At just 14-years-old he is already being compared to the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Wesley Sneijder, AC Milan’s Hachim Mastour is the hottest young property in Italian football.
A host of clubs were interested in the youngster including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and Juventus but it was the Rossoneri who managed to tempt the Italian, who was born to Moroccan parents, from under the noses of city rivals Inter.
Mastour starred for Reggiana from the age of 10, and although he was not allowed to sign for the Nerazzurri until this summer, he did play in youth tournaments for the club.
In fact in one of said tournaments earlier this year, he picked up a player of the tournament accolade thanks to a helping of five goals to only increase the number of clubs aware of his presence.
In the end it was the Rossoneri who pounced with Adriano Galliani personally making it his mission to secure the transfer, which they eventually did with the club paying a hefty €500,000 to sign the player.
That may be a great deal of money for someone of just 14, but he does have a long list of admirers who believe he will be worth the money including former AC Milan boss Arrigo Sacchi who recommended the signing to Galliani.
He is so highly thought of that although he plays with the Allevi Nazionali, he trains with the Primavera and the club are campaigning to allow for his inclusion in the senior side.
According to Mastour himself, his main characteristics are ball control and dribbling, something that is clearly evident when you watch the technically-gifted trequartista in action.
He also says that, “I try things other boys my age do not,” which is also obvious upon seeing him in action and has lead to the inevitable comparisons with the likes of Zidane, Sneijder, Juan Riquelme and Lionel Messi among others.
He already has the perfect idol of a talented youngster doing well to take his chance at a big club already at Milanello and would be doing very well to follow in the footsteps of Stephan El Shaarawy.
This is definitely one player worth keeping an eye on.
