It's that time! The time when, in honour of the NFL draft, Juls and I try our hand at drafting the best players by birth year. We're up to 2004, which makes this the fifth year of our draft and offers a nice opportunity to look back.
We both made some bad picks (me, to be fair, more than Juls), but since we're buying futures, we figured we'd treat these like stock portfolios, using Transfermarkt valuations (which aren't perfect, but are a decent benchmark). Mine is basically flat (down 0.01%, largely because of my disastrous 2001 draft, when I foolishly put my faith in Mykhaylo Mudryk, Armando Broja and Nicolò Fagioli), but Juls has pretty much killed it (he's up 15.39%).
Anyway, here are is our draft of players born in 2004. Note how there's a bit of a drop-off after the top three, and the top eight picks are all midfielders ...
1. Juls: João Neves, MF, Paris Saint-Germain
"His football IQ is higher than anyone of his generation and higher than many more experienced players in his position."
2. Gab: Nico Paz, MF, Como
"A genuine number ten who combines athleticism, creativity and quality ... Real Madrid have the option to bring him back ..."
3. Gab: Gavi, MF, Barcelona
"A regular for Barca at 17 and then hampered by injuries the last two seasons ... I picked him high because I want him to go back to where he was: one of the best all-rounders in Europe."
4. Juls: Aleksandar Pavlovic, MF, Bayern Munich
"He's strong, he's tall, he runs forever and he's calm and composed on the ball ... already a fixture for Bayern, one of the best teams in the world."
5. Juls: Adam Wharton, MF, Crystal Palace
"I picked another defensive midfielder here. I love how he scans and dictates the pace of the game, I love his left foot. He's going to move to a big club this summer for a lot of money."
6. Gab: Carlos Baleba, MF, Brighton
"Last season he monstered the Premier League, though his play has dipped a bit this time around. But I'm playing the long game here ... he can be a Moisés Caicedo type."
7. Gab: Mateus Fernandes, MF, West Ham
"A metronomic passer who is comfortable in tight spaces and creative to boot ... if West Ham stay up, he'll be a big part of it."
8. Juls: Valentín Barco, MF, Strasbourg
"One of the best players in Ligue 1, many big clubs are looking at him. He transitioned from left back to central midfield and has really impressed."
9. Juls: Abdukodkir Khusanov, DF, Manchester City
"He is our first defender picked, and he probably deserves to be higher. After a shocking debut against Chelsea in the space of a year he has established himself as one of the best centerbacks in the Premier League."
10. Gab: Yankuba Minteh, WING, Brighton
"A hugely exciting winger who cuts in from the right and wreaks havoc. He's already one of the top dribblers in the Premier League. If his finishing improves too ... look out!"
11. Gab: Samu Aghehowa, FW, Porto
"Big, strong and fast, with an eye for goal. He was having a standout season until his ACL injury in February, but he'll be back eventually and will be better than ever."
12. Juls: Lamine Camara, MF, Monaco
"A box-to-box midfielder who has been very impressive this season. I'd expect him to move to a big club -- he's made for the Premier League. Think Baleba, only right-footed."
13. Juls: Joel Ordóñez, DF, Club Brugge
"Another Ecuadorian defender, like Piero Hincapié and Willian Pacho. Versatile, very strong physically and good on the ball too."
14. Gab: Ernest Poku, WING, Bayer Leverkusen
"Still a little raw, but he's hard-working, lightning quick and can play anywhere on either wing. One of those low floor, high ceiling guys."
15. Gab: Niccolò Pisilli, MF, Roma
"I had to pick an Italian guy, but to be fair, Pisilli offers dynamism and quality in the middle of the park, as well as an eye for goal."
16. Juls: Santiago Castro, FW, Bologna
"Still a bit raw, but there's a great finisher there: he hit double figures in goals in his first two Serie A seasons. Great potential as a clinical and consistent goalscorer."
17. Juls: Noah Sadiki, MF, Sunderland
"I was curious to see how he'd adapt from Belgium to the Premier League and he's been very impressive, giving you workrate and physicality in front of the back four."
18. Gab: Wilson Odobert, WING, Tottenham Hotspur
"An old school winger, who is technically exceptional, though didn't really get a chance to show it at Spurs and, of course, his season ended with an ACL injury in February."
19. Gab: Alejandro Garnacho, WING, Chelsea
"OK, he's been disappointing for a while now. I get that. But he has a high ceiling and this low in the draft, I figured he was worth a shot."
20. Juls: Andrey Santos, MF, Chelsea
"At Chelsea maybe not so much, but with Brazil and with Strasbourg he was one of the best players in Ligue 1 last season. Maybe the context at Chelsea didn't help him, but there's a very good player in there."
PAST DRAFTS
Players born in 2003
Gab's picks: Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Benjamin Sesko, Xavi Simons, Alejandro Balde, Liam Delap, Harvey Elliott, Giorgio Scalvini, Levi Colwill, Raul Asencio
Transfer value: 466m when drafted, 479m today (+2.79%)
Juls' picks: Jamal Musiala, Jude Bellingham, Rayan Cherki, Antonio Silva, Fermin Lopez, Marc Casado, Jhon Duran, Pablo Barrios, Emanuel Emegha, Hakon Haraldsson
Transfer value: 520m when drafted, 608 today (+16.92%)
Guys we missed out on: Alvaro Carreras, Rasmus Hojlund, Wesley, Matias Soule, Malo Gusto
Players born in 2002
NOTE: Ryan O'Hanlon and Tor-Kristian Karlsen joined us in this draft and they were picking too, hence why you don't see the likes of Pedri, Josko Gvardiol and Nico Williams among our choices.
Gab's picks: Cole Palmer, Simon Adingra, Ryan Gravenberch, Ansu Fati, Jarrad Branthwaite, Pape Matar Sarr
Transfer value: €220 million when drafted, €317m today (+44.09%)
Juls' picks: Eduardo Camavinga, Bradley Barcola, Nuno Mendes, Riccardo Calafiori, Enzo Millot, Otavio
Transfer value: €275m when drafted, €283m today (+2.91%)
Guys we missed out on: Hugo Ekitike, Morgan Rogers, Elliot Anderson, Meghnes Akhliouche, Amad Diallo
Players born in 2001
Gab's picks: Bukayo Saka, Enzo Fernandez, William Saliba, Goncalo Ramos, Gabriel Martinelli, Mykhailo Mudryk, Manuel Ugarte, Armando Broja, Anatoliy Trubin, Nicolo' Fagioli
Transfer value: €580m when drafted, €459m today (-20.86%)
Juls' picks: Khvicha Kvaratskehlia, Rodrygo, Moises Caicedo, Jurrien Timber, Khephren Thuram, Benoit Badiashile, Manu Kone, Santiago Gimenez, Michael Olise, Amadou Onana
Transfer value: €530m when drafted, €633m today (+19.43%)
Guys we missed out on: Joao Pedro, Willian Pacho, Micky Van de Ven, Anthony Gordon, Igor Thiago
Players born in 2000
NOTE: We only chose 10 players in our inaugural draft
Gab's picks: Phil Foden, Vinicius Jr, Jonathan David, Dusan Vlahovic, Sandro Tonali
Transfer value: €370m when drafted, €380m today (+2.7%)
Juls' picks: Erling Haaland, Alphonso Davies, Aurelien Tchouameni, Antony, Sven Botman
Transfer value: €338m when drafted, €395m today (+16.86%)
Guys we missed out on: Vitinha, Dominik Szoboszlai, Julian Alvarez, Antoine Semenyo, Marc Guehi