Revisiting ESPN’s 39 U21 men’s lists: Who flopped? Who should have been higher?

For eighth straight years (read 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 here), our resident scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen has ranked the hottest young prospects in world football.

Chosen from an initial long list of 100 players, the final list started at 30 in 2019 and went up to 36 the next year (when we only ranked the top 10), and has been at 39 with a full rank since 2022, with those remaining best satisfying the main criteria: appearances at the highest level, consistent performance over a sustained period and the potential to develop into a top-level footballer.

Some stars, like Erling Haaland, Jamal Musiala, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal have continued to shine. But, with the benefit of hindsight, does he regret any choices? And what has happened to some of his picks?

Jump to: Trending down | Early promise fades | Placed too low | Where are they now?

Star players who drifted off course

Which players were tipped for the top and placed in the top 10 of the list, but haven’t lived up to expectations?

Jadon Sancho, 26, FW, Man United (on loan, Aston Villa)

2019: 2nd
2020: 2nd
2021: 2nd
2022-: Too old

“From mainly playing in bursts, Sancho has grown close to the finished article and capable of influencing throughout a game. Quick, technically proficient and able to score and create goals, he can play on either flank but is even more of a threat when he moves centrally. The ease with which he lays off passes to overlapping full backs and dinks weighted through balls behind opposing defenses make him a joy to watch. Sancho loves playing football, and it shows.” (2020)

Manchester United paid the huge sum of €85 million to sign Sancho from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 and, in doing so, changed his career for the worse. The years that followed saw disrupted continuity, patchy form and a gradual decline from the assertive, productive, carefree winger seen at Dortmund. A loan return to Dortmund offered some familiarity, but subsequent loan spells at Chelsea and Aston Villa only reinforced his downward spiral.

While his sharpness in tight spaces remains to be seen in flashes, his conviction has withered away. Once defined by spontaneity and daring, he now looks burdened, short on belief and, as opposed to in 2020, seems no longer in love with football. He will leave United this summer on a free transfer and could head back to Dortmund, but his next step is difficult to call.

João Félix, 26, AM, Al Nassr

2019: Top 30
2020: 10th
2021: 8th
2022-: Too old

“Comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo might seem clichéd, but evidence suggests they are far from fanciful.” (2019)

“His first touch — and the way it sets him up for his next action, often combined with a turn or a swift body movement — is almost unparalleled. He also has a natural appreciation of the game and awareness of the players around him. Quick with and without possession, excellent at veering his way past opponents; through flicks, lay-offs and smart combination play, Felix can be a joy to watch.” (2020)

Though Félix always had the flair, imagination and technique to influence games, he never found the edge, consistency or tactical nous to match the sky-high expectations that came with his €126 million move from Benfica to Atlético Madrid in 2019.

Loan moves to Chelsea and Barcelona were poor auditions that somehow earned him a permanent move to Stamford Bridge for €52 million in 2024, but inside a year, he was loaned to AC Milan and then joined Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr for around €30 million. Still yet to reach his peak, his talent hasn’t vanished — the soft first touch and disguised passes are still there — it’s just that they now appear at a level in which physicality and intensity are less of an issue. Ironically, the list’s early comparisons with Ronaldo did come to some kind of fruition … not as his successor, but as a teammate at Al Nassr, where he has 17 goals from 30 league games in his debut season.

Ansu Fati, 23, FW, Monaco

2020: Top 36
2021: 4th
2023: 12th
2024-: Too old

“Mostly at home on the left-hand side of the attack, he has been sporadically fielded on the opposite flank in order to cut infield. His ability to dribble and turn opponents inside out, through unpredictability and quick changes of direction, is probably his most distinct quality. But, being a La Masia product, he also possesses a highly developed understanding of movement without the ball and the tactical awareness to keep the game moving.” (2021)

While early comparisons to Lionel Messi at Barcelona must have been a heavy burden, it was Fati’s own body — rather than expectations — that has compromised his career. A sequence of serious injuries (to an accumulated length of two seasons) stripped him of the sharpness and explosiveness that made him such a danger.

