Scouting For The Future Stars

Chong

Welcome everyone to the to my first offical thread on the soccer forum.
I hope over the next coming months to put together a List of future stars coming to the beautiful game. I wish for everyone to contribute and research the future stars of football and for people to grow and become aware with the new generation. This will become a thread in which poster’s can act as scout’s making ireland and posters from further a far more aware of the changes of style and gameplay this new generation will bring.

Soccer is more popular now than it ever has been. It has become a way of life for so many people throughout the globe. Europe and South America still have the premier soccer players but the balance of power is changing. African countries are becoming very competitive on the international stage. There have been many superstars throughout the decade: Lothar Matthaus, Roberto Baggio, Romario, Paolo Maldini and Jurgen Klinsmann and more current stars: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry and David Beckham which have made soccer the viewing spectacle it is today.

But now the new generation is slowly but surely ebbing into the game. This season for example we have seen the clubs in england invest heavily in the youth of the future, Manchester United bought djemba djemba and Cristiano Ronaldo, whilst djemba has yet to shine or at least prove himself to gain a first team place , Cristiano Ronaldo on the other hand has dazzled us with his silky touches and skills, which have troubled defenders throughout england and this young man is surely set for stardom and we only saw glimpse’s of this season as Sir Alex feels he has found an absolute gem and is willing to shield him from anything that may affect his game. Liverpool whom of which have had their trouble’s this season, have brought a future star of their own back from loan namely Anthony Le Tallec.

Arsenal yesterday agreed on the signing of Robin Van Persie and in the past the year they acquired the services of the flamboyouant winger that is Jose Antonio Reyes. Arsenal also have an array of their own home grown talent namely David Bentley who has impressed when he has featured, Quincy Owusu Abeyle also looks like one for the future, they also seem to have a very instrumental young striker named Sebastian Larsson, and finally Arsenal have a promising defender namely Gael Clichy whom on occasion has impressed when filling for Ashley Cole.

But the new generation of stars are once again appearing in the South American League’s.

In Argentina there is much talk about the three top youngsters at the two biggest clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors. First of all Boca Juniors have many wonderkid’s currently such as: Sebastian Battaglia, and Nicolas Burdisso. But they have maybe the new Maradona and his name is Carlos Tevez. Tevez is 20 years old and is a fully fledged striker in the Boca setup.

Tevez an important member of the Argentine side which finished second at the South American U/17 Championships in 2001 to qualify for the World U/17 Championships later on in the same year. He scored one goal as he teamed with Maximiliano Lopez up front. His good play impressed European scouts. Scored two goals to help Argentina finished fourth at the World U/17 Championships. He became a key player for Boca in 2002 and his goalscoring form led to interest from Bayern Munich. In 2003 Tevez won the South American Player of the Year award.

As Mentioned above River Plate have two of Argentina’s top stars and their names are Fernando Cavenaghi and Maximilliano Lopez.

Cavenaghi this year is 21 years old and is a striker. Fernando scored eight goals in the first four games of the 2002 closing championship for River Plate to establish his goalscoring potential. He finished with fifteen goals in nineteen games, helping River Plate win the title. Fernando has been compared in ability to Hernan Crespo and has interested large European clubs such as Milan, Inter, Juventus and Barcelona.

Lopez this year is 20 years old and is also a striker he tends to be Marcelo Salas’s understudy but is constantly improving and establishing himself. Maxi scored three goals in the South American U/17 Championships in 2001 to help Argentina to second place and qualification for the World U/17 Championships later on in the year. This included a great goal against Paraguay in the final group. Has been involved in River Plate's first team including the Mercosur Cup in 2001. Scored three goals to help Argentina to fourth place at the World U/17 Championships in 2001. He became a key player at River Plate, which led to a failed bid by Serie A club Reggina for his signature in mid 2002.

Once again in Brazil the talent is abundant to say the least and the majority of the clubs have superstars elect coming out of every crack and crevace.
Santos notably have the two of top reverred players at their club, and they are Robson de Souza “Robinho” and Diego.

Robinho is 20 years old. One of two very talented youngsters for Santos along with Diego Ribas. The two players led Santos to their first domestic title since 1984 (the year Robinho was born) by winning the Brasileiro championship in 2002. Robinho starred in the second leg of the final, scoring a penalty and setting up another two goals to help Santos win 3-2 for the night and 5-2 on aggregate. His dribbling skills have encouraged comparisons with Brazilian great Garrincha. Robinho made his full international debut for Brazil at the 2003 Gold Cup, where Brazil fielded an U/23 team to prepare for the Olympic Games. Along with Diego Ribas he helped Brazil reach the final where they were defeated by Mexico.

