Five Clubs That Could Win The Champions League In The Next Three Years

Having had such a disappointing season, it does seem a tad unrealistic but bear with me....

They have a plethora of top class young players in their squad, including the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Ibe and Emre Can. They also have a talented manager in Brendan Rodgers and an owner who will give him full backing in the transfer market.

If they can improve their squad over the next few seasons and bring in real quality and experience to supplement the young talent, they could become a real force in Europe once again.

In previous seasons, Valencia have been known as the ultimate selling club, the likes of David Villa, David Silva, Juan Mata and Jordi Alba all being sold to help pay back massive debts.

But now, after Peter Lim's takeover, they are able to spend big on the likes of Alvaro Negredo, Rodrigo, Andre Gomes and Enzo Perez. Add this to the excellent academy, including recent graduates Jose Gaya, Rodrigo De Paul, Fede Cartabia and Paco Alcacer, Valencia are a team very much on the up.

They currently hold 4th spot in La Liga after an excellent campaign, and will undoubtedly become a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.

Lazio have been the surprise package in Serie A this season, currently 2nd behind the mighty Juventus. The quality in their squad is immense, boasting awesome young talents like Felipe Anderson, Stefan de Vrij and Balde Kieta.

Add this to the experience and quality of Antonio Candreva, Lucas Biglia and Miroslav Klose, and you have all the ingredients for a future Champions League challenge.

Wolfsburg are a team who are going places. The VW owned club boast one of the deadliest striker's in Europe in Bas Dost, and the owners aren't shy of opening their cheque book. The big money signings of Kevin De Bruyne, who has been sensational this season, and André Schürrle, arriving from Chelsea in January, are a testament to their spending power.

Recently thumped by Napoli in the Europa League, they do lack know-how and guile in European competition. However, with the talent and spending power available to them, Wolfsburg are aiming to overturn Bayern Munich to become the biggest team in Germany. Watch this space.

Ligue 1 used to be a walk in the park for Lyon, the masterful Juninho Pernambucano, Kevin Benzema and Michael Essien vital ingredients of the utterly dominant side who won seven (yes, seven) Ligue 1 titles in a row.

Since then, they have gone through an extremely barren spell, their last major trophy coming in 2011-2012, with their 1-0 win against Quevilly to win the Coupe de France.

This season however, they are pushing PSG all the way in the race for the Ligue 1 title, and have a team full of pace, creativity and genuine quality. Alexandre Lacazette is an exceptional finisher, supported by the youthful midfield talents of Nabil Fekir, Maxime Gonalons, Corentin Tolisso, Clement Grenier and the more experienced Yoann Gourcuff. Lyon have the potential to become a true European giant once again.