Best Footballers in the World: 10 Best U-21 Players This Season

The charm of football always lies in witnessing young talents propping out amidst the presence of several legends playing the game.

To watch a young lad develop through the ranks, and then eventually make his name at the top level is reassuring as a football fan.

It re-enforces your faith in the game, in the sheer innocence with which a boy takes up a football and dreams of overcoming several obstacles in life to eventually achieve his dream.

These players have been selected from various leagues, and some statistics are also used to justify the selections. However, at a younger age, players aren't able to rack up excellent numbers consistently, so try to go a little easy and interpret their talents instead of sheer numbers for now.

Here, we try to appreciate these footballers, the younger ones, particularly lads of U-21 age category. Players of that age group, who have performed exceptionally well this season have been included in this list.

#10 Nicolo Zaniolo

Nicolo Zaniolo has been a revelation for AS Roma this season after having risen to prominence with some good displays in the Serie A. The Italian is capable of playing through the center or from the right flank, and is quite dynamic in his approach.

His footwork is bamboozling, and hence allows him to beat defenders at will. His best position is when he plays behind the striker, and is the focal point of the offensive operation of the team.

His first touch is silky, which allows him to play simple passes and carve in some through-balls to beat rigid defensive lines. The 19-year-old has scored thrice and assisted twice in the Serie A so far.

In addition, the lad also notched two goals in the UEFA Champions League. There’s a lot of hype surrounding Zaniolo currently, and he surely possesses the talent to even better his performances from this season, next time around.