1. Marcos Lopes
This list simply wouldn’t be complete without the youngster known as ‘Rony’. The first name off the tongue of anyone when asked about a young City player, the CAM has infinite potential. For the mere age of 18, one would expect raw talent with perhaps a bit of honed skills, and rightfully so. But Lopes shreds that prototype in this lengthy video of him doing incredible things.
As James Rodriguez broke out at this World Cup for Colombia, so Marcos Lopes could for Portugal in Russia. That statement may sound hyperbolic, but the sheer aptitude and flair that he plays with justifies it. Currently on loan in France with Lille, the experience there and on the Portuguese youth teams makes him a prime candidate for a burst onto the scene of world football in the coming years.
As we all await the maturation of Lopes’ dribbling, shooting, passing and overall feel for the game (all of which are already quite impressive), we can salivate over the player he can one day be: one who can truly impact a match on his own. And no club, not even one of Manchester City’s prowess and financial blessings, can have too many of those.