Diego Ribas is 19 years old. The Midfielder was a member of the Brazilian team that won the South American U/17 Championships in 2001 and competed at the World U/17 Championships later on in 2001. Despite not much playing time, as he was used as a substitute, Ribas was very impressive at the World U/17 Championships, injecting energy and flair to the Brazilian attack. His abilities have already come to the attention of clubs such as Real Madrid. In 2002 he teamed with another youngster Robinho to fire Santos to success, winning the Brasileiro championship. As the playmaker in Pele's old number ten jersey he has attracted interest from most of the large European clubs, including Milan, Juventus and Internazionale.


England and Ireland in my opinion have two top kids coming up through the ranks and they are Cherno Samba and Robbie Shields.

Cherno Samba is 19 years old . England U/16 international, who is currently in the Millwall youth academy, but with every major English club after him this may not last long. Prolific goalscorer who has scored constantly for Millwall's youth teams showing that he has great potential. Scored one goal to help England to fourth place in the 2001 European U/16 Championships. Signed academy forms with Millwall rather than any Premier League side.

Robbie Shields is Cousin of Manchester City defender Richard Dunne, he joined Leeds on a five year contract after trials at 18 British clubs. He was named as Ireland's player of tournament at the U/15 Millennium competition in 2000. He was also named as Under 15 International Player of the Year by the FAI, beating out Leeds teammate Paul Keegan to the award.

As for Europe I hope you can uncover some top talent so please lets get the scouting underway. Some top youngsters include, Benjamin Lauth, Moses Ashikodi, Paul Bosschart , Diego Maradona Jr., Chedric Seedorf, Anatoli Todorov, Giampaolo Pazzini, Darren Fletcher, Phil Bardsley,and Graeme Port. Before I leave you to start the search there is one more player that is on the tip of everyones tongue throughout the soccer world, hailed as the new “PELE” it’s the Youngest player in the world to play senior football , so move aside Wayne Rooney, FREDDY ADU is coming to town.

Freddy Adu Signed a multi-year deal with Major League Soccer on November 18, 2003. Selected by D.C United as the first overall pick of the 2004 MLS SuperDraft on January 16th. United acquired the first draft pick by trading future considerations to the Dallas Burn.

2003: Adu played with the U.S. U-17 National Team in 2003 and helped the side qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup with a goal and an assist in two 3-0 wins against Jamaica and Guatemala in March. Adu opened the tournament with a spectacular performance, notching a hat trick in the team's 6-1 win over South Korea. Three days later, he scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute for a 2-1 victory over Sierra Leone, vaulting the U.S. team into the quarterfinals, where they would fall to eventual champions Brazil.

Adu was called up to the U.S. U-20 National Team on November 19th to replace injured forward Arturo Alvarez on the squad that participated in the FIFA World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates during November and December. He helped the U.S. to a fifth-place finish in the tournament, appearing in five games, starting four. Adu recorded an assist in the team's 2-1 quarterfinal loss to Argentina.

2002: Adu joined the U.S. U-17 residency program in Bradenton, FL in January of 2002. He finished second on the team in scoring in 2002 as a 13-year-old, netting 22 goals.

cournioni

Someone has been playing alot of CM.

p.pete

Could somebody read that for me and tell me if it was worth it? A summary would be good...

Chong

In Reply to length of the report, it is this long as it is the start of the thread and you really should read it and contribute.

In regards to Cm I am a big fan and over the past four years it has improved my awareness of the upcoming footballers and inspired me into researching and scouting players for the future. I hope we on this thread we can discuss the new style of football being introduced as football has become more spectacular than ever and the new breed of footballers bring dazzling skill and more over finely tuned football.


Regards

Willem

uberwolf

young mcgeady if the hype is to believed is just such a young man.

cournioni

I think Carlos Alberto from Porto can become one of the best players in the world if he sorts out his attitude.

