Top 20 U23 Strikers to Watch in 2012

Constant attention is paid to the next high-profile, young attacker each time one comes to light in the media.

There are those that are one-strike wonders, but then there are the ones that have true ability and could become major players in the future.

Whether they are from Brazil, Spain, Africa or the British Isles, here are the top youngsters learning to lead the line that you should watch out for in 2012.

Bojan Krkic

Former Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic moved to AS Roma and the Italian Eternal city this summer in hopes of igniting his career under the pressure of a new challenge.

The 21-year-old has only scored three goals since moving to the Serie A, but he is Roma's second leading scorer. His talent is worthy of watching with a close eye for at least another year to see if his skills take over and launch him to the height of his abilities.

Henrique Almeida Caixeta Nascentes

Brazil U20 striker Henrique has scored nine goals for his country in 2011, with five coming in his nation's run to the title during the FIFA U20 World Cup. The 20-year-old is currently contracted to Sao Paulo FC in Brazil.

Luuk De Jong

In 19 total appearances for FC Twente this season, Dutch Striker Luuk de Jong has 15 goals.

The 21-year-old Swiss born starlet has been in fine form. If his season continues as it has started, he could be seeing himself shortlisted by some of Europes elite in the summer.

Connor Wickham

Former Sunderland boss Steve Bruce paid £8.1 million for Ipswich Town youth Connor Wickham over the summer, and the 18-year-old forward has looked bright on occasion in the Premier League.

Last season with the Tractor Boys, Wickham scored nine goals and provided two assists in 27 starts and 14 substitute appearances.

While Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has been quoted as saying Wickham was overpriced, it proves his talent was enough to have clubs from the top six checking up on him.

Alexandre Lacazette

Olympique Lyon's 20-year old striker Alexandre Lacazette is one of France's brightest young stars.

He scored five goals at the FIFA U20 World Cup over the summer and has already scored two goals and earned an assist for his club this campaign in 17 total appearances.

Iker Muniain

Athletic Bilbao and Spanish U21 Iker Muniain is a natural center forward, but the presence of Fernando Llorente has seen him play his career with Bilbao primarily as a winger.

Iker helped Spain's U21's to the 2011 UEFA U21 Championship. Before that he was named the La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year for 2010-11.

In total, he already has 97 appearances and has scored 14 goals for the senior Bilbao squad.

Miralem Sulejmani

He only turned 23-years-old on December 5th so I will still include Ajax Amsterdam's Miralem Sulejmani. So far in 19 total appearances he has 11 goals and one assist for the club between the Eredivisie and the UEFA Champions League.

In the 2010-11 season he scored 13 goals in 48 total appearances proving the leap in his performance and experience from last season to now.

Luis Muriel

Colombian U21 international Luis Muriel was loaned to second tier La Liga Segunda club Granada last season by Udinese to help him earn European experience after his move to Italy from Colombian side Deportivo Cali. 

Over the summer, after helping Granada win promotion to La Liga BBVA for the first time in 35 years, Muriel was sold to Leece. He has since made seven appearances, scoring one goal and producing two assists.

During the 2011 U20 World Cup, Muriel played in Colombia and scored four goals, making him one of only five players to score more than three in the tournament. His side was knocked out by Mexico in the quarter finals.

Lacina Traore

Kuban Krasnodar of the Russian Premier League boasts one of the best young Ivorian talents in 21-year-old Lacina Traore.

The massive 6-foot-8 attacker began his career with CFR Cluj-Napoca of Romania, where he scored 20 goals in 63 appearances before moving to Russia.

He then took the league by storm with 15 goals in 27 appearances during his first season.

Teteh Bangura

Sierra Leone international Teteh Bangura only recently joined Turkish side Bursaspor from Swedish side AIK where he enjoyed much success during the 2011 season.

In 16 league starts for AIK, Bangua banged in 15 goals. This included four in one match against Halmstads BK.

Since moving to Turkey, the 21-year-old has three goals in nine appearances and is sure to improve beyond that before the season is over.

Bas Dost

Heerenveen 's 22-year old forward Bas Dost has 14 goals in just 13 appearances this season. The youngster burst onto the Dutch Eredivisie scene, as he has scored 10 goals in his last four outings.

Dost's first goal came against FC Utrecht and then he followed it with a hat trick against ADO Den Haag. He continued from there with a one-goal performance against AZ Alkmaar.

His crowning achievement was a five-goal haul on December 10, 2011 against Excelsior.

Rodrigo Moreno Machado

Benfica U21 forward Rodrigo Moreno Machado is Brazilian-born but play's his samba heritage towards the betterment of Spain.

