Where are the five Everton wonderkids tipped as the next Wayne Rooney? | OneFootball

There's absolutely no doubt about it that Wayne Rooney is the greatest player to have ever come from the Everton academy. The former forward came through the ranks at Goodison Park and really took the world by storm. It was apparent from his debut that he was something special and he more than lived up to that billing throughout an incredible career.

After catching the attention of just about everyone during his time at Goodison Park, Rooney left the Toffees for Manchester United and went on to become one of the greatest English players that the Premier League had ever seen. He won numerous trophies with the Red Devils. Everton, though, was left trying to find a replacement, and it seemed like whenever an exciting young prospect came through the club's ranks, they were instantly compared to the side's former talisman.

It's safe to say, though, that there is simply only one Wayne Rooney and none of these guys came close to really matching his impact in the game. Some had solid careers, while others fell way short of expectations. These are five of the biggest examples of Everton prospects that were dubbed the next Rooney and what happened to them in the years since.

Jose Baxter

The hype that surrounded Jose Baxter when he first came through at Everton was pretty tremendous. That was evident when he became the youngest player to ever play for the club's senior team at just 16 years and 191 days old. He had all the talent in the world and earned a few opportunities in the first team.

Baxter seemed destined for the top of football, but after only featuring 15 times in four seasons, he decided to take a chance on himself and left Goodison Park once his contract expired, refusing a new deal. He clearly wanted regular first-team football and joined Oldham Athletic in League One. The move was a resounding success too as he scored 15 goals in his first season with the club. His impressive form convinced Sheffield United to sign him a year later, but that's where things went south.

While his first two seasons with the Blades went well, he failed a drug test in his third and received a lengthy suspension as a result. The team released him shortly after and his prospects as a top-level football disappeared completely. After his suspension was up, he played for Oldham again, Plymouth Argyle and Memphis 901. In 2021, Baxter retired at just 29 years old. What a waste.

Ross Barkley

The best talent to come through Everton's ranks since Rooney, Ross Barkley has had a solid career in the top flight of English football. He emerged as a talented attacking midfielder at Goodison Park, making his debut on the opening day of the 2011-12 season at just 17 years old. He was named Man of the Match in the contest too and soon, many were touting him for a very bright future.

After several loan spells, he developed into a serious talent too and became a key figure for the Toffees. From 2013 to 2017, he played at least 36 times a season for Everton and was one of the club's most important players during that period. He eventually left the team for Chelsea in 2018, but never quite had the same success. He featured regularly in his first two seasons at the club, but he soon fell out of favour and found regular football hard to come by.

A loan spell at Aston Villa did little to improve his situation at Stamford Bridge, and he left the Blues for OGC Nice last year. After one season in France, he was let go at the end of his contract and soon joined Luton Town in the Premier League. Having joined earlier this year, he's played six times for the club so far this campaign. He recently put in a solid display as the team drew 1-1 with Liverpool, showing there's still hope for him in the top flight.

Chris Long

Having spent 13 years in Everton's youth ranks, Chris Long was a very highly rated prospect and many thought it would only be a matter of time before he burst into the team's senior team and made an impact at the club. Unfortunately, the forward never actually played a single competitive game for the Toffees and turned down a contract extension in 2015 as he left in search of regular action.

He joined Burnley in the Championship but went scoreless in his first 11 games for the team and then never played for them again. Loan spells at Fleetwood Town, Bolton Wanderers and Northampton Town failed to really deliver, and he wound up joining the former permanently in 2018.

After just one year with the team, he moved to Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership, playing 66 times and scoring 17 goals for the club in two seasons before he moved back to England and joined Crewe Alexandra. He remains with the club to this day and has a solid tenure with them so far, scoring 20 goals in 61 appearances. It's not quite the elite levels that so many expected from him, though.

Jack Rodwell

At one time, Jack Rodwell felt like a nailed-on future England international star. The midfielder burst onto the scene at Everton and was wise beyond his years in the middle of the park. His composure and ability to dictate play was second to none for a player his age and the sky was the limit for Rodwell.

A move to Manchester City eventually materialised after four seasons in the Toffees first team, but that's where things went downhill for him and fast. In two seasons at the Etihad, he made just 25 appearances (winning the Premier League in the 2013/2014 campaign) and soon moved to Sunderland in a bid to reignite his career. What followed was an absolutely disastrous time at the Stadium of Light, though. Paid serious amounts of money, the fans grew to detest Rodwell for his lack of effort on the pitch and as injuries took hold of his career, he featured just 76 times in four years for the club.

After four nightmare seasons, he was released by Sunderland in 2018 and joined Blackburn Rovers. At Ewood Park, things briefly looked to be heading in a positive direction once again, and he made 22 appearances for the Lancashire side. He left for Sheffield United after a year and his career once again fell apart. He played just once in two seasons with the Blades and has since played for Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC. A true case of what could have been.

James Vaughan

At one time, James Vaughan looked almost to become the next Rooney at Everton and even broke the star's record as the club's youngest-ever top-flight goalscorer when he hit the back of the net on his debut at just 16 years and 271 days old. That also made him the youngest-ever scorer in Premier League history at the time, not a bad start to his career at all.

Everyone bought into the hype and Vaughan quickly became regarded as one of the most promising young strikers in football. Unfortunately, his debut goal was about as good as things got for the forward at Goodison Park. Soon, injuries ravaged his career and he struggled to ever really play regularly for the Toffees. The most games he ever played in a season for the club was just 17, and after seven years with the team, he played just 60 games and scored nine goals.

It was a truly disappointing turn of events for the star and, after numerous loan spells at Derby County, Leicester City and Crystal Palace, he left Goodison Park permanently, joining Norwich City in 2011. The move was a disaster, though, with Vaughan playing just six times for the Canaