Six rising stars to watch at AFCON 2025 - including Man Utd, Liverpool & Spurs targetsplaceholder image
Six rising stars to watch at AFCON 2025 - including Man Utd, Liverpool & Spurs targets | Getty Images
Six young players to watch out for at the Africa Cup of Nations - including Man Utd, Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle transfer targets.
The greatest show in African football gets underway this Saturday when host nation Morocco take on Comoros in the opening game of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations – and while the tournament may be something of an inconvenience to Premier League teams losing their best players for up to a month, it’s also the perfect chance for clubs to take a look at some of the continent’s brightest talent.
We’ve picked out six young rising stars who could put their name up in lights at AFCON. They range from a defender coming through the ranks with Brentford to players who are already making something of a name for themselves in France and Germany – and who have attracted the attention of teams such as Manchester United, Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and more. Let’s take a look at some of the potential stars of the tournament…
Christ Inao Oulaï - Trabzonspor
Called up to the Ivory Coast’s squad despite having just one cap to his name, Oulaï has already garnered plenty of praise for his performances in Turkey after moving to Trabzonspor from French second-tier side Bastia this summer - and Manchester United, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are all believed to be interested.
A small but high energy, all-action playmaker whose work rate off the ball means that he has the potential to be an exceptional box-to-box player, Oulaï has two goals and three assists in just nine league appearances in the Super Lig and made his national team debut last month when he was called up for warm-up friendlies - clearly impressing national head coach Emerse Faé enough to get himself on the plane to Morocco immediately.
Just 19 years of age and reportedly valued at €40m (£35m) by his club (who paid considerably less for him just a few months ago), Oulaï looks like one of the best pieces of scouting any side was responsible for last summer - and could soon be making a name for himself in one of Europe’s biggest leagues.
Lamine Camara – AS Monaco
Box-to-box midfielder Camara is already enjoying huge success in France, establishing himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet at Monaco in the two years since he first attracted attention for scoring from his own half for Metz – against his current employers.
The Senegal midfielder, who will turn 22 at the tournament, has a superb passing range and the vision to back it up as well, and has picked up 10 assists since moving to Monaco last summer – and he’s a strong defensive player off the ball, racking up turnovers and interceptions and letting precious little past him. There’s a certain resemblance to Adam Wharton in his playing style.
Unsurprisingly, plenty of Premier League teams are said to be interested, with Manchester United, Spurs and Newcastle all alleged to be among his suitors. Camara could easily add a few numbers to his price tag with a big winter, and could emerge as one of the tournament’s dominant midfielders.
Eliesse Ben Seghir – Bayer Leverkusen
Moroccan attacking midfielder Ben Seghir probably won’t be moving anywhere any time soon, as Leverkusen only just paid £30m to sign him from Monaco (a club who clearly have an eye for African talent) this summer – and he’s already making a good impression.
The 20-year-old, who has mostly played on the left wing for Leverkusen but also operates as a number ten, has a strong work ethic to match his impressive technical talent, and he’s stood out as both a superb dribbler who can take defenders on with grace and ease and as a fine passer who can cut defences open from deeper positions.
That versatility and natural class marks Ben Seghir out as perhaps the host nation’s brightest prospect for the coming years, and if he can build on his improved goalscoring performance last year (when he scored six time in Ligue 1 for Monaco) then he could have a huge impact on African football over the coming years.
Relebohile Mofokeng – Orlando Pirates
The 21-year-old Mokofeng is the only player on our admittedly brief list to still ply his trade in his home country, but the South African winger will likely be on the move before too long, judging by the impact he’s had for his club already in his career.
The diminutive winger not only has five major trophies to his name already with Orlando Pirates but was largely responsible for winning many of them – he is reportedly the youngest player in history to score in all three domestic cup finals in South Africa, and scored his first for his country in March against Lesotho.
Able to play on both flanks, Mokofeng is a sharp dribbler, a cool finisher and has a knack for finding and exploiting space – many of his goals come from well-timed runs in between defenders that were simply impossible to prevent. That intelligent movement could easily earn him a handy living in Europe. He reportedly went on trial with Wolves back in 2023 and while that went nowhere, they won’t be the last Premier League team to look at him if he shines at AFCON.
Yan Diomandé – RB Leipzig
Hardly anyone outside of scouting circles knew who Diomandé was before the summer – after all, he’d only made six league starts for Spanish side Leganés – but that’s changing very quickly after his summer move to Leipzig. Just 14 games into his Bundesliga career, and he’s attracted the interest of just about every elite side in Europe.
The 19-year-old Ivorian wide forward already has six goals to his name and his staggering ball-carrying skills, creativity, technique and razor-sharp finishing have made him one of the most sought-after prospects in the world. When the gossip columns list every big English, Spanish and Italian teams as suitors for a player, they’re often exaggerating. Not in this case.
Liverpool have recently been linked, as have Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and both Manchester sides, along with all of the other usual suspects. Leipzig will be able to name their price for Diomandé in the near future if he continues his astonishing recent form, and AFCON could be the perfect platform for him to become a household name if Ivory Coast do well.
Benjamin Fredrick – Brentford
The Nigerian centre-back was only 18 when he moved to Brentford from his home country, and while he has yet to make his senior debut for the Bees his recent performances on loan in Belgium suggest that Brentford’s usual knack for uncovering young talent hasn’t deserted them.
Fredrick has quickly established himself as a starter at Pro League outfit Dender - granted, given that they’re bottom of the league standings, they’re not the hardest team in Belgium to become a starter with – and his positioning, judgement in the tackle and one-on-one defending suggest that he has a bright future ahead of him.
There is room to develop, especially in the air, but given that he only has 30 senior club appearances to his name (half of them as a teenager in Nigeria) that’s not surprising – what makes Fredrick stand out is that he already seems to have the ability to read the game that other defenders often take years to develop. AFCON will provide a stern test of his progress, but he’s got the underlying talent to go a very long way.
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