21 Best Under-21 2016 Summer Transfer Window Prospects
We've still got the business end of the season to go, but thoughts of the summer transfer window are never too far away, and Europe's big clubs will be preparing for some huge moves in the close season.
Young players are always highly sought-after in every window, and that will be no different this time around.
Here are 21 players under the age of 21 who will be featuring on plenty of shopping lists.
Criteria
- All players listed must be under the age of 21 on the date of publication (i.e. 20 years old or younger)
- All players listed are players who are likely to make a transfer or will be linked with transfers in the summer of 2016. This is not a list of the world's best players under the age of 21.
Jonathan Tah
1 of 21
Recently seen in Germany’s friendly defeat against England—his senior international debut—giant centre-back Jonathan Tah is sure to be a player considered by clubs looking for powerful, rugged defenders in the transfer window.
The 6'3" 20-year-old only signed a five-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen last summer, but we all know how much money talks in football, especially when you've been dubbed “the future of defending,” as the former Hamburg man was by the Independent recently.
Niklas Sule
2 of 21
Staying in the world of gigantic German defenders, we come to 20-year-old, 6'5" Hoffenheim centre-back Niklas Sule, who has yet to be capped for the senior Germany side but does have 10 caps for the under-21s.
Sule—recently linked with Liverpool by Bild (h/t the Daily Express)—is one of the most highly regarded young defenders in the Bundesliga and has featured 28 times for his club this season.
Umar Sadiq
3 of 21
He’s on loan at Roma from the Serie B side Spezia, so you’d presume the club from Italian capital will have first refusal on Nigerian forward Umar Sadiq, but that hasn’t stopped Metro linking the 19-year-old with Arsenal .
The teenager has scored two goals in six Serie A appearances this season, with those strikes coming in December’s 2-0 win over Genoa and the 3-3 draw at Chievo in January.
Gabriel Barbosa
4 of 21
We’re used to seeing young players dubbed "the new so-and-so" as pressure is often heaped upon them from an early age, but the player they are being compared to often isn't just 24 years old.
That’s how old the original Neymar is, but in 19-year-old Santos forward Gabriel Barbosa, he apparently already has a successor—and a player who came into the senior international squad to replace the suspended Neymar for Brazil’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against Paraguay in March.
Youri Tielemans
5 of 21
He's not 19 until May, but midfielder Youri Tielemans has already racked up a remarkable 119 senior appearances for Anderlecht, a club that isn't slow to promote promising young players, such as Romelu Lukaku and Dennis Praet.
The youngest Belgian to play in the UEFA Champions League, Tielemans faced Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League this season and has been linked with the north London club by John Cross of the Daily Mirror.
Riechedly Bazoer
6 of 21
Recently seen in the Netherlands’ friendly victory over England at Wembley, Ajax midfielder Riechedly Bazoer could be just the next young talent to emerge from the Dutch capital.
Le 10 Sport (h/t Tom Olver of Metro) recently reported that Manchester United have launched a move for the 19-year-old. The same report also stated Manchester City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus have an interest in him, and that is quite the list.
Gianluigi Donnarumma
7 of 21
The most talked-about young goalkeeper in Europe this season, 17-year-old AC Milan sensation Gianluigi Donnarumma will have set scouts’ tongues wagging with his series of fine performances this season that have seen him establish himself as his club’s No. 1 at a staggeringly young age.
Donnarumma has played 22 times for Milan’s first team this season, but with Italian football perhaps not boasting the riches it once did, his club could perhaps be susceptible to a huge bid for the huge young talent.
Leroy Sane
8 of 21
Already capped for Germany’s senior team and tipped as one of the brightest stars of the world champions’ new generation, Schalke’s Leroy Sane has been an ever present in the gossip columns for a few months now.
The 20-year-old attacker has scored just six goals this season, but it is his overall play that makes him such an attractive proposition to suitors, and it would be no surprise to see him leave the Bundesliga in the summer.
Abdelhak Nouri
9 of 21
One of the most highly rated young talents at Ajax, attacking midfielder Abdelhak Nouri has been making fans in Amsterdam excited for quite some time.
Such is the way with that club these days, though, that means he is likely to leave for pastures new sooner rather than later, with Manchester United and Arsenal both looking at him, according to Sami Mokbel of MailOnline.
Renato Sanches
10 of 21
Described by James Ducker of the Daily Telegraph as the most exciting talent to emerge from Portugal since Cristiano Ronaldo, attacking midfielder Renato Sanches has been linked with a big-money switch to Manchester United.
