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Five Premier League Stars of the Future

Published by Ian John on December 12, 2009

Burgeoning young talent is perhaps the hallmark of a successful team. Anybody can receive a golden hello of £100m and buy a half decent player. There is little skill in that. The real skill comes from developing your own players from youngsters and turning them into regular first team contributors. In the past clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United all churned out player after player, but recently the climate of Premier League football has changed and now it seems there is even less chance of a player making it through the academy.

But here are five who I think, in a couple of years time, people could well be raving about…

Vladimir Weiss (Manchester City) : His dad is currently the head coach of Slovakia and young Weiss is doing a fine job of getting himself noticed in amongst the millionaires at Manchester City. Weiss caught the eye a couple of years ago in Manchester City Youth’s run to the FA Youth Cup final. A clever winger, small in stature but hard to knock off the ball and with great quality on it, he was earmarked for big things in a side that also included one Micah Richards. Weiss has taken longer to break into the main City first team squad, but he made his debut at the end of last season and has been on the bench regularly since. A loan spell at a Championship club may sharpen him up but it won’t be long before he is pushing hard for a spot in the City first team on a regular basis.

Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) : Having questioned Arsene Wenger’s wisdom to pay £5m to Cardiff City for the teenager a couple of years ago, pipping Manchester United to his signature, it was expected Ramsey would disappear into the Arsenal reserves, do little and then end up back in South Wales as the archetypical story of how the boy failed at the big club. Wrong! Since joining Arsenal Ramsey has improved as a player in so many areas, he has become almost a figurehead of the re-emergence of Welsh football and Arsene Wenger has admitted that Ramsey is pushing the likes of Diaby, Diarra, Denilson, Nasri and Fabregas for a regular spot in the Arsenal first team. A brilliant young player who looks to have the brightest of futures.

Daniel Welbeck (Manchester Utd) : He’s starting to play more and more in recent weeks and while the likes of Federico Macheda have caught the eye with their performances, I’ve been so impressed with the skills Welbeck shows when he pulls on a Manchester United shirt. He has wonderful close control, pace and a fantastic knack of getting his shots to hit the target from all angles and areas of the pitch. He has an excellent understanding with his team mates and were it not for the fact that Manchester United have probably £100m worth of striking talent in front of him, he would surely feature a great deal more than he has done.

Seamus Coleman (Everton) : This youngster came off the bench last weekend against Tottenham to inspire a fantastic comeback from a 2-0 deficit and earn the Toffeemen a point from a game that many had thought was well beyond them. Coleman was introducted with nothing but a warm applause and the hope he wouldn’t get toasted by Tottenham’s clever wide players. Instead Coleman turned the game on his head, marauding down the right and having a huge part in both Everton goals. Whether David Moyes will keep the youngster in the team remains to be seen but this lad looks to have a future.

Jack Rodwell (Everton) : Good news for the Blues as the final player who has a bright future is of course, their young midfielder Jack Rodwell. He broke into the side as a 16 year old, like Wayne Rooney. He has been hugely impressive since getting into the first team, like Wayne Rooney and he is drawing admiring glances from Manchester United, like Wayne Rooney. Unlike Wayne Rooney, he remains an Everton player and while he does, Everton just may have the brightest young talent in British football on their books. Composed, elegant in possession, a clever passer and he scores goals. He looks like the anchoring midfielder England have needed for a very long time.

Image Courtesy of ***Fid aka Theo *** at flickr.com

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