00:00Hello and welcome back to our new 4-4-2 video feature, The Boys A Bit Special,
00:04in which we're highlighting the best and brightest teenagers world football has to offer.
00:08Each month we'll be selecting four players, some more renowned than others,
00:11and giving them the airtime we think they deserve.
00:13Don't forget to comment your suggestions below if there's a player we really should be spotlighting,
00:18but try not to take it personally if your team's favourite youngster isn't featured.
00:21Relax, it's not that deep.
00:23So without further ado, on with the show, and it's a Galactico with a twist who kicks off this episode.
00:27Mas D'Antonio!
00:31Franco Mas D'Antonio has had two breakout years, not one.
00:34The Argentine international slipped on Claudio Echeverri's boots and into the red Sasha Dawn
00:39rubber plate kit shortly after Echeverri's move to Manchester City just over 18 months ago.
00:44That was Mas D'Antonio's first breakout year, 2024, when he announced himself in South America.
00:49In 2025, Mas D'Antonio has arrived on the world stage.
00:52The newly turned 18-year-old has assumed starting responsibilities under Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid
00:57and that's a lot easier said than done.
01:00Just ask Renier, Hendrik or Arda Guller.
01:02Mas D'Antonio is a left-footed right-winger and hails from a sporting background.
01:06He was once considered one of Argentina's 10 best tennis players in his age group before committing to football.
01:11To watch Mas D'Antonio during his final six months in Argentinian football, it was clear he'd outgrown the environment.
01:17Very little appeared to challenge him anymore.
01:19Make no mistake, at 18 he's got a lot to learn and will be in and out of the team because of the sheer talent in Real Madrid's ranks.
01:25But players who make their Argentina debuts and move to the Santiago Bernabeu for 40 million euros
01:30before they're old enough to legally buy a pint, not that they'd be doing that anyway, tend to be a bit special.
01:36When Mas D'Antonio isn't shooting, he's winning fouls which lead to shooting opportunities for others.
01:41When he isn't doing either of those things, he's creating chances.
01:43Doing so almost five times per game during his final 12 months with River Plate, which is remarkably consistent.
01:50Mas D'Antonio has a strong preference for his left foot, but that isn't to say that his right is obsolete.
01:54Demonstrated by the goal he scored against Levante to open his Real Madrid account.
01:58Takes it in his stride.
02:01Mas D'Antonio with his right foot.
02:03Franco Mas D'Antonio.
02:04Given the chance though, he'll always cut infield from an aggressive starting position right out there on the touchline.
02:11And when he arrives within a reasonable distance from goal, he loads the bullets and fires.
02:15There's no shortage of attacking options at the Bernabeu, but consistent starts are indicative of a player who has Alonso's trust
02:21and that's a rare, valuable, some would even say special commodity for any teenager.
02:25I don't think I've seen anything like it, yes I'm going to say it, since Messi.
02:31When 5 foot 6 inch Rodrigo Moura scored on his first FC Porto start at the age of 17,
02:36he was hoisted like a puppet by 6 foot 4 inch team mate Samu Agahoa.
02:40Size, ironically, plays a big part in Moura's game.
02:43How often have we heard stories of players who were overlooked due to their diminutive stature
02:47or their inability to impact matches physically?
02:50Kevin Keegan is one, Andres Iniesta another, and they did alright for themselves.
02:54In Moura's case, he's probably benefited from being born in the modern era
02:58when his talent is such that he's rarely needed to engage in the more agricultural parts of the game.
03:03From an early age, Moura superseded his peers with technical ability and an eye for a pass.
03:08In particular, Moura's display at the 2024 UEFA Under-17 Euros earned him the Golden Ball,
03:13the tournament's prize for the best player, after he scored five times and provided two assists
03:18en route to finishing a runner-up with Portugal.
03:20The season before last, Moura finished joint top scorer in the UEFA Youth League 2
03:24netting seven goals as Porto were knocked out on penalties in the semi-final.
03:28He's doing his bit, and you can't say fairer than that.
03:31Last year, while still a teenager, Moura hit double figures for Porto
03:33and was subsequently called up to Roberto Martinez's senior Portugal squad
03:37for the UEFA Nations League finals over the summer.
03:40It'll be some feat to continue in the same vein during 25-26,
03:44but if he does, he stands a real chance of making the World Cup squad.
03:47In many ways, Moura is a throwback to the archetypal European number 10.
03:51Short and slippery, sporting those flowing auburn locks, receiving between lines,
03:56ducking and weaving between pressure.
03:57If a footballer could quite literally dribble through an opposing player's legs, Moura would be it.