Chong

Uberwolf this is what im talking about i want people to post what they think of players like McGeady discuss his performance's and to realise players like young Mc Geady are the bread and butter for Ireland per say in the next ten years. The veterans should stop hanging on by threads take for example Roberto Baggio played for Italy Last Night my question is why??? In fairness he may have had a good season so far in Italy with Brescia and is supposed to retire in June so why after five years in International darkness is Trappattoni calling him and he stated today he may consider calling him up for Euro 2004 as Filippo Inzaghi may be unavailable as he considering knee surgery. There are plenty of strikers on hand for Italy and Trapattoni is calling upon a 37 year old veteran , its ludicrous when you look at it.

Dont get me wrong i have extreme admiration for the veteran's of the game but it is time to move over and let the young lads.

Regards

Willem

eirebhoy

Originally posted by big willy
The veterans should stop hanging on by threads take for example Roberto Baggio played for Italy Last Night my question is why??? In fairness he may have had a good season so far in Italy with Brescia and is supposed to retire in June so why after five years in International darkness is Trappattoni calling him and he stated today he may consider calling him up for Euro 2004 as Filippo Inzaghi may be unavailable as he considering knee surgery. There are plenty of strikers on hand for Italy and Trapattoni is calling upon a 37 year old veteran , its ludicrous when you look at it. B]

Baggio was called up because he is retiing at the end of the season and Trapattoni felt he deserved one last farewell cap.

eirebhoy

Originally posted by big willy
In regards to Cm I am a big fan and over the past four years it has improved my awareness of the upcoming footballers and inspired me into researching and scouting players for the future.

Just wondering, did you create this site?

GuanYin

Originally posted by big willy
Uberwolf this is what im talking about i want people to post what they think of players like McGeady discuss his performance's and to realise players like young Mc Geady are the bread and butter for Ireland per say in the next ten years.

Big problem here is that for the most part noone here has access to the same information as the club scouts and managers and we are all pretty much reliant on media reporting, which can be biased.

I've heard alot of people wax lyrical about Aiden McGeady alright and he did scorea wonder goal but to be honest a few players have burst onto the club scene and not fulfilled potential since (Barrett, McPhail, Healy).

The 16 year old Striker at Arsenal (Kaids, whats his name again?), Eliott (Man City) and McGeady (Celtic) are the three that are most often mentioned and I've only really seen the first two in action, they look promising.

I've seen Robbie Shields and to be fair, I think he'd be doing better than a 6 month loan to Shelborne at the age of 20, if he was that promising.

Pepe LeFrits

anthony stokes

Big Ears

Ya i was about to mention stokes myself .
He is without doubt a class act and a future republic starter . Kolo Toure is only 22 remember and he firmly established himself in the Arsenal back four .
Robinho a 14 year old from Brazil is another one , he made the Brazil u 17 side when he was just 13 .

And of course we all know Holland is full of young talent with PSV Feynoord and Ajax all with great youth systems .

Edited to show i am talking about a different Robinho to the thread starter .

eirebhoy

kaids - Any info on Stephen Bradley of Arsenal? He looks promising but a 20 year old wouldn't even be classed as a youth at Arsenal.:D Thats if he still plays for them.

Pepe LeFrits

He's still there, plays the reserves occasionally. Don't know much about him, heard he's supposed to be pretty good with good passing and vision. I think hes played in midfield/behind the strikers, like Bentley.

hoolio

As far as i know Bradley has been told to start looking for new club even though he has over a year to run on his contract.That was in one of the papers a few weeks back anyway.Tbh i think he was a bit of a victim of the old "Next Liam-Brady" syndrome which instantly cursed him.McGeady should be careful not to contract this disease - it can be near fatal to careers.

TBH the only players i expect to make a good impact on the Irish setup (ie starting place) in the next few years are Elliot and Flood,McGeady maybe.Also think Steven Reid could be unbelievably good if he learned how to play (i mean he's good at every singular part of the game but just doenst put it together)

I think Carlos Alberto from Porto can become one of the best players in the world if he sorts out his attitude

/me agrees

AngelofFire

young Gaeteno D`agostino who plays for roma is having a great season he does a remarkably solid job in midfield in the absence of emerson and will undoubtably be the man to fill his shoes when he leaves the club in the summer.

eirebhoy

There's a 15 year old playing for Liverpool, Jordan Holmes. He has played for the England U-17's and is supposed to be a really promising defender. I also heard a lot about John-Paul "Joxer" Kelly. Any Liverpool fans no much about these two?

johnor

Always difficult to tell at a young age who will make it even, playrs can be classed as a "good prospect". I know of a centre half who was at liverpool in the youth system with Micheal Owen, He was the captain, never played a first team game. He's now back home. Tough to call when players are alot depends on the current squad of the club they are at.....

