Most of the stars in the top five European leagues aren't from Europe.
South American, Asian, African and former Soviet countries all provide players to European clubs each year.
Babagol Report features the careers of five young promising talents who have come to Europe from afar and are aiming to conquer the heights of the football world.
Asia - Seung Woo-Lee – 16, Attacking midfielder, FC Barcelona’s youth academy, Spain.
The youngest player on our list, but also the most famous. ‘The Korean Messi’ swiftly gained recognition earlier this year, after having a brilliant tournament at the U-16 Asian Championship. He won the Golden Boot and the Best Player award, after scoring 5 goals and making 4 assists in the tournament. Seung signed for Barca in 2011 when he was 13, which was an illegal action that caused the club to be suspended from the transfer market until 2016 and also resulted in a long-term ban for the player. Right now, he is arguably the hottest prospect in the academy.
During games he is often seen dropping deep into midfield, linking up with teammates and driving the ball forward with his exceptional dribbling skill and close control, a quality that is reminiscent of the first team’s number 10, Lionel Messi.
Seung is very young and so should be wary of the media attention he already receives. He has an outgoing personality, with many fans on his Facebook page, which might create a dangerous climate for a young footballer.
Middle East - Ali Adnan – 20, Left-back, Çaykur Rizespor, Turkey.
Adnan comes from a family of football players. His father, Adnan Kadhim, and uncle, Ali Kadhim, were both famous footballers in Iraq during the ’70s and ’80s.
After his glamorous performance at the 2013 U-20 World Cup and despite interest from Europe’s top sides, he left his home club FC Baghdad and joined Turkish side, Çaykur Rizespor. A few weeks later he was named Asian Young Player of the Year for 2013. Adnan continued his excellent form at this year’s Asian Games, Scoring 3 goals and making 2 assists, taking his team to an impressive 3rd place. Nicknamed ‘The Iraqi Gareth Bale’, Adnan has similar attributes to the Welshman; he is fast, tall (1.85m), strong, and has amazing ball control and a powerful shot. Adnan published a photo wearing military gear with Iraqi soldiers, he became Iraq’s new ‘superhero’ and is on his way to becoming his country’s biggest football star ever.
Latin America - Lucas Boyé - 19, Striker, River Plate, Argentina.
Lucas Boyé was born in the small town of San Gregorio in the province of Santa Fe. He joined River Plate in 2010, at the age of 14. In June 2013, he was part of the winning River squad at the Under-17 Club World Cup in Madrid. He made his official debut for the first-team, under the guidance of Ramon Diaz, on 28 July 2014 in Copa Argentina fixture against Ferro Carril Oeste. His first goal was against San Lorenzo de Almagro, during River Plate’s 3-1 win.
Lucas is one of Coach Marcelo Gallardo's first choices from the bench and has played in 8 out of 10 games so far this season for Los Millionarios. Last week he took part in the Superclasico clash against Boca Juniors and besides his unforgettable missed chance two minutes before the final whistle, he changed the game and increased River’s pressure on Boca in the closing stages. Like another River Plate alumni, Hernan Crespo, Boyé is a technical and powerful striker, with the body of a true No. 9 and a great ‘one-on-one’ game. He only needs to gain first team experience in order to blossom.
Eastern Europe - Viktor Kovalenko - 18, Defensive midfielder, Shakhtar Donetsk II, Ukraine.
Shakhtar Donetsk, the club that produced Anatoly Timoshchuk, is developing a new potential defensive midfielder for the Ukrainian national team. He showed his skills for the first time in the UEFA Youth League 2013/2014. The midfield displays he produced at the tournament as the leader of “the Miners” youth team, saw his team beat the likes of Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen. Kovalenko was also a key figure for the Ukrainian national team in the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, despite the fact that he was a year younger than most of his teammates.
His game vision, his box-to-box play and the chances he creates for his colleagues make him one of the promising youngsters in Ukraine. In addition, his height (1.82m), his ability to shoot from distance and his desire to fight for every ball complete the picture of a continental level talent, who’s ready to shine.
Kovalenko is not a permanent member of Mircea Lucescu’s first team at Shakhtar but will receive his first minutes throughout the season.
After a goal against Real Sociedad in 2013, he was asked by Shakhtar’s official website what it feels like to score a winner. The answer was simple: “I need to work harder if I want to make it a regular thing". So the attitude and the spirit are there, now it’s time to see if he will get a fair chance in the "Brazilian" Shakhtar first team.
Africa - Kelechi Iheanacho – 18, Forward, Manchester City U-21, England.
Kelechi is a member of a prestigious group - the CAF Young Talent Award - a 'must' stop for any young African starlet. Jay Jay Okocha, Celestine Babayaro and Nwankwo Kanu are just a few Super Eagles stars who won the prize before making their big moves.
During the 2013 U-17 World Cup in the UAE, Iheanacho demonstrated his abilities. This is a forward who loves finding the net, but who can also contribute to the build-up play. His performance was a crucial part of the “Baby Super Eagles” win at the U-17 World Cup. They scored 26 goals and he played a part in every one of them, by either scoring, assisting, attracting the defence to him or ‘burning’ dead areas on the pitch. His amazing ball control and crossovers are rare for a player of his height (1.85m). He can play also as an attacking midfielder and a right-winger thanks to his great stamina and fitness. During City's pre-season campaign, he managed to show some of his talents and to score. Despite praise from Coach Pellegrini giving a lot of confidence to Kelechi, he isn’t expected to taste a lot of Premier League action this season, as he has been sent to MLS side Columbus Crew on loan until January. Some Nigerians are worried about his move to Manchester City because they want their new wonder kid to have regular first-team football.
Don’t worry, fellow Nigerians; this kid is going to be an important piece in the future puzzle of Sheikh Mansour’s kingdom in Manchester.