Developing Top Young Talent: Hachim Mastour of AC Milan

Hachim Mastour, AC Milan’s teenage starlet, is starting to make headlines around the world. He’s still young, however, and the Italian Giants have a massive responsibility in making sure he can live up to all the so-called hype that is surrounding him.

The question is asked all too frequently. How do you develop top young talent into top world class talent at the senior level. FC Barcelona are doing it far more often than not with their youth setup at La Masia, and even Arsene Wenger has shown that he is capable of transforming top teens into household names.

The Next Pele

Every year, a new name emerges in world soccer. Freddy Adu is a perfect example. The 23 year old was touted as the next Pele at 13 years of age, signing a large endorsement with Nike and featuring in mainstream marketing campaigns for companies like Sierra Mist. He even made his “Got Milk?” debut before he turned 20.

So much praise, so much hype, so much anticipation, and so much pressure. Adu started his career at DC United before being traded to Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer. He was then sold to Benefica in Portugal before loan stints took him around Europe to AS Monaco, Belenenses, Aris, and Çaykur Rizespor. He made his return to Major League Soccer in 2011 when he signed for the Philadelphia Union, but now his future remains uncertain.

How could a player that was compared to arguably the world’s best ever player be uncertain of his future at the young age of 23? What are the world’s top clubs doing to ensure that their bright starlets are kept grounded, focused, and on the right path?

The Future of AC Milan?

This brings us back to Hachim Mastour of AC Milan. If you haven’t seen the videos, you should. The boy can play the beautiful game, and amongst his peers, he looks leaps and bounds ahead of everyone.

Check out Mastour below…
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His ability on the ball is evident. Technically, he is superb and his intelligence shows from both his movement off the ball, and his decision making on it. He does on the ball what a player like Lionel Messi does consistently against some of the world’s best defenders. But herein lies the question. How do clubs convert world-class youth players to world-class senior players?

FC Barcelona

Once again, Barcelona have shown that they are capable developing some of the world’s best players on a consistent basis. They’ve proven this by consistently fielding players that have graduated from La Masia in their first team. Guys like Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Victor Valdes, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and notably Lionel Messi have all come from Barcelona’s fabled youth system. Cesc Fabregas left the Catalan club for Arsenal before ‘graduating’ from La Masia, but he is now back in Spain making a large impact for the Spanish giants.

HAVE YOU SEEN FC BARCELONA’S LATEST YOUNG STAR?

As for Mastour, he does still have a long way to go. He’s still a teenager after all, but his performances for both Milan and Italy’s youth national team suggest he could have a very bright future if he stays on course.

Far too many players fizzle into relative obscurity despite their bright starts to the game. For the sake of Mastour and football in general, lets hope Milan are able to harness his ability and guide him to the next level - the level so many aspire for, but so few every get to.