With the draw for the Champions League group stage taking place on Thursday, Goal lists some top under-23 talents to watch this season
GettyDani Ceballos (Real Madrid)
"The coach's confidence is paramount to playing well," Dani Ceballos told earlier this month. "[Julen] Lopetegui has given me that confidence."
The implication was obvious: Ceballos had never felt fully trusted by former Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane, who used the midfielder just 12 times in La Liga last season.
The 22-year-old Spaniard still has Luka Modric, Casemiro and Toni Kroos ahead of him in the pecking order but with Mateo Kovacic now gone, Ceballos is expected to see far more game time in 2018-19.
If he truly does have his self-belief back, we should see the former Betis star reproduce the kind of magic that lit up the Under-21 European Championships last year.
AdvertisementGettyFrenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Ajax are back in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2014-15 but not everyone was happy to see the Dutch outfit prevail in their play-off tie with Dynamo Kyiv.
Indeed, the Amsterdam outfit's qualification scuppered Barcelona's hopes of signing Frenkie de Jong before the close of the summer transfer window on Friday.
The Blaugrana had made the 21-year-old, who has just been called up by the Netherlands national team, their primary midfield target but he has now confirmed that he is staying at Ajax.
"Maybe someday I'll join Barcelona, but not this season," he told . "I think it will be a good year for Ajax. Now we're about to find out what we're capable of."
We're also about to find out exactly what De Jong is capable of.
Getty ImagesPhil Foden (Manchester City)
On May 13, the then 17-year-old Phil Foden became the youngest ever recipient of a Premier League winners' medal, after making five appearances during Manchester City's title procession.
The classy and versatile midfielder is now set to play an even bigger role in his club's bid to hold on to their crown. As coach Pep Guardiola enthused, "He was ready [for the first team] last year but now he is one year more mature."
His composed performance in the season-opening Community Shield win over Chelsea certainly belied his tender age, with Foden creating the game's opening goal, for Sergio Aguero.
Nailing down a regular berth in the City starting 11 is an unenviable task but Guardiola has the utmost faith in Foden, who last season became the youngest Englishman ever to start a Champions League match.
Getty ImagesWillem Geubbels (Monaco)
Rarely can such fuss have been made over a player to have featured so little at senior level.
Willem Geubbels only saw 87 minutes of game time for Lyon last season but, in doing so, the 16-year-old forward became the first player born in the 21st century to appear in Ligue 1, and the Europa League.
Monaco certainly liked what they saw, as this summer they paid €20 million (£18m/$23m) to beat some of Europe’s biggest clubs to the signature of the France Under-18 international.
Geubbels will be used sparingly but Monaco are quietly confident that they have got another Kylian Mbappe on their hands.