5 of the brightest prospects under the age of 20 in world football
Football clubs around the world are constantly looking for the brightest and youngest talents to add to their teams, and with transfer fees skyrocketing in today's transfer market, spotting these players early is key. And with the level of football increasing with each passing year, youngsters need to step up their game as well in the hopes of getting picked by the biggest clubs.
Over the last few years, we have seen a number of players under the age of 20 become regular starters in the first teams of various clubs around Europe. This only goes to show how competitive the game has become and how quick these young footballers are developing as they play for some of the biggest teams in the biggest competitions in the world.
Here is a look at 5 of brightest prospects under the age of 20 in world football:
#5. Alphonso Davies
Alphonso Davies joined Bayern Munich from Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps for a reported fee of around $22 million. This was a record fee for a player from the MLS until it was broken by Miguel Almiron when he joined Newcastle United. Nonetheless, the fact that Bayern paid so much money for Davies, who was just 17 back then, shows just how talented and how highly rated the Canadian international is.
Davies made his first team debut for Vancouver in 2016 and was the youngest player in the MLS at that point. He went on to make a total of 81 appearances for them and scored 12 goals and assisted 14. He became a first team regular in the 2017 season but did not hit his stride until the 2018 season where he scored 8 goals and assisted 10.
That season also saw him being selected in the MLS All-star team, he was also awarded the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Player of the year, won the Vancouver Whitecaps FC goal of the season and was also awarded the Canadian Men's Player of the year.
His list of accomplishments don't stop there. The 18-year-old has also won the 2016 and 2017 Canada U-17 Male Player of the year, the CONCACAF Gold Cup Bright Future Award and the Golden Boot award in 2017.
A lot is expected from the winger and while his first season at Bayern Munich has been disrupted with a serious knee injury, he will definitely become a first team regular in the coming years.