Christian McFarlane makes Guardian's "Next Generation 2024"

Earlier today, the Guardian named New York City FC fullback Christian McFarlane to "Next Generation 2024: 60 of the best young talents in world football." The article calls the 17-year-old "intelligent, quick, and a solid defender in one-on-one situations." He is one of two Americans to make the list which handicaps emerging players from across the globe.

The honor comes on the heels of McFarlane being named to Major League Soccer's "22 Under 22" last week.

McFarlane is the only player to make both lists. The Guardian also included Real Salt Lake's Zavier Gozo in "Next Generation 2024," but the 17-year-old midfielder didn't make the cut for "22 Under 22."

McFarlane, who made his MLS debut on June 14 at Yankee Stadium in the 2-4 loss to Columbus Crew, now has 368 minutes with the First Team in league play, with four starts and eight appearances. He also featured heavily in Leagues Cup play, starting in all five of New York City's games.

Christian McFarlane makes MLS 22 Under 22 list

The 17-year-old left-back ranked 20th in the annual list of top MLS players under 22, and was the only member of this year’s young New York City FC squad to make the list.

Hudson River BlueHudson River Blue Staff

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The 17-year-old, who is just 581 minutes into his First Team career, held his own against a dangerous Tigres.

Hudson River BlueOliver Strand

Still, the fullback is expected to depart NYCFC for Manchester City after the end of the 2024 MLS season. The rumor linking the player to the move first surfaced in March, gathered steam in July, and is now regarded as a fait accompli.

According to international law, a Fabrizio Romano post that states it's a "deal sealed as expected" is as good as an unbreakable contract.

This is the first time a current New York City player was included by the Guardian, which first published the Next Generation list 11 years ago in 2014. Talles Magno made the list in 2019, when he was still with Vasco de Gama in Brazil; he went on to join NYCFC in 2021. Former New York City academy prospect Gio Reyna also made the list in 2019 shortly after joining Borussia Dortmund.

The archive makes for interesting browsing, providing a snapshots of what the punditry thought of highly-regarded prospects when they were still young. Many players on the lists have slipped into obscurity. But other selections proved to be prescient: The 2017 list included a 17-year-old Erling Haaland, then a bruising but untested striker at Molde FK in Norway.

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Other players named to previous years include Alphonso Davies (2017), Ousmane Dembélé (2014), Jérémy Doku (2019), Jhon Durán (2020), Kai Havertz (2016), Vinicius Júnior (2017), Yunus Musah (2019), Martin Ødegaard (2015), Dani Olmo (2015), Christian Pulisic (2015), Jordan Sancho (2017), and Youri Tielemans (2014).

Will McFarlane be included in a future list of Next Generation players who deliver on their promise? Only time will tell.