Career trajectories are seldom linear, whether in football or any other field of life. Circumstances frequently shift. Injuries and illnesses occur, leadership changes impact individuals, and personal lives also play a significant role. Consequently, predicting career paths is extremely challenging.
Looking at our 2019 Next Generation list, which we have tracked for five years, there were no assurances that any of the players would become household names. Alex Holiga, our Balkans correspondent, was confident Josko Gvardiol would achieve greatness—which he has—but beyond him, and perhaps Ansu Fati, Eduardo Camavinga, and Jérémy Doku, there were no guarantees.
One name that garnered significant interest when we published the list was Giovanni Reyna. He had a notable lineage—his father, Claudio, captained the USA and played for Manchester City, Rangers, and Bayer Leverkusen—and he was already at Borussia Dortmund, which seemed like a sure path to greater success. In contrast, Gianluca Busio, the other US player on the list, had no famous father and was still at Sporting Kansas City when we profiled him.
Five years later, the outcome is not as clear-cut, despite Reyna initially being ahead of his compatriot. In 2020, we noted Busio's progress but still at Kansas City, with several Italian clubs keeping an eye on him. Then, things began to shift slightly. Reyna faced a series of injuries, limiting him to 10 Bundesliga appearances in 2021-22, while Busio joined Venezia.
As Busio adjusted to life in Italy, Reyna suffered more injuries. A significant setback occurred at the 2022 World Cup. This year's updates show Reyna on the periphery of the Dortmund squad after a failed loan spell at Nottingham Forest, while Busio is a regular starter for Venezia in Serie A.
This does not mean Busio is suddenly a better player. Reyna has 31 caps compared to Busio's 13, with none since 2023, although he was included in Mauricio Pochettino's first selection. It underscores the unpredictability of career paths; there are simply too many variables.
The table below highlights players who have represented their countries' senior teams. Twenty-nine of the 60 from the 2019 list have now donned the most prestigious national team jersey. Interestingly, there are now four USA players on the list, up from two originally. Since 2019, two players, Yunus Musah and Malik Tillman, have switched allegiances from England and Germany, respectively.
The number of players who have represented their countries' senior teams by age 22 (some 21) is a new record. In our first four years, only 16 players achieved this feat. That number rose to 18 in 2021, then 22 in 2022, and 21 in 2023. There is a clear trend of players reaching a high international level earlier, which is impressive but also concerning given increasing workloads.
The second part of our Next Generation lists the best player at first-year scholar age at each Premier League club. Some have achieved their goals at the highest level in England, while others have dropped down the divisions or stopped playing altogether. These were 20 of the best in the country at the time, and the success rate highlights the difficulty of making it in professional football. This season, 20% of the players on the initial list are with Premier League clubs.
Newcastle's Tino Livramento has the most top-flight experience among our Premier League picks, with 62 appearances at the time of writing, more than 40 ahead of anyone else. Livramento's career stats are particularly impressive, considering he missed a year after tearing his cruciate ligament in April 2022 while at Southampton. It took a lot of hard work to regain full fitness, and Eddie Howe is full of praise for the full-back.
It will be fascinating to see how the 80 players we picked five years ago continue to progress. The USA has a home World Cup coming up in less than two years, and perhaps Reyna and Busio will both be part of a successful team. As the ad says: “Nothing is impossible.”
