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Welcome back to The Boy's A Bit Special! Each month, we highlight four teenagers set to explode onto the global football stage.
In this episode, we scout four players who embody the future of the game. We break down the £45 million Chelsea signing tipped as the next Bukayo Saka, the French striker who has taken the Premier League by storm since his bargain £12 million move, the elegant Turkish forward making waves in the Bundesliga and the versatile Belgian powerhouse perfecting his game at Ajax. Four clubs. Four countries. Four rising stars. Find out why these wonderkids are attracting the attention of Europe's elite.
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0:00
Welcome back to our new 4-4-2 video feature, The Boys A Bit Special
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in which we're highlighting the best and brightest teenagers world football has to offer
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Don't forget to comment your suggestions below if there's a player we really should be spotlighting
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We might cover them, we might not. You'll just have to keep watching. Giovanni Cuenta could be Chelsea's answer to Bukayo Saka
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but only if the Portuguese winger is given the same trust and the same pathway. We really think he's got that much potential
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Football in the modern era is all about athleticism. Coaching has come a long way in the past couple of decades
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raising the floor of elite football as general ability, but the truly elite players combine that on-ball ability with athleticism
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that would blow most pros from the 80s and 90s out of the water. Giovanni Quenda is among them, and that's exactly why Chelsea bought him
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Their stockpiling of young talent in recent years has irked fans of rival clubs
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and rightly so, especially if your team has also been linked with the same player
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But one thing you can't knock is their talent ID. Quenda was born in the former Portuguese colony of Guinea-Bissau
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and moved to the mainland as a youngster, eventually joining Benfica's renowned academy
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But when those in charge failed to make good on their promises to house Quenda at their club facilities
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he moved across town to sporting instead. Talk about backing yourself. Fast forward six years and it's a move which has definitely paid off
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He's got great feet, great confidence and an even greater price tag, thanks to that lot from Stamford Bridge
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Chelsea agreed a £45 million fee for the teenager back in March 2025
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and Quenda is set to join up with the rest of the squad at the beginning of the 2026-27 season
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He was a standout at the €17 in 2024 and even better for Portugal at the €21 a year later, despite their early exit
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making Chelsea look pretty smart for securing his long-term future months in advance
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Quenda is a creative player first and foremost, and an intelligent one too
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He can play on either flank, creating chances from both sides, and due to his Nuno Mendes-esque athleticism, covers ground from byline to byline
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And that could make him a useful wing-back option as he matures. It's something Ruben Amorim has done previously at Sporting
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although we think he's best suited as a right winger. His trademark move is receiving on the back foot near the touchline pausing for a brief moment to draw in a defender and then knocking it past him and accelerating into the space Quenda the type of player to make his marker look pretty daft for getting too tight but
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doesn't overdo it, which I have to say is a particular gripe of mine, beating his man
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just the once because that's all that's necessary. Chelsea may have Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittins, Alejandro Garnaccio and Estevão to deploy
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in wide areas, but soon they'll be joined by Quenda. Here's hoping stiff competition is what's needed to get the best out of him
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There aren't many players who make the jump from France's second tier to the Premier League
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as seamlessly as Eli Junior Kruppi appears to have done for Bournemouth this season
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And that's what makes him a little bit special. We're big fans of Kruppi at 4-4-2
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and we're surprised there was little fanfare over the summer for the French teenager's arrival
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Although that was largely due to the fact that he signed for Bournemouth from the Cherries' partner club Lorient
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and the deal that was pre-agreed at the beginning of the year. Nevertheless, Kruppi was signed on the back of a big breakout year in France
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scoring nine and assisting twice for the would-be Ligue des Champions during the first half of 2024-25
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It was then, after his Premier League move had been confirmed, that Kruppi's goal-scoring really took off, scoring 13-13
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and in doing so firing Lorient back to the top flight. Upon arriving in England, Kruppi scored four goals from her first eight shots in just 165 league minutes
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That's how you get everybody at your new club on board and match-of-the-day pundits sitting up to take note
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In terms of his style, Kruppi is an extremely effective striker of the ball
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marrying up placement and power to great effect. He turns good shooting opportunities into great ones
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and great chances into the unsaveable. His goal against Nottingham Forest in a 2-0 Bournemouth win earlier this season
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was typical of his style, finding the corners of the goal, giving goalkeepers little chance of saving his efforts
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OK, I know what you're thinking. How on earth did football's big clubs miss out on the £12m teenager
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who scored 22 times in 30 appearances last year? Well, dear 442 subscriber, the answer lies in the multi-club model under which Bournemouth operate
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Don't you just love modern football? Lorient are one part of wealthy US businessman Bill Foley's Black Knight football and entertainment stable
