Tom Maston is Features Editor at Goal.com and is the man in the know when it comes to football’s wonderkids around the world.
Tom annually compiles Goal’s NXGN series which profiles top young talent around the world and sat down with SQaF Untold to discuss the latest names ready to explode on to the big stage.
Since 2016 NXGN have awarded several youngsters the NXGN crown with previous winners including Gianluigi Donnarumma, Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho and so Tom and his colleagues can certainly spot the next big thing when they see it.
This year, instead of just one victor, there were nine, the NXGN Nine, which featured Brazilian forward Endrick, set for Real Madrid in 2024, Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho and Fenerbahce’s Arda Güler.
Talking us through the potential of each player to make the list, Maston later revealed how teams like Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Red Bull Salzburg and Brighton successfully nurture young talent from the academy through to the first-team.
Tom also plotted the ideal transfer moves a wonderkid should make to reach the top.