Highlights

• Many teenagers throughout the world have been making big impressions on football fans, including Brazil's newest star Endrick.
• Three Premier League stars feature in the best teenage team in the world right now.
• Two of the world's best teenagers play for Barcelona: Lamine Yamal and Gavi.

You know the phrase. Out with the old, in with the new. And that bodes well in the footballing world, especially when there is a boatload of talented youngsters waiting patiently in the wings for their shot at senior action or are already tearing it up. Teenagers often bring a different layer of possibility to a team: a tireless work ethic, the willingness to bust a gut, a penchant of grasping every opportunity with every fibre in their body – aspects that often go amiss in more established senior players.

But not all academy prospects get that chance because, well, football is a business at the end of the day and, despite the warm feeling of a youngster being promoted to senior action, the best players tend to get game time, irrespective of age. It’s as simple as that.

That being said, there are a host of teenage phenomenons currently stamping their authority in the Premier League and elsewhere – from ever-flourishing defenders to midfielders wise beyond their years to forwards that just have that knack for goalscoring. And to celebrate their talent, GIVEMESPORT have assembled the best teenage XI in world football.

Goalkeeper: Guillaume Restes

Toulouse

A Toulouse-born ace becoming the club’s first choice at the tender age of 18? It really is the stuff of dreams. After keeping seven clean sheets in his 16-game season for the club’s B team in 2022/23, a promotion to rubbing shoulders with the senior boys beckoned – and rightfully so.

Since then, the 2005-born shot-stopper has played every single minute for the Ligue 1 outfit since the campaign got underway while experiencing his first taste of European football in the process. France’s conveyor belt of talent just continues to churn out the next generation of world-beaters, and Restes is just one who has every chance of breaking into senior international football in years to come.

Right back: Ivan Fresneda

Sporting Lisbon

Mooted for a switch to the Premier League over the summer, the Spaniard upped and left Real Valladolid for Sporting Lisbon instead, though he has faced a constrained amount of game time since his arrival in the Portugal sun. Regarded as one of the most promising talents of the current era of young, bustling stars, it’ll take a pretty penny to ensnare his signature.

But he has the tools in his arsenal to make that move. Able to underlap and overlap to an astute level, while delivering the inverted role to a high standard, too, Fresneda is a superstar in the making. Long gone are the days of kids growing up not wanting to be a full-back - the 19-year-old makes that role look thrilling.

Centre back: Jorrel Hato

Ajax

It's not necessarily been a great season for Ajax. The Dutch club have been nowhere near their best this year, and at points earlier in the campaign, relegation looked like a real possibility. They've turned things around somewhat, though, and are now sitting fifth in the league. It's still not great, but one major positive is the emergence of Jorrel Hato as a first-team regular.

The 17-year-old has played 30 times for his club so far this year and has taken to first-team football seamlessly. He's already showing a maturity well beyond his years and should be a key figure for Ajax for years to come. Or until one of Europe's biggest clubs eventually comes knocking as tends to usually be the case.

Centre back: Leny Yoro

Lille

After experiencing something of a breakthrough campaign last year, playing 13 times in Ligue 1 for Toulouse, Leny Yoro has established himself as a regular member of the club's first team this season. Despite being just 18 years old, he's already become a key figure for the French club.

The centre-back is already worth over £20m and if he continues playing at the level he currently is, his value should only continue to rise in the years to come. Toulouse has a very special young talent on their hands, shown by the fact he was named in the top 10 of NXGN's best wonderkid's in world football. Whether it's with the Ligue 1 side or elsewhere, he seems destined for big things.

Left back: Rico Lewis

Manchester City

Admittedly, the glistening 18-year-old typically plays on the right of the defence and is then transformed into a central midfielder in-game, but there’s no way he was missing out. After all, Lewis has become one of Pep Guardiola’s many Swiss Army Knives. Able to play an array of roles, it may come as a surprise that Gareth Southgate hasn’t gone out the phonebook to find the Bury-born ace’s phone number yet.