His time in the ranks of the U21's and lower for Spain have seen him total 16 goals in 21 appearances. Of those 16, four have been scored as braces, and six as two hat tricks.

The 20-year-old spent time on loan last season with Bolton Wanderers, scoring once in 17 appearances. Currently in the Portuguese Liga, Rodrigo has four goals in 12 appearances between play in both the league and the UEFA Champions League.

Tim Matavz

PSV Eindhoven's 22-year-old Slovenian starlet Tim Matavz already has 15 goals between 24 appearances across all competitions with FC Groningen, the Slovenian National team and his newest club, PSV.

His experience, even at the age of 22, is deep.

Already, he has amassed 164 career appearances with 72 total goals between the Slovenian Prvaliga and the Dutch Eredivisie.

Luc Castaignos

Dutch starlet Luc Castaignos burst onto the Eredivisie scene last season with 15 goals in 34 appearances for Feyenoord Rotterdam. The 19-year-old Castaignos actually agreed to join Inter Milan in March of 2011 before the 2010-11 season was concluded. He has yet to look back after signing a four-year contract in the summer.

Castaignos only has five appearances for Inter, with just with one start, but his new manager Claudio Ranieri praised him for his first goal at the club, as it was the match winner against Siena on November 27th, 2011.

With January's transfer window coming up, Tribalfootball has reported that Serie A clubs Siena and Novara could be lining up to fight to secure a loan deal for Castaignos during the second half of the season.

Marco Reus

Borussia Monchengladbach's 22-year-old starlet Marco Reus began his career with Borussia Dortmund before moving to German 3rd Liga side Rot Weiss Ahlen where he scored five goals and provided four assists in 44 appearances.

Reus joined Gladbach in 2009 on a four year contract and has since improved every season.

So far, he has scored 11 goals in 16 appearances for his side this season. But, he is fast approaching his buyout clause in the summer of 2012 and is set to be a hot prospect in the coming year.

Danny Welbeck

Sir Alex Ferguson's faith that Danny Welbeck would develop into a key member of the Manchester United squad is truly coming to fruition this season.

After several years of loans and time in the Untied U18's and Reserves, the young 21-year-old is making a name for himself opposite Wayne Rooney.

So far, Welbeck has made 16 appearances, scoring five goals in the 2011-12 season for United. And, with the continued injury issues of the Red Devils, he is more than certain to maintain his place for the time being.

Alexandre Pato

AC Milan's 22-year-old Brazilian starlet Alexandre Pato has been frustrated by injury this season but has gotten himself back into the starting lineup after weeks of layoff.

The calendar year has seen him score 13 goals and claim five assists for Milan in 33 appearances.

In his total career in Italy since moving to the peninsula in 2007 from Brazilian side Internacaional, Pato has made 137 appearances scoring 61 goals and providing 17 assists.

Neymar

Brazil and Santos 18-year-old starlet Neymar is perhaps the hottest tracked strike prospect in the world at the moment.

Without a doubt, he was his club's inspiration for making it to the Final of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday, December 18th against FC Barcelona.

This calendar year alone, Neymar has scored 33 goals and created eight more for his club and country combined over 54 appearances.

Having been linked with massive moves with price ranges anywhere from £50 million to £150 million, he is going to be the most watch attacker outside of Europe's elite leagues in 2012.

Mario Balotelli

The greatest show on and off the pitch in the game at the moment has to be Manchester City's Mario Balotelli.

Some of the work on Bleacher Report has recently eluded to this, Why Balotelli Is Football's Best Entertainment.

Since moving to England, Balotelli has scored 21 goals in 45 appearances for City and continues to show his skill, but his major flaw is that his immaturity and lack of composure causes him to make to many costly mistakes.

Never the less, he will be followed in 2012 and every year after because he is like an interesting soap opera.

Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge has been a saving grace for Andre Villas-Boas' Chelsea Blues this season.

The 22-year-old has managed to have the biggest season of his career, and he is not quite halfway through it. Already, he has nine goals and four assists  in the 2011-12 campaign in only 18 appearances.

The calender year has seen him also include an impressive eight goals in 12 matches while on loan to Bolton Wanderers in early 2011.

Sturridge has scored more League goals this season than Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres combined, with his eight compared to the others' two apiece.

It looks more and more certain that the future of Chelsea is to build around Sturridge, rather than spend £50 million signing Fernando Torres, who continues to look more and more like he could be sold in January.

Conclusion

The coming year will be a big one to see highly-priced, young talent making a name for themselves, and will be a great one to be a neutral spectator for.

It could also be a season where you see youngsters make huge differences in major competitions around the globe.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out more on Bleacher Report and at the links below. You can follow me on Twitter @thedailyatz and Facebook or visit my website.