The Rooster

Very tough for youngsters at the top teams. Liverpool have an English striker in their U19 team called Steven Gillespie. This year he scored 19 goals in 18 games for the U19s as well as 4 goals in 3 for the reserves (albeit 2 were chalked off when the game was abondoned due to fog). His contract is up at the end of the season, and he is not being offered a new one! Last I heard he was on the verge of signing for Bristol City.

United have a centre half from Wicklow - Paul McShane. He's supposed to be excellent.

Villain

I reckon Luke Moore from Villa will make it big time in the next few years, his brother Stefan is also very good he got a few runs this season but got injured then.

Luke is very good, Arsenal were meant to have been after him last season, looking forward to seeing him come through the ranks at Villa Park, he has made a few appearances this year already.

plastic membrane

Originally posted by big willy
I hope we on this thread we can discuss the new style of football being introduced as football has become more spectacular than ever and the new breed of footballers bring dazzling skill and more over finely tuned football.

Fair play to you for having such interest.

I've heard good reports about Nott's County's Paul Heffernan. Leading scorer this year, and apparantly on the move to Bolton on a Bosman. Anyone got more info on him ?

eirebhoy

Originally posted by plastic membrane
Fair play to you for having such interest.

I've heard good reports about Nott's County's Paul Heffernan. Leading scorer this year, and apparantly on the move to Bolton on a Bosman. Anyone got more info on him ?

He didn't have to look very far, its all here: http://endlesssoccer.tripod.com/futurestars/
He just copied and pasted while telling us he uses CM for scouting purposes.:D

Anyway, I've seen a lot of Heffernan's goals on Sky Sports and he looks promising. I've no doubt you will see him in an Ireland shirt in the mini tournament in London.:)

Chong

Sup Everyone,

I dont know if any of you watched the Barcelona V Espanyol game last night but ti was excellent. Ronaldinho is a an absolute magician to say the least what a player, with 14 goals this season, and his array of tricks he has to be one of the best players in the La Liga. Apart from him though Barca have a two really good guys both playin in the first team at the moment Oleguer & Iniesta. These two are very good especially Iniesta who is becoming regular in the Barca team and not only that he is regular in the spanish U-21 team, he has a very promising future, hes got lots of pace and had tons of chances last night but his naivity failed him when it came to the crunch but he is young and has lots to learn.


Big Willy

Big Ears

Dont forget Quaresma .

Chong

Quaresma was alright I suppose the other night but its a pity to hear he wont be playin Euro 2004. He's got a broken bone in his foot after a harsh tackle from Wome in the Espanyol game, he's out for 3 months.

clsmooth

Bump. Worth a reminisce Maxi Lopez never made it at Barca or in Europe did he?

Oat23

I never checked the date on the first post. I had a good laugh at Eric Djemba Djemba then I realised the post was from 2004 .

tl;dr @ op

Frisbee

The Rooster wrote: »

United have a centre half from Wicklow - Paul McShane. He's supposed to be excellent.

Lol. I love necro posts.

clsmooth

Frisbee wrote: »

Lol. I love necro posts.

he's still got time

Paully D

Unbelievable bump

I wonder should we start one now and have a look again in 6 or 7 years to see who makes it and if we call many correctly? :pac:

HyperSkypeWiper

Super bumpage!! Paul McShane, how things change

Vurnon San Benito

Was reading the Luke Moore post - thought the guy was messing then I looked at the date :pac:

busyliving

Next time you bump a thread i think this should be used...



I've yet to have the pleasure of using this to bump a thread yet:(

Ferris_Bueller

Robbie Shields in the OP, one of my favourite ever players to play for Kildare County. Don't know where he is playing now, last I heard I think he was with Cherry Orchard. Really talented player but was prone to injuries and very, very lightweight. Crazy looking back at how many "hot prospects" don't make it big.

Backstreet Moyes

If Ravel Morrison can sort himself out he can become one of the very best in the world. Haven't seen him but heard Sterling from Liverpool is meant to be promising. Danny Wellbeck, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Paul Pogba i seen these alot from United reserves. Thiago Alacantra, Jack Wilshre, Neymar, Ganso, Lukaku or however ya spell his name. Paulo Henrique, Iturbe who just moved to Porto, Douglas Costa and Llajic who United seemingly turned down. If i load up FM i can come back with a very big list oh and also Phil Jones.

