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.