Goal ranks the best players born on or after January 1, 1999 in terms of their performances and achievements during the current calendar year
15Sandro Tonali (Italy)
One can only hope that Sandro Tonali is as famously adept at dealing with pressure as Andrea Pirlo because the 18-year-old is currently being touted as the Italian icon's heir.
The comparisons are grossly premature but wholly understandable. Not only is Tonali an elegant young regista learning his craft at Brescia, he even sports an eerily similar haircut to Pirlo's!
Just like Pirlo, Tonali also looks set to move on to one of Italy's elite clubs, with Inter, Juventus and AC Milan all enamoured with the teenager's tremendous talent.
Italy boss Roberto Mancini is also a fan, having called the Lodi native into his squad for last month's games against Portugal and USA in spite of the fact that Tonali is still plying his trade in Serie B.
Getty/Goal14Phil Foden (England)
Pep Guardiola has put together arguably the greatest team in Premier League history at Manchester City. That Phil Foden is now an established member of this stellar squad at just 18 is testament to the Stockport native's immense talent.
This year alone, the versatile and classy midfielder has become the youngest recipient of a winners' medal in Premier League history, broken into the England Under-21 squad and scored his first goal in professional football.
"This guy is so special, a City fan and he loves the club," Guardiola recently said of Foden, who extended his contract until 2024 earlier this month. "You see it in his behaviour and every single action. He is already a great, great football player."
Getty/Goal13Ryan Sessegnon (England)
On October 20, Ryan Sessegnon became the first player born in or after 2000 to score in the Premier League.
It capped what has been a fantastic year for the dynamic full-back, who helped propel Fulham to promotion last season with a whopping 15 goals in the Championship.
Sessegnon has not proven quite so prolific in the top flight, and even he himself has admitted that he has found the going tough at times.
However, the 18-year-old continues to impress with his pace and versatility (he has already played in four different positions this term) and it still seems only a matter of time before a player former Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic has compared to Real Madrid left-back Marcelo joins a 'Big Six' club.
Getty/Goal12Diego Lainez (Mexico)
Club America are doing their utmost to carefully manage both Diego Lainez and the mounting hype surrounding the diminutive 18-year-old.
The word is already out, though, that 'The Mexican Messi' is a special talent and Roma recently had a bid rejected for a tricky left winger who can also play on the right-hand side, or as a No.10.
Indeed, even though he has not yet established himself as a regular starter at club level, Lainez has now been capped twice by Mexico's national team, even starting the September clash with USA.
"He's a great player, an extraordinary player," Club America boss Miguel Herrera recently enthused "He's going to make the difference for us in the future."
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