The Under-21 European Championship gets underway in Bratislava today and the stage is set for the next generation of superstar talents to put Europe’s elite on notice.
Scouts from across the Premier League, as well as La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga, have travelled to Slovakia en masse to trail a handful of in-demand youngsters.
Here, Mail Sport’s man on the ground for the Under-21 Euros picks out his 10 rising stars to watch this month…
Geovany Quenda (Portugal) – 18
A player with the potential to be the best player on display at the Under-21 Euros without question and a player that Chelsea fans will be watching with interest.
The 18-year-old will officially join up with the Blues on a seven-year contract in the summer of 2026 after signing a deal worth in excess of £40million.
The Under-21 European Championships gets underway in Bratislava on Wednesday evening
Sporting Lisbon starlet Geovany Quenda, 19, is one of the Portugal talents to look out for
Quenda put his name on the map working with now-Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim at Sporting Lisbon and he hasn’t looked back.
Likened to Bukayo Saka by those who have worked closely with him in Portugal, Quenda is adept in a wing-back role or on the right side of an attacking front three.
‘He is magic,’ Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez said of Quenda. ‘He has a spectacular future with the national team.’
What makes Quenda so special is his work-rate to do both sides of the game, never once shirking his defensive responsibilities.
‘There is only one Geovany Quenda,’ Sporting academy coach Fabio Roque previously told Sky Sports.
‘He is different from any other player I trained. He can create a mark on football that is totally different.’
If Portugal, three times runners up in the Under-21 Euros, are to get over the hump, they are going to need Quenda to shine as bright as he does for his club.
Expect plenty of highlight-worthy moments that will have tongues wagging back in south-west London.
Jorrel Hato (Netherlands) – 19
This is a name that is beginning to gain more and more momentum across the continent and this tournament is a chance for Hato to underline just why that is.
The Ajax teenager, who can play at left back or at centre back, is being closely monitored by Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal this summer and he won’t come cheap at north of £45m.
Widely considered one of the most talented youngsters to come out of the Netherlands in recent years, Hato’s dominant defensive style and his ability to drive out into midfield due to his comfort on the ball has got scouts purring.
‘It’s crazy how young he is, but obviously how mature he looks when he’s on the pitch and also off the pitch,’ England’s Jordan Henderson told the Ajax website last season.
‘He’s a very mature person. Works hard. Fantastic player. And yeah, he has a bright future ahead of him, I’m sure.
‘I think he just needs to continue to do what he’s he’s been doing. Obviously it’s been working for him, but, yeah, I’ll try to help him.’
Recently crowned the Eredivisie ‘Talent of the Year’ – in spite of Ajax’s disappointing finish to the campaign – it feels like only a matter of time before Hato is the next expensive Dutch export off the production line.
Ajax teenager Jorrel Hato, who plays in defence, has been linked with a move to England
Jesus Rodriguez (Spain) – 19
One of the most exciting players I got to watch anywhere in the world over the past league season.
Winger Rodriguez lit up the Seville derby won by Real Betis earlier this year and his direct running style, which resembles that of Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho or Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, can bring genuine thrust and excitement to this tournament.
Chelsea have already fallen in love with the diamond in the rough that is Rodriguez – they are hopeful of landing him this summer – and these Euros will be a good chance to see his development in real time.
He only made his debut for Spain’s Under-21 squad back in March but left a lasting impression to make the final squad here in Slovakia. He has played in all three matches since that debut.
Victorious last summer with the Under-19s, Rodriguez’s fearlessness and explosiveness, whether he is wide left or wide right, will open up games and constantly put opposing full-backs on the back foot.
As he has shown time and again in LaLiga, one thing Rodriguez doesn’t lack is confidence.
Spain’s Jesus Rodriguez has been a standout performer during Real Betis’ 2024-25 campaign
Nino Marcelli (Slovakia) – 20
The crown jewel in Slovakian football, expect plenty of scouts to be locked on to left winger Nino Marcelli this month.
AC Milan have previously tried and failed to land the Slovan Bratislava star and if you’re late to the party, buy your stocks in the flamboyant wide man before it’s too late.
Marcelli spent almost two years on the sidelines due to a back problem discovered while on trail at AS Roma, but that has since been put behind him and he’s making his mark domestically and in the Champions League.
Now the Under-21 Euros is the next mountain for him to climb.
‘He has very good physicality, he has no fear in one-on-one situations,’ Slovakia national team boss Francesco Calzona said of Marcelli previously.
‘He needs continuity, to play regularly. If he continues like this, the door is open for him. He is the type who can be a great asset for the future.’
He has drawn parallels to Newcastle United’s Harvey Barnes in terms of his dribbling style, his directness and his bravery on the ball.
The most valuable player in Slovakia and a future sale that could make him the most valuable export from the Slovakian top flight is on the cards.
Nino Marcelli, 20, is the crown jewel of Slovakian football after impressing at Slovan Bratislava
Niccolo Pisilli (Italy) – 20
A player who has already made his senior international debut, central midfielder Pisilli has the potential to finish as MVP of these Euros.
An academy graduate at Roma, who got his first taste of senior football under Jose Mourinho, Pisilli knows how to dominate matches from the middle of the park.