Barcelona have never quite worked out how to reintegrate him and his loan move to Brighton last year felt like a curious fit more than a proper opportunity to reset his career. However, in the midst of another loan at Monaco, he has shown signs of life and his 11 goals point to a player still capable of some good moments. His minutes have been carefully managed (he’s completed just one full 90 all season, but as much as he’s slowly rebuilding, he’s operating on the margins rather than on the center stage many expected him to.

Players who are trending down

Which players are struggling right now and could be next in line to fail if things don’t turn around?

Florian Wirtz, 22, AM, Liverpool

2021: Top 39
2022: 8th
2023: 8th
2024: 2nd
2025: 2nd
2026-: Too old

“The key to Wirtz’s devastating impact is his spatial awareness. He’s exceptionally smart in finding space for himself; wherever there’s room to exploit, he will be there. The Germany international has a wonderful first touch, and his control is so acute that is doesn’t take much for him to see the perfect pass to a forward player or one of Leverkusen’s relentlessly direct wing backs. For a midfielder, he’s a prolific goal scorer and gets forward a lot (4.4 touches in the attacking box per 90 minutes), with his delicate chipped finishes now something of a trademark.” (2024)

This is not a flop warning for a player who ran Jude Bellingham close to top spot on the list two years ago, treat it more a progress check. To be clear: after his €100 million move last summer, Wirtz has not looked totally lost at Liverpool — he has seven goals and 10 assists — but he has yet to impact games as naturally as he did for Bayer Leverkusen.

In the German Bundesliga, Wirtz’s spatial intelligence often gave him time to receive the ball, turn and dictate play. However, in the Premier League, those gaps close faster and his most outstanding qualities have not yet blossomed. It is still early in his Liverpool career, but elite-level football is no longer so effortless for him.

Rodrygo, 26, FW, Real Madrid

2021: Top 39
2022: 14th
2023-: Too old

“There’s no doubting Rodrygo’s intrinsic talent; he’s equipped with brilliant technical ability, is quick off the mark, progresses well with the ball at his feet and swaps positions with his teammates like it is second nature. The Brazilian’s dribbling skills are also up there with the best in the game, he reads the game well and moves expertly with or without the ball.” (2022)

The experts I spoke to when compiling the list always struck a cautious tone on Rodrygo, which is reflected in his peak ranking of 14th. For a stretch between 2022 and 2024, that looked overly conservative as he delivered some decisive moments for Real Madrid, particularly in Europe. Since then, however, he has gone off the boil.

In fact, this has been his most difficult season in Madrid, with indifferent runs of form and reduced impact due to managerial decisions and not just the long-term injury he suffered in March that will see him miss the World Cup for Brazil. Increased competition and tactical reshuffles in Madrid haven’t helped and his position at the club is no longer entirely secure, with speculation over a transfer beginning to appear with more regularity.

Rico Lewis, 21, RB/CM, Man City

2023: 30th
2025: 29th
2026: Unranked

“A polished, well-schooled academy product, Lewis is neat on the ball, dribbles well and has the composure and intelligence to respond to Pep Guardiola’s tactical demands. His agility on the ball also means he can shift inside to feature in midfield, take part in swift one-touch combinations and find space in areas other than down the touchline.” (2023)

Though Lewis has always looked more like a dependable and versatile team player than a future world superstar, making my final list twice while playing for such a strong City side and earning five senior England caps in the process still marked him out. But he has now drifted into a more peripheral role at City, with only three Premier League starts this season (down from 21 last term), and is back with the England U21s.

His eagerness to get on the ball and adaptability should help him recover his career, and he still has plenty of time on his side, but the fact he has not secured more minutes during City’s mini squad revamp is not encouraging for his future prospects at the club.

Players whose early promise faded

These guys had so much potential when they first appeared on the list, but have dropped off since.

Giovanni Reyna, 23, AM, Borussia Mönchengladbach

2021: Top 39
2022: 21st
2023: 38th
2024-: Too old

“He is equipped with all the necessary attributes — mentality, technique, understanding of the game, even the physical make up — to eventually give Landon Donovan a run for his money as the best American male footballer of all time. Though Reyna’s individual qualities elicit most of his accolades, he’s also a generous team player who puts in a shift, making energy sapping attacking runs off the ball without any guarantee of receiving it, or dropping into midfield to create an advantage of numbers. He’s an excellent, creative passer of the ball with a natural understanding of the game.” (2021)

Written at the peak of his brilliant 2021-22 campaign for Borussia Dortmund, the assessment above represents quite a contrast to what Reyna has been through over the past seasons. Sure, injuries have played a part, but they don’t fully explain a spectacular slide that saw him loaned to Nottingham Forest in 2024 before being moved on permanently to Gladbach for a paltry fee of around €7 million.

