10 years of NXGN: Youri Tielemans, Victor Osimhen & where 2016's best wonderkids are now
GOAL selected the 50 best talents from around the world born on or after January 1, 1997 – but have they gone on to fulfil their potential?
Since NXGN's launch in 2016, GOAL has profiled the 50 best footballing wonderkids on the planet on an annual basis. Some of those recognised for their talent as teenagers are now household names, but others have not yet realised their potential.
So, after the NXGN 2025 list was revealed, check out where the stars of 2016 are now:
Every NXGN list
Mbappe, Donnarumma & 2017's best wonderkids
De Ligt, Kluivert & 2018's best wonderkids
Haaland, Sancho & 2019's best wonderkids
Saka, Rodrygo & 2020's best wonderkids
James, Oberdorf & 2020's best women's wonderkids
Pedri, Ansu Fati & 2021's best wonderkids
Bennison, Le Tissier & 2021's best women's wonderkids
Bellingham, Musiala & 2022's best wonderkids
Dumornay, Fowler & 2022's best women's wonderkids
Gavi, Garnacho & 2023's best wonderkids
Shaw, Thompson & 2023's best women's wonderkids
Yamal, Mainoo & 2024's best wonderkids
Caicedo, Moultrie & 2024's best women's wonderkids
Getty Images Sport50Rafik Zekhnini (Odd)
2016: Zekhnini shone against Borussia Dortmund in a Europa League play-off, registering an assist after just 16 seconds of the first leg in Norway. His performance in that game, coupled with some fine domestic displays, saw him linked to both Dortmund and Manchester United.
2017: Fiorentina paid €1.5 million to sign Zekhnini in the summer of 2017, handing the winger a five-year contract.
2018: Having made just one substitute appearance for the Fiorentina first team, Zekhnini was loaned to first Rosenborg for three months, and then FC Twente on a year-long deal for the 2018-19 campaign.
2019: Zekhnini performed well as Twente earned promotion to the Eredivisie, and the Dutch side loaned him back for another season in the summer of 2019.
2020: The Norway Under-21 international did not have the same impact in the top-flight for Twente, and he was sent on loan to Lausanne in Switzerland ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
2021: Zekhnini eventually left Fiorentina on a permanent basis in the summer of 2021, joining Molde on a free transfer having failed to add to his solitary appearance for La Viola.
2022: His first full season at Molde saw Zekhnini end the season with a title-winners' medal, though he fell out of favour during the second half of the campaign for the Norwegian champions.
2023: Having remained on the fringes of the first-team squad during the first half of the 2023 season, Zekhnini left Molde to join fellow Norwegian outfit Sarpsborg, where he appeared regularly, albeit mostly as a substitute.
2024: Zekhnini fell down the pecking order at Sarpsborg, starting just two league games in the 2024 campaign, before he was released at the end of the season.
2025: The winger remains without a club, with it not clear how his career will go next.
AdvertisementGetty/GOAL49Niklas Dorsch (Bayern Munich)
2016: Dorsch was being tipped as the heir to Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos, with the midfielder regarded as the best player within the Bayern Munich academy.
2017: Named captain of the Bayern reserve side in the summer of 2017, Dorsch continued to close in on a first-team debut at the Allianz Arena.
2018: Dorsch marked his senior Bayern debut with the opening goal against Eintracht Frankfurt, but that proved to be his only appearance for the club, as a failure to agree a new contract saw him join second-division outfit FC Heidenheim in the summer of 2018.
2019: A regular starter for Heidenheim through the 2018-19 season, Dorsch impressed with his maturity despite his lack of experience.
2020: Dorsch helped Heidenheim reach the 2019-20 promotion-relegation play-off match, which they lost to Werder Bremen, before joining Gent at the end of the season in a €3.5m deal.
2021: Having got his first taste of European football with Gent, Dorsch was outstanding for Germany as they won the 2021 Under-21 European Championship. Those performances earned him a €7m move back to his homeland with Augsburg.