Vurnon San Benito

Haris Vuckic is going to be a talented player - should see a lot more of him this season for NUFC.

G.K.

Aidan White, Monty Gimpel, Joe McCann, Zac Thompson and Tom Lees from Leeds are destined for big things IMO.

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

Robbie Shields in the OP, one of my favourite ever players to play for Kildare County. Don't know where he is playing now, last I heard I think he was with Cherry Orchard. Really talented player but was prone to injuries and very, very lightweight. Crazy looking back at how many "hot prospects" don't make it big.

Astoundingly good player on CM 01/02 for me.

Mushy

The Rooster wrote: »

Very tough for youngsters at the top teams. Liverpool have an English striker in their U19 team called Steven Gillespie. This year he scored 19 goals in 18 games for the U19s as well as 4 goals in 3 for the reserves (albeit 2 were chalked off when the game was abondoned due to fog). His contract is up at the end of the season, and he is not being offered a new one! Last I heard he was on the verge of signing for Bristol City.

United have a centre half from Wicklow - Paul McShane. He's supposed to be excellent.

Dont think Mcshane was with them too long at the stage when this was written. I remember being told he had trials at Leeds and Man Utd.

Was also like WTF when read it though.

syngindub

good oul Freddy Adu..
A few more threads like this should be super bumped from a few years back for some reminiscence

Paully D

Right, here's a few young players that I feel will make it:

Louis Laing and Billy Knott (Sunderland)
Shane Ferguson (Newcastle)
Ross Barkley (Everton)

Someone bookmark this for bumping in 2017 :pac:

Jayob10

Kennedy Bakircioglu, Mads Jorgensen and Javier Saviola are old school Championship Manager legends

some genuine stars of the future

Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

Ravel Morrison (Man Utd)

Lucas Rodrigues Moura da Silva (Sao Paulo)

Christian Eriksen (Super Player) (Ajax)

Erik Lamela (Roma)

Phil Jones (Man Utd)

Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht)

Edin Hazard (Lille)

Jack Robinson (Liverpool)

Thiago Alcântara (Barcelona)

Luc Castaignos (Feyenoord)

Mario Gotze (Dortmund)

Mateo Kovačić (Dinamo Zagreb)

Sergio Araujo (Boca)

Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal)

Diego Contento (Bayern Munich)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton)

Andre Ayew (Marseille)

Stefan Savić (Man City)

Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)

Sebastian Coates (Nacional)

Xherdan Shaqiri (Basel)

David Alaba (Bayern Munich)

Christoph Knasmüllner (Bayern Munich)

CSF

Jayob10 wrote: »

Kennedy Bakircioglu, Mads Jorgensen and Javier Saviola are old school Championship Manager legends

some genuine stars of the future

Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

Ravel Morrison (Man Utd)

Lucas Rodrigues Moura da Silva (Sao Paulo)

Christian Eriksen (Super Player) (Ajax)

Erik Lamela (Roma)

Phil Jones (Man Utd)

Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht)

Edin Hazard (Lille)

Jack Robinson (Liverpool)

Thiago Alcântara (Barcelona)

Luc Castaignos (Feyenoord)

Mario Gotze (Dortmund)

Mateo Kovačić (Dinamo Zagreb)

Sergio Araujo (Boca)

Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal)

Diego Contento (Bayern Munich)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton)

Andre Ayew (Marseille)

Stefan Savić (Man City)

Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)

Sebastian Coates (Nacional)

Xherdan Shaqiri (Basel)

David Alaba (Bayern Munich)

Christoph Knasmüllner (Bayern Munich)

Almost all of these players are WELL on their way towards making it at the top level. Not much scouting involved there. I mean Hazard has already won player of the year in 1 of the top 5 leagues in Europe

Chong

Jesus , this is a blast from the past , couldnt believe the date when I saw it, 7 years ago..