Compared to his sparkling teenage performances, Reyna’s career into his 20s has been a story of patchy availability even when fit, lack of cutting edge and intensity when selected, and unclear roles at club level. For most of the time, his game has looked short of the sharpness and conviction that once made him stand out. That said, recent performances for the USMNT do offer some hope and selection for this summer’s World Cup could do a world of good for his career.

Rasmus Højlund, 23, ST, Napoli

2023: 16th
2024: 8th
2025-: Too old

“Højlund has great pace over long distances and understandably thrives in transition when the game opens up. But he has also exhibited his poaching qualities and has proved himself to be a multifaceted finisher who is dangerous when he can set himself up on his powerful left foot.” (2024)

Arguably one of my most controversial calls was placing Højlund eighth in 2024. To be fair, ESPN’s Mark Ogden challenged it at the time, flagging the position as far too high in the podcast debrief, but Højlund had arrived at Manchester United from Atalanta for €72 million the year before full of promise.

Now that fee looks even more inflated than it was back then and though the Denmark striker is doing reasonably well on loan at Napoli (14 goals in 41 appearances) and could sign permanently for €44 million this summer, he will mostly be remembered for failing to make the grade at United.

Nicolò Zaniolo, 26, AM, Udinese

2019: Top 30
2020: Top 36
2021-: Too old

“He can seem deceptively uncoordinated and gangly at first glance, but behind the lanky appearance hides a near-complete, modern footballer. The versatile attacking midfielder with a sweet left foot has the intelligence and playmaking brain to be fielded as a trequartista — linking midfield or attack — as well as the smooth one-on-one skills to drive opposing full-backs dizzy from a wide-right position.” (2019)

The early truncated format of the ranking (when we only ranked the top 10) somewhat masked Zaniolo’s reputation, as he sat comfortably among Europe’s leading young talents while at Roma. Injuries, though, disrupted the Italy midfielder’s development and he was allowed to move to Galatasaray before several unproductive loan spells (Aston Villa, Atalanta, Fiorentina) led him back to Serie A.

Now at Udinese on loan, Zaniolo is once again enjoying his football and has six goals in 32 games this season. But, as it was one promised, a career at one of the very top clubs in Europe looks beyond him.

Players who were placed too low

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but over recent years, these guys should have been much higher than they were.

Rayan Cherki, 22, AM, Manchester City

2022: Unranked
2023: 34th
2024: Unranked
2025: Unranked
2026-: Too old

“Technically superb with an array of footwork trickery, quick turns and body feints, Cherki has often been considered a player who can only express his skills in the final third. But this season there’s a lot more end product to his game: he releases the ball to teammates quicker, his passing game has become more progressive and, with some extra muscle, appears harder to knock of the ball.” (2023)

Cherki only made the final list once, in 2023, but was mentioned in the introduction on three other occasions after just missing out. In fairness, few names were more heavily debated, but he was repeatedly voted down by a majority of those I spoke to who insisted on consistency over flair and were frustrated over his (then) lack of defensive endeavor.

Some doubted whether Cherki’s talent would ever turn into sustained impact at the highest level. His ability was never in question, but the concern was whether he could make it count often enough. Those doubts now look misplaced as he has shone at Manchester City after moving from Lyon for €36.5 million over the summer.

Bradley Barcola, 23, FW, Paris Saint-Germain

2023: Unranked
2024: 37th
2025-: Too old

“Barcola offers coach Luis Enrique something different. His progressive style of play — usually from the left wing, though he can play in any attacking midfield role — and ability to take on opponents at speed have provided a dynamic injection of energy to games that have gone stale. Barcola’s energy is also evident in the defensive phase as he tracks back with enthusiasm, and he is quick to readjust into pressing mode when out of possession (3.3 interceptions per 90 minutes).” (2024)

Now approaching world-class territory, it is surprising that Barcola only appeared once on this list and then at a modest 37th. The explanation probably lies in the remit of rating proven performance over projection and potential.

