The Hottest Prospects in Football (Part 2)

With young talent being so sought after in the modern game, we take a look at some of the hottest young prospects in football at the moment. I've put together a number of different reports from a variety of different sources to give you a wide range of writing. Make sure you check out some of the writers as this is only a flavour of their work! I'm not claiming this is a fully comprehensive list of all young talent, simply a selection! I've also included an edited picture of each player, hope you like them!

Erik Lamela (21)


Erik Lamela is one of the most promising young talents in the world; at the age of 21 we have already seen many moments of brilliance from this technically gifted Argentine. Lamela began his footballing journey at River Plate; one of the most popular clubs in Argentina and has since moved on to Serie A outfit Roma, where he has well and truly excelled. Argentina have been host to some wonderful footballers, namely Lionel Messi, Gabriel Batistuta and Diego Maradona, and it would be right to say that this highly-rated playmaker could be their next big thing.

Lamela is known for his tremendous dribbling and close control; he has impeccable technique and a magnificent touch; this one of the many reasons why he is considered to be one of the hottest prospects around. Along with his outstanding ability on the ball, Lamela also possesses a wand of a left-foot; a left-foot which has largely contributed to the 13 goals he has scored this season. He creates space very easily and has good vision; something which will enable him to slot into the vast majority of top European Sides.

You can see the potential he has, he has shown much more than flashes of what he is capable of and he would appear to have a massive future ahead of him. It is likely he’ll leave Roma in the next few years to fulfil his potential and if he manages to do so, then there’s no doubt he’ll go on to have a long and successful career, with both club and country.

Written By: (@BackOf_TheNet)
                     backofthenetfootball.wordpress.com

Matija Nastasic (20)

Matija Nastasic is undoubtedly one of the best young defenders in the world of football. At the tender age of 20 and already playing regular-ish football for Man City and a real regular for Serbia accompanying the other Serbian centre-half in Manchester (Nemanja Vidić) Matija Nastasic is already feared in any match he plays in with his no man no prisoner attitude. 

Nastasic is always willing to put in a tackle even against some of the best attackers in the world. He is a fantastic aerial player and uses his height and physique to an advantage. With over half of his aerial battles won in the ‘best league in the world’ it’s a great stat to have to your name at the age of 20. Nastasic has also shown he is not particularly prone to errors, only conceding 1 defensive error in his 18 appearances for the blue moon. He has also shown he is a great long passer of the ball with an average of 21 metres and average pass accuracy of 86%. 

Hailed by many as one of the best young defenders, he has astonishing pace, and this is extremely valuable for a centre-back. This ability of has been to his own advantage allowing him to make last ditch tackles and save his team a point or three. Matija Nastasic is eagerly one of the best young defensive prospects in football so keep your eye out for him in the future!

Written By: (@Wengerology)

Kevin De Bruyne (21)

Kevin De Bruyne is arguably not as high profile as some of the other youngsters on the list but still provides huge potential, just one in a string of Belgian talent coming through at the moment.  De Bruyne has a great touch and good vision. He is very versatile and comfortable with both feet, not afraid to take on his man and shoot at goal, something which is great for a young player to have and to develop.

His record shows that he is more of a playmaker than a goal scoring midfielder, but he is not afraid to shoot at goal. One of his best attributes, is his ability to run at his man, and most importantly, be successful with his attempts, something that is key for any team who need a ball carrier and someone who takes people on. This is shown by the fact that in terms of stats, he is the 5th most successful at dribbling with the ball in the whole of the Bundesliga, with an impressive 60% success rate. That's 83 in 139. Just let that sink in. 

De Bruyne has recently announced that he is in the dark over his future, whilst Bremen has expressed a desire to keep him at the club. It would be a shame if Chelsea let him go, many clubs are reportedly interested and Chelsea would be stupid to let a player of his calibre and potential out of there grasp. 

Written By: (@DannySFootball)

                      dannysfootball.blogspot.co.uk

Oscar (21)

Regularly overlooked due to his midfield partners at Chelsea, Oscar is a crafty player. Playing in a midfield alongside Eden Hazard (Aiden Azar as the commentators love to call him!) and Juan Mata, he can be forgiven to not reaching their heights just yet. Nonetheless, he is still a huge talent and although he cost Chelsea a rather hefty amount, he has shown what he has to offer.

Many didn't expect him to feature as regularly as he has this season but he's more than held his own in such a creative midfield. Most will remember his performance against Juventus in the Champions League which included a stunning curling strike but he's also had quite an impact in other games. He offers an option whenever possible and doesn't mind picking the ball up in tight situations. At times, Chelsea can lack penetration and he has shown that he can be the solution to this as he frequently picks up the ball on the edge of the box and uses his quick feet to craft his way in there. This is extremely useful for any team as more often than not it creates a chance. 

Whilst Oscar hasn't been all over the headlines for brilliant performances, he has definitely fitted in well and this is an achievement in itself due to the sheer quality of the Chelsea squad. A young man who has lots to improve upon but at the same time bags of potential.

Written By: Me! (@Latest_Footy)

Thanks to all the writers who got involved. If you liked any writer in particular then be sure to leave a comment or follow them on twitter! I do requests on photo edits of players so if you liked the pictures then get in touch on twitter (@Latest_Footy)

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!