The CIES Football Observatory is a research group within the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES).

PAOK’s young striker has been placed among the world’s elite of teenagers who have had the spotlight pointed on them from an early age. This is confirmed by the fact that the International Football Observatory, CIES, have selected Tzolis in the top 25 footballers in the world born in 2002.

A list which includes the likes of Pedri and Ansu Fati of Barcelona, ​​Reina of Dortmund, Kamaviga of Rennes and Nuno Mendes of Sporting Lisbon, also includes Tzolis.

The criteria for entry into this particular list is connected with the amount of playing time that the players get based on the level of the team and the league in which they play. CIES measures the performance of the players, and Tzolis is in 13th place in the ranking.

This season, the ‘next best thing’ in Greek football has scored 16 goals and has contributed nine assists in just 36 games, amassing 2,433 minutes of time on the pitch.

Here is the full list of players:

1. Pedri González – FC Barcelona
2. Leonidas Stergiou – FC St. Gallen
3. Jérémy Doku – Stade Rennais
4. Giovanni Reyna – Borussia Dortmund
5. Eduardo Camavinga – Stade Rennais
6. Nuno Mendes – Sporting CP
7. Ryan Gravenberch – AFC Ajax
8. Ansu Fati – FC Barcelona
9. Kaio Jorge – Santos FC
10. Talles Magno – CR Vasco da Gama
11. Lucas Calegari – Fluminense FC
12. Mohamed Ihattaren – PSV Eindhoven
13. Christos Tzolis – PAOK
14. Joško Gvardiol – Dinamo Zagreb
15. Tiago Tomás – Sporting CP
16. Yunus Musah – Valencia CF
17. Nathanaël Mbuku – Stade de Reims
18. Bećir Omeragić – FC Zürich
19. Mohammed Daramy – FC København
20. Jakub Kamiński – Lech Poznań
21. Bruno Conceição – SC Internacional
22. Adam Hložek – AC Sparta Praha
23. Fábio Silva – Wolverhampton FC
24. Matías Arezo – River Plate
25. Gianluca Busio – Sporting KC