Stars of the Future

As of recent Gareth Bale, Nani, Daniel Sturridge have been some of the young players to light up The Premiership. Yet there are so many players out there with immense potential that hopefully the Premier league will gobble up. This is a list of players who are certain to make a big mark on European football.

First we have Eden Hazard. A 20 year old attacking midfielder or winger has been compared to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. Hazard debuted for Lille at 17 and hasn’t looked back. He is the winner of the Ligue one young player of the year award for the last two years making him the first player ever to win the award as a foreigner. At 20 years of age he is already an integral part of an up and coming Belgian team with players like Fellani of Everton and Kompany of Man City. It is hard to pick out a moment of class with Hazard as there is so many although in the 2009/2010 season against Genoa in a Europa League Qualifier, Hazard blitzed past six Genoa players with tremendous speed and skill to show a cool head and finish with a stirling strike 18 yards out. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKWYdjLihR0. His potential transfer value 35 million. Every team that can afford his hefty price tag should do the up most to sign him although I believe Manchester United and Arsenal would be the two clubs that Hazard is best suited to.

Second we have Simon Kjaer. A 21 year old Danish centre back. Now at German club Wolfsburg Kjaer is starting to prove that he is a world class defender against some of Europe’s top attacking talent. Not only is Kjaer proving to be a rock at the back but he also has an eye for goal in crunch situations. While playing for Palermo Kjaer scored three times in twenty one appearances as a starter including scoring a vital winner against Chievo. Most comparable to the like of Fabio Cannavaro and Laurent Blanc the Danish defender is a fantastic tackler and good in the air. Kjaer also had an impressive World Cup in South Africa and confirmed himself as a starter for Denmark during the qualifiers after Per Koldrup was unavailable due to injury. One of his moments of class was against Cameroon in the 2010 World Cup. Kjaer showed that he had an excellent range of passing and set up Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner, as well as providing some excellent tackles to help Denmark win the game 2-1. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqg0lZ3Ij_Y . His potential transfer value 15 million. Arsenal and Liverpool are two clubs crying out for a leadership and stability at the back. Simon Kjaer could be their answer.

Third on the list is Alexis Sanchez 22 year old Chilean Winger. Sanchez has received more media attention than anyone on the list and is already subject to a transfer to either Inter Milan or Barcelona from current club Udinese, although nothing is set in stone yet. Sanchez was propelled into stardom after his impressive World Cup performances for Chile, although he failed to score his all round performance made him stand out even during Chile’s 3-0 loss to Brazil in the round of 16. Whilst playing for Udinese in the Serie A he has racked up 43 goals since 2009 a lot of them being after long winding runs a trait he has made his own as he possess electric pace and quick feet. Compares again to Cristiano Ronaldo in his playing style but contributes a lot more to team work as he has a great engine and isn’t shy of a crunching tackle. His stand out moment was against Palermo while playing for Udinese, Sanchez scored 4 goals in 52 minutes no free kicks or penalties all superb finishes especially his step overs round the goalkeeper after a run from the half way line. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLPhoc5fgm0 .His potential transfer value is 25 million. Chelsea and Liverpool could use an injection of pace on their wings.

Fourth up is 19 year old Brazilian striker Neymar. Again has been linked with Chelsea and Real Madrid but is still at Brazilian outfit Santos. With an incredible 64 goals in 119 appearances it is evident Neymar has an eye for goal. During Brazil’s squad selection for the 2010 World Cup Brazilian legends Pele and Romario both urged coach Dunga to select Neymar and a 14’000 signed petition was also made to ensure he could represent Brazil in the World Cup. Dunga didn’t pick Neymar in the end as he felt he needed more international experience, however the ex Brazil coach did say he had immense potential. When Neymar made his senior debut he scored a header against the USA and then scored twice in the next game against Scotland in a 2-0 victory. With a fantastic eye for goal, quick feet and great pace Neymar seems to be a perfect all round striker comparable to the great Brazilian Ronaldo. A perhaps stand out moment for Neymar is five goal rout in an 8-1 victory for Santos over Guarani in the Brazilian Cup. Check some of his goals out at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6_Rs83i258 . With a transfer value of 30 million all of the Premier League big guns could use him. Perhaps City to replace a liable Balotelli or a failing Dzeko?

These are players who in the next three years will light up world football, let’s just hope the Premier League can snap up some of this talent and keep the tag of the greatest league in the world legitimate. 

Chris Butler