FourFourTwo December 2021 5320
HARVEY ELLIOTT
Age 18 Club Liverpool
Nationality English
Position Attacking midfielderTHE LOWDOWN A season that promised so
much for Elliott was ruined in September
when a tackle against Leeds resulted in
a fractured ankle. It was extremely bad luck
for the 18-year-old midfielder, who’d been
trusted by boss Jurgen Klopp to start three
Premier League matches for Liverpool, and
put in a quality performance against Chelsea.
Elliott is used to standing out. At Fulham, he
became the Premier League’s youngest ever
player just 30 days after his 16th birthday,
but always impressed with his maturity. The
Reds signed him in 2019 and were extremely
satisfied with his loan spell at Blackburn,
when the youngster scored seven goals and
assisted 11 more during a bravura 2020-21.
Liverpool fans can’t wait to see him return
at some stage this season – at which point,
England boss Gareth Southgate will surely
begin watching with interest.
THEY SAID... “He’s brilliant on the ball, aware
of other players on the pitch and sees the big
picture,” said Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray.
DID YOU KNOW? Real Madrid and Barcelona
wanted to sign Elliott, but there was only one
choice for the Reds fan. “I said no to Madrid- I don’t like [Sergio] Ramos after what he
did to [Mo] Salah,” he admitted.
22
AURELIEn TCHOUAMEnI
Age 21 Club Monaco
Nationality French
Position Central midfielderTHE LOWDOWN The Ligue 1 Young Player
of the Year award is a decent barometer for
checking out future superstars – a Bordeaux
midfielder called Zinedine Zidane was the
inaugural winner back in 1994. Tchouameni
deservedly took the prize in 2020-21, after
a magnificent season in Monaco’s engine
room. Bordeaux might have thought that
€21m was a decent price for the youngster
in selling him to Les Monegasques in January
2020, but the latter have already made giant
gains on their outlay. Seemingly every elite
European club is eyeing Tchouameni, who’s
developing into a complete player – effective
in winning the ball and distributing it neatly.
Ignore his lack of goals: coach Niko Kovac’s
decision to deploy him as an anchorman
was a masterstroke. He’s a regular in Didier
Deschamps’ France squad, too.
THEY SAID... “In his position you have to be
disciplined and organise the game,” stated
Kovac. “He’s a whole different player now –
I trust him. Since he’s been an international,
he’s been watched even more.”
BEST MOMENT Playing the full 90 minutes
alongside Paul Pogba in Les Bleus’ dramatic
Nations League final victory against Spain, to
secure his first career trophy.21
YURI ALBERTO
Age 20 Club Internacional
Nationality Brazilian
Position ForwardTHE LOWDOWN Santos have nurtured some
of Brazil’s most famous superstars, including
Pele and Neymar, but this is one prodigy
they failed to treat correctly. Alberto scored
at a sensational rate at youth level, and
made his league debut when he was 16, yet
gradually became frustrated with limited
opportunities and eventually decided that he
needed to leave. He rejected a new contract,
signed for Internacional in August 2020 and
immediately became one of the most feared
forwards in Brazil. Magnificently two-footed,
Alberto is an effective penalty-box predator
but also capable of playing on both wings
thanks to his forceful running and wondrous
dribbling skills. He hit 10 goals in his debut
season in all competitions and has already
improved on that number this time around,
alerting a plethora of Europe’s top clubs.
Arsenal, Manchester City, Milan – they’re all
linked, among many.
DID YOU KNOW? Alberto netted 32 goals in
a single season for Santos Under-17s, beating
the previous record of 31 by Diego in 2000.
Prolific doesn’t quite cover it.
BEST MOMENT Scoring a hat-trick at the
Maracana in International’s 4-0 demolition
of Flamengo in August 2021 was definitely
rather special. One to watch.22 FOR
2022