Pepe LeFrits

If you want a good giggle (probably at my expense), search for an old thread debating who would the biggest january transfer window hit: Scott Parker, Jose Reyes or Louis Saha.

ha ha ha.

busyliving

Jayob10 wrote: »

Kennedy Bakircioglu, Mads Jorgensen and Javier Saviola are old school Championship Manager legends

some genuine stars of the future

Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

Ravel Morrison (Man Utd) *If He Can Stay Out of Jail*

Lucas Rodrigues Moura da Silva (Sao Paulo)

Christian Eriksen (Super Player) (Ajax)

Erik Lamela (Roma)

Phil Jones (Man Utd)

Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht)

Edin Hazard (Lille)

Jack Robinson (Liverpool)

Thiago Alcântara (Barcelona)

Luc Castaignos (Feyenoord)

Mario Gotze (Dortmund)

Mateo Kovačić (Dinamo Zagreb)

Sergio Araujo (Boca)

Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal)

Diego Contento (Bayern Munich)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton)

Andre Ayew (Marseille)

Stefan Savić (Man City)

Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)

Sebastian Coates (Nacional)

Xherdan Shaqiri (Basel)

David Alaba (Bayern Munich)

Christoph Knasmüllner (Bayern Munich)

Fixed that for you

event

aidan white with leeds. he's a lw/lb, hasnt played a massive amount with the 1st team, but will be quality.

he played with the england u19's and i read the other day he has been called up to the ireland u21's for a friendly. could be one to watch for the republic if he declares

Jayob10

Liverpool are the team to watch here, bucket loads of top young players.

Pep Guardiola even mentioned liverpool as the next best academy for young players to develop at. Pep Segura is technical director and Rodolfo Borrell is reserve team manager having been u-18 for the last 2 seasons. Both are former Barca technical staff responsible for developing some of the best homegrown players currently in the Barca first team.

It's staggering the developments they have made in the Liverpool set up already. John Flanagan and to a lesser extenet Jack Robinson have already made their mark on the first XI.

Players to watch out for are: Andre Wisdom, Brad Smith, Raheem Sterling, Suso, Adam Morgan, Conor Coady

And the under 16's and 18's are packed with excellent prospects, some of whom may not make it at Liverpool but will flourish elsewhere at a high level.

G.K.

Bijev and Nacho, for example/

Jayob10

G.K. wrote: »

Bijev and Nacho, for example/

Don't know about Bijev, i've heard hes not one of the best in the US. But Nacho looked superb in his trial games. Other than seeing him in those ive no idea.

Liverpool's homegrown talent is very exciting though.

And in positions they have been weak they have been buying top class foreign prospects. Theres a system in place where u-16's, u-18's, reserves and First team will more or less play the same system. Its alot more streamlined then it was.

Jayob10

Jayob10 wrote: »

Liverpool are the team to watch here, bucket loads of top young players.

Pep Guardiola even mentioned liverpool as the next best academy for young players to develop at. Pep Segura is technical director and Rodolfo Borrell is reserve team manager having been u-18 for the last 2 seasons. Both are former Barca technical staff responsible for developing some of the best homegrown players currently in the Barca first team.

It's staggering the developments they have made in the Liverpool set up already. John Flanagan and to a lesser extenet Jack Robinson have already made their mark on the first XI.

Players to watch out for are: Andre Wisdom, Brad Smith, Raheem Sterling, Suso, Adam Morgan, Conor Coady

And the under 16's and 18's are packed with excellent prospects, some of whom may not make it at Liverpool but will flourish elsewhere at a high level.

I'd say Barca, Arsenal and United are the teams to watch re: young players tbh...

Top teams are lucky if 1 player in every 2 or 3 years proves good enough for the first team. The vast majority at the top teams probably have a 2 or 3% success rate in youth prospects making the step up I'd say.

Jayob10

Liam O wrote: »

I'd say Barca, Arsenal and United are the teams to watch re: young players tbh...

Top teams are lucky if 1 player in every 2 or 3 years proves good enough for the first team. The vast majority at the top teams probably have a 2 or 3% success rate in youth prospects making the step up I'd say.

United's youth system for the last few years has been used to supplement signings.

Arsenal buy foreign kids in huge quantities so their youth system is very costly. Homegrown talent is tougher to acquire due to the rules regarding young players (not being allowed recruit outside a certain radius under a certain age). London has so many clubs.

Anyone who is informed on youth football know what is happening at Liverpool's academy is quite rare, there is almost a conveyor belt in place after 2 years of development work from the ground up. They have hoovered up the best young talent in the immediate locality, and they are being coached in a specific way.

Liverpool's will no longer sign players for the first team where they have talented youth coming through. and thats rare in the EPL. The best youth will be given every opportunity.