The
term ‘wonder kid’ is branded around too much nowadays, particularly in the
unforgiving environment that is the Premier League. Whilst it’s true that some
young starlets can make an instant impression and go on to achieve great
footballing heights, it’s just as true that the pressure and expectation can
prove to be all too much for young hopefuls. The 2015/16 season is underway and
plenty teenage talent is on show so we’ve been inspired to look back at the
League’s youngest scorers and find out where they are they now.
We
kick off our list with a controversial choice indeed. This summer saw plenty of
transfer rumours and offers flying around for Liverpool’s young forward Raheem
Sterling. Eventually Manchester City managed to snare the 20 year old from the
reds with an extremely lucrative deal. However the move was met with plenty of criticism from former Liverpool players who objected to the way in which Sterling
handled it. The deal makes Sterling the 7th most expensive transfer
of all time and many critics believe he is not yet worth such an astonishing
fee.
WAYNE ROONEY
Rooney
made his professional football debut at just 16 years of age and just as he
became an emerging England star and scored his first goal (that cracker against Arsenal) Alex
Ferguson at Manchester United was ready to pounce on the young lad at Everton
and set up a deal to bring him to Old Trafford. At the time, the fee paid for
Roo was the highest ever for a player under the age of 20. Since his debut
strike, Wazza has gone on to win numerous domestic titles and the Champions
League, not bad.
CESC FABREGAS
At
the tender age of 17 Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas quickly made his mark on
the Premier League as an Arsenal goalscorer and he quickly became a fan
favourite. In his 8 year career at Arsenal he consistently performed and was
always one of the squad’s strongest players. In 2008 he earned himself the
captaincy of the team before a move back to his boyhood club Barca in La
Liga.
MICHAEL OWEN
In
spite of suffering from plenty of injury problems later in his career, Michael
Owen was a formidable attacking force for most of his time at Liverpool where
he managed to put away no less than 118 goals; he even scored on his Premier League debut aged just 17. Owen even made a name for himself on an
international level by scoring 40 goals for his country. Blessed with great
skills and blistering pace, Real Madrid came calling followed by a stint at
Newcastle; he currently co-commentates on Premier League matches for BT Sport
(rather dully).
JAMES MILNER
Another
rising England star who opened his Premier League account when he was just aged
16 was Leeds midfielder James Milner. His first strike against Sunderland back
in 2002 made him the youngest ever player to score in the league at that time
and in June Milner joined Liverpool on a free transfer from Manchester City
following stints at Newcastle and Aston Villa.
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