Bundesliga youngsters to watch in 2024/25, featuring Assan Ouédraogo and Arijon Ibrahimović
Every season, a number of youngsters light up the Bundesliga. Last term, the likes of Aleksandar Pavlović and Maximilian Beier burst onto the scene, but who will follow in their footsteps in 2024/25? bundesliga.com takes a look at five immensely talented starlets you should keep an eye on over the coming 12 months…
Data correct as of 8 July 2024
Age: 18 (born 9 May 2006)
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: Central/ attacking midfield
Country: Germany (two youth caps)
During what was a disappointing 2023/24 campaign for Schalke, who only finished 10th despite looking to make an immediate return to the Bundesliga, Ouédraogo’s emergence was one of the few bright spots. Having made the U17 and U19 Bundesliga his playground, the midfielder was thrown into the starting XI for Schalke’s opening match against Hamburg.
That was his professional debut – which made him Schalke’s youngest-ever player at the age of 17 years and 80 days – and what a debut it proved to be. Although Die Königsblauen succumbed to a 5-3 defeat, Ouédraogo scored one and created another, making more history by becoming the club’s greenest goalscorer. When you consider this is the club that also saw Mesut Özil, Julian Draxler and Leroy Sané emerge as teenage talents, that is quite an achievement.
Unfortunately for both him and his teammates, his progress was curtailed by injury – a ligament tear reduced him to just 17 league appearances. Still, he impressed whenever he took the field and finished with three strikes, despite playing in several positions in the middle of the park. It soon became clear he would be moving on to bigger and better things and, at Leipzig – a club renowned for their ability to polish rough diamonds – he has the perfect platform to hone his undoubted skills.
Watch: The best of Assan Ouédraogo
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