Prior to the start of the 2024-25 season, we put together a list of names that we thought would have a breakout year. Halfway through the campaign, we re-examine that list to see how things have been going for these young players.
With the Christmas break behind us, we are rapidly approaching the business end of the season with 2025 shaping up to be a tremendous year in football. Way back in August, we released our first article on this season’s potential breakout stars and since then, there’s been so much to analyze when it comes to the beautiful game’s brightest talents.
We’ll take you through some of the best performers from our initial breakout stars piece and give you an update on how their season has progressed, while also adding a few new names who have placed themselves firmly in the spotlight for 2025.
Updates From Our Original List
Pau Cubarsi, 17, FC Barcelona/Spain
Pau Cubarsi turns 18 this month, but despite his age, the central defender has picked up right where he left off last season. He has been a virtual ever-present in the heart of Barcelona’s defense, starting 17 of their 19 league games thus far and each of their six UEFA Champions League games in their campaign which sees them sitting second only to Liverpool.
Cubarsi burst onto the scene and was lauded for his immense composure and excellence in possession, with his qualities reminiscent of a player well beyond his years. This season has not been perfect by any means for him, but the strides in his game are clear for all to see. What he still lacks in physicality he makes up for with his determination and bravery in his duels.
Should he stay healthy (and hopefully he does), he’s on a world-class trajectory, and we will be talking about him among the best center backs in world football for decades to come.
Amad Diallo, 22, Manchester United/Cote d’Ivoire
Saying it’s been a turbulent season for Manchester United would be a huge understatement. A change in manager, several off-the-field headlines, and terrible inconsistency in their performances have left United way off the pace in the Premier League.
Silver linings have been few and far between for the Red Devils, but the brightest has undoubtedly been 22-year-old Amad Diallo. He is among the top goal contributors for them this season and his performances have been even better than his numbers would suggest. Massive goals away at their biggest rivals in the Etihad and Anfield have been the highlights of his wonderful 2024-25 thus far, and expect more to come from the talented Ivorian as he has made the right side his own.
Morgan Rogers, 22, Aston Villa/England
This season has been one to savor for Morgan Rogers. Unai Emery has given the young Englishman his full trust and Rogers has taken full advantage. Watching Rogers is a breath of fresh air — his powerful yet poetic style of dribbling never fails to catch the eye, making him must-see TV whenever Villa line up.
While at the beginning of the year, his performances stood out, the output was not always there to go with it. However, as he and Villa have evolved as a unit under Emery, Rogers has begun to add some serious consistent end product to his game. His partnership with Jhon Duran (unlucky to miss out on this list) has been a joy to watch and Rogers looks set to light up the Premier League and Europe.
Sverre Nypan, 18, Rosenborg/Norway
When writing our initial piece, Nypan had 10 goal contributions in 18 games for Rosenborg. The Norwegian top-flight season has since ended and the heavily pursued central midfielder finished with five contributions in his last 10, which led to interest from a plethora of top teams in the January transfer window.
At his age, he has already accumulated a ridiculous amount of first-team experience, and his performances have only improved with time. He was Rosenborg’s most potent threat going forward and his creativity, technical excellence, and intelligence on the ball will make him a supremely valuable asset wherever he goes.
New Names That Have Impressed
Geovany Quenda, 17, Sporting/Portugal
Similar to Cubarsi, Geovany Quenda is one of the rare cases of an under-18 player breaking into their first team setup and cementing their place within a year.
Before Ruben Amorim departed from Sporting, he handed the 17-year-old Quenda his debut for the senior team, an opportunity that the youngster did not pass up. He has since appeared in every Sporting game this season (one of only three players to do so) while starting an impressive 14 out of 17 in the league. Quenda has also earned himself two senior team call-ups for Portugal, but still awaits his debut.
He truly shone in the UCL though. In Sporting’s 3-4-3 system, he is deployed as a left-footed right wing back and is allowed to utilize his devastating dribbling skills to full effect. He has shown a keen eye for a pass as displayed by his six assists this season, while his defensive capabilities grow as the games go by. He’s a monster in the making.
Jamie Gittens, 20, Borussia Dortmund/England
Jamie Gittens just narrowly missed the cut for the initial list, which was a massive mistake in hindsight. The ultra-talented winger is in the midst of his best season yet and has shown an affinity for performing when the lights are brightest.
His UEFA Champions League showings have been nothing short of sensational with him being the X-factor behind much of Borussia Dortmund’s success. Four goals and one assist in six games, and consistently brilliant performances have drawn plenty of eyes his way. While in the Bundesliga, goal contributions against Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart, and most recently Bayer Leverkusen — three of the top five clubs in the table — have further displayed his big-game mettle.
At the time of writing, Gittens has notched 11 goals and five assists through 25 appearances in all competitions and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Murillo 22, Nottingham Forest/Brazil
Defenders don’t tend to get much love in lists like these, but Nottingham Forest’s monstrous Brazilian has been a massive factor in their unbelievable season thus far. His partnership with Nikola Milenković has been arguably the best in the league this season, and Murillo has displayed a unique blend of physical prowess and intelligence in the tackle with his style of aggressive front-foot defending.
His most recent outing in Forest’s 1-1 draw at home against league leaders Liverpool was a microcosm of his performances this season. A herculean 17 clearances, alongside a multitude of tackles, blocks, and duels won helped The Tricky Trees hold out for a massive point.
Should he maintain this level of performance, we could very well be seeing him in the famed canary yellow of Brazil for the next World Cup.
