Youth League graduates making their mark

Since its inception at the beginning of the 2013/14 season, the UEFA Youth League has provided the perfect platform for young talent to shine on the European stage.

The competition has proved to be the ideal stepping stone between youth and senior football for some of Europe's best young players, with hundreds graduating from the Youth League to competing in UEFA's senior club competitions.

This season has seen more talented young players making their mark in either the Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League, having previously caught the eye in the Under-19 competition.

Rising stars at Europe's top table

Last season's Youth League champions, Benfica, progressed to the last eight of the Champions League this term, having entered the competition in the qualifying rounds.

Defender António Silva, who turned 19 in October, appeared ten times during their run to the quarter-finals, barely missing a minute. His team-mate Henrique Araújo, who netted a hat-trick during the Youth League final win over Salzburg a year ago, featured five times in the first half of the season, scoring twice, before departing on loan in January.

Still going in the Champions League is Kristjan Asllani at Inter. The 21-year-old Albanian midfielder scored three in three games with Empoli in last season's Youth League, but this season is participating in European football's elite club competition, so far appearing five times, including the full 90 minutes against Bayern on matchday six in the group stage.

Quarter-finalists Chelsea acquired the talents of Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar in January. The Ukrainian caught the eye with three goals during the group stage, in particular a stunning long-range equaliser at Celtic, having made his debut in the competition last season. Mudryk twice participated in the Youth League, playing 12 times across the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. Mudryk's team-mate Marc Cucurella also made his bow in the competition this season, having been a Youth League semi-finalist with Barcelona in 2017.

Liverpool's Harvey Elliott is another whose Champions League debut came during 2021/22, when he started in a 2-0 win away at Inter having been a Youth League regular two seasons before. He featured in all eight of the Reds' competition matches this time around, netting twice. At 18, Stefan Bajcetic is two years younger than Elliott, but still played four times during this season's Champions League run, matching his total number of Youth League appearances made last season.

At Paris Saint-Germain, Warren Zaïre-Emery made his Champions League debut while still a 16-year-old during the group stages and featured in both matches against Bayern in the round of 16. After playing eight times last season, he appeared just once in this season's Youth League, scoring in a 5-3 win against Juventus.

Impressive Thursday impacts

It is not just in the Champions League where progress is being made. Youth League semi-finalists AZ Alkmaar are also enjoying a fine run in the Europa Conference League after booking a spot in the semi-finals with a penalty shoot-out victory over Anderlecht.

Mexx Merdink, the 19-year-old who has netted seven times in five Youth League games before stepping up into the first team squad, scored the winning penalty to send AZ to their first senior European semi-final in 18 years. Meerdink made his Europa Conference League debut in the round of 16 victory against Lazio, alongside 18-year-old defender Wouter Goes, who started both legs. Goes was an unused substitute against Anderlecht and the next day captained AZ to victory, also on penalties, versus Sporting CP in the Youth League semis in Geneva. Three days later Meerdink (having played an Eredivisie match in between) joined him and scored twice in the 5-0 final defeat of Hajduk Split.

In the Europa League, PSV's Xavi Simons played seven times after his summer transfer from Paris, scoring in the group stage against Zürich and laying on an assist for Fábio Silva as they sought to find a comeback against Sevilla in the knockout stages. Simons played 12 Youth League games for Paris during the 2019/20 and 2021/22 campaigns, scoring five times.

There is clearly no shortage of talent coming through in European football. Who will be next to make their mark at a senior level?