New generation. Talents to watch in 2025 (Part 2)
Luis Torres
Dailysports's expert
Earlier, Dailysports introduced you to five talents worth keeping a close eye on in 2025. However, the football world is full of young prospects, so we’ve prepared another five players for you to follow.
Vitor Reis (Palmeiras)
Position: Central defender
Age: 18
Real Madrid, Arsenal, PSG, Manchester United, Liverpool – these are all clubs rumored to be interested in Palmeiras' young central defender Vitor Reis. After selling Willian Estevão to Chelsea, this player has become the most valuable asset of "Verdão."
Vitor Reis is a modern central defender who excels at initiating attacks with his first pass. Additionally, Reis plays positionally well but struggles somewhat with physical duels. However, there’s no doubt that with proper work from physical preparation coaches, this issue can be resolved.
Everything points to Reis soon becoming a Manchester City player. Fabrizio Romano reports that the English champions have agreed on all contract details with the 18-year-old Brazilian. Currently, Man City is negotiating with Palmeiras for a transfer fee of approximately 40 million euros.
Considering Manchester City’s ongoing personnel issues in central defense, Reis will certainly get his chances. His playing style is perfectly suited to Pep Guardiola.
Giovanni Quenda (Sporting Lisbon)
Position: Right winger
Age: 17
Quenda is another super talent from Sporting Lisbon’s academy. But due to Viktor Gyökeres’ incredible performances, Quenda has received unfairly little attention. Yet, he is already very important to the team.
At just 17, Quenda has broken into Sporting’s starting XI and is progressing phenomenally under Ruben Amorim. This season, Quenda has played 29 matches, scoring 2 goals and providing 6 assists.
Nominally a right winger, Quenda has been tasked with covering the entire right flank in a system with three central defenders under Amorim. His style is reminiscent of Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, as he adeptly closes spaces in defense while contributing to the attack with speed and consistent forward drives.
One of Quenda’s key strengths is his ability to use both feet, making him equally effective on the left flank. Sporting has deployed him there several times this season.
Thanks to his incredible talent, Quenda has even received his first call-up to Portugal’s national team, though he has yet to make his debut.
The media has already linked Quenda with interest from Manchester United, who are searching for a new right-back, a position Amorim knows Quenda well in. However, it’s clear that Quenda will have many more career options by the summer. Bayern Munich and PSG have also shown concrete interest.
Artem Stepanov (Bayer Leverkusen)
Position: Central forward
Age: 17
Stepanov began his footballing journey in Shakhtar Donetsk’s academy but moved to Germany due to the full-scale war with Russia. In Ukraine, this young forward showed enormous promise, catching the attention of both Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. Ultimately, Stepanov chose the latter.
Currently, Stepanov is Bayer’s most promising young talent. At just 16, he trained with the first team, and Xabi Alonso involved him in friendly matches.
Last season, Stepanov became the top scorer in Germany’s youth league, netting 18 goals in 23 matches despite being two years younger than most of his competitors. In Germany, Stepanov is dubbed the "Ukrainian Erling Haaland," as his build and playing style are reminiscent of the Norwegian striker. Despite his physique, Stepanov boasts impressive speed and is highly effective in the penalty area.
So far, Stepanov has made only one appearance for Bayer’s senior team, coming off the bench in a 5-0 Champions League win against Red Bull Salzburg. However, he has consistently been included in Bundesliga matchday squads, and it’s only a matter of time before he gets his chance. It’s likely that Stepanov will be one of Germany’s breakout stars in 2025.
Kendry Páez (Independiente del Valle/Chelsea)
Position: Attacking midfielder
Age: 17
It’s hard to imagine how Chelsea will manage to fit all their talents into the team. Yet, Kendry Páez possesses exceptional talent and has every chance to break into the Blues’ main squad.
Interestingly, Chelsea purchased Páez from Independiente del Valle for 10 million euros in the summer of 2023 but loaned him back to his home club for two years. Thus, Páez will only move to London next summer. However, he has not wasted his time at Independiente del Valle.
Páez debuted for one of Ecuador’s strongest clubs at the age of 15 years, 9 months, and 21 days, immediately becoming a regular starter. At 16, Páez began playing for Ecuador’s national team and scored his first goal at 16 years, 5 months, and 9 days, breaking Diego Maradona’s record as the youngest scorer in South American football history. By 17, Páez had already played 17 matches for Ecuador, scoring 2 goals and providing 3 assists.
Páez is an incredibly technical central midfielder who excels in tight spaces. For his age, he has outstanding vision, with his signature move being passes behind defenders. He also strikes well from outside the penalty area.
At Chelsea, Páez may face competition from Enzo Fernández, but there’s no doubt he’ll get playing time and it will be fascinating to see how he adapts to English football.
Guillaume Restes (Toulouse)
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 19
How many goalkeepers in top leagues have become first-choice at 18? Guillaume Restes has managed to achieve this rare feat.
Restes made his debut for Toulouse in August 2023 at just 18 years, 5 months, and 2 days old due to a lack of available goalkeepers. However, he performed so well that he secured the starting role for the entire season.
This season, Restes remains Toulouse’s first-choice goalkeeper and is one of Ligue 1’s best players in his position. In 16 matches, he has conceded just 17 goals and kept 7 clean sheets—impressive numbers for a goalkeeper at a mid-table Ligue 1 club. Notably, he has allowed only two goals from outside the penalty area, the best record in the league, highlighting his excellent shot-stopping abilities.
There’s no doubt that this season, the 19-year-old talent will finish with Toulouse before moving to a bigger club in the summer. PSG, dissatisfied with Donnarumma and Safonov, and Bayern Munich are reportedly monitoring him closely.
