One of the main advantages that football hosts over all other mainstream sports in the world are the ability to be able to constantly produce young, up-and-coming talents every season. Young starlets from all over the world pop up every year, putting up some amazing football stats that automatically put them in the center of attention of all experts, analysts and fans.
Now, while there are some very strong and present examples of young players who have already taken the football world by storm, like PSG’s Kylian M’bappe, Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, Barcelona’s Pedri and Atletico de Madrid’s Joao Felix to name a few, here we bring you our picks for three of the best up and coming U-23 football players that will surely be causing major shockwaves in the football universe.
Mikel Damsgaard
Danish football player Mikkel Damsgaard made his official presentation to football stardom after his amazing performances with the Denmark National Team in the Euro 2020 tournament. But even before that, Damsgaard was already proving his worth playing for Italian Serie A team Sampdoria, where he has quickly become one of the team’s top stars and also one of the squad’s most valuable assets for future dealings.
His offensive-driven skills are undeniable and he has already proven at a very young age that stopping him, especially when he has control of the ball on the pitch is something that is anything but easy. He has dribbling attributes for days, shooting abilities that are through the roof, and at only 21 years old, he is nowhere close to reaching his top potential yet. A move to a bigger team should be the next big move for the Danish superstar and by the looks of it, there will not be any shortage of suitors.
Dusan Vlahovic
When you think of great strikers that have donned the Fiorentina jersey, you automatically think of players like Argentinian legend Gabriel Batistuta, or Italian goal expert Luca Toni, but nowadays, it’s Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic who is taking all of the goal scoring praises here. At only 21-years old and already gathering comparisons to Erling Haaland because of his size and imposing striking style, Vlahovic has already become a fixed commodity for Fiorentina. Last season alone he finished tied for fourth in the race for Serie A’s top goalscorer, scoring a total of 21 goals for his team.
But it’s not just his goal-scoring prowesses that make Vlahovic one of Europe’s most popular new offensive threats. His ability to play as a perfect pivot in Fiorentina’s offense, making room for his teammates to be a part of the offensive strategies make him a perfect fit for any team looking for a strong, dominant and multi-functional center striker with many years still left in him to produce great football.
Gavi
To say that FC Barcelona’s season has been dismal is to put it lightly. In the first season after seeing Lio Messi leave for French giants PSG, Barcelona has had to deal with the sad results of being the loser in the breakup. But while the “blaugranas” still look for a new light at the end of the road, some beacons of hope have started to rise via some of Barcelona’s new up-and-coming talents. While Ansu Fati and Pedri are both players that are well on their way to becoming new fixtures for Barcelona’s future, it’s Gavi, Barcelona’s new, 17-year old attacking midfielder who has been the last young star to take the Spanish football world by storm.
With comparisons already being drawn to former Barcelona legends like Xavi and Andrés Iniesta and with a call-up for the Spanish National Team already in place, Gavi seems more and more poised to take his place as one of Barcelona’s future leaders alongside Pedri, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo, and Eric Garcia. Even at such a young age, Gavi has shown very clear signs of football maturity that are not usually expected from players at such a young age. His ability to interpret all the playing spaces, as well as his talent for play anticipation and superb passing skills make him the perfect heir to Xavi and Iniesta’s throne in Barcelona’s midfield for the future.
