10 years of NXGN: Maya Le Tissier, Hanna Bennison and where 2021's best women's football wonderkids are now

2021: After spending several years with Cerezo Osaka Sakai, Hamano changed clubs in 2021 when she joined INAC Kobe Leonessa in the newly-founded WE League. She started with a bang, too, scoring twice on her debut in the league.

2022: Hamano was part of the Japan team that reached the final of the U20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica. She was named the tournament's best player, picking up the Golden Ball award, and also claimed the Silver Boot after scoring four goals in six games. In October, she made her senior international debut as Japan beat Nigeria.

2023: In the January transfer window, Hamano signed for Chelsea on a contract until the summer of 2027 and, simultaneously, joined Hammarby on loan for the year. She helped the Swedish club win the league and also represented Japan at her first senior World Cup.

2024: In her first season with Chelsea, Hamano would have to wait patiently for her opportunities but she would make some big contributions before the end of the 2023-24 season, to help the Blues win yet another league title. The 19-year-old also became an Olympian in the summer.

2025: Hamano is now a regular starter for Chelsea and a regular game-changer for one of the best teams in Europe.

2021:After impressing in her home country, Nalukenge earned a move abroad when she joined Apollon Limassol. She was on the bench for the club in the Champions League before signing on loan at AMOK Chrysomolia.

2022:Nalukenge returned to her parent club and was among the goals when the 2022-23 season began, but an injury in December halted her progress. She had a successful surgery before Christmas.

2023:The Uganda star spent most of 2023 working her way back from injury and returned to the pitch late in the year.

2024: Nalukenge certainly made up for lost time and got back among the goals as she helped Apollon win yet another league title.

2025: Sadly Nalukenge will not be at this summer's Africa Cup of Nations with Uganda, with the Crested Cranes failing to qualify for the event in Morocco.

2021: Bugeja ended her first senior campaign with 12 goals in Serie A for Sassuolo. She was her team's top scorer as they finished third, just one point off the Champions League places, and was named Serie A's Young Player of the Season.

2022: Injuries limited Bugeja's impact in her second season at Sassuolo, but she still shone when fit, scoring three goals despite just seven starts. In the summer, it was announced that the young forward had signed for the Orlando Pride in the NWSL.

2023: Bugeja struggled for game time during her time in the U.S. and returned to Italy in the summer, joining Inter. She ended the year in flying form, with only Israel's Sharon Beck scoring more goals than her in the inaugural Women's Nations League.

2024: Though she remains a key player for Malta, Bugeja has struggled for starts in her second season with Inter. She will be keen to upgrade her frequent substitute appearances before the campaign is out.

2021: Le Tissier played every single minute of Women’s Super League action for Brighton across 2021, underlining her status as a key player for the team. In fact, she missed only two minutes in total over both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

2022:The defender took the next step in her career when she ended her four-year stay with the Seagulls and signed for Manchester United, for a fee, in the summer window. She quickly became as important a player for her new club, with her form so good it was rewarded with a senior England debut in November.

2023:Le Tissier ended the 2022-23 season strongly, helping United reach a first ever Women's FA Cup final, and was unlucky to miss out on a place in the Lionesses' World Cup squad.

2024: The young centre-back continued her good form in the 2023-24 season and was named Players' Player of the Year at Man Utd after helping them to win the FA Cup. When Katie Zelem departed in the summer, Le Tissier was named club captain.

2025: Le Tissier has settled into that leadership role and is helping the Red Devils to have a much better WSL campaign this time around. She is also firmly in the picture for England's Euro 2025 squad.

2021:In her second season with Montpellier, Fowler became an integral part of the team, starting 15 of her 22 league appearances, but was also a key cog in the senior Australia team. At the Olympics, pushed back to 2021, she was on the scoresheet in the Matildas’ thrilling 4-3 extra time win over Great Britain.

2022: While she continued to be an important figure for her country, 2022 was the year that Fowler bid farewell to France after two and a half years, signing for Manchester City in the summer transfer window. She also played in Australia’s disappointing Asian Cup campaign, scoring twice in four games.

2023: Despite struggling to nail down a starting spot in Manchester, Fowler was a key player for Australia in a best-ever World Cup run, the Matildas reaching the semi-finals at their home tournament.

2024: Fowler helped Australia qualify for this summer's Olympic Games, though that tournament ended in disappointment for the Matildas. At club level, her game time in Manchester increased significantly, with her nailing down a starting role by the end of the 2023-24 season.

2025: For Man City, Fowler has built upon that strong end to the previous season in 2024-25 and is unquestionably one of the team's key players now.

