10 young players to watch

By Harvey Cruz | Jun 11, 2018

TOPSHOT - France's foward Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring a goal during the friendly football match between France and Italy at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, southeastern France, on June 1, 2018. (Photo by VALERY HACHE / AFP) (Photo credit should read VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images) /

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ALLIANZ STADIUM, TORINO, ITALY – 2018/04/15: Lucas Torreira of UC Sampdoria during the Serie A football match between Juventus Fc and Uc Sampdoria . Juventus Fc wins 3-0 over Uc Sampdoria. (Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

6. Lucas Torreira

While Sampdoria didn’t enjoy a fruitful season, finishing 10th in Serie A, Lucas Torreira was a bright spot. The 22-year-old Uruguayan holding midfielder held is own in a difficult league, starting 36 games and scoring four goals. A great tackler of the ball, he sticks to his opponents like glue and is strong in 50-50 battles.

That he was linked with a move to Napoli last year is a sign of the quality of his performances. That move may not pan out with Maurizio Sarri gone, but perhaps Carlo Ancelotti will be interested anyway. For now, Torreira’s attention is with Uruguay in a very winnable group with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Anything other than top spot would be a disappointment, with the attacking duo of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez set to rip their opponents apart. With those guys shouldering all the pressure, Torreira will have an opportunity to ease himself into the competition against some relatively weak opponents.

Uruguay have the talent to make a deep run in the tournament, and Torreira will be at the center of it all, literally. Given the nature of his position, he’s unlikely to receive the attention of some of the other players on this list, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make a big impact, or that big clubs won’t be watching.