The Guardian named '40 of the best young talents in world football' back in 2014

Predicting how good a youngster is going to become is a difficult task.

A player might show signs of brilliance as a teenager but that’s not to say he’s destined for greatness.

That’s why top football clubs pay millions to snap up the very best scouts to search out young talent that they think can develop into a world-class player.

And even they often get it very wrong at times.

But despite the difficulty of predicting the development of players, that hasn’t stopped The Guardian from naming ‘the best young talents in world football.’

It’s something they have done since 2014 as they attempt to predict which of the ‘Next Generation’ will make it in professional football.

So, we’ve taken a look at their attempt five years ago when they attempted to predict the 40 best youngsters in world football.

All of the players in the list were born in 1997 so, at the time of the article, were either 16 or 17.

Now, they’re either 20 or 21 and should be making a name for themselves in world football.

We took a look back at the list and asked: ‘Where are they now?’

THE GUARDIAN'S '40 OF THE BEST'

Guido Vadala | Club in 2014: Boca Juniors | Now plays for: Boca Juniors

Daniel De Silva | Club in 2014: Perth Glory | Now plays for: Central Coast Mariners (on loan at Sydney FC)

Youri Tielemans | Club in 2014: Anderlecht | Now plays for: AS Monaco

Malcom | Club in 2014: Corinthians | Now plays for: Barcelona

Gerson | Club in 2014: Fluminense | Now plays for: Roma (on loan at Fiorentina)

Bozhidar Kraev | Club in 2014: Levski Sofia | Now plays for: Midtjylland

Li Zhongyi | Club in 2014: Guangzhou Evergrande | Now plays for: Guangzhou Evergrande

Alveiro Sanchez | Club in 2014: Deportivo Cali | Now plays for: Orsomarso

Ante Coric | Club in 2014: Dinamo Zagreb | Now plays for: Roma

Nikola Vlasic | Club in 2014: Hajduk Split | Now plays for: Everton

Mikkel Duelund | Club in 2014: Midtjylland | Now plays for: Midtjylland

Dominic Solanke | Club in 2014: Chelsea | Now plays for: Liverpool

Ryan Ledson | Club in 2014: Everton | Now plays for: Preston North End

Ousmane Dembele | Club in 2014: Rennes | Now plays for: Barcelona

Jean-Kevin Augustin | Club in 2014: PSG | Now plays for: RB Leipzig

Maxime Lopez | Club in 2014: Marseille | Now plays for: Marseille

Benjamin Henrichs | Club in 2014: Bayer Leverkusen | Now plays for: Bayer Leverkusen

Benedikt Gimber | Club in 2014: Hoffenheim | Now plays for: FC Ingolstadt

Lazaros Lamprou | Club in 2014: Panathinaikos | Now plays for: PAOK

Federico Bonazzoli | Club in 2014: Inter Milan | Now plays for: Sampdoria (on loan at Padova)

Daisuke Sakai | Club in 2014: Oita Trinita | Now plays for: Oita Trinita (on loan at Albirex Niigata)

Erick Aguirre | Club in 2014: Morelia | Now plays for: CF Pachuca

Abdelhak Nouri | Club in 2014: Ajax | Retired after he collapsed during a match in July 2017, suffering a cardiac arrhythmia attack, which left him with severe and permanent brain damage.

Jari Schuurman | Club in 2014: Feyenoord | Now plays for: Feyenoord

Sander Svendsen | Club in 2014: Molde | Now plays for: Hammarby IF

Dawid Kownacki | Club in 2014: Lech Poznan | Now plays for: Sampdoria

Ruben Neves | Club in 2014: Porto | Now plays for: Wolves