Recently capped by his country for the first time, the 18-year-old could be a late inclusion in Portugal’s UEFA Euro 2016 squad, and it would be no surprise if he received both a call-up and a high-profile move this summer.
Reece Oxford
11 of 21
When West Ham United beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, it served as notice of the impressive campaign they were about to have. It also alerted us to the promise of the then-16-year-old Reece Oxford.
Able to play in both defence and midfield, Oxford has featured 11 times in the Hammers first team this season, finishing on the losing side just once.
Ben Chilwell
12 of 21
Leicester City's remarkable season has impressed everyone, and although young left-back Ben Chilwell hasn't been a regular feature, he is still highly-regarded by plenty of top-flight clubs.
The 19-year-old has appeared in cup competitions for Leicester this term, as well as gaining experience during a loan spell at Huddersfield Town, and it will be interesting to see whether the Foxes can hold onto him following their excellent campaign or one of their traditionally bigger clubs makes a move.
Andrija Zivkovic
13 of 21
One of the brightest young talents in Serbian football, and the youngest player to captain Partizan Belgrade, winger Andrija Zivkovic's relationship with his club has turned somewhat sour as he runs down his contract and gets set to leave for free this summer.
Capped three times for the Serbia national team, the 19-year-old is engaged in a bitter war of words with his club, who are disappointed they are set to lose a fine player for free. Whichever club signs him will be snapping up a bargain.
Max Meyer
14 of 21
Still only 20, despite having made well over 100 appearances for Schalke and earned a senior cap for Germany, midfielder Max Meyer is a seasoned professional and a player who has been coveted by plenty of clubs.
Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp is believed to be an admirer, and although Meyer recently told Bild he is happy to stay at Schalke (h/t Marc Williams of the Daily Star), we all know how much money can talk in football.
Jairo Riedewald
15 of 21
Another youngster off the Ajax production line, the 19-year-old Dutchman Jairo Riedewald has risen through the ranks to become a feature of the team in the last three seasons, also claiming three senior international caps for the Netherlands.
Comfortable at both left-back and centre-back, Riedewald is a great reader of the game. Given his upbringing and education in football, it would not be a surprise if plenty of clubs were tracking him.
Kieran Tierney
16 of 21
He made his Scotland debut in the recent friendly win over Denmark, and 18-year-old Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney only seems to be getting better as he becomes an integral part of the Scottish champions' side.
BBC Sport recently reported that Southampton had scouted the teenager. It would be no surprise if they weren't the only English club looking at the tough-tackling, hard-working teenager.
Thomas Lemar
17 of 21
After signing from Caen in the summer, this has been something of a breakthrough season for Monaco's Thomas Lemar, a little like his former Caen team-mate N'Golo Kante's at Leicester City.
Lemar has been an integral part of Monaco's team, the 20-year-old featuring 26 times this season and scoring five goals as his side strives to finish second in Ligue 1 behind champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Anwar El Ghazi
18 of 21
Yet another Ajax player, attacker Anwar El Ghazi is able to point to an impressive scoring record of 21 strikes in 76 games for his team, one of which came in the Camp Nou against Barcelona in last season's UEFA Champions League.
Although of Moroccan descent, El Ghazi has played for the Netherlands national team at every level up from under-17s, earning two senior caps to date.
Julian Brandt
19 of 21
One of the next generation of German talents to have emerged in the Bundesliga recently, right winger Julian Brandt has been a mainstay of the Bayer Leverkusen team for the past two seasons and has featured for Germany at various youth levels.
A senior cap is the logical next step, and the quick, skilful winger with a goal or two in him would be a good addition for any side this summer.
Jack Grealish
20 of 21
Aston Villa's awful season has featured plenty of regrets, but one of them is it has stunted the progression of Jack Grealish, who has been unable to build on the impressive form he showed when he helped Villa to the FA Cup final in 2015.
Suffering from injury problems and not helping himself with perceived indiscipline, it will be interesting to see whether any club makes a move for the talented 20-year-old in the summer or Grealish, a boyhood Villa fan, stays to try and help them battle out of the Championship.
Jose Luis Gaya
21 of 21
Another player who seems older than his 20 years, Jose Luis Gaya (who will turn 21 in May so just about squeezes on our list) has picked up plenty of experience playing at left-back for Valencia in what have been troubled times for the club.
With big changes lying ahead in the new season, it would be no surprise to see one of the club's greatest assets moved on. Whichever club signs him would be getting an exciting, attacking full-back who would probably have senior Spain caps were it not for Jordi Alba.