He had not become an undisputed regular at Lyon before moving to PSG for €45 million in 2023 and after his first impressive season in Paris, he was no longer eligible due to age. But his progress has been emphatic, with his decision making and end product having improved dramatically.

Dominik Szoboszlai, 25, CM/RB, Liverpool

2021: Unranked
2022: 20th
2023-: Too old

“As a modern playmaker, Szoboszlai possesses a skill set not too far removed from Man City star Kevin De Bruyne. In addition to having an eye for a defense-splitting pass, he has a tremendous right-footed shot — his 35-yard free-kick goal against Stuttgart in the second round of the season was hit with an amazing technique from an almost impossible angle. As a product of the RB school, Szoboszlai is diligent in his defensive duties.” (2022)

The issue here is not so much Szoboszlai’s 20th-place ranking in 2022, but whether he merited inclusion a year earlier. It did take him a while to properly get going in the Bundesliga after moving to RB Leipzig from FC Salzburg in 2021. That said, he now looks less like a missed call than a player whose rise through the ranks took a little longer to fully ignite before he joined Liverpool for €70 million in 2023.

A late bloomer by elite-prospect standards, he is now genuinely world-class and has a strong case to be named Liverpool’s best player this season after filling in at right back as well as his usual central midfield.

Where are these players now?

You might be surprised where some of these young stars have ended up…

Luka Jovic, 28, ST, AEK Athens

2019: 10th
2020-: Too old

“The Serbian Luis Suárez with less bite. Jovic isn’t particularly strong or fast, but he has a natural feel for making the right moves in the box and a habit for finishing with calm and precision. He’s also tenacious, happy to hunt down balls, hassle defenders and create opportunities with his relentless work rate.” (2019)

The Serbia international striker was one of Europe’s hottest prospects at his peak with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018-19, and his 17 Bundesliga goals that season made his inclusion in 2019 entirely justified.

A €60 million move to Real Madrid followed, but he never settled at the Spanish giants and his career gradually trailed off after moving back to Frankfurt on loan, then spending one year at both Fiorentina and AC Milan. However, after being picked up on a free transfer over the summer, he’s found to his former self in Greece and his 16 goals have been a major contribution to what is likely to culminate in a title-winning campaign for AEK.

Ezequiel Barco, 27, AM, Spartak Moscow

2019: Top 30
2020-: Unranked
2021-: Too old

“A fusion of Pablo Aimar and Ariel Ortega. Barco is another undersized playmaker, with his low center of gravity and powerful running making him adept at dribbling past defenders. He has an eye for the killer pass as well. He has been deployed mostly on the left wing in his career, though he’ll drift into central positions if the space is there.” (2019)

The most expensive MLS signing at the time of his $15 million move to Atlanta United in 2018, Barco looked destined to follow the long line of world-class Argentine creative midfielders. Yet, despite flashes of quality and some memorable goals, he never left a consistent mark on MLS and returned home to River Plate after four years.

His career has since found fresh momentum; now in Russia since 2024, he has rediscovered form and become one of the headline names in the league.

Youssoufa Moukoko, 21, ST, FC Copenhagen

2023: 19th
2024: Unranked
2025: Unranked
2026: Unranked

“Predominantly recognized for his spectacular left-footed shot which made him so prolific at youth level, Moukoko is a fast, penetrative forward with sharp off-the-ball movement. He comes to life when turning his marker and entering the final third, where he can bear down on goal and test the goalkeeper.” (2023)

Perhaps his single inclusion in 2023 did not quite match the frenzy around his record-breaking Dortmund debut at 16, but Moukoko was unequivocally marked out for a significant future for years after scoring an incredible number of goals for their youth team.

He played almost 100 times for the club (scoring 18 goals) but recurring injuries played a part in preventing him from building consistent playing time in the Bundesliga, with a loan to Nice last year, and he moved to Denmark on a five-year deal over the summer. After a slow start, he has begun to show signs of productivity again with 14 goals, though his career still feels some distance from the extraordinary early expectations.