Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland's performances this season have suggested football is in safe hands when it comes to the next generation.
The PSG and Borussia Dortmund strikers are undoubtedly the leading lights when it comes to the current crop of youngsters.
It's always worth adding a note of caution when hyping up players early on in their career, though.
With that in mind, Goal have been looking back at the 50 ones to watch they listed as part of their 'next generation' series in 2016. Let's take a look at how their careers have panned out - and it's fair to say they've had mixed results.
50. Rafik Zekhnini
Where is he now? Struggled for games at Fiorentina and now on loan at Lausanne.
49. Niklas Dorsch
Where is he now? Seen as the next Schweinsteiger, he ended up being released by Bayern Munich, dropped down to the second tier and now plays for Gent.
48. Ismail Azzaoui
Where is he now? The former Spurs youngster has played for Wolfsburg since and is now in the Netherlands with Heracles.
47. Nicolas Delgadillo
Where is he now? On loan at Patronato.
46. Thiago Maia
Where is he now? Flamengo on an 18-month loan deal.
45. Steven Bergwijn
Where is he now? Was called the next Memphis Depay, but he's struggling at Spurs this season and hasn't scored in any competition.
44. Bilal Ould-Chikh
Where is he now? He was released by Benfica and ended up at ADO Den Haag.
43. Lincoln
Where is he now? Lincoln left Brazil and is now in Portugal with Santa Clara.
42. Aaron Leya Iseka
Where is he now? Michy Batshuayi's younger brother, he struggled with injuries and is now on loan at Metz.
41. Dominic Solanke
Where is he now? Solanke didn't make enough of an impact for Chelsea or Liverpool in the Premier League and ended up at Bournemouth where he struggled again. He has improved since they were relegated, though.
40. Leandrinho
Where is he now? Despite joining Napoli four years ago, he hasn't played a game for them yet and has spent most of his time out on loan.
39. Lee Seung-woo
Where is he now? The 'Korean Messi' - safe to say big things were expected from him at Barcelona. He did feature at the 2018 World Cup and is now in Portugal with Portimonense.
38. Krystian Bielik
Where is he now? It didn't really work out for him at Arsenal and he had several loan spells, before eventually joining Derby. Sadly, he's already had two serious knee injuries.
37. Ousmane Dembele
Where is he now? Dembele was hotly tipped while at Rennes and his transfers to Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona seemed to vindicate that - but injuries are threatening to wreck his record-breaking move to Camp Nou.
36. Alban Lafont
Where is he now? He was the youngest goalkeeper in Ligue 1 history aged 16, but he's now on loan at Nantes.
35. Adalberto Penaranda
Where is he now? While he was on Watford's books, it took him three years to get a work permit and he spent most of his time on loan. He's now in the midst of a loan spell with CSKA Sofia.
34. Nikola Vlasic
Where is he now? Don't be fooled by his underwhelming spell at Everton. He's fared much better with CSKA Moscow, winning Russian Premier League Footballer of the Year in 2020.
33. Cameron Borthwick-Jackson
Where is he now? Louis van Gaal gave him his Manchester United debut, but he ultimately went out on loan and dropped through the lower leagues. His most recent move took him to Oldham on a free transfer.
32. Rey Manaj
Where is he now? He's had disciplinary issues, but he's still rated by those who matter. Barcelona B signed him in January and gave him a release clause of €50m.
31. Bartlomiej Dragowski
Where is he now? He's established himself as Fiorentina number one and also plays for Poland.
30. Pedro Pereira
Where is he now? It didn't work out for him at Sampdoria or Benfica and he's been on loan everywhere from Genoa to Bristol City. Currently on loan at Crotone.
29. Borja Mayoral
Where is he now? He drew comparisons with Raul at Real Madrid youth level and was part of their 2018 Champions League winning squad. Now with Roma, he's enjoying his best season yet.
28. Luka Jovic
Where is he now? His incredible form for Eintracht Frankfurt earned him a move to Real Madrid, where he lost his scoring boots. He's since swapped back and it's done him the world of good.
