UEFA Champions League introduces top youngsters

The final season of the UEFA Champions League in the current format is set to roll off and while there has been a lot of talk on who the absentees are, there is a whole lot of young players rising through the ranks. For the first time in about 20 years, the Champions League will not have either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, among many other top stars, thanks to their age and emergence of the Saudi Arabian league’s financial muscle.

There isn’t much to mourn about though, the amount of top upcoming talent to focus on is immense, not to mention the existing stars as well. The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski and more are still around. However, you can bet on a few rising stars to come through the ranks.

The Champions League has already served the introduction of talented youngsters and you can bet on them to shine again this season while at the same time making use of some of the top betting promo codes for South African existing customers, which include the R1000 bonus on Betway, Bet.co.za and many others.

Proven talent

Youngsters like Gavi at Barcelona have already proven their mettle both at the club and international levels. We don’t however expect the youngster to stop there. At 19 years, he has already chalked up over 100 appearances for Barcelona and is a regular for Spain.

With Barcelona bringing on board more experienced players, we can only expect Gavi to shine even more. Barcelona is a hub for young talent, and even with Ansu Fati’s departure this season, there is still the emerging Lamine Yamal. At 16, Yamine has already made a Spain debut and went on to score. He has shown immense abilities in La Liga and will definitely be one to watch in the Champions League.

Right across Spain, Real Madrid will be expected to unleash new signing Arda Guler. The talented youngster is unavailable for the early weeks of the season but will definitely join the show at some point. Signed from Fenerbahce for $21m, the 18-year-old was the subject of a tussle between Madrid and Barcelona. Los Blancos won the race and will be out to make him key in their quest for another Champions league title.

Mathys Tel

Out in Germany, there is Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel. Despite the German giants getting their prized signing Harry Kane, Tel has stayed on to prove his worth, having joined from Rennes. In the early stages of the Bundesliga, the forward has shown several glimpses of greatness, with goals, assists and link-up play.

With Kane’s guidance, and many other experienced players at Bayern, Tel is definitely going to blossom this season. There has been a lot of focus on PSG’s acquisition of Ousmane Dembele and the exits of Messi and Neymar but there is a star emerging from the rubble. 

Warren Zaire-Emery. Last season he became the youngest player to start a knockout Champions League game. This season, he is enjoying a lot of support from Luis Enrique and the 17-year-old is definitely set to make it big in the Champions League.

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