While Gareth Southgate’s England team is sure to have another tҺrilling tournament in Germany next summer, the European Championships should also provide a stage for football’s up-and-coming stars to shine.

Major clubs often go crаzy during the summer transfer window after that, chasing after the players who made an impression for their national teams. It may be time for some proactive moves during the January transfer window before Euro 2024 causes prices to increase and discussions to get more difficult, since the top sides are now doing all they can to go ahead of each other.

During the winter transfer window, Chelsea have been known to spend over £250 million on young players like Benoit Badiashile (£35 million), Mykhailo Mudryk (£62 million), and Enzo Fernandez (£106 million).

What follows is an analysis of a selection of the best young players, based on our assessment of their potential to play in and make an impression in the next summer European Championships and their potential for an early transfer to SW6.

Portuguese forward Joao Neves (Benfica)

It is well-known that Benfica is a stepping stone for promising young players to the Premier League; notable successes for Benfica include Darwin Nunez, Ruben Dias, Ederson, and Enzo Fernandez.

Jоао 𝚗еvеs, tҺе mιԀfιеlԀеr ρrоmоtеԀ tо Bе𝚗fιcа’s fιrst tеаm fоllоwι𝚗g Fеr𝚗а𝚗Ԁеz’s Jа𝚗uаry £106 mιllιо𝚗 trа𝚗sfеr tо CҺеlsеа, аρρеаrs tо bе tҺе 𝚗еxt tо gо. TҺιs 19-yеаr-оlԀ mιԀfιеlԀеr Һаs swιftly bеcоmе а𝚗 ι𝚗tеgrаl ρаrt оf Bе𝚗fιcа’s succеss, а𝚗Ԁ rumоur Һаs ιt tҺаt Mа𝚗cҺеstеr U𝚗ιtеԀ Һаvе tаkе𝚗 𝚗оtιcе. еrιk tе𝚗 Һаg аllеgеԀly sееs Һιm аs а ρоtе𝚗tιаl lо𝚗g-tеrm succеssоr tо Cаsеmιrо.

After coming off the bench in October’s 5-0 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Neves earned his senior Portugal debut. Neves has a great opportunity to make an impression at next summer’s Euros if Roberto Martinez’s team continues to perform as predicted.

Dutch-Ajax player Jorrel Hato

Although Ajax have had their share of problems so far this season, 17-year-old defender Jorrel Hato has provided some cause for optimism for the club’s supporters. The youngster has began playing more and more minutes for the first team since last season, and he has already surpassed Daley Blind and Owen Wijndal to become the starting left back for every game in the 2023–24 Eredivisie.

Hato, a powerful and quick player, debuted for Ronald Koeman’s senior Dutch team this month in a match against Gibraltar. He came on as a substitute for Virgil van Dijk and played the remainder of the match as center defense. If the teenager keeps up his impressive play for Ajax, he will have given himself a fantastic chance, regardless of whether the Dutch manager decides to send him to Germany.

Goalkeeper Benjamin Šeško (Slovenia/RB Leipzig)

Slovenia will be competing in their second European Championship, following its last debut in 2000. Key figures, such towering 6 feet 4 inch center forward Benjamin Sesko, will be on display in Germany. At just 20 years old, the player has already earned 26 caps for his nation and scored 10 goals. During Slovenia’s qualification campaign, when they placed second in Group H behind Denmark, he scored five of those goals.

After agreeing to a £21 million transfer the previous season, Sesko left sister club Red Bull Salzburg for RB Leipzig in the summer. He has six goals in sixteen games played thus far in 2023/24, and he scored eighteen goals in his last season in Austria. Speculation has circulated that Sesko may end up in the Premier League in the future; however, any side interested in signing the striker would likely have to pay twice as much as Leipzig did in the summer for him, given his current deal in Germany extends until 2028.

Given how quickly his value has increased, Chelsea, Arsenal, or anyone else interested in signing him could do well to move quickly. The Blues from the Todd Boehly period have experience with this type of agreement as well. In December of last year, they agreed to sign midfielder Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig, and Nkunku stayed in Germany until the season ended.

“Warren Zaire-Emery” (France/PSG)

Even though it’s quite doubtful, Chelsea would pull off a major coup if they were able to sign 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery, who is quickly becoming an integral part of Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain.

Zaire-Emery is, however, among the players who will soon become household names and who may be among the future stars on display at Euro 2024. Before being selected captain of Thierry Henry’s Under-21s team, the teenager made history last season as the youngest player ever to participate in the Champions League’s knockout stages. In November, he earned his first senior cap and became France’s second-youngest goalscorer with a goal in a 14-0 thrashing of Gibraltar.

The midfielder has been compared by the former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to three legendary French footballers—Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, and Patrick Vieira—who together defined a generation of French football.

The Italian Atalante native Giorgio Scalvini

Giorgio Scalvini has been a revelation for Atalanta and Luciano Spalletti’s Italy this season, so it’s only a matter of time before he receives a major transfer. The 19-year-old central defender has been a mainstay in Gian Piero Gasperini’s starting lineup whenever healthy this season, and he has already played 70 games for Atalanta since making his debut in 2021.

Scalvini, whose favorite player is Thiago Silva of Chelsea, has been connected with a number of European clubs after impressing in Serie A and the Europa League. Among these clubs are Inter Milan, Napoli, Manchester City, Newcastle, and Chelsea.

January is an excellent moment for clubs to act since, if Scalvini keeps up his current trajectory, he might command a high transfer fee following next summer’s Euros.