Zouma, Goretzka and Werner head football’s top teens of 2014

Zouma is also dominant in the air and strong in a positional sense, which allows him to make numerous interceptions. He is on track to being one of the best defenders in world football in the near future.

CB – Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon)

Dier may be more well known than the majority of this list, having represented England at under-21 level, but having moved to Portugal in his younger years, it is at Sporting Lisbon where he is developing his career.

The 19-year-old has played six times for Lisbon this season as they are serious challengers in the Portuguese title race.

RM – Alen Halilovic (Dynamo Zagreb)

Arsenal and Tottenham have been linked with Halilovic, with the latter reportedly offering over £10m for his services over the summer.

The 17-year-old already being capped three times by Croatia, making him their youngest ever international player, while he is also the youngest scorer ever in the Croatian top-flight.

LM – Alvaro Vadillo (Real Betis)

Real Betis may be bottom of La Liga, but one bright spark has been the progress of Vadillo, who has the most assists within their squad and has seemingly fully overcome a previous torn cruciate ligament injury
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Again, it is Arsenal and Tottenham that are said to be interested in the keen dribbler.

CM – Matthias Ginter (Freiberg)

Ginter has been an ever present for Freiberg and the fact that he can play in both central defence and central midfield is an additional string to his bow.

Bayern Munich have been sniffing around a potential deal, with links with Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal also present.

CM – Leon Goretzka (Schalke)

It isn’t every day that an 18-year-old is found that has already gained Champions League experience, but this is true of Goretzka, after a summer move from Bochum to Schalke.

The fact Julian Draxler is still at Schalke is helping to keep Goretzka somewhat under the radar, but given he wears the number eight shirt, more first-team appearances and perhaps an international debut in the next 18 months are not unrealistic.

AM – Timo Werner (Stuttgart)

Werner won the Fritz Walter Medal for being the best German in his age group last season and has continued to progress at a scintillating rate this campaign after being handed his Stuttgart debut at the age of 17.

Werner already has four goals and four assists in the first team and is a lot more old fashioned than many attacking players, being more about power than flair.

ST – Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)

Berardi is 11th in the Serie A scoring charts this season with seven goals in 13 appearances, despite playing for lowly Sassuolo.

The Juventus loanee looks to have a bright future which has had its issues in the striking department in recent years and he seems to have all of the attributes to be a big success as a clinical finisher, a hard worker off the ball and the ability to link play.