5 youngest squads across top five leagues in Europe right now
The perfect blend of youth and experience is considered the ideal combination to challenge for trophies in football by many. Most clubs in Europe look at the transfer window as an opportunity to replenish their engines and also to stock in on enough young talent.
Bigger clubs often spot youngsters who operate on the field beyond their age and are quick enough to pounce at the first opportunity. This makes it difficult for many teams to retain the core of young stars and often we see the youngest squads in Europe change quite drastically.
Some interesting teams from the top five European leagues possess squads younger than any other team on the continent. On that note, let's have a look at five of the youngest squads in Europe right now:
#5 OGC Nice
The second youngest squad in Ligue 1 this season, Nice have enjoyed a particularly impressive start to their campaign. They currently sit third in the French top-flight with one match in hand compared to Angers, Lyon and Rennes, who all sit below them.
The average age of the Nice squad with 26 players registered in Ligue 1 is 24.1 years. The most experienced member of their squad is 31-year old former Manchester United and Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin. After guiding Lille to their first title in 10 years, Christopher Galtier has taken up the job at Nice.
Jackets #OGCNICE https://t.co/SnZ5Od5aZU
His willingness to work with young players was visible at Lille last year and this year he's taking a similar approach. Nice invested quite heavily in improving their attack this year with the arrival of experienced Algerian centre-forward Andy Delort and winger Calvin Stengs. They also added Justin Kluivert on loan from Roma.
Galtier will hope to use his experience from Lille's title run last year to help OGC Nice finish in the top five spots. If the start is anything to go by, they do seem to be balancing between youth and experience in the correct manner.
#4 Olympique Marseille
Marseille have axed the average age of their squad by sanctioning the exits of Kevin Strootman, Dario Benedetto and Valere Germain, among others. They are tied with OGC Nice for the second youngest squad in Ligue 1 with the average of their 27 registered players clocked at 24.1 years.
Marseille sit seventh in the Ligue 1 table having won four, lost two and drawn two, but they have two games in hand and that can prove advantageous. The French club have loaned in talented youngsters like William Saliba, Matteo Guendouzi and Cengiz Under who have all been very impressive so far.
20-year-old Samir Nasri for Olympique marseille during the 2007/2008 season:
✅42 games
⚽️6 goals
🅰️15 assists
His last season in France before moving to Arsenal. Nicknamed 'The Little Zidane' back then. https://t.co/RHOiAhDGtg
Dimitri Payet continues to be the standout performer for Jorge Sampaoli's team, having scored five goals so far this season. On loan from Roma, Under has also found his rhythm on the right flank and has scored three for his side.
Marseille fought for former Napoli man Arkadiusz Milik's signature in January. However, the 27-year-old has only started one game in Ligue 1 and one in the Europa League due to fitness issues.