Lautaro Martinez is merely months into his Inter Milan career, but he endeared himself to the Nerazzurri forever with a star turn in the derby on Sunday.
The aim of this weekly column is to shed light on the players, aged 21 or under across Europe’s top five leagues, who aspire to lead the game into a bold new era.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Marcus Rashford and Ousmane Dembele are sure to regularly pop up but as every week passes, we hope to sift out a few starlets who may have gone unnoticed.
Without further ado, here’s our five picks from this weekend’s action.
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) Age: 21
Key stat: Fouled three times in 3-2 win v AC Milan
Matteo Politano tripped in the box as the ref slips and falls!! PK awarded!!!
— Swype Sports ™ (@SwypeSports) March 17, 2019
Lautaro Martínez steps up and on the biggest stage of his young career calmly finishes!!#DerbyDellaMadonnina#SwypeSportsLIVE pic.twitter.com/jOsOTtIQO0
There has been little movement on Mauro Icardi’s stand-off with club bosses over the last month, so it’s just as well Inter have a ready-made replacement in Martinez.
Though by far the finished article, Martinez combines doggedness with daring in much the same way fellow Argentine Sergio Aguero has done for the best part of a decade at Man City.
The 21-year-old shook Davide Calabria off his tail at the back post before cleverly nodding down in the direction of Matias Vecino to get things rolling against the Rossoneri.
Then, with their star striker in absentia, Martinez rolled up to smash the penalty past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 67th minute that would go on to prove the winner.
Luciano Spalletti summed it up thus: “Lautaro is powerful, has technique, confidence. You just need to look him in the eyes and you can tell he can take on everything.”
Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) Age: 18
Key stat: 12 league assists after two more in 3-2 win v Hertha Berlin
On to another youngster who is rarely fazed by the big moment.
Dortmund suffered calamity upon calamity before surrendering the Bundesliga lead to Bayern Munich – and were hurtling towards another catastrophe in Berlin.
It may not have been the flashiest assist in the world, but it took incredible poise. Sancho – in the 92nd minute – fronted up Hertha’s Jordan Torunarigha before cuing the ball delicately across to Marco Reus, who opened up his body and did the rest.
3-2, three points, still in the hunt.
Earlier Sancho had swung in a corner that only Dan-Axel Zagadou had a hope of connecting with to level up the game. With the exceptions of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, this boy has as much of a match-winning habit as anyone.
Most league assists in Europe's top five divisions this season:
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) March 16, 2019
🇦🇷 Lionel Messi (12)
🏴 Jadon Sancho (12)
Not bad company for Messi to be alongside... pic.twitter.com/svgEGEznVa
Manu Morlanes (Villarreal) Age: 20
Key stat: 91.5-per-cent pass accuracy in 3-1 win v Rayo Vallecano
In just his fourth La Liga start for his hometown club of a breakthrough season, Morlanes was one of the masterminds behind a crucial La Liga victory for Villarreal.
The Yellow Submarines have been in danger of sinking without trace on their way to the Segunda, but their upturn in form since the start of 2019 has provided them with real hope.
Morlanes, 20, is also a real find. The former Spain Under-19 international distributes the ball calmly and crisply and, against Rayo, donated his legs to the cause alongside 34-year-old Santi Cazorla in midfield.
He received his just reward in the 87th minute, when his swept pass from deep hit Gerard Moreno in stride to seal the win.
Kevin Danso (Augsburg) Age: 20
Key stat: 4 interceptions, 5 clearances in 3-1 win v Hannover
Danso was born in Austria, raised by Ghanaian parents, moved to England aged six and started his football career a decade later in Germany – no wonder he is such a cultured individual.
The 20-year-old was imperious at the back in a victory that took Augsburg further away from relegation trouble.
He registered eight aerial-duel successes – only hulking South Korean Ji Dong-won notched more (10) – and mucked in with three tackles, four interceptions and five clearances in an all-action display.
The former MK Dons youngster was also Augsburg’s go-to man playing out of defence, touching the ball 95 times. He even found time to tee up Andre Hahn for the third.
Ibrahim Sangare (Toulouse) Age: 21
Key stat: 11 tackles in 1-1 draw v Nice
Ibrahim Sangare: Made 11 tackles in last night's game against Nice, coming away with the ball himself on nine occasions - the most of any player in a single Ligue 1 match all season. pic.twitter.com/iUAQwwndaM
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 16, 2019
Sangare passes the eye test.
Powerful yet graceful, long-limbed but with a compact technique, the Ivorian’s ceiling is very high indeed.
In what was otherwise an inauspicious draw between two mid-table Ligue 1 clubs, Sangare jumped off both the screen and stats sheet.
The 21-year-old pounded away to the tune of 11 tackles, second only to Ghislain Konan of Caen in a Ligue 1 match this year.
Though a defensive midfielder, Sangare is not afraid of adventure, unleashing five shots – one of which forced a mightily impressive save from Walter Benitez.
Ultimately it was his cross, despite being off-balance, that created ripples in the Nice defence and allowed Firmin Ndombe Mubele to rescue a point at the death.
