#IBWM100 FOR 2017
As always, we’ve stuck with the format that served Don Balon so successfully for decades; 100 names and details of where each player is from. We’ll revisit the list in twelve months’ time and assess how 2017 has panned out for each of the players concerned.
The process we use for selection remains exactly the same. We're considering players born on or after 1/1/95 and we talk to scouts, coaches, players, journalists, fans and bloggers from around the world to get a clear a picture of exactly who we should be watching and why. Across the year, we monitor each player on our long list to see how things are going while considering what the future is likely to hold for them. Eventually our long list becomes the #IBWM100 – nothing definitive, just the players that we believe will really soar in 2017.
We don't expect you to agree with all our choices, but we love to be involved in the debate. Leave your comments below the line or hit us up via Twitter using the #IBWM100 tag.
Oh, and if you want to read all the reviews from the 2016 list, you can find them here. Click the 100 link at the top of the page for the full archive too.
| Nation | Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Cristian Pavón | Boca Juniors | Striker |
| Santiago Ascacibar | Estudiantes | Midfielder | |
| Giovanni Simeone | Genoa | Striker | |
| Sebastián Driussi | River | Midfielder | |
| Austria | Konrad Laimer | FC Red Bull Salzburg | Midfielder |
| Belgium | Landry Dimata | KV Oostende | Striker |
| Youri Tielemans | RSC Anderlecht | Midfielder | |
| Brazil | Jorge | Flamengo | Defender |
| Gabriel Jesus | Manchester City | Striker | |
| Boschilia | Monaco | Midfielder | |
| Thiago Maia | Santos | Midfielder | |
| Bulgaria | Georgi Kitanov | CSKA Sofia | Goalkeeper |
| Cameroon | André Onana | Ajax | Goalkeeper |
| Canada | Cyle Larin | Orlando City SC | Striker |
| Colombia | Davinson Sánchez | Ajax | Defender |
| Juan Camilo Hernández | América de Cali | Striker | |
| Croatia | Dominik Livakovic | Dinamo Zagreb | Goalkeeper |
| Czech Republic | Patrik Schick | Sampdoria | Striker |
| Denmark | Kasper Dolberg | Ajax | Striker |
| Andrew Hjulsager | Brøndby IF | Midfielder | |
| Marcus Ingvartsen | FC Nordsjælland | Striker | |
| Ecuador | Michael Estrada | El Nacional | Striker |
| England | Dele Alli | Tottenham Hotspur | Midfielder |
| Lewis Baker | Vitesse (on loan from Chelsea) | Midfielder | |
| France | Theo Hernández | Alavés (on loan from Atlético Madrid) | Defender |
| Thomas Lemar | AS Monaco | Midfielder | |
| Kylian Mbappe-Lottin | AS Monaco | Striker | |
| Ousmane Dembélé | Borussia Dortmund | Midfielder | |
| Moussa Dembélé | Celtic | Striker | |
| Dayotchanculle Upamecano | FC Red Bull Salzburg | Defender | |
| Maxime Lopez | Marseille | Midfielder | |
| Thomas Didillon | Metz | Goalkeeper | |
| Amine Harit | Nantes | Midfielder | |
| Malang Sarr | Nice | Defender | |
| Wylan Cyprien | OGC Nice | Midfielder | |
| Allan Saint-Maximin | SC Bastia (on loan from Monaco) | Midfielder | |
| Germany | Benjamin Henrichs | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | Defender |
| Julian Brandt | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | Midfielder | |
