They do it because it’s easy, clickable content. But the dangers for media outlets in tipping young footballers to enjoy a hugely successful career are clear and obvious: The internet never forgets. The Guardian does it with their Next Generation series. Italy’s premier sports paper, Gazzetta Dello Sport, does it. Popular publication, Goal, has done it since 2016. Adidas were even able to convince Lionel Messi to do it.
Predicting the stars of tomorrow today should come with a stark warning. Professional football is a tough business: many a promising youngster has fallen by the wayside as their confidence wanes, injuries kick in and off-the-field shenanigans see them blackballed from the beautiful game. So, while we give credit to the picks of 2015 that turned out to be prescient, it’s also fun – a decade later – to see which members of the Class of ’15 have failed to live up to expectations.
The Hits
The Guardian’s Next Generation series offered up Dayot Upamecano as one of its young stars of 2015, and the centre back has certainly lived up to expectations. The Frenchman has played in a World Cup final, won two Bundesliga titles and moved from Red Bull Salzburg to Red Bull Leipzig, and on to current club Bayern Munich, for a combined fee in excess of £40 million.
Manuel Locatelli was part of Italy’s Euro 2020 winning squad, while the exploits of Martin Odegaard – having struggled to live up to expectations early on in his career – are well documented. The Guardian also offered up a young Dani Olmo – he starred for Spain in their Euro 2024 success, while Chelsea paid £57 million for another of the publication’s stars of tomorrow, Christian Pulisic. And perhaps trumping the lot is Federico Valverde, whose outstanding career at Real Madrid has brought to two Champions League wins and a trio of La Liga titles.
Gazzetta Dello Sport’s Class of 2015 was remarkably prescient. They offered up the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Kingsley Coman, Ruben Neves, Youri Tielemans and Ousmane Dembele, but their rundown wasn’t a complete slam dunk – as Lee Seung-woo, Jeisson Vargas and Brendan Galloway can attest.
And despite his own excellence on the pitch, Lionel Messi is less of a judge when it comes to his fellow players. His collaboration with Adidas, entitled ‘Backed By Messi’, identified Timo Werner, Jeremie Boga and Aleksei Miranchuk, as well as a handful of players now plying their trade at third-tier clubs.
The Misses
It’s human nature to enjoy a good chuckle when predictions, now permanently housed on the world wide web for posterity, are so, so wrong.
Hachim Mastour
In fairness to The Guardian, Hachim Mastour appeared set for greatness. One of the hottest tipped youngsters in world football, Mastour even featured on the bench for AC Milan at the age of 15. But it was a loan move to Malaga, with Mastour still only 17, that suggested all was not quite as it seemed. He would play just five minutes during the 2015/16 season after failing to impress at the Spanish club. Loaned to PEC Zwolle for the 2016/17 campaign, the Moroccan would make just five first-team appearances, with AC Milan cancelling his contract.
Since then, Mastour – still only 26 – has played for Lamia, Italian Serie C outfits Reggina and Carpi, and Renaissance Zemamra and Union de Touarga in his native Morocco. Although his career has perhaps not panned out as expected, Mastour is still happy. In a February 2024 interview, he revealed: “I’ve been through difficult times. I suffered from depression, but I came out of it stronger. I’ve found my smile and pleasure in football again.”
Jeff Reine-Adélaïde
Besides, he’s in good company amongst the graduates of the Class of 2015 that perhaps failed to make the grade as expected. Jeff Reine-Adelaide was the Arsenal wonderkid who would never pull on the famous red shirt in the Premier League. A loan move to Angers was made permanent in the summer of 2018, before a string of impressive performances saw Reine-Adelaide switch to Lyon. Had the penny finally dropped?
Perhaps not. He was released from his contract with the French club in 2023 – not aided by a pair of serious ACL injuries, and has since played for Belgian minnows RWD Molenbeek and Italian Serie B side Salernitana.
Jeisson Vargas
Although Gazzetta Dello Sport got plenty right in their Generation 2015 list, one player that well and truly dropped the ball is Jeisson Vargas – so much so, that of October 2024 and at the age of 27, he isn’t even playing professional football.
The Chilean was still a teenager when he helped Universidad Catolica to the Primera Division title, which saw a number of scouts from Europe take a look at the attacking midfielder – who’d also caught the eye of the Italian publication. But a big money move never materialised, and Vargas would curiously make the switch to MLS side Montreal Impact instead.
He would make just 19 appearances for the club in three years, instead loaned out to teams in Argentina and Chile as he failed to adjust to life in North America. Vargas would finally return to Chile with Huachipato in 2024, but made only three appearances. A proposed move to Bosnian outfit FK Zeljeznicar fell through in the summer, leaving a player that once had the world at his feet without a club.
Accursio Bentivegna
One of Messi’s picks for the top, Accursio Bentivegna, perhaps trumps the rest. Curiously, Messi decided that one Argentine youngster at Palermo – Paulo Dybala – would be outstripped by another in Bentivegna, who would make his first-team debut for the Italians at the age of 18. He also represented Italy in their youth age groups.
But Bentivegna found men’s football much more challenging, and has since plied his trade in the lower reaches of Italian club football – he was last seen, at the age of 28, turning out for Pescara in Serie C.
James Wilson & Brendan Galloway
English players didn’t avoid the curse of the Class of 2015. James Wilson, a graduate of Manchester United’s academy, now turns out for third-tier Northampton Town, while Brendan Galloway – a former England Under-21 international – is currently a fringe player at Plymouth Argyle.
