Football at the 2024 Olympics begins later this month and there is a serious amount of young talent going for gold in Paris.
Ahead of the tournament which kicks-off on July 24th, we’ve picked out five exciting young players to keep an eye on.
Désiré Doué (France)
Désiré Doué features as part of the host nation’s challenge with France favourites to claim the gold medal on home soil. The teenager is one of Europe’s most coveted young talents after an exciting emergence at Rennes, that included Doué becoming the youngest French player to score in European club competitions in 2022.
The 19-year-old scored four goals and laid on four assists in Ligue 1 last season, while he ranked among the top players in France’s top-flight for shot-creating actions per game (7th), successful take-ons 5th) and fouls drawn (8th).
18 years old. Rennes’ star. Desiré Doué. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/nwOYji1zF8
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) May 4, 2024
Such is his adventurous brand of football, Doué’s numbers are even more impressive when judged on a per 90 minute basis. He ranks in the 99th percentile of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carries and successful take-ons per game.
Bayern Munich and Tottenham are among the clubs keeping a close eye on him this summer.
Claudio Echeverri (Argentina)
Manchester City acted quickly to seal the signing of Claudio Echeverri in January, agreeing a deal for one of South America’s brightest prospects. The attacking midfielder broke into the River Plate team as a 17-year-old and won the Golden Boot at the 2023 South American U-17 Championship.
He impressed again as Argentina reached the last four of the u-17 World Cup last winter, including scoring a hat-trick in the 3-0 quarter-final win over Brazil. Echeverri remained on loan at River Plate in 2024, where he scored three goals in 23 senior games. Under the management of ex-Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano this summer, he will hope to lead La Albiceleste to a record-equalling third gold medal.
Samu Omorodion (Spain)
Chelsea are one of the clubs interested in signing Samu Omorodion having had a €40m bid rejected for the Atletico Madrid forward earlier this summer. The 20-year-old spent last season on loan at Alaves and scored eight La Liga goals for the club, attracting interest from the Premier League.
A formidable physical handful, the 6ft 4in centre-forward has scored twice in seven appearances for Spain’s u-21 side and will form part of a talented La Roja crop in Paris, alongside the likes of Pau Curbarsi and Alex Baena.
Samu Omorodion.
1⃣9⃣ years old.
1⃣3⃣ starts.
8⃣ goals.One To Watch.#LALIGAHighlights pic.twitter.com/6gaRIStRwM
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) February 7, 2024
Eliesse Ben Seghir (Morocco)
Morocco have completed a coup after persuading Eliesse Ben Seghir to pledge his international allegiance to the Atlas Lions.
Ben Seghir represented France up to u-19 level and is regarded as one of Ligue 1’s brightest prospects, having made 37 appearances across the last two seasons for AS Monaco. The creative midfielder made an instant impact at the The Stade Louis II, as he came off the bench to score twice on his senior debut in 2022.
He has scored once in four caps for Morocco since his senior debut in March.
Eliesse Ben Seghir vous souhaite une bonne semaine ????????#MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/lNC4BXARzV
— AS Monaco ???????? (@AS_Monaco) March 11, 2024
Oscar Gloukh (Israel)
Oscar Gloukh’s star is on the rise in Salzburg with the midfielder flourishing in the Austrian side’s ecosystem for producing emerging talent.
Gloukh signed for Salzburg from Maccabi Tel Aviv 18 months ago and his first full season was one to remember, even if the Austrians relinquished their Bundesliga crown.
The 20-year-old scored seven goals and laid on a league-leading 11 league assists, in a campaign that underlined his potential. Already an established international at senior level with 12 caps, Gloukh will be aiming for more success with the national team after earning inclusion in the Team of the Tournament at the 2022 u-19 European Championship.
Your goal of the season for 2023/24, Oscar Gloukh’s peach against Inter ????pic.twitter.com/t6eQpvbDm2
— FC Red Bull Salzburg EN (@FCRBS_en) May 30, 2024
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