico Madrid in the main squad. Before that, the player trained at the Benfica academy. However, in the main team at a young age, he did not get – the leadership team considered that the health of the young striker is not strong enough to withstand a 90-minute load in football. But he did start training with the main squad at the age of 19.
Soon, when Joao Felic began to score heavily for the club that raised him (20 goals in the 2018/2019 season), Atletico Madrid was interested in him. For the fantastic sum of €129m, the promising player moved to the prestigious team. Remarkably, Felix was given a rather popular number – 7, which Cristiano Ronaldo, the legend of Portuguese football, traditionally always takes for himself. Previously at Atlético Madrid, that number was reserved for another football star, Antoine Griezmann, who left for Barcelona.
In 2019, Joao Féliche was named the 2019 Golden Boy of the Year – award, which is drawn among Europe’s best under-21 footballers playing for top division clubs. Joao started playing for the Portuguese national team at the age of 19. He is almost the youngest player in the main squad, not counting Renato Sanchez.
The player’s peculiarity – he can literally “read” the situation on the field. Thanks to his quick analysis Joao is always there when his teammates pass, which helps him to show a consistent result. The same characteristics are taken into account by Indian horse race tips. It is the analysis of the parameters and the capabilities of each athlete that allows him to make reliable predictions.
Jadon Sancho
Manchester United player. The 22-year-old winger previously played for Borussia Dortmund. The emerging star of English football started training at the professional level at Manchester City. But after the player was about to be promoted to the main squad, Jaydon Sancho told the press that he wished to switch teams.
At Borussia Dortmund, Sancho stood out with a rather bright game. What the Dortmund fans remembered him for:
- he was the first player from England to play at Borussia at all;
- jaydon echoed Beckham’s result – he is the second, after the Englishman, UK representative to score in the Champions League while not playing in his country’s championship;
- was voted Bundesliga ‘player of the season in 2018/2019 because he managed to score 12 goals for his club as well as making 14 assists;
- in the same season, he managed to break the record of the youngest players to score 8 or more goals in the Bundesliga;
- sancho became the youngest man in the Bundesliga to score a double in a match.
Sancho Jadon has made his mark on the national team, but mainly in the Under-17 team. There he distinguished himself by scoring goals. On one occasion he was voted best player of the match (May 2017).
In 2018, at the age of 18, Sancho received his first call-up for the main national team. However, he has not yet managed to become famous for his outstanding results. Although the player managed to score for the country’s main team against Kosovo, the rookie’s nerves failed in the final contest.
Jaydon was one of those who failed to score a penalty in the 2020 European Championship final. He has since been heavily criticized by his country’s fans, but his services to the club and the youth national team are not diminished. Sancho remains one of the best players under 23.
Kai Havertz
A reigning Chelsea footballer who has won many prestigious tournaments with his team. And he has been included in Germany’s 2019/2020 “virtual” squad. This includes only those who could benefit the national team with their play – the brightest representatives of the world leagues come from Germany.
His love of football began at a young age. From the age of four, he was already being noticed as a player with specific talents. Due to his skills, the young footballer managed to constantly go to training with the boys, who were 2 years older than him.
Talent and perseverance resulted in the fact that already at the age of 10 the club Alemanija signed a contract with the boy. At the time it was the biggest in the region, playing in the second division.
But Kaja Havertz did not play for a long time in the club. After one year, the budding football star moved to Bayer 04, who took the talent at the age of 11. After the footballer in 9 matches managed to hit the rival`s goal twice and 4 times gave a productive pass, his talent was noticed.
At the end of the season, Kai was awarded the Fritz Walter Medal. It is only awarded to the most talented players in the German league, but he finished second in the competition for the best young player of his age.
Among those worth mentioning are:
- champions League season 2020/2021 – the fact that in the final of football’s most influential competition, the player managed to score the only goal that led his team to the long-awaited trophy;
- UEFA Super Cup 2021;
- FIFA Club Championship 2021 – and here the club’s victory was also due in large part to the merits of the up-and-coming player, it was Havertz’s 117th-minute penalty that sealed Chelsea’s Cup win.
It is worth noting that Havertz’s team had their most outstanding season in 2021. And the £62m the club paid for the transfer of the attacking midfielder has paid off. He became the most expensive transfer in the club’s history, after goalkeeper Kepa.
David Neres
The Brazilian footballer, who at the age of 25 has already changed many professional clubs and now performs and has been called up to his country’s national team on several occasions. The peak of his career, after which he was noticed, came with the player during the 2018/2019 season. He has been playing for Shakhtar since January 2022.
At that time, he had already been called up for his country’s national team, which won the America’s Cup in 2019. Apart from his success with the Brazilian national team, he has also managed to win many prestigious trophies with the club Ajax, where this outstanding player previously played. Among them:
- dutch champion twice – in the 2018/2019 and 2020/2021 seasons;
- dutch Cup winner – in the same seasons that the team was the best in the league as well;
- playing in the UEFA League final – the 2017 season.
Remarkably, the bright play in the season that followed allowed David Neres to be included in the 2018/2019 European Championship symbolic squad. In 2018, David Neres was also voted the Dutch Eredivisie League’s April Player of the Year.
The player’s professional career at the adult level began in 2016, when David Neres began playing for Ajax Jong, Ajax’s double. The bright results allowed the rookie to break into the main squad of the named club as early as the 2016/2017 season.
In his youth, he played professional football at the São Paulo academy. But the talented Brazilian was short-lived in the Brazilian Serie A. One year later, he was acquired by Ajax. In 2017, the deal amounted to £12m, which at the time was a big transfer investment, all the more so for a promising player.
The player’s popularity among Ajax fans was brought about by the fact that Neres managed to score for Real Madrid in the Champions League, the tournament’s multiple winners. Remarkably, after the meeting with Ajax, the team had to leave the league, even though it was Real Madrid who took the most coveted trophy last year. And much of the credit for the former favorites performing so poorly belongs to Neres, who, along with his Ajax side, created unbreakable problems for their rival.
The named players are not as young as they were when they first played for little-known clubs. But they have already made a name for themselves by playing brightly and producing results that many of the seasoned forwards and wingers have failed to achieve in their entire careers.
