ESPNsoccernet: Europe

Ajax have been named as the 16th and final team that will compete in the inaugural NextGen Series - an elite international competition for Europe's finest young talent.

Ajax are famed for their youth academy (PA Photos)

Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Celtic and Aston Villa will all field teams in the competition, which has been formed to allow Europe's best young talent to hone their skills in a highly competitive environment.

The British clubs will be joined by the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven across the four-group format, which will see teams play home and away before the top two progress to the knock-out stage.

Fixtures begin on September 15 and the first NextGen champions will be crowned in January 2012.