Having already featured in over 40 Manchester City games, his well-rounded game is second to none and will surely become a legend of the club should neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid come sniffing in the future.

Centre midfield: Gavi

Barcelona

Another ace to have graduated from the storied depths of Barcelona’s La Masia – the most decorated academy in football – is Gavi and, to little surprise, has gone on to become one of the brightest stars in world football, regardless of age. Willing to provide whatever is asked of him by Xavi, the composed, well-illustrated youngster will be looking to surpass the likes of Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and the Barça manager himself.

The ever-vacant hole left by the aforementioned three is beginning to be alleviated and Gavi is at the fore of that change, as he will be over the next decade of Spanish football. Watch this space, Barcelona have a world-beater on their hands. And they most certainly know it.

Centre midfield: Warren Zaire-Emery

Paris Saint-Germain

Out goes Marco Verratti, in goes Zaire-Emery - almost a like-for-like replacement. In a team bolstered by players with staggering price tags and heaps of elite-level experience, the 17-year-old (yes, 17-year-old) waltzed into the centre of the park with admirable ease.

Embodying the ‘old head on young shoulders’ phrase, the importance of Zaire-Emery in the French side highlights a changing of the guard as he represents a commanding figure, despite not being old enough to buy a pint in most countries. He can dictate games better than some of Europe’s most seasoned midfielders. Scary hours for those in the French top division.

Centre midfield: Kobbie Mainoo

Manchester United

At the tender age of 18, Kobbie Mainoo has emerged as one of Manchester United’s most important players, and he can often be seen instructing the more seasoned heads in Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro. His consistency in the engine room has been noticed by Gareth Southgate, who duly handed him his senior England debut during the Three Lions' 1-0 loss against Brazil.

Despite being thrown in at the deep end, particularly during a season of mass transition at Old Trafford, the Stockport-born ace has been a cut above the rest in midfield, dictating games and keeping it simple. Destined to become a club legend in years to come, Mainoo is deceptively strong thanks to his small frame – but this season is just the start.

Right-wing: Lamine Yamal

Barcelona

Being produced by the same academy set-up that formed the brilliance of Lionel Messi that all football fans know and adore is no easy feat. The pressure, especially just at 16 years of age, is enough to make the finest of footballers crumble but not Yamal. He has taken to senior life in Blaugrana like a duck to water.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Aged 16 years and 68 days old Lamine Yamal became the second youngest player in the Champions League and the youngest for Barcelona.

The teen phenomenon has featured in 33 games for Barcelona so far this season and his 10 goal contributions is an insane return for a 16-year-old. While opponents currently consider his story awe-inspiring, that will not be the case for much longer should he continue this stratospheric trajectory.

Striker: Endrick

Palmeiras

Endrick really announced his name on the international stage against England. A cute finish, the youngster – just 17 years of age – notched home the only goal of the game, and it’s no surprise that Real Madrid have secured his signature so early into his career.

Born in 2006, the world really is Endrick’s oyster. He has already cemented his name in Palmeiras mythology – but his career will hit new heights when he arrives at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer. No doubt one of the most exciting prospects in world football, the three-cap international could go on to become on the same level as Brazil greats.

Left wing: Alejandro Garnacho

Manchester United

After Manchester United had some issues getting their forward line firing earlier this season, Alejandro Garnacho earned a sustained run in the first team, and he's done a fantastic job as a result. The Argentine has been very impressive for the Red Devils, playing 32 times this season and chalking up just under 10 goal contributions so far, scoring one of the greatest goals in Premier League history along the way.

He has made it very difficult for Erik ten Hag to leave him out of the team now, and the 19-year-old is outplaying Antony, who cost the club £100m last summer. His potential is easy to see, and if this season is any indication, his future is very bright.

All statistics per Transfermarkt - correct as of 24/03/24