Malta international striker Hayley Bugeja was listed among the best players aged 21 and under in a selection conducted by ESPN on Thursday.

Bugeja, who is on the books of Sassuolo, has for the past two years been touted as one of the most promising talents in European football and she has again made the list selected by ESPN Editor Kathleen McNamee and journalist Sophie Lawson.

The Sassuolo striker was ranked 15th on the list.

“At 16, Bugeja signed for Sassuolo, but the then-unknown forward stamped her authority on her debut Serie A game against Napoli, scoring twice – including a dizzying solo effort in which she wormed her way around four defenders before unleashing a shot with her weaker foot,” the report described Bugeja.

Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta