It is somewhat ironic that Ali Akman was born in Yıldırım, a district of the Turkish city of  Bursa which translates into English as ‘thunder.’ As they say, you can take the boy out of thunder, but you can’t take the thunder out of the boy.    Just ask Emilijus Zubas, Erhan Erentürk, Atilla Özmen,…

When Mexican international Hirving Lozano arrived at Napoli in August 2019, his transfer from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven was seen as a landmark moment. The transfer fee of €38 million plus bonuses was the most the Partenopei had paid for a player at the time, it was the highest figure the Rood-witten received for a player,…

At 20 years of age, Georges Mikautadze is on track to have a breakthrough season. Born in France to Georgian parents, Mikautadze spent seven years at Lyon’s academy, before spending a lone season at AS Saint-Priest in the French lower tiers. He joined Metz’s academy in 2017, and in 2019/20, he scored eight goals in…

From Trent Alexander-Arnold to Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Kyle Walker, English football is blessed with an unrivaled crop of top quality right backs. The latest addition to the bunch is Tariq Lamptey, who at 20 years of age, is blossoming into one of the finest right backs in Europe.   Born in Hillingdon, Greater London to…

Over the past decade, Red Bull Salzburg has produced a treasure trove of world-class talent, with Sadio Mané, Erling Haaland, Dayot Upamecano, Naby Keïta and Konrad Laimer finding themselves amongst a star-studded list of players who have emerged as some of the finest footballers in Europe. Today, Salzburg boasts the likes of Patson Daka (22),…

Benjamin Pavard began his career in 2002 at US Jeaumont at the age of 6. He did not stagnate there but continued to rise and gradually transformed into a seasoned player, and would go on to join Lille in April 2014 at the age of 14. Five years later, Pavard is now a defender at…

It has been quite the rapid rise for Pervis Estupiñán. Born in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, Estupiñán joined LDU Quito’s academy at the age of 13, and made his professional debut shortly after his 17th birthday. After a breakthrough season that saw him earn a spot in the Best XI of the 2015 Ecuadorian Serie A season…

When Dejan Kulusevski joined Parma on loan in the summer of 2019, he was a 19-year-old winger who had played just 102 minutes at the senior level. Fast forward 15 months, he is now a starter for Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus, having joined on a four-and-a-half year deal in January.   Born in Vällingby, a suburb…

During the 2018/19 campaign, Sébastien Haller, Luka Jović and Ante Rebić formed a ‘magic triangle’ which spearheaded Adi Hütter’s exciting Eintracht Frankfurt side, propelling them to a 7th place finish in the Bundesliga while they made an impression on the Europa League too, only missing out on a place in the Baku’s final after a…

At Fatih Terim Stadium, a gigantic orange shirt is hoisted above a group of excited figures on the pitch below. Emblazoned on the back is the name of Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.   The crowning of Istanbul Başakşehir as champions of Turkey this July was not your standard title celebration. The club has strong…