50 youngsters to watch in Europe’s top 5 leagues: 35-31
35. Unai Nunez (Athletic Club / 20 / D(C)) - WhoScored.com rating 7.05*
having not played a single minute of first team action prior to this season, Unai Nunez’s transition to the starting XI at Athletic Club has been incredibly impressive. Centre-back partner Aymeric Laporte is often watched by some of the continent’s biggest clubs but they will have been monitoring the 20-year-old’s progress too, and it would be no surprise if an offer came in before long. Having started all but one league game this season, Nunez leads the team for interceptions (2.3 per game) and has completed a lofty 6.1 long balls per game to boot.
34. Salih Ozcan (Cologne / 19 / M(C)) - WhoScored.com rating 7.07*
It’s been a dismal season for Cologne but their one bright spark has been teenage midfielder Ozcan, who has been the club’s star performer at just 19. He leads the team in key passes (1.3), tackles (3.6) and aerial duels won (4.1) per game of players to start more than three times, with the latter two figures enough to rank among the top ten players in the Bundesliga. If Cologne fail to turn their season around in the ruckrunde then Ozcan will have plenty of offers to remain a top-flight player.
33. Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester / 21 / DM(C)) - WhoScored.com rating 7.07*
An ever present for Leicester since signing this time last year, it’s easy to forget that Ndidi is 21, such has been the ease with which he has transitioned from the Belgian top-flight to the Premier League. The Nigerian faced the unenviable task of replacing N’Golo Kante and while he hasn’t played a part in the same success, the youngster has managed to replicate his tenacity in the middle of the park, making 18 more tackles (91) than any other player in Europe’s top 5 leagues this season.
32. Amine Harit (Schalke / 20 / AM(C/L/R)) - WhoScored.com rating 7.08*
Renowned for his dazzling dribbling at Nantes, Harit made the move to Schalke in the summer amidst widespread interest on the continent and has made a solid start to life in Gelsenkirchen. The Moroccan international has modest tallies of two goals and two assists to his name, having started 14 of 16 league appearances, but he’s clearly been earmarked as a threat by opponents. Indeed, no player has been fouled more often (3.5 times per game), and the 20-year-old has certainly played his part in S04’s strong hinrunde.
31. Marcus Thuram (Guingamp / 20 / FW) - WhoScored.com rating 7.08*
Yes, he is the son of former France legend Lilian Thuram, but unlike his father Marcus is a target man striker plying his trade with Guingamp after a summer move from Sochaux in Ligue 2. While his height is a weapon, the 20-year-old is actually very comfortable with the ball at his feet, completing 2 dribbles per 90 minutes this season with a 75.9% success rate. He’s certainly not short of confidence either, firing off 2.7 shots per 90, but modest returns of two goals and an assists from ten starts prove that his end product still needs plenty of work.
*WhoScored.com rating from starts alone (minimum of ten in Europe’s top 5 leagues this season to qualify)
