Two of the six players L’Equipe tipped to dominate football in 2019 are now without a club

In 2019 French publication L’Equipe predicted that six youngsters would go on to dominate European football, but five years later, two of them are without clubs.

As part of their ‘The Wonders of European Football’ series, L’Equipe picked out six young players they believed would go right to the very top.

While two of the picks could still make it to the pinnacle of club football, four look extremely unlikely to do so. In fact, two of them are currently free agents.

So, what happened to them? SPORTbible took a look at the six players included in the list.

Karamoko Dembele

L’Equipe picked 16-year-old Karamoko Dembele, who at the time was making a serious impression at Celtic.

The outlet described the youngster as “Vivid and agile, the British striker seems destined for a great career, although questions still escort him, especially about his choice of selection.”

Dembele attracted interest from the likes of Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Paris Saint Germain, but his big move never came and in 2022 – after making just eight senior appearances for Celtic – he joined French side Brest.

The 21-year-old spent last season on loan at League One side Blackpool.

Though there are two years remaining on Dembele’s contract with Brest, reports have suggested that he could soon be released. Several English sides are interested in his services.

Ansu Fati

Ansu Fati looked destined for greatness when he made his senior Barcelona debut in 2019 aged just 16, but two serious injuries stunted his development in the years that followed.

After falling out of favour under manager Xavi, Fati joined Brighton & Hove Albion on loan for the 2023-24 season.

After making a limited impact in the Premier League, Brighton did not pursue a permanent deal, so Fati has returned to Catalonia.

(Getty)

Karim Adeyemi

Of all the picks, Karim Adeyemi is undoubtedly the best.

The German attacker started his senior career with Austrian side RB Salzburg and after impressing, was lured away by Borussia Dortmund ahead of the 22/23 season.

In his debut season with the club, Adeyemi managed a respectable nine goals in 32 matches, before kicking on and helping his side reach the Champions League final in 2023-24.

Mohamed Amine Ihattaren

Ihattaren was highly rated as a youngster at Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven. After playing over 70 matches for PSV, he earned a move to Juventus.

Since then, he has been on loan to the likes of Sampdoria, Ajax and Jong Ajax.

Last summer, his contract with Turkish side Samsunspor was terminated just two days after he signed it.

The 22-year-old joined Slavia Prague in December 2023, but four months later his contract was rescinded after he failed to make a single appearance.

Mohamed Amine Ihattaren is currently without a club. [Getty]

Sebastiano Esposito

The once highly rated Inter Milan youngster Esposito has found it tough to break through to the first team.

At the age of 21, he has been loaned out to the likes of SPAL, Venezia, Basel, Anderlecht, Bari and most recently Sampdoria.

Joelson Fernandes

20-year-old Fernandes had hoped to be the next big thing to break through the Sporting CP Academy but joined Turkish side Hatayspor last summer.

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