| Joshua Kimmich | Bayern Munich | Midfielder | |
| Julian Weigl | Borussia Dortmund | Midfielder | |
| Timo Werner | Red Bull Leipzig | Striker | |
| Guinea | Naby Keita | Red Bull Leipzig | Midfielder |
| Hungary | Ádám Nagy | Bologna | Midfielder |
| Iran | Sardar Azmoun | Rostov | Striker |
| Italy | Manuel Locatelli | Milan | Midfielder |
| Alessio Romagnoli | Milan | Defender | |
| Gianluigi Donnarumma | Milan | Goalkeeper | |
| Lorenzo Pellegrini | Sassuolo | Midfielder | |
| Ivory Coast | Franck Kessié | Atalanta | Midfielder |
| Jamaica | Leon Bailey | KRC Genk | Midfielder |
| Japan | Yuma Suzuki | Kashima Antlers | Striker |
| Kosovo | Arber Zeneli | SC Heerenveen | Midfielder |
| Mali | Diadie Samassekou | FC Red Bull Salzburg | Midfielder |
| Mexico | César Montes | Monterrey | Defender |
| Hirving Lozano | Pachuca | Midfielder | |
| Montenegro | Marko Kordic | Vojvodina | Goalkeeper |
| Morocco | Sofyan Amrabat | FC Utrecht | Midfielder |
| Netherlands | Jairo Riedewald | Ajax | Defender |
| Nathan Aké | Bournemouth (on loan from Chelsea) | Defender | |
| Tonny Vilhena | Feyenoord | Midfielder | |
| Rick Karsdorp | Feyenoord | Defender | |
| Nigeria | Alex Iwobi | Arsenal | Striker |
| Henry Onyekuru | KAS Eupen | Striker | |
| Wilfred Ndidi | KRC Genk | Midfielder | |
| Kelechi Iheanacho | Manchester City | Striker | |
| Norway | Sander Berge | Valerenga | Midfielder |
| Paraguay | Jesús Medina | Libertad | Midfielder |
| Poland | Karol Linetty | Sampdoria | Midfielder |
| Portugal | Gonçalo Guedes | Benfica | Striker |
| André Silva | Porto | Striker | |
| Gelson Martins | Sporting | Midfielder | |
| Romania | Andrei Ivan | Universitatea Craiova | Midfielder |
| Russia | Aleksandr Golovin | CSKA Moscow | Midfielder |
| Scotland | Kieran Tierney | Celtic | Defender |
| Oliver Burke | Red Bull Leipzig | Midfielder | |
| Senegal | Keita Baldé | Lazio | Midfielder |
| Serbia | Sergej Milinkovic-Savic | Lazio | Midfielder |
| Slovakia | Nikolas Spalek | MSK Zilina | Midfielder |
| Matus Bero | Trabzonspor | Midfielder | |
| Slovenia | Rok Vodisek | Olimpija | Goalkeeper |
| South Africa | Phakamani Mahlambi | Bidvest Vits | Striker |
| South Korea | Hwang Hee-Chan | FC Red Bull Salzburg | Striker |
| Spain | Marcos Llorente | Alavés (on loan from Real Madrid) | Midfielder |
| Héctor Bellerín | Arsenal | Defender | |
| Yeray | Athletic Club | Defender | |
| Mikel Oyarzabal | Real Sociedad | Midfielder | |
| Jorge Meré | Sporting de Gijón | Defender | |
| Sweden | Alexander Isak | AIK | Striker |
| Switzerland | Nico Elvedi | Borussia Mönchengladbach | Defender |
| Dimitri Oberlin | SC Rheindorf Altach (on loan from FC Red Bull Salzburg) | Striker | |
| Turkey | Cengiz Ünder | Basaksehir | Midfielder |
| Enes Ünal | FC Twente (on loan from Manchester City) | Striker | |
| Caglar Söyüncü | Sport-Club Freiburg | Defender | |
| Ukraine | Viktor Kovalenko | Shakhtar Donetsk | Midfielder |
| Uruguay | Nicolás Schiappacasse | Atlético Madrid | Striker |
| Marcelo Saracchi | Danubio | Midfielder | |
| Lucas Torreira | Sampdoria | Midfielder | |
| USA | Christian Pulisic | Borussia Dortmund | Midfielder |
| Ethan Horvath | Molde | Goalkeeper | |
| Cristian Roldan | Seattle Sounders FC | Midfielder |