What happened to the six wonderkids L'Equipe tipped to dominate football in 2019
Renowned French outlet L'Equipe tipped six wonderkids to dominated football in 2019. Six years later, where are they now?
As part of their 'The Wonders of European Football' series, L'Equipe named six young players they believed would go right to the very top.
So, what happened to them? Well, SPORTbible took a look at the six players included in the list.
Karim Adeyemi
Adeyemi is the standout wonderkid of all their picks. The 24-year-old enjoyed his breakthrough at Red Bull Salzburg before earning himself a move to Borussia Dortmund.
The winger, known for his searing pace, has scored 23 goals in 93 matches for Dortmund and has alerted some of Europe's elite, with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool thought to be keeping tabs on his development.
Ansu Fati
Fati made his Barcelona debut as a teenager, aged just 16. He was destined to enjoy a superstar career after inheriting Lionel Messi's No.10 shirt.
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But a series of injuries prevented his career ascent, with the player loaned out to Brighton in the Premier League.
He's back at Barcelona but has made just eight appearances across all competitions this season.
Karamoko Dembele
At the time, Dembele was impressing and making serious waves at Celtic, with the publication describing the attacking talent as 'vivid and agile, the British striker seems destined for a great career, although questions will escort him, especially about his choice of selection'.
Dembele, now 22, had attracted interest from Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, but his big move never materialised.
In 2022, he signed for Brest before returning to the UK in the shape of a loan move to Blackpool.
Dembele joined Queens Park Rangers on a season-long loan last summer, with the Championship club later confirming a permanent deal, effective from the summer of 2025.
Mohamed Amine Ihattaren
Ihattaren was highly rated as a youngster at PSV Eindhoven. After playing 74 matches for PSV, Juve swooped in and secured the attacking midfielder's services.
He was immediately loaned out before enduring a difficult period, having mutually agreed to rescind his contract with the Italian giants.
Ihattaren signed for Turkish outfit Samsunspor, who then walked away from the deal.
He joined Slavia Prague in December 2023, but his contract was terminated having failed to make a single appearance for the Czechia side.
Last September, Ihattaren returned to the Netherlands as he moved to RKC Waalwijk.
Sebastiano Esposito
Esposito came through the ranks at Inter Milan, but his career has yet to get off the ground, enjoying a series of loan spells away from the San Siro.
The Italian forward is currently on loan at Empoli, where he has scored 10 goals in 27 games this season.
Joelson Fernandes
Fernandes had hoped to be the next big thing to break through the Sporting CP Academy.
He enjoyed a two-year loan spell at Basel before joining Turkish team Hatayspor in July 2023.
Topics: Ansu Fati, Football, FC Barcelona
Nasir Jabbar