Lionel Messi was curious about the boy they called the New Messi. The then 16-year-old Rodrigo Mora, then of Porto and now Roma’s treasured jewel. The resemblances were striking. Like Messi in his wunderkind years, soft curls of the puffy mullet bounced onto forehead, he was of similar physical dimensions, of stocky build and a subterranean centre of gravity. The Portuguese did Messi things too, cutting into the box with explosive speed from a leisurely stroll, and twinkling and jinking past his markers with teenage intrepidness.

Messi, during Inter Miami’s fixture with Porto last year, was so pleased with what he saw that he took him by his side, swapped shirts, and later put him among the top ten young stars. Rodrigo couldn’t contain his hysteria and blurted out a verbal faux pas that incensed his country. “As a Portuguese, I could not hold back the jealousy in my heart. If only we had a figure like Messi,” he said. Cristiano Ronaldo’s faithful spewed scathing vitriol at him regardless.

Two years later, Roma, fending off advances from numerous clubs, acquired him. It took him little time to marvel the Italians with his wriggly-wiggly art, tactical intelligence, capacity to modulate the game’s tempo and direct attacks. Roma’s legend Francesco Totti was impressed by his fluidity in tight spaces, lauding his calm under pressure. The veteran coach Gian Piero Gasperini rates him an “extraordinary talent with the potential to become a legend.” Superlatives have been overflowing, although every hyped talent comes with several caveats and cautionary tales of unfulfilled renown, but he headlines a squadron of fledglings ready to seize and storm the grandest European stage that is the Champions League.

Rodrigo has almost certainly heard the “New Messi” tag applied to others before him. Como’s Martin Baturina, meanwhile, carries a gentler version of the same burden, set against his countryman and metronome Luka Modrić. The 23-year-old was born in Switzerland but was adamant on wearing Croatia’s stripes. His idol, it goes without saying, is Modrić. He has a similar vision, a fetish for long-range passes from the outside of the foot and a variety of deft skills. But he patrols a more advanced position and is eager to have a pop on goal. He netted a pearler against England at the World Cup, where he slashed in from the flank and leathered a first-time rising shot into the top left. He has been in sinister goal-scoring touch this season, scoring against Genoa and Napoli away.

As has been Borussia Dortmund’s 18-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas. He is often a blur on the right wing, emerging like a shadow from nowhere and devouring the defenders. He is a throwback dribbler, exceptional in one-on-one situations and imparts outrageous bend and velocity into the ball. He was raised in Belgium’s Genk, where his parents had come to work in coal mines, and he retains the simplicity of his upbringing. “I have seen how hard my parents have worked. It was their dream to make me a footballer and I should keep working hard to become the best I could be,” he told his club’s website. A raft of clubs were sniffing for his signature, but he had his heart beating for Dortmund, the best club in a youngster’s developmental phase.

Footballers of attacking profiles often steal the limelight, but defensive midfielders and defenders have apportioned some of it in recent years. Barcelona’s 18-year-old full-back Xavi Espart is already watched covetously. A midfielder in his early education, he is highly technical and intelligent, endowed with pace and the gift of organising at attack. Manager Hansi Flick likens him to his old teammate Philipp Lahm. “When I see him play, I like how confident he is with the ball,” Flick said of Espart in a press conference last week. “He is similar to Philipp Lahm; he can play as a six or as a two. He performs well on and off the ball.” He is a classic La Masia product, extremely strong with his positional play, and capable of stepping into midfield during build-up.

While he cannot be snatched or lured from Barcelona, scouts have been hovering over Lens’ tenacious centre-back Ismaelo Ganiou (21). The French defender of Burkina Faso descent is a blend of the traditional and modern, adept at distribution and wearing down attackers with sharp movements and positional sense. Of similar nature is Zeno Debast, a year older than Ganiou, of Sporting CP. A host of clubs, including Manchester United and Arsenal, monitored him in recent years, before being turned away by the tough-negotiating Portuguese club.

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Some could wither; some could leap into greatness. But every new edition unfolds with the feverish hope of a new talent bursting forth. It could be the season of New Messi or New Modrić, or someone dressed in anonymity.