Football fans are always desperate to know who the sport's next star will be.

There's a guaranteed sense of excitement when young players breakthrough at some of the world's biggest clubs with Marcus Rashford at Manchester United proving a fine example.

However, given the fluid and fast-paced nature of the beautiful game, players like Rashford quickly move out of their 'prospect' stage and become a fully-fledged member of their teams.

Bearing that in mind, it's never long before the next generation of players are put under the spotlight and it's the category of players under the age of 20 that often attracts the most interest.

Besides, the day when Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi hang up their boots will come one day and fans will be left wondering who will follow in their footsteps in four or five year's time.

Top 60 under-20 players

And while there are certain accolades like the Golden Boy award that crown the world's greatest prospect, that doesn't shine a light on the young stars performing well around them.

So, that's why it's so intriguing that La Gazzetta dello Sport - Italy's most popular newspaper, no less - has taken on the challenge of ranking world football's 60 best under-20 players.

Pretty daunting stuff and while we'll tell you in advance that Jadon Sancho takes the throne, you can enjoy the full countdown of the best 16 to 20-year-old players down below:

60. Alexis Mendez - Ajax

59. Andrea Pinamonti - Inter Milan

58. Rhian Brewster - Liverpool

57. Ezequiel Barco - Atlanta United

56. Ozan Muhammed Kabak - Schalke

55. Thiago Almada - Velez Sarsfield

54. Giorgi Chakvetadze - Gent

53. Sebastian Soto - Hannover

52. Ethan Ampadu - Chelsea

51. Jean-Clair Todibo - Barcelona

50. Tahith Chong - Manchester United

49. Paulinho - Bayer Leverkusen

48. Mason Mount - Chelsea

47. Lucien Agoume - Inter Milan

46. Mason Greenwood - Manchester United

45. Abdulkadir Omur - Trabzonspor

44. Boubacar Kamara - Marseille

43. Nicolas Schiappacasse - Atletico Madrid

42. Jose Campana - Levante

41. Reinier - Flamengo

40. Gedson Fernandes - Benfica

39. Riqui Puig - Barcelona

38. Agustin Almendra - Boca Juniors

37. Malang Sarr - Nice

36. Hannes Wolf - Red Bull Salzburg

35. Ferran Torres - Valencia

34. Andriy Lunin - Real Madrid

33. Lincoln - Flamengo

32. Evan N'Dicka - Eintracht Frankfurt

31. Arne Maier - Hertha Berlin

30. Reiss Nelson - Arsenal

29. Sandro Tonali - Brescia

28. Willem Geubbels - AS Monaco

27. Takefusa Kubo - Real Madrid

26. Samuel Chukwueze - Villarreal

25. Ibrahima Konate - RB Leipzig

24. Alban Lafont - Nantes

23. Jann-Fiete Arp - Bayern Munich

22. Sergio Gomez - Borussia Dortmund

21. Dominik Szoboszlai - Red Bull Salzburg

20. Diogo Dalot - Manchester United

19. Declan Rice - West Ham

18. Alphonso Davies - Bayern Munich

17. Brahim Diaz - Real Madrid

16. Matteo Guendouzi - Arsenal

15. Lee Kang-in - Valencia

14. Nicolo Zaniolo - AS Roma

13. Dan-Axel Zagadou - Borussia Dortmund

12. Callum Hudson-Odoi - Chelsea

11. Moise Kean - Everton

10. Rafael Leao - AC Milan

9. Ryan Sessegnon - Fulham

8. Rodrygo - Real Madrid

7. Phil Foden - Manchester City

6. Gianluigi Donnarumma - AC Milan

5. Joao Felix - Atletico Madrid

4. Vinicius Junior - Real Madrid

3. Kai Havertz - Bayer Leverkusen

2. Matthijs de Ligt - Juventus

1. Jadon Sancho - Borussia Dortmund

Who do you think is the best young player in football? Have your say in the comments section below.

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