It may be the middle of the European summer, but for some of the continent's best teenage footballers, things are about to get serious.
The Under-19s European Championship kicks-off on Saturday, with eight teams vying for the trophy in Slovakia.
The tournament was last played in 2019 – due to the pandemic – and neither of the finalists from three years ago, Spain or Portugal, have qualified this time.
Perennial challengers at youth level, Germany and the Netherlands, have also missed out, making for an interesting line up of teams.
There are still a number of players, however, who have the potential to become stars of the global game and will be worth watching over the next two weeks.
GOAL, in association with NXGN, have picked out the best of the bunch…
Getty ImagesWarren Bondo (France)
A relative veteran with 34 first-team appearances before his 19th birthday, Bondo is the latest young French midfielder to have earned admiring glances from around Europe.
Bayern Munich, Manchester United and AC Milan have all previously been credited with interest in the Nancy teenager, who has played regularly in the second tier of French football for more than a year.
Most comfortable as a deep-lying midfielder, Bondo has the versatility to play as a box-to-box player, and France will likely look to build their team around him as they aim to replicate the success of their U17s side which won their European Championship in early June.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesJamie Bynoe-Gittens (England)
Bynoe-Gittens is the newcomer in the England squad for this tournament, but much of that is owed to the injury problems which have plagued him over the past 18 months.
Those fitness issues, along with Covid-19 cancellations, ruined the 17-year-old's first year-and-a-half at Borussia Dortmund, but the ex-Manchester City winger has wasted little time in getting back up to speed in Germany.
He scored 10 goals in 17 games for Dortmund's U19s in 2021-22 before making four first-team appearances in the final month of the campaign, with the suggestion being he will be a fully-fledged member of the senior squad at Signal-Iduna Park next season.
Getty ImagesCarney Chukwuemeka (England)
Premier League fans have already seen flashes of Chukwuemeka's ability in his cameo appearances for Aston Villa, but this is a tournament where he has the capabilities to take over.
The 18-year-old midfielder, with 14 Premier League appearances under his belt, will be expected to break the lines for England in Slovakia, with both his dribbling and passing capabilities reminiscent of Paul Pogba at his best.
With just one year left on his contract at Villa Park, Europe's elite clubs are queuing up to get their hands on Chukwuemeka, with Manchester United, Barcelona, Arsenal and Bayern Munich all reportedly waiting to pounce once the tournament is over.
Getty ImagesLiam Delap (England)
This time last year, Delap was celebrating breaking the record for the most goals in a single Premier League 2 season after netting 24 times in 20 games for Man City U23s, with many expecting him to enjoy a first season of senior football – likely out on loan – in 2021-22.
Injuries however wrecked Delap's campaign, and the 19-year-old son of Premier League cult hero Rory had to make do with just three appearances for the City first team.
At youth level however, there are few strikers in Europe with a better strike rate than Delap, and as a player who has been likened to his new team-mate Erling Haaland in the past, he will be expected to contribute plenty for England over the next two weeks.