Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka has been named among the best young talents in Europe by the continent’s top football governing body.
UEFA has acknowledged Nigerian teenage wonder Bukayo Saka among the most talented youngsters in the world by listing him among its ’50 for the Future’ cast.
The London-born whizz kid has been a revelation since making his senior competitive debut for the Gunners in their Europa League match against Vorskla Poltava in 2018.
The 18-year-old then became the youngest player to score for Arsenal in Europe since October 2008 when a 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey netted against Fenerbahce in the Champions League.
Saka, still eligible to play for Nigeria, has had to reinvent himself under the guidance of new Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard deployed the youngster in the left-back position in his three games in charge so far due to injuries suffered by first choice options – Sead Kolasinac and Kieran Tierney.
Yet Saka has excelled in that unfamiliar role, confirming his rating has a star for the present and the future.
It is in recognition of his present exploits and his potential to be even better that UEFA has counted the England youth international alongside Man United’s Mason Greenwood and Barcelona’s Ansu Fati among the fifty finest talents in Europe.
Here is the complete list of UEFA’s 50 for the Future:
Yacine Adli (19 – Bordeaux)
Blendi Baftiu ( 21 – Ballkani)
Alessandro Bastoni (20 – Inter)
Dodô (21 – Shakhtar Donetsk)
Odsonne Édouard (21 – Celtic)
Dimitris Emmanouilidis (19 – Panathinaikos)
Fábio Silva (17 – Porto)
Ansu Fati (17 – Barcelona)
Florentino Luís (20 – Benfica)
Bryan Gil (18 – Sevilla)
Myron Boadu (18 – AZ)
Domagoj Bradarić (20 – LOSC Lille)
Eduardo Camavinga (17 – Rennes)
Rayan Cherki (16 – Lyon)
Jonathan David (19 – Gent)
Zuriko Davitashvili (18 – Rubin Kazan)
Reece James (20 – Chelsea)
Boubacar Kamara (20 – Marseille)
Lee Kang-in (18 – Valencia)
Michał Karbownik (18 – Legia)
Vadim Karpov (17 – CSKA Moskva)
Sékou Koïta (20 – Salzburg)
Jules Koundé (21 – Sevilla)
Dejan Kulusevski (9 – Atalanta)
Diego Lainez (19 – Betis)
Noa Lang (20 – Ajax)
Bogdan Lednev (21 – Dynamo Kyiv)
Dennis Man (21 – FCSB)
Gabriel Martinelli (18 – Arsenal)
Nikola Moro (21 – Dinamo Zagreb)
Rafael Leão (20 – AC Milan)
Troy Parrott (17, Tottenham)
Strahinja Pavlović (18 – Partizan)
Panagiotis Retsos (21 – Leverkusen)
Bukayo Saka (18 – Arsenal)
Oihan Sancet (19 – Athletic Club)
Arnór Sigurdsson (20 – CSKA Moskva)
Mason Greenwood (18 – Manchester United)
Boubakary Soumaré (20 – LOSC Lille)
Calvin Stengs (21 – AZ)
Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov (20 – Krasnodar)
Dominik Szoboszlai (19 – Salzburg)
Tomás Tavares (8 – Benfica)
Tetê ( Shakhtar Donetsk)
Tomás Esteves (POR, 17 – Porto)
Francisco Trincão (20 – Braga)
Maarten Vandevoordt (17 – Genk)
Zinho Vanheusden ( 20 – Standard)
Yari Verschaeren (18 – Anderlecht)
Dušan Vlahović (19 – Fiorentina)
