Some of Europe’s elite will be in action in the International Champions Cup, but which young player from each club could be set for a bright future?
MAN CITY: Phil Foden
Pep Guardiola told the fans in Houston that they were lucky to see the debut of Foden after the teenager impressed in the first ever Manchester derby outside England in last season’s International Champions Cup. The 18-year-old attacking midfielder, who won the Under-17 World Cup, is already being talked about as a player that can improve Gareth Southgate’s senior England squad in four years’ time. Foden has spent a season with the first team, making the occasional appearance, and is now ready to push for more regular starts with the knowledge that Guardiola has total belief in his talent. — Jonathan Smith.
LIVERPOOL: Curtis Jones
The 17-year-old has already made an impact this preseason in his outings against Chester FC, Tranmere Rovers and Bury. The dynamic midfielder has been one of Liverpool’s best performers so far this summer and the ICC will be his first test against elite opposition. Liverpool have high hopes that the Merseyside-born youngster will be the latest first-team product from their academy. — Glenn Price.
MAN UNITED: Mason Greenwood
Manchester United have been trying to keep the striker under wraps but that isn’t going to last much longer after Jose Mourinho picked the 16-year-old in his tour squad. Greenwood was top scorer for the U18s last season despite being eligible to play for the U16s. He might not get that much game time in the U.S. but training with the first-team will be fantastic for his development. — Rob Dawson.
ARSENAL: Matteo Guendouzi
Arsenal are stocked when it comes to central midfielders, which means new signing Guendouzi could struggle to find a place in the team for next season. But Unai Emery clearly rates the 19-year-old Frenchman highly and should give him the opportunity to impress in preseason. He came on for a short cameo at Boreham Wood and looked comfortable on the ball despite just three days of training with his new team. His lengthy stride makes him a natural box-to-box midfielder but he can also be used as a deeper-lying playmaker and Emery may use the ICC games to figure out where he fits in best. — Mattias Karen.
CHELSEA: Callum Hudson-Odoi
A world champion with England U17s last year, Hudson-Odoi is regarded as one of the brightest talents to emerge from Chelsea’s dominant academy in recent years. Still only 17, he made his senior debut last season and should get opportunities to showcase his speed, trickery and finishing on the left flank of Maurizio Sarri’s attack during preseason, particularly with Eden Hazard enjoying a post-World Cup break. — Liam Twomey.
TOTTENHAM: Kazaiah Sterling
The 19-year-old striker made his debut last season, appearing late on against Apoel Nicosia in the Champions League, and he was on the bench against Manchester City in April. Spurs’ back-up strikers have disappointed in the last two campaigns, with Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente both getting rusty while waiting for game time, and there is an argument that Spurs can do without a senior No. 9 in that understudy role since Son Heung-Min can fill in up front if necessary. If Sterling can impress in the U.S. then he could influence Pochettino’s thinking around his striking options and earn more first-team opportunities this term. — Ben Pearce.
BARCELONA: Arthur Melo
New signing Arthur will be keen to impress in the United States. The Brazilian midfielder joined Barcelona from Gremio this month for an initial fee of €31m and has already been compared to Andres Iniesta, whose No. 8 shirt he may yet inherit, and Xavi Hernandez. With Iniesta having moved to Japan and Ivan Rakitic handed an extended break following Croatia’s run to the World Cup final, the 21-year-old is likely to get plenty of chances to show what he’s got in matches against Tottenham, Roma and AC Milan. — Sam Marsden.
REAL MADRID: Vinicius Jr.
Real Madrid’s International Champions Cup campaign will give their eager fans a first chance to see the club’s new Brazilian starlet in a Blancos shirt. The Brazil U17 international agreed a €45m move from Flamengo to Madrid last summer, but FIFA rules mandated he wait until turning 18 on July 12 before making the move to Europe. A zippy left winger or second striker, 10 goals in his first senior season at Flamengo last season, suggested he could be ready to make an immediate impression with the Spanish giants and help fill the hole in attack left by Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit. — Dermot Corrigan.
ATLETICO MADRID: Rodri
The tempo-setter and midfield controller returned to his boyhood club from Villarreal earlier this summer and will be charged with filling the void left by Gabi’s departure. While he has big shoes to fill, 22-year-old Rodri — who has been likened to Sergio Busquets both physically given his gangly appearance and in terms of style of play — is calm on the ball, reads play effortlessly and will be looking to catch Diego Simeone’s eye as the midfield lynchpin during this preseason. — Joe Walker.
