Currently the cream of the crop over in South West London, Eden Hazard is starting to really realise the potential that has been locked up inside him since he strutted up at Lille. With the manager Jose Mourinho labelling him the best young player in the world, it can't be long before the young label is ditched.
However, he certainly is in elite company in this band of young players all sneaking up behind Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery. One of them is someone who Hazard finds himself very close to at the moment, one Oscar Emboaba dos Santos.
When Chelsea handed Didier Drogba's iconic 11 shirt to what looked like a 12 year old, a few eyebrows were raised. After a year and a half of Premier League experience under that very small belt though, he's come along leaps and bounds. A star for Brazil at such a young age, and with an excellent eye for goal he has drawn comparisons with Kaka. Hopefully for Oscar, the injuries won't restrict his career. Oscar also has a phenominal work rate and defensive capabilities - the most important trait in young attacking midfielders these days. You'd have to feel that if Neymar wasn't around, Oscar would be the Brazil World Cup poster boy.
Rather ingeniusly, this leads us to our next candidate: Neymar. The Confederations Cup transformed Neymar from the man of Youtube to the super, awesome legend victim to ferocious arse-lickery from all forms of football "banter" pages. A rather big money move to Barcelona followed - the big money bit depends on which Spanish newspaper you find the least unreliable. Injuries and a rather stop start nature have been a hurdle for Neymar, but he's certainly shown his class in La Liga. Certainly at international level, he's head and shoulders above the other candidates on this list.
One man who looks to be a star in Brazil is a giant, gangly midfielder with yellow hair: Paul Pogba. Since Manchester United let him go for costless/Pogba refused a new deal, Paul has enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom in the Old Lady machine. Starring alongside Pirlo and Vidal, Juventus boast a rather scrumptious looking midfield and they've been taken to the next level since Pogba's emergance. Good strength, fantastic technical ability and with an excellent YouTube longshots showreel, Pogba is starting to look like he has the potential to be one of the best all-round midfielders in the game. Whisper it quietly though, but he'd be the perfect player for Manchester United...
Perhaps someone we could directly compare Eden Hazard to, would be a certain German fella called Mario. Since that controversial move from Borussia Dortmund to the Pep Guardiola Demolition Machine Munich, Gotze has really started to show how good he is, and how good he can be. Employed all over the midfield - and occasionally as a false nine - Gotze's versatility and talent make him perfectly suited to be a Munich legend. Last season he bagged 13 goals and 16 assists and if he can replicate such form at Munich this season and then at the World Cup, you'll be tossing his name around with much bigger names indeed.
Naturally though, with Bayern dominating the Bundesliga they also have a big contribution here. David Alaba has truly made the left-back slot at Munich his own and really excelled in their Champions League campaign last year. In my eyes, there isn't a better left-back in the World at present and it is just a shame we won't see the talented Austrian mixing it up with the big boys this summer.
The candidate list closes with two players from La Liga's dark horses Atletico. Koke is a home-grown, local lad who embodies Simeone's blueprint of passion, workrate and technical talent in his dark horse whilst Thibaut Courtois comes from Belgium, on loan from the little horse in London. Koke can play all across midfield and doesn't look out of place in any of those positions. Good job Spain have that good midfielder they desperately needed, eh? Courtois is a different physical specimen. Towering above most mere mortals, Courtois finds himself as one of the top goalkeepers in world football. A good showing for Belgium in the summer and he could well find himself ousting Cech of the little horse.
So this brings me to Eden Hazard and his position in this elite company. For me, Hazard is probably the best young player in the world - especially with current form taken into account. Neymar has had a jittering season, whilst Pogba and Gotze certainly come very close. I know of few footballers more entertaining than Eden Hazard is at the minute and this season we are truly seeing the emersion of something truly special. Oscar will be able to assist Hazard's game and compliment his rise to stardom and the roles will be mutual.
On current form, I think Hazard could play for any team in the world and the Premier League has certainly found itself a new star since Gareth Bale left in the summer. And I'll tell you what, his younger brother ain't bad either.