04:02Balance and composure in the final third are what he's all about.
04:05Moura is constantly active in attacking spaces and likes to make himself a touchpoint
04:09for his Porto teammates to find inside the area,
04:12and that makes him a nightmare to keep tabs on for defences.
04:15Boyish looks, huge talent, a crab-like ability to protect possession in tight spaces,
04:20he's both-footed and bears a stylistic resemblance to the one and only David Silva.
04:25Moura is, how they say in Portuguese, un craque.
04:27Keeper can't stop it, thunderbolt from Harry Gray.
04:32A hat-trick.
04:33The English representative in this boys-a-bit-special feature
04:36hasn't made a single appearance in the Premier League yet,
04:38but we're pretty sure he will before long.
04:40Leeds United are an historic institution,
04:42and Ellen Road is one of English football's oldest and most authentic stadiums.
04:46There is one family whose legacy adorns the walls and corridors more than any other,
04:50and that's the Greys.
04:51At least one member of the Gray family has played for or managed Leeds United
04:55during the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.
05:0117-year-old Harry Gray is the latest in a long line of Gray family men
05:05to pull on the white shirt of Leeds.
05:06The teenage striker made his senior debut at the end of Leeds' championship-winning
05:1024-25 season, but those around the club have been talking about the great-nephew
05:14of Ellen Road icon Eddie Gray much longer than he's been around the first team.
05:18Harry's elder brother Archie, now at Spurs, burst onto the scene with Leeds
05:21as a fresh-faced, versatile midfielder, playing over 50 times in his one and only season
05:26as a first-team player.
05:27And, as a former Leeds reporter myself, I can tell you first-hand that
05:31whenever people spoke of Archie's development and the Gray family lineage,
05:34that there was almost always mention of his younger sibling, Harry, too.
05:38And that was because of his goal-scoring exploits in the academy.
05:42Tall, confident and wiry, Harry is much like his brother.
05:45Already an accomplished footballer, even if senior opportunities in the Premier League
05:48will be harder to come by than Archie found in the division below.
05:51The Leeds' youngster is a striker-striker, working hard out of possession
05:55and clinical in front of goal.
05:57His style is typical of the number nines that his grandad, Frank Gray,
06:00a European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest, made a living playing against back in the 70s and 80s.
06:05Harry is yet to make his Premier League debut, but that's coming.
06:08Already this season, he's scored a hat-trick against senior opposition
06:11and made light work of PL2 defences for the 21s.
06:15And, we know what you're thinking, there's no nepotism going on here.
06:18He really is a bit special.
06:24The Basque country is known for two things, its food and its football clubs.
06:28John MartÃn is the latest in a succession of young Basque players
06:31to break into the senior set-up at Anoeta,
06:34having cut his teeth at the club's world-renowned Zubieta Academy.
06:37The teenage central defender is an aerial colossus first and foremost.
06:41In the same way San Sebastián's weather is often compared to its British cousin,
06:45MartÃn's style of play is more like that of an old-school, proper British centre-half.
06:50Last-minute tackles, duelling in the air, no-nonsense clearances, blocking shots
06:53and, you know what, sometimes leaving one on the man he's been tasked with marking.
06:57L'Oreal haven't started this season very well.
06:59They changed manager and sporting director recently
07:01and this is a club in the past that hasn't exactly thrived when in a state of flux.
07:06MartÃn hasn't been a favourite of new coach Sergio Francisco
07:09but his emergence last term and the more recent extension of his contract,
07:13which now runs until 2031,
07:16suggests the 19-year-old has a longer shelf life in Donostia.
07:19The Basque lighthouse, which is a nickname I'm really quite proud to have come up with,
07:22is a major threat in the opposition penalty area
07:25and has demonstrated exactly that in youth international tournaments for Spain.
07:28Even at six foot one inches,
07:30which is by no means the tallest for a top five European league central defender,
07:34MartÃn's aerial prowess is his standout attribute
07:37and something he's likely to improve upon
07:39as he develops further, both tactically and physically.
07:42Spain's pool of up-and-coming centre-halves is rich with promising talent,
07:46considering Pau Kubasi and Dean Hoyssen playing regularly for La Liga's big two.
07:50But don't be fooled by MartÃn's current lack of game time.
07:53He deserves to be spoken about in the same breath and clubs know it.
07:56And don't forget you can read all about the world's best young talents and more
07:59in the latest issue of 442 magazine.
08:02And remember, tell us in the comments which teenagers you want to see featured
08:05on the next episode of the Boys a Bit Special.
08:08Thanks for watching, bye for now.
Comments