He helped Italy reach the final of the Under-20 World Cup in 2023 and also lifted the Euros trophy with the Under-19s in the same year.
Pisilli’s maturity and football IQ is no coincidence given the stock that he comes from. His dad was a professional tennis player, while his mum works as a psychologist.
‘My mother gives me a lot of advice and I am really curious about her profession,’ Pisilli said previously of his family dynamic.
‘I play with a smile because football is the best thing in the world and it’s a spontaneous reaction.’
Given his track record at major tournaments for Italy’s youth sides, do not bet against Pisilli and Italy doing some damage once more, this time in Slovakia.
Centre midfielder Niccolo Pisilli has the potential to finish as MVP of these Euros.
Conrad Harder (Denmark) – 20
Widely viewed as a natural heir to Viktor Gyokores at Sporting Lisbon, Harder’s stock has gone through the roof in the past 18 months.
The young Dane burst onto the scene at FC Nordsjælland’s academy where he plundered goals for fun and he was soon snapped up as a project player by Ruben Amorim and Sporting.
‘There was one Premier League club ready to pay higher fee than us for Conrad Harder,’ Amorim said back in September of Harder.
‘They were also open to let the player stay at Nordsjaelland until 2025 on loan, but he decided to join Sporting.’
Harder is a nuisance for defenders and while not the biggest presence in attack, he is a terrier in terms of his duels.
A bench role has been the main order of business for Sporting over the 2024-25 season but he is waiting for his chance to explode and that could come for Denmark’s Under-21s in a competitive Group D alongside Finland, the Netherlands and Ukraine.
Danish striker Conrad Harder is a nuisance for defenders and is a terrier in terms of his duels
Felix Lemarechal (France) – 21
Known for his box-to-box capabilities, Lemarechal is worth keeping on your radar in a France squad that is missing the star power of Rayan Cherki and Hugo Ekitike.
Lemarcechal stalled somewhat at AS Monaco but has found a groove at Strasbourg and put up some very impressive numbers in the 24-25 season.
From midfield he produced seven goal contributions, took 25 shots, created 29 chances, made 35 tackles, and 14 interceptions, in just 27 games.
Crowned the best young player in Ligue 1 back in March, fans are starting to see the Lemarechal they expected to catch the eye at Monaco.
While the likes of Lucien Agoume, who is being tracked by Arsenal, will take the spotlight, but Lemarechal is ready to break out and I have a sneaking feeling his Strasbourg form will carry over.
Felix Lemarechal (right) has become known for his box-to-box capabilities at Strasbourg
Giorgi Kvernadze (Georgia) – 22
A 22-year-old winger who is flying under the radar in Serie B, don’t be caught napping when it comes to the latest Georgian wide-man to be gathering some momentum.
Kvernadze has been described by Frosinone fans as having ‘intoxicating’ dribbling skills and ‘lightning’ acceleration which are fundamentals that have people very excited back home in Georgia.
Back in 2022 there was mooted interest from Napoli and Italian daily newspaper Corriere dello Sport were gushing in their appraisal.
‘If your name is Giorgi Kvernadze and you have flashes of widespread genius and you add a pinch of exuberance – that would be the nerve – and you break the internet, in every highlight that travels at the speed of light on Google, there is no escape: your destiny, true or plausible as it may be, flies towards Naples, the city of the future,’ it read.
His ascendancy has slowed down a touch since then but tournaments such as the Under-21 Euros are stages for people to put the sport’s biggest teams on notice.
Kvernadze, the stage is yours…
Georgian star Giorgi Kvernadze is a winger who has been flying under the radar in Serie B
Merlin Rohl (Germany) – 22
The latest jewel on the German production line of midfield talents, Rohl is a player who dreams of the Premier League and a strong performance this summer can help grease the wheels.
Everton had multiple bids knocked back for the Freiburg ace in January, while Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United are all understood to have been to watch him over the past season.
Rohl’s fundamentals are so sound. He is technically gifted on the ball and has shown a great deal of comfort playing in a deeper midfield role as well as in a more attacking position.
At 6’3 he is a major presence in the middle of the park and in Germany he has drawn parallels to Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka. Others have hailed him as the ‘wizard’ of Freiburg.
‘Merlin’s the complete midfielder. He can do it defensively and offensively,’ said Rohl’s former coach at Ingolstadt, Tomas Oral.
Valued at £23-25million, a big tournament for Germany – who are in the same group as Lee Carsley’s England – will see that price soar.
One to watch most definitely.
The latest jewel on the German production line of midfield talents is Merlin Rohl
Vladyslav Vanat (Ukraine) – 23
And finally….
Courted by Everton, Leeds United and Sunderland, Vanat is firmly on the radar after an impressive campaign in the Ukrainian Premier League where he finished with the Golden Boot.
The Dynamo Kyiv star has actually been top scorer in the league for the past two seasons and is already a senior Ukraine international so is looking to sign out of Under-21s football on a high this summer.
Efficiency in front of goal is what particularly stands out with this left-footed striker.
Vanat finished the season in Ukraine with 17 goals and four assists in 28 league games.
That was enhanced by the fact he scored 17 times from only 26 shots on target, a conversion rate of 65.4 per cent.
Let the bidding begin!
