Ben Mattinson: 10 talented hidden gem players you should look out for on UEFA Europa League Match Day 4

With Match Day 4 of the UEFA Europa League on tap Thursday, there will be many talented players on display that you might not yet know.

But you will soon: here are some of the players that you will be hearing about during transfer windows in the coming years.

Christos Mouzakitis – Olympiacos, 17, Central-Midfielder

Greek clubs don’t tend to play young players a lot so the fact that Mouzakitis has started five games this season at only 17-years-old is ridiculously impressive. The tenacious midfielder is small but tough. Off the ball he’s aggressive in winning the ball back and duelling with players and on the ball he’s an exceptional passer who creates from deep positions in midfield.

Malick Fofana – Lyon, 19, Left-Winger

Back in January, Lyon signed Fofana from KAA Gent for €19.50m and has since become a key player for Lyon. The two-footed winger is an explosive ball-carrier who loves to dribble out of tight spaces and take on players.

Tom Bischof – Hoffenheim, 19, Central-Midfielder

Originally an attacking midfielder, Bischof has moved further back this season playing as the deepest midfielder of the three. It’s in these areas where Biscof has displayed lots of deep-lying-maker qualities. Passing through the lines, spraying passes out wide, showing exceptional press resistance and close control to weave out of danger.

Roger Fernandes – SC Braga, 18, Right-Winger

Another exciting dribbling winger, Roger Fernandes has such a quick burst of acceleration and can create separation from his marker so quickly. When cutting inside onto his left foot, he shows quality in striking the ball with power from distance.

Semih Kılıçsoy – Beşiktaş, 19, Striker

With early comparisons to Aguero and Rooney, Kılıçsoy exploded onto the scene for Beşiktaş and early on went on a scoring streak of four consecutive games where he got 5 goals and an assist at only 18-years-old. The stocky, powerful forward can play off the left-wing and has a ferocious strike on him.

Rodri wins Ballon d’Or 

Can Uzun – Eintracht Frankfurt, 18, Attacking-Midfielder

Uzun signed from 2. Bundesliga side FC Nürnberg in the summer for €11m and is slowly being integrated into the team. Can Uzun is a talented versatile attacker who’s played as a #10, second-striker, striker, false 9. He’s both footed, a clinical instinctive finisher with great vision and spatial awareness.

Ernest Poku – AZ Alkmaar, 20, Right-Winger

Electric fast attacker Ernest Poku was a standout player for AZ’s 2022/23 UEFA Youth League winning team and is now impressing for the senior team too. A relentless winger who’s direct, loves to take on players and is able to finish off both feet to a high standard.

Christos Zafeiris – Slavia Praha, 21, Central-Midfielder

Zafeiris is a deep-lying-playmaker with so much ability and technical brilliance. He’s got a small turn radius which allows him to manipulate the ball so well to escape pressure and retain possession. But also, his ability to break the lines and ping passes from deep really enables Zafeiris to influence the attacking patterns. Not only that but he’s so tenacious off the ball. Zafeiris and Mouzakitis will both be key players for Greece in the future.

Darío Osorio – FC Midtjylland, 20, Right-Winger

Osorio is a tall winger with quality ball-striking from distance. He’s already become a starter for the Chile national team and certainly will be on the radar of lots of top teams. A player of his ability won’t be in the Danish Superliga for long.

Rodrigo Mora – FC Porto, 17, Attacking-Midfielder

Olival (FC Porto’s academy) has frequently produced so many top talents and Rodrigo Mora is their next starboy. The 17-year-old was the joint leading goal scorer in the 2024 U17 Euro’s tied with five other players including AC Milan’s prolific goal-scorer Francesco Camarda and Tottenham’s Mikey Moore.

In addition to this, in the 2023/24 UEFA Youth League he was top scorer with 7 goals joint with Amin Chiakha (FC København). A super talented pockets player with a goal-threat. Since then, Mora has received first team minutes and even scored his first goal on Monday in the up against AVS.