27. Reece Oxford
Where is he now? He made his Premier League debut at 16, but ended up in a contract dispute with West Ham. He had loans at Reading and Borussia Monchengladbach and eventually joined Augsburg.
26. Jeff Reine-Adelaide
Where is he now? He never made a Premier League appearance for Arsenal, but he is doing better in France and now plays for Lyon - though he's suffered a serious setback with a knee injury.
25. Hachim Mastour
Where is he now? Barcelona and Real Madrid are probably glad they didn't fork out for Mastour in the end. He's now playing in Serie C for Carpi.
24. Rolando Mandragora
Where is he now? He's currently on loan at Torino from Juventus and has been capped by Italy.
23. Enes Unal
Where is he now? Man City clearly never really wanted him. He's now with Getafe.
22. Sergio Diaz
Where is he now? Real Madrid signed him in 2016, but he's spent his whole time out on loan.
21. Abdelhak Nouri
Where is he now? You're probably familiar with this very sad story. Nouri tragically collapsed in 2017 and suffered severe, permanent brain damage.
20. Jean-Kevin Augustin
Where is he now? Struggled at RB Leipzig, Monaco and Leeds - now with Nantes.
19. Andrija Balic
Where is he now? He was likened to Luka Modric as a teenager, but he's fallen off the radar really with Dunajska Streda.
18. Manu Garcia
Where is he now? Another Man City youngster, he's now with Sporting Gijon.
17. Victor Osimhen
Where is he now? He's scored goals aplenty in Belgium and France and Napoli subsequently spent £45m on him.
16. Patrick Roberts
Where is he now? He made a real breakthrough while on loan at Celtic but he's now trying to find his feet at Derby.
15. Umar Sadiq
Where is he now? Flopped at Roma, but he's now doing decently in the Segunda Division with Almeria.
14. Amadou Diawara
Where is he now? Currently with Roma but he's really struggled for minutes due to injuries.
13. Donny van de Beek
Where is he now? Supposedly Manchester United's 'statement' signing of the summer, there's a real question mark over whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer actually wanted him.
12. Gabriel Jesus
Where is he now? He hasn't always been consistent at Man City, but he's set to win the Premier League (again) this season.
11. Vaclav Cerny
Where is he now? OK, so probably not the Arjen Robben prodigy we thought he'd become, but he is doing well at FC Twente and has earned a call-up for the Czech national side.
10. Joe Gomez
Where is he now? Winning the Champions League and Premier League hasn't been a bad start to his career. Let's hope he's the same player when he returns from his injury.
9. Malcom
Where is he now? Flopped at Barcelona and has since joined Zenit St Petersburg.
8. Renato Sanches
Where is he now? The youngest player to win the Euros with Portugal, he opted for Bayern Munich, flopped, went on loan to Swansea, flopped again, but has had a resurgence since. Currently with Lille.
7. Ante Coric
Where is he now? After winning four league titles with Dinamo Zagreb, he didn't have the same success at Roma and is now with Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia.
6. Gerson
Where is he now? He headed back to Brazil with Flamengo after failing to make the grade in Italy.
5. Martin Odegaard
Where is he now? Zinedine Zidane wouldn't let him leave Real Madrid permanently - perhaps that's a good sign - and he's on loan at Arsenal, where he's already had a couple of brilliant moments.
4. Ruben Neves
Where is he now? Nobody really understood why the Portuguese signed for Wolves while they were still in the Championship, but he's been pivotal to them in the Premier League.
3. Gianluigi Donnarumma
Where is he now? Despite Mino Raiola's best efforts, he never did leave AC Milan. He's Italy's number one, too.
2. Breel Embolo
Where is he now? Linked with a host of top sides in England, he then suffered a serious ankle injury. Now plays for Borussia Monchengladbach.
1. Youri Tielemans
Where is he now? Leicester profited from his woes at Monaco, the Belgian signing for the Foxes for £40m and going on to tear up the Premier League.