2021:After much anticipation, Dumornay finally got her long-anticipated move abroad when she chose to join French club Reims after turning 18. The Haitian star would provide two assists on her debut and was involved in three goals on her first start.

2022:Dumornay kicked off 2022 by winning that year’s NXGN award. In the summer, she represented Haiti at the CONCACAF Championship, making the best XI and being named the tournament’s best young player.

2023: In January, Dumornay signed for eight-time European champions Lyon – her dream move. Things got even better a month later when the youngster fired Haiti to its first Women's World Cup, a tournament she caught the eye at as her nation impressed plenty, despite a group-stage exit.

2024: Despite suffering some injuries, Dumornay made a strong start to life at Lyon, with goals in both legs of the Champions League semi-final clash against PSG certainly stand-out moments of 2024 for her.

2025: Now fully-fit, Dumornay is delivering at an incredible rate in her second season at Lyon, hitting double figures for league goals at the midway point of the 2024-25 campaign.

2021:With nine goals and 14 assists in 22 matches, Missimo had quite a first year for the Texas Longhorns. Her efforts in the 2021 fall season saw her top the Big 12 Conference in assists while also tying a school single-season record.

2022:After tying that assist record in 2021, Missimo broke it in 2022 with 15, despite missing six games through injury. For her country, the attack-minded midfielder starred as the United States won the U20 CONCACAF Women's Championship, scoring three goals and sealing a place in the tournament's Best XI. She opted not to play in the U20 Women’s World Cup, however, in order to take some time for herself.

2023:Missimo had another incredible year in 2023, starring as the Longhorns won the Big 12 Championship. She scored twice in the final, led the nation in assists and picked up a flurry of individual awards for her efforts.

2024: There was some speculation that Missimo could declare early for the NWSL Draft but she instead enjoyed one more remarkable college season and set a new goals record for the Longhorns before departing.

2025: Missimo made her first steps into senior soccer with Dallas Trinity, signing for the USL Super League club in January. She scored just four minutes into her club debut and will be hoping that sets the tone for a strong first season.

2021:In what would be her final year with Atlas, Alison Gonzalez scored 13 goals in the Apertura 2021, after netting 18 in the Clausura. She ended her time with the club with 64 goals to her name from 86 appearances, despite leaving before her 20th birthday. Gonzalez also made her senior international debut for Mexico in early 2021 and would end the year with three goals to her name for her country.

2022:The forward’s next chapter would see her sign for Club America. She missed several months with a knee injury sustained in her final match for Atlas, but hit the ground running upon her return, with nine goals in the Apertura 2022.

2023:After losing the final of Apertura 2022, Gonzalez and Club America went one better in the Clausura 2023, winning the title. They also reached the final in the Apertura 2023, which would be her final tournament with the club.

2024: That's because her return to Tigres, the club she began her Liga MX Femenil career with and the team that defeated America in the Apertura 2023 final, was announced in the New Year.

2025: Gonzalez will hope she can showcase form with Tigres that can establish her in the Mexico national team, with the forward areas particularly competitive.

2021:After a promising season on loan with PEC Zwolle, Nikita Tromp returned to Ajax ahead of the 2020-21 season and would make a good impression with the club over the course of 2021. She ended her first season back in Amsterdam with nine goals and was part of the team that won the Eredivisie Cup.

2022:Tromp ended the 2021-22 season having seen fewer minutes, but she still scored seven goals for Ajax in the league from nine starts. The Netherlands youth international also scored twice in the KNVB Beker, helping her club go on to win the trophy.

2023:The forward spent the entire of 2023 on the sidelines after suffering a devastating knee injury at the very end of 2022. Ajax showed faith in her talent, though, with a new contract in May.

2024: Tromp made her return to action at the end of the 2023-24 season, in a five-minute substitute appearance that would be her final for Ajax. In June, she signed for Utrecht on a permanent deal.

2025: Tromp has made a strong start to life at her new club and will hope to continue that goal-scoring form through the rest of the season.

2021: After recovering from injuries suffered in 2020, Bennison went to the Olympics with Sweden in 2021, picking up a silver medal. She would sign a four-year deal with Everton shortly afterwards, with the Toffees paying a club-record fee for her signature.

2022:Bennison was included in Sweden's squad for Euro 2022, making six appearances for her country as they reached the semi-finals. She also made good progress in securing a regular spot in Everton's line-up, too.

2023:The midfielder became a fixture in Everton's starting XI and was part of the Sweden team that finished third at the Women's World Cup.

2024: After three seasons on Merseyside, Bennison started a new chapter ahead of the 2024-25 season when she signed for Italian giants Juventus.

2025: Bennison has been a regular in Juve's starting line-up through her first campaign in Italy and remains important to Sweden ahead of the Euros in Switzerland.