2022: After a slow start to life in the Bundesliga, Dorsch grew into his new environment, and played 30 times as Augsburg fought off the threat of relegation.
2023: A broken foot meant that Dorsch missed the entire first half of the 2022-23 season, but he worked his way back into contention and ended the campaign as a regular starter.
2024: Dorsch began the 2023-24 season in the Augsburg line up, but injuries limited his involvement after the New Year, and he thus begun to fall down the pecking order.
2025: Heidenheim, who are now in the Bundesliga, re-signed Dorsch in August 2024, and he has been a key member of their team for much of the season.
AFP48Ismail Azzaoui (Wolfsburg)
2016: Originally a product of Anderlecht's academy, winger Azzaoui left Tottenham in 2015 in a bid to prove his worth at senior level with Wolfsburg in Germany, making two Bundesliga appearances in his first season with the club.
2017: A ruptured cruciate ligament ruled him out of the entire 2016-17 campaign, and Azzaoui joined Willem II on a season-long loan deal in the summer of 2017.
2018: Azzaoui provided 10 direct goal contributions during his year in Eredivisie, but suffered a second serious knee injury upon his return to Wolfsburg that ruled him out of action for almost an entire year.
2019: His injury meant that Azzaoui played just seven competitive games in 2019, all of which came for Wolfsburg's reserve side in the lower leagues of German football.
2020: Azzaoui was released by Wolfsburg in the summer of 2020, and eventually signed for Dutch side Heracles three months later, signing a one-year deal with the Eredivisie outfit.
2021: The Belgium youth international did enough to earn a contract extension at Heracles, but after an encouraging start to the 2021-22 season, Azzaoui suffered yet another serious knee injury in December that ruled him out for the rest of the season.
2022: Having been released following Heracles' relegation in the summer of 2022, Azzaoui was re-signed by the club having proven his fitness in October 2022.
2023: Azzaoui was a regular contributor for Heracles as they earned promotion back to the top flight, and even forced his way into the starting line-up by the end of the campaign.
2024: Having developed into more of a No.10, Azzaoui embarked on a new adventure for 2023-24 by joining newly-promoted Azerbaijan Premier League side Araz-Nakhchivan, for whom he was in and out of the line-up as they secured survival. However, he was unable to earn a fresh contract come the end of the campaign.
2025: Azzaoui spent six months out of the game before he was picked up by Cypriot strugglers Omonia 29 Maiou in January 2025.
Getty Images Sport47Nicolas Delgadillo (Velez Sarsfield)
2016: Having broken into the Velez Sarsfield first team as a 17-year-old in 2015, winger Delgadillo was being scouted by the likes of Real Madrid and Valencia.
2017: Opportunities were harder to come by for Delgadillo, as he made just six first-team appearances over the course of the year.
2018: Delgadillo made more appearances in 2018 than he had done the previous year, but managed just a solitary first-team goal.
2019: The forward was sent on a six-month loan to San Martin Tucuman at the start of 2019, before joining Velez's fellow top-flight outfit Atletico Patronato on another loan deal.
2020: Delgadillo returned to Patronato for another year on loan, playing more than 20 times for the first team either side of the coronavirus-enforced shutdown of the game in Argentina.
2021: Patronato again took Delgadillo on loan for the 2021 campaign, where he played 30 matches, but scored just two goals.
2022: Delgadillo found himself on loan at Atletico Platense for the 2022 campaign, but he managed only 15 first-team appearances in all competitions.
2023: The forward finally left Velez on a permanent deal in January 2023, joining Argentine second-division side Atletico de Rafaela, but managed just two goals in 32 appearances.
2024: Delgadillo joined another second-tier side, CA Colon, for 2024, but made just three league starts.
2025: Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa picked up Delgadillo in January 2025 as he looked to find success outside of Argentina.