Commentary
World's Top 10 in the Class of 2000
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, May 30, 2017
He is among the players who were born in 2000 and are already turning heads. Here are in alphabetical order 10 players to watch in the Class of 2000 ...
1. Jann-Fiete
Arp (Germany). Hamburg averted relegation, easing worries about losing Arp, linked with Chelsea, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, after he scored six goals in three games, including a 13-minute hat
trick against Bosnia & Herzegovina, at the UEFA U-17 Championship.
2. Angel Gomes (England). Debuted for Manchester United in its final home game of the 2016-17 EPL season when
manager Jose Mourinho rested his starters ahead of the Europa League final. Captains England's U-17s though was also eligible to play for Angola, where his father was born, and Portugal.
3. Amine Gouiri (France). Set a record with nine goals at the UEFA U-17 Championship. His seven goals in the group stage tied a record for most goals scored in the group stage of any
UEFA competition, a record shared by, among others, Michel Platini.
4. Moise Kean (Italy). Scored on the final day of the season for Juventus, becoming first player born in 2000 to
score in a Serie A game. Also first player born in 2000 to play in Champions League. Born to Ivorian parents but plays for Italy's U-17s.
5. Josh Sargent (USA). Trained at Werder
Bremen in January but so talented the German club's sporting director admits it will unlikely win
Sargent's services if he holds out to sign with a European club when he turns 18 in February 2018. The pride of St. Louis is also eligible for the 2017 Under-17 World Cup in India and the 2019
Under-20 World Cup.
6. Ryan Sessegnon (England). Played 26 games and scored five goals from his left-back position for Fulham in England's League Championship in 2016-17. Should move to Premier League this
summer with Tottenham tipped to sign him.
7. Alan Souza (Brazil). Scored a hat trick for Brazil in the final game of the South American U-17 Championship to go along with six
assists during the tournament. The Palmeiras midfielder has a release clause of $20 million.
8. Vincent Thill (Luxembourg). Became the first player born in 2000 to play in a big
five European league when he debuted for Metz in September 2016. Already played seven games for Luxembourg and scored against Nigeria, becoming the first player born in 2000 to score at the senior
international level.
9. Jairo Torres (Mexico). Named the best player at the Concacaf Under-17 Championship in May, six months after making his Liga MX debut for his hometown
team, Atlas.
10. Vinicius Junior (Brazil). Will leave Flamengo for Real Madrid on a $55 million transfer when he turns 18 in July 2018. Named top player with seven goals for
Brazil, winner of the 2017 South American U-17 Championship.
These list are always 80% inaccurate when mapping the future leaders.. There are lot of hype on this list no goalkeepers, wingers and defenders that usually makes up 80% of the team. however with exception of Junior who has a raw talent for dribbling and ball control of some of the best on the planet none of these players may meet muster in 3 years..
QB - Not to argue but you are wrong on a couple of fronts. Ryan Sessegnon plays left wing back for Fulham as a defender/winger. Your claim of no defenders or wingers is wrong. Anyways, where a teenager plays on the field today often isn't where they end up if they have a long pro career. There are lots of professional central defenders who where strikers early in their career. The list is speculation and I'm sure there is a Freddy Adu or two on the list who'll flame out.
You are right-- I misjudged that and appreciate folks that can point out a person wrongness with factual details as oppose to rag tag FIREy nonsense however I don't think they will flame out I just don't think they will be top 10 in that same age group in 3 years. Also I prefer to see a list where players are broken down by positional play but you made a good valid point that they may change positions in the near future..
I have to say that in the article, Paul points out that "Here's 10 players to watch from the class of 2000..." The headline states it's the "World's Top 10" - and often, headlines are written by someone other than the person that wrote the article. I'll go with what it says in the article - here's 10 guys worth watching as they grow up.