5 Players to breakout in 2021.

As we enter a new year, there will be tons of young talent across Europe that will be looking to make their mark on this year and establish themselves as a household name by the time December comes around. In this article we would highlight one young player from each one of Europe’s top five leagues that has the potential to break out in 2021.

Bundesliga - Youssoufa Moukoko (16 years old)

Beginning over in Germany, we find the youngest player in the list and that is sixteen-year-old, Youssoufa Moukoko who mainly plays upfront for Borussia Dortmund. Moukoko has been torching the U-19 Bundesliga picking up ten goals in three games and a hamstring injury to talisman Erling Halaand due to not enough rest allowed Moukoko to get some first team action, seven games to be exact. Despite the small sample size, he still averages a whopping 4.4 shots per 90 and 1.5 on target per 90 absoultley brilliant for a youngster.  In Dortmund’s last two games in 2020, Moukoko got the start at striker and bagged a goal against Union Berlin despite the lost. He also became the youngest ever player to feature in the Champions League. When Halaand does eventually return, Moukoko should be rotated with Halaand to get more game time and as we know, Dortmund are notorious for developing young talent. Also, should Halaand depart in the summer, Moukoko should slot into that starting lineup full time and establish himself as a star. Keep an eye on this one throughout the calendar year.

 

La Liga – Pedri (18 years old)

Now directing our attention over to Spain and more specifically Barcelona where we find Pedri, the eighteen year old Spanish international who can play attacking mid or on the left wing and has already made twenty appearances this season and despite only picking up two goals and one assist, he has shown sparks and hints of his true brilliance already averaging 1.3 dribbles completed per 90 minutes along with 30 passes in the final third per 90 minutes as well as 3 long balls per 90. As he continues to get more game time and experience he will only continue to get better and by the Christmas 2021 he should be a Barcelona favorite.

 

Premier League-Pedro Neto (20 years old)

Venturing over to England and the Premier League now where we find a twenty year old left winger from Wolves, Pedro Neto. He has already featured in all seventeen games in the league, popping up with four goals and three assists already, by far and away the most prolific player featured in this list. He mainly plays on the left side of the attack but has featured in all four positions across the attack (up front as the striker, behind the striker, on the left and on the right) ; a sign of his versatility and his underlying numbers show that he completes a little over 2 dribbles and 2 shots per 90 and three of his four goals ended up being the winning goals in the game and the other goal ended up rescuing a point for his side showing that he pops up when his side needs a goal. With the recent influx of attacking Portuguese talent, Pedro Neto should be a household name and associated with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Bruno Fernandes by the end of the year

 

Ligue 1- Benoît Badiashile Mukinayi (19 years old)

Heading over to France now where we find Benoît Badiashile Mukinayi a nineteen-year-old central defender from AS Monaco who has already popped up with 2 goals in sixteen matches, both goals proved to be crucial, firstly a goal to rescue a point and a matchwinner which came in the second game of the season. Not a bad return from a central defender. To go with those two goals, he also boasts a tackle win percentage of 85%, 2 interceptions , 5 recoveries and around 75 passes per 90 with an 89% pass accuracy with 10 long balls , a sign of a distributor from the back. The major knock on him is his 2 errors leading to goals however that is to be expected with young defenders and a number that should not go up much more. Keep an eye on this strong distributor from the back as the year goes on in France.

 

Serie A- Ismaël Bennacer (23 years old)

To finish off we go now to Italy and the Serie A to find twenty three year old Ismaël Bennacer , a defensive midfielder from the resurging AC Milan. He has already featured in fourteen matches in all competitions and picked up three assists.  His underlying numbers shows that he makes around 16 passes in the final third per 90 and maintains an 88% pass completion rate. On the defensive side he has 1.5 interceptions 9 recoveries per 90 and 0 errors leading to goals. His main strength comes in his positioning, creating numerical advantages in all areas of the pitch in the back, in the midfield and in the attack, providing an extra option or drawing opposition players out to create space for his other teammates. A player that would definitely get better throughout the year and one to keep a close eye on.