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And without doubt Bournemouth Kruppi acquisition wouldn have happened without Foley minority holding in the French club For a team who made their mark on the Premier League throughout 2025 their latest revelation could prove to be their next big sale Because now Kruppi at the spear tip of Foley multi structure
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Europe's major clubs know that the next step is signing for one of them
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There's something very Dimitar Berbatov about Eintracht Frankfurt's Chan-Azun, and we couldn't get enough until he picked up an injury just as we'd finished planning this episode
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The turkey forward mixes nonchalance, brilliant feet and plenty of shots to create an attacking profile that would fly off the shelves
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if he was sold in a footballing department store. Ozzun is an elegant player
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shifting the ball from his left foot to his right and vice versa, often in the penalty area or close to it and usually under intense pressure
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Eintracht have a reputation for honing and developing forward players. They've sold Sebastian Allaire, Luka Jovic, Randall Kolomouani, Omar Mahmouche
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and Hugo Ekotike all for big money in recent years. Ozzun is probably going to be the next
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Born in Germany to Turkish parents, Uzzin broke through at Nürnberg in the second tier
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stepping up to the plate in 2023-24 after the club had parted ways
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with several of their more senior attacking options the preceding summer. In his first and only full campaign for the club
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Uzzin notched 19 goals in 32 appearances across all comps. So, understandably
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the Bundesliga's foremost striker factory came calling. Uzzin isn't even a centre-forward
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even though his strike rate suggests he is. He plays slightly deeper, more as a supporting forward on number 10
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and you might assume because of his goals output that the creative side of his game suffers
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but that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, Ozzun thrives on having runners around him
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loves threading through balls into space and is a really effective link player to have
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between an opponent's defensive and midfield lines. Trying to find the right word for this proved difficult but I think we've nailed it with this
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He doesn't seem bothered under pressure or by anything for that matter
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and there's a real calmness and composure when he's on the ball which translates directly to his finishing
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He strokes the ball into the net almost like he's passing it beyond the goalkeeper
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This season he beat last year's goal tally by September, doing so in 25 fewer matches
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Outstanding right? Nah, that's part for the course for a player who scored 27 times in 24 games for Nürnberg's under-17s
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and then hit 20 goals in 19 appearances with the under 17 years old left defensive midfielder playing regularly for Ajax
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They've done it again, haven't they? One of the world's best academies. Well, not quite, not this time
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Jolte Mokio didn't come through the Amsterdamers' world-famous De Tukamp's academy. The club's reputation for developing talent
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certainly played a part in Mokio signing for the club on a free last summer
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Mokio is a full Belgian international already, and for good reason. He's versatile, first and foremost, playing at left-back, central midfield, defensive midfield and centre-back
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He's had three Ajax managers so far, Farioli, Heitinger and the unfortunately named Grimm
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none of whom have had any qualms deploying him in a variety of positions, primarily because his style is that of a sweeper-upper
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Mokio wins possession when games are stretched and puts his team back in control. If there's danger, he'll attempt to snuff it out, get a handle on things and drive with the ball at his feet
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Critics will say his barrelling style needs polishing, and that's true. But come on, he's 17 and more than makes up for it with his ability to protect the ball
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Just try and get it off him without being shrugged off, just as many defenders in the Eredivisie have found this season
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Mokio's journey, albeit a brief one so far, saw him come through at Belgian club Ghent prior to the Ajax move
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In February 2025, Mokio scored a first senior goal on his full debut in European competition
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and then, a month later, made his debut for Belgium. Fast forward to present day and Ajax is arguably the best finishing school in Europe for Mokyo to be at right now
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The club have pedigree when it comes to trusting in youth and providing opportunities that teams in more established or competitive leagues simply don't
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And that's something Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberg can attest to. So if you were looking for a household name to compare Mokyo to, look no further
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because there are definitely similarities between his Amsterdam breakthrough and Mokyo's currently
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Remember to let us know in the comments what you think of 442's selections and which teenagers we need to be spotlighting in the near future
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Thanks again for tuning in, but if this is your first time watching the Boys A Bit Special, we've got a few more episodes in the back catalogue
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and we'll be releasing plenty more in the weeks to come. So make sure you subscribe to get the lowdown on the future of football
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Or if you like football ysis you can physically hold in your hands, have a look at maybe getting yourself or someone you know
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a 442 magazine subscription in which there's more Boys A Bit Special every month
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Bye for now
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