Abdellah Ouazane: The Ajax academy gem compared to Jude Bellingham and Zinedine Zidane - and stolen by Real Madrid aged just 16

Ouazane was born in Amsterdam to Moroccan parents and started out playing for local side AVV Zeeburgia, a club known as the "royal supplier" within Dutch footballing circles because of its propensity for producing top players, including Netherlands international Ryan Gravenberch. Just like the Liverpool star, Ouazane was promptly picked up by Ajax, whom he joined in 2016 when he was still only seven years old.

The young midfielder progressed rapidly through one of the most talent-packed youth sectors in the world and was soon being talked about as one of Ajax's most promising academy products in years.

Ouazane had a big decision to make last year. Having already represented both Netherlands and Morocco at Under-15 level, he felt compelled to choose between the two nations.

Just like his older brother Zakaria, who plays for Ajax's Under-19s, he plumped for Morocco - and doing so is already looking like a pivotal moment in Ouazane's fledgling career.

Morocco included the 16-year-old in their squad for this year's U-17 Africa Cup of Nations and Ouazane shone on home soil, taking home the player of the tournament award after inspiring the Atlas Cubs to victory.

"He was born in 2009 - people forget that," coach Nabil Baha enthused. "He's a year younger than the others. But he's full of talent."

Unsurprisingly, Ouazane's sensational displays for - and in - Morocco attracted the attention of scouts from top clubs all across Europe, which obviously put Ajax on red alert.

They tried desperately to tie down a player that broke into their Under-17s side while still only 15. However, despite their best attempts, it now seems as if Ouazane is going to sign his first professional contract with Madrid rather than Ajax.

Ouazane is a multi-talented midfielder with silky dribbling skills and the requisite range of passing to make full use of his impressive vision, as he underlined with the beautiful trivela assist for a sensational Denzel Darko strike that went viral last year.

This is a young man blessed with quick feet and a deceptive turn of pace that enables him to elegantly elude opponents, meaning he's a threat no matter where he picks up possession.

He doesn't just dissect defences with his precision passing, either. He's also got an eye for goal himself, with Ouazane netting twice during Morocco's AFCON triumph.

However, what really marked him out as a special talent during that tournament was his composure under pressure and tactical intelligence, which allowed him to dictate the pace of nearly every game he played in, which led to him winning man of the match in two of his six outings.

Ouazane is considered a polite, hard-working kid but he has the utmost confidence in his ability, which is no bad thing. But there are times when he needs the proverbial kick up the backside.

For example, former Morocco international Baha was less than impressed with Ouazane's effort during the first half of the AFCON group-stage clash with Tanzania.

"I gave him a piece of my mind at the interval," the former Morocco international revealed. "I know what he can bring us and, in our first match, against Uganda, he was decent. But in the second [against Zambia], I was really unhappy. He was one of those who didn't run enough.

"[He's one of] these players you need to manage differently: sometimes pamper them, sometimes shake them up. These days, 100 percent isn't enough. Everyone gives 100%. What we need is 120%. But he's capable of that."

In an interview with Ajax Showtime earlier this year, Hamza Hachlaf described Ouazane as "a kind of super Hakim Ziyech" - and one can see why, given the teenager's ability to beat defenders in the tightest of spaces with fancy footwork.

However, the two play in very different positions and Ouazane has been more often compared to other incredibly classy attacking midfielders, including the great Zinedine Zidane - primarily due to his graceful yet ever so slightly hunched-over movement.

In modern terms, though, there's definitely a hint of Jude Bellingham about Ouazane. He may not be as prolific as his fellow adidas athlete but he is tall, slender, athletic, excellent on the ball and brimming with self-belief.

According to the latest reports, it's now only a matter of time before Ouazane moves to Madrid, with transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claiming earlier this month that the deal will be signed at some point in July.

Ajax did their utmost to hold onto the youngster. According to ESPN, new first-team manager John Heitinga even called Ouazane to try to convince him to stay at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

However, it seems that the lure of playing for Madrid proved too strong to resist - particularly as Los Blancos have reportedly promised to fast-track Ouazane into their reserve team.

Such a strategy didn't work out particularly well for a previous teenage sensation in Martin Odegaard but Ouazane, who is set to be joined in Madrid by his brother Zakaria, clearly believes that he is already equipped to deal with such a monumental move.

It may be coming much earlier in his career than everyone else expected but, given the comparisons to Zidane and Bellingham, maybe he was always going to end up at the Bernabeu sooner or later anyway.