Premier League’s 20 best young players in 2013: Where are they now?

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·12 July 2022

Premier League’s 20 best young players in 2013: Where are they now?

Predicting football’s stars of tomorrow is never easy.

Even the most promising starlets can end up falling by the wayside due to various factors: injuries, mentality, off-field issues, failing to convince a certain manager… the list goes on and on.

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Aside from talent, which is a pre-requisite, you also need a few breaks along the way to reach the top.

In August 2013, BBC Sport published a list of the 20 young Premier League players to watch.

Selecting one footballer from each club, a fan was asked to cast their verdict on the selected player and asked to name a star they’d compare them to.

Nine years later, let’s take a look at what happened to those 20 players:

Gedion Zelalem (Arsenal)

Gedion Zelalem, 25, failed to make the grade at Arsenal and eventually left the Emirates Stadium in 2019 following loan spells with Rangers and VVV-Venlo.

The Berlin-born midfielder, who represented both Germany and the United States at youth level, went on to play for Sporting Kansas City and has plied his trade with New York City FC since 2020.

Gary Gardner (Aston Villa)

Player compared to: Frank Lampard

Gary Gardner, 30, has still enjoyed a good career – just not at the highest level of English football.

The midfielder left Aston Villa for Birmingham City in 2019 after spending most of the previous eight years on loan at various Football League clubs.

Declan John (Cardiff City)

Player compared to: Kieran Gibbs

Capped seven times by Wales, 27-year-old Declan John left Cardiff City in 2017. Since 2021, the Welshman has been on Bolton Wanderers’ books.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)

Player compared to: Frank Lampard

Another player compared to Frank Lampard, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is still at Chelsea after spending time on loan at Crystal Palace and Fulham over the past few years.

The 26-year-old has suffered from many injury problems, however, and there’s a danger of the midfielder becoming one of those ‘what if’ players unless his fortunes change.

Reise Allassani (Crystal Palace)

Player compared to: Juan Mata

Juan Mata? That was a hell of a big shout.

Reise Allassani, a former England Under-17 International, is now 26 and plays for Carshalton Athletic in the Isthmian League. The winger joined his current club from another non-league side, Dulwich Hamlet.

Ross Barkley (Everton)

Player compared to: Steven Gerrard

It’s easy to forget that Ross Barkley was very impressive when he first broke through at Everton. The Steven Gerrard comparison wasn’t entirely unwarranted.

The Liverpool-born midfielder moved to Chelsea in 2018 and is still with the Blues, despite failing to make a significant impact at Stamford Bridge over the past four years.

Cauley Woodrow (Fulham)

Player compared to: Teddy Sheringham

Cauley Woodrow, now 27, only managed to score a disappointing 12 goals in 66 appearances at senior level for Fulham and was subsequently offloaded to League One side Barnsley in August 2018.

The former England Under-21 international recently returned to Luton Town, where his career began.

Max Clark (Hull City)

Player compared to: Jan Vertonghen

Max Clark moved to Dutch side Vitesse in 2018 before returning to Hull City three years later.

The 26-year-old, who represented England at Under-17 level in 2012, recently left Rochdale for Stevenage in League Two.

Jordon Ibe (Liverpool)

Player compared to: John Barnes

It felt like a major coup for Bournemouth when they splashed out a club-record £15 million to sign Jordon Ibe from Liverpool in July 2016. Sadly, though, the ex-England Under 21 international was a bitter disappointment at the Vitality Stadium.

Ibe, who bravely revealed in 2021 that he’d been suffering from depression, is now 26 and hoping to get his career back on track with Adanaspor in Turkey’s second tier.

Jose Angel Pozo (Manchester City)

Player compared to: Raul

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but Raul? Seriously?

In 210 career appearances with Manchester City, Almeria, current club Rayo Vallecano and Al Ahli SC (where the Spanish attacking midfielder spent time on loan in 2022), Jose Angel Pozo has scored a grand total of… 19 goals.

Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United)

Player compared to: No-one

Adnan Januzaj looked sensational when he broke through at Manchester United in the ill-fated 2013-14 season under David Moyes. Handed Ryan Giggs’ iconic No. 11 shirt the following summer, big things were expected from the Belgian winger.

But he failed to convince Louis van Gaal and found himself sent on loan to Borussia Dortmund, where he struggled. A loan move to Sunderland, where he reunited with Moyes in 2016-17, also failed to pan out.

Januzaj, capped 15 times by his country so far, is now a free agent at the age of 27 after a decent five-year spell with Real Sociedad. There’s talk Moyes could take him to West Ham in time for the start of the 2022-23 season…

Adam Campbell (Newcastle United)

Player compared to: Wayne Rooney

Adam Campbell, 27, left Newcastle United in 2015 and has plied his trade with Gateshead in the National League since 2021.

The poor lad should never have been compared to Wayne Rooney.

Jacob and Josh Murphy (Norwich City)

Player compared to: Ashley Young

Twin brothers Jacob and Josh Murphy left Norwich City in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Jacob now plays for Newcastle United, while Josh is at Cardiff.

Luke Shaw (Southampton)

Player compared to: Gareth Bale

Luke Shaw was unbelievable during his breakthrough season at Southampton and earned himself a £30 million move to Manchester United in 2014.

A horrific double leg break kept him out of action for almost the entire 2015-16 season. On his return to action, he didn’t see eye to eye with Jose Mourinho and came close to leaving Old Trafford.

However, he rediscovered his confidence under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and went on to become a key player for both club and country, scoring England’s goal in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.

James Alabi (Stoke City)

Player compared to: Didier Drogba

James Alabi was certainly not the next Didier Drogba.

Released by Stoke in 2015, the striker has since played for Ipswich Town, Chester, Tranmere, Leyton Orient and Bromley. The 27-year-old recently signed for Maidstone United in the National League.

Jordan Pickford (Sunderland)

Player compared to: Samir Handanovic

It’s fair to say that Jordan Pickford has lived up to the hype, becoming one of the first names on Everton and England’s teamsheets. The 28-year-old can be erratic and has made his fair share of errors over the years but he’s still developed into a top goalkeeper.

Jernade Meade (Swansea City)

Player compared to: Ben Davies

Jernade Meade, formerly of Arsenal, dropped off the radar after leaving Swansea in 2014.

The 29-year-old most recently played for non-league side Dartford and is currently a free agent. He has, however, been capped twice by Montserrat.

Tom Carroll (Tottenham)

Player compared to: Luka Modric

Tom Carroll is a decent footballer but shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric.

The 30-year-old was recently released by Ipswich after a one-year spell with the League One outfit.

Saido Berahino (West Brom)

Player compared to: Danny Welbeck

Another free agent at the time of writing, Saido Berahino scored 20 goals in 45 games for West Brom during the 2014-15 season and was tipped for big things.

Unfortunately, he failed to kick on after that and has achieved little of note in the game since then.

Ravel Morrison (West Ham)

Player compared to: Joe Cole

Famously rated as one of the most exciting young footballers Manchester United have ever produced, Ravel Morrison (for various reasons) has failed to live up to the hype at senior level.

The 29-year-old has played for numerous clubs across the world including Lazio, Atlas, Ostersund and ADO Den Haag.

The Jamaica international recently left Derby County, who were relegated to League One, after his contract expired.