JUVENTUS: Mattia Caldara
As Turin continues to celebrate the capture of Ronaldo, one other arrival has set pulses racing: 24-year-old Italian defender Caldara. Bought over a year ago, he spent last season on loan at Atalanta, and is a cultured defender who boasts a combination of qualities Juventus and their fans love. Few players at his age can read the game quite as fantastically as Caldara; he often positions himself well, is strong in the air and calm under pressure. Juventus may have bought in the world’s best forward but they’ve also captured Italy’s greatest burgeoning defensive talent. — Mina Rzouki.
AC MILAN: Alen Halilovic
In a summer desperately lacking in spending from Milan thus far, new signing Halilovic’s impact will arguably be the most intriguing aspect at the International Champions Cup. The 22-year-old will be keen to make a positive start with the Rossoneri as he looks to prove his worth after previously failing at Barcelona. Perhaps this competition will give him the perfect platform to begin to impress Gennaro Gattuso ahead of the new campaign. — Sumeet Paul.
INTER MILAN: Yann Karamoh
The France U21 international has been given the No. 7 shirt this season. After a year to settle in — and learn the ropes under Luciano Spalletti — the talented winger, who made 16 Serie A outings last term, appears to now have understood there is a time and a place for showboating, reining in his natural desire and talent for trickery to become more of a team player. Two goals in 10 minutes of a preseason friendly with Lugano have people speaking positively of the 20-year-old, who could be one of the revelations of the season. — Ben Gladwell.
AS ROMA: Justin Kluivert
Kluivert has a crowded field in front of him right now, but it will be interesting to see how the winger copes with the step up following his €17.25m move from Ajax last month, should coach Eusebio Di Francesco grant him space ahead of his more experienced teammates in the U.S. The 19-year-old became one of Europe’s most talked about youngsters after emerging alongside a talented group of players similar to the one his father Patrick come through with in the 1990s. Last season he scored 10 league goals in 30 appearances from the wing as his team came second in the Eredivisie, and he caught the world’s eye with his skill on the ball and confidence of it. Let’s see if he can do better in Italy than his dad did in his one poor season at AC Milan. — Terry Daley.
BAYERN MUNICH: Renato Sanches
The ICC is a perfect opportunity for forgotten man Sanches to play himself into the thoughts of new coach Niko Kovac. Kovac has the unenviable task of turning around the former Golden Boy’s fortunes in Bavaria after two seasons of struggle since joining to much fanfare from Benfica in 2016. However, in the short-term, the ICC showdowns provide a perfect stage for the Portuguese prodigy to give the watching world a timely reminder of his talents and seal an early spot in the German champions’ star-studded midfield engine room. — Mark Lovell.
DORTMUND: Jadon Sancho
Anyone who was enchanted by Gareth Southgate’s England side at the World Cup in Russia, and excited about what the future may hold, should look no further than Jadon Sancho for some confirmation bias. The 18-year-old winger has already made 12 promising Bundesliga appearances and is poised to have his breakout season. Some even believe that his ceiling is higher than that of USA prodigy Christian Pulisic. As a former Manchester City youth academy player, Sancho can demonstrate against his old club and Liverpool at the ICC that going abroad can elevate young English players in their careers. — Stefan Buczko.
PSG: Timothy Weah
The United States international’s stock is rising rapidly after he made his full senior debut towards the end of last season. The 18-year-old has declared his ambition to become the United States’ first-ever Ballon d’Or winner and if that is to happen, this coming campaign will be crucial in his development. New coach Thomas Tuchel is expected to place greater emphasis on PSG’s youth academy graduates moving forward and Weah is one of the first in line. — Jonathan Johnson.
LYON: Hossem Aouar
Aouar has already been linked to Barcelona, who see in the artful midfielder the latest and potentially most brilliant product of a youth academy production line that has shaped the likes of Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa and Nabil Fekir. With the latter enjoying a break after France’s World Cup win, Aouar will be expected to take on a heavier role in the side during the ICC. The brilliant glimpses the 20-year-old offered up in his 27 Ligue 1 starts last season more than suggest he will handle that responsibility with ease. — Ian Holyman.
BENFICA: Joao Felix
The attacking midfielder is tipped as the next big star to come off the Seixal academy conveyor belt. Rejected by Porto as a kid, he joined Benfica in 2015 and such has been his progress that the northerners will surely rue a bad mistake. Last season Felix clocked up six goals in 19 matches for Benfica B, which play in Portugal’s second tier. Not bad considering he was 17 at the start of the campaign, the same age at which he was called up for Portugal’s under-21 team. A silky touch, creative and with an eye for goal, his playing style has been compared to Kaka and Rui Costa, with Manchester City, PSG and Arsenal rumoured to be watching his progress carefully. — Tom Kundert.
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