Stars in the making
It’s BACK. Another rollercoaster ride awaits in the Champions League this season, but who will be the breakout players to make their mark at Europe’s top table?
From a Premier League winner to two forwards with famous fathers, these under-21 starlets could follow in Kylian Mbappe's speedy steps and make a big impression in their early tastes of continental action...
Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
De Jong has already enjoyed a memorable start to the season. The 21-year-old impressed on his Netherlands debut against France earlier this month, while Tottenham and Barcelona reportedly had bids of more than £40m turned down recently.
If Ajax hadn’t managed to get past Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League play-offs, the midfielder may well have departed Amsterdam by now.
Instead, the man whose silky skills have led to comparisons with Luka Modric has stayed put, and he will now be key to the Dutch club’s hopes of getting through a group featuring Bayern Munich, Benfica and AEK Athens. If De Jong continues his early-season form, Ajax should be more than capable of progressing to the knockout stage.
Malcom (Barcelona)
Barcelona got their hands on a potential superstar in Malcom over the summer, but their route to signing the Brazilian wasn’t exactly straightforward. The 21-year-old was on the verge of joining Roma from Bordeaux until the Catalan giants made a last-gasp swoop just moments before he boarded a plane bound for the Italian capital.
Malcom then rubbed salt in the wound by scoring against the Giallorossi in a pre-season friendly.
The forward is unlikely to fight off the competition of Lionel Messi, Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele for a starting spot in the Champions League, but he could prove that all of the behind-scenes drama was worthwhile by making an impact from the bench.
Justin Kluivert (Roma)
Meanwhile, Roma are hopeful that their earlier (and more successful) transfer target will make the memory of Malcom feel distant. Kluivert, son of former Barcelona star and Champions League winner Patrick, played a key part in Ajax’s second-place Eredivisie finish last term, scoring 10 goals – including his first hat-trick (and what a treble it was, by the way).
The youngster has made just two substitute appearances in Serie A so far, but his vital assist in a 1-0 win over Torino on the opening day of the season suggests it’s only a matter of time before he makes the breakthrough.
Timothy Weah (PSG)
Kluivert isn’t the only football legend’s son hoping to follow in their father’s footsteps this season. Timothy Weah, the youngest of 1994/95 Champions League top scorer George’s children, spent most of last term playing for PSG’s second team in the fourth tier of French football.
However, the 18-year-old has now broken into the first team, and has already scored against Monaco in the French Super Cup and Caen in a 3-0 Ligue 1 win this season.
Weah appears to have inherited the pace and skill that made his dad a PSG favourite, and the young striker – a USA international – could cause problems for the defences of Group C’s Napoli, Liverpool and Red Star Belgrade.
Goncalo Guedes (Valencia)
Like De Jong, Guedes was also said to have turned down a move to a north London club this summer, choosing Valencia over Arsenal (among many others) as he departed PSG in a €40m deal.
The Portuguese wide man is well known to the La Liga side, having played 33 league games for them on loan in 2017/18, scoring five goals to help them finish fourth.
This season the 21-year-old, who also turned out for Portugal at the World Cup, will enjoy his first taste of Champions League football in a group which includes Manchester United, Young Boys and Juventus.
Phil Foden (Man City)
The youngest player of all time to collect a Premier League winner’s medal, Foden also contributed to City’s League Cup win last season and their Community Shield victory at the start of the current season. And he’s still just 18.
The versatile midfielder doesn’t appear likely to get many opportunities in the early stages of the Citizens' effort to win the elusive Champions League trophy. However, if Pep Guardiola’s side reach the knockout stage with time to spare – and in a relatively tame group including Lyon, Shakhtar Donetsk and newcomers Hoffenheim, that’s a possibility – then the teenager could get the chance to show what he can do at the top level.
Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Another graduate of Manchester City’s academy, Sancho looked elsewhere for game time in 2017 when he joined Dortmund for around £8m. The move didn’t please Pep Guardiola, but it has certainly paid off for the 18-year-old.
Once compared to Neymar by England youth coach Dan Micciche, Sancho made 12 appearances last term, and scored against Bayer Leverkusen in April 2018 to become the youngest ever Englishman to score in the Bundesliga.
With two assists in two games already to his name this season, expect the London-born forward to cause Club Brugge, Atletico Madrid and Monaco numerous problems in Group A.
Lautaro Martinez (Inter)
Martinez proved he can do a job on the continental stage by scoring a hat-trick for Racing Club in their Copa Libertadores victory over Cruzeiro of Brazil earlier in the year. The Argentine has now set his sights on repeating the feat in European football’s equivalent.
The 21-year-old has already started to suggest that the €22.7m Inter splashed out for him in the summer was money well spent, netting an incredible volley in their International Champions Cup victory over Atletico Madrid.
If Martinez can bounce back from a calf injury that has recently kept him on the sidelines, then expect the forward lumbered with the unfortunate tag of ‘the new Messi’ to play a key part in his side’s tough group.
Djibril Sow (Young Boys)
Young Boys finally fought their way to the group stage this year with a play-off win against Dinamo Zagreb, after falling in the qualifying rounds in their last five attempts.
Few would be surprised if the Swiss champions fail to register a point in a group featuring Manchester United, Valencia and Juventus, but one advantage they possess comes in the shape of promising midfielder Sow.
Wanted by Arsenal back in April, the 21-year-old was instrumental in bringing the league title back to the Stade de Suisse for the first time since 1986. Having recently made his international debut in Switzerland’s 6-0 thrashing of Iceland, the pacy playmaker’s confidence will be sky high.
Martin Terrier (Lyon)
Striker Terrier arrived at Lyon from Lille back in January 2018 for €11m, but only recently debuted for the Ligue 1 side following a second lengthy loan spell at Strasbourg.
The 21-year-old has quickly made up for lost time with some standout performances, scoring against his previous employers during Lyon’s recent 2-0 victory at the Parque Olympique Lyonnais.
Forced to play their opening Champions League home game against Manchester City behind closed doors due to last season’s crowd trouble in the Europa League, Lyon will be hopeful that their prodigious talent can turn the spotlight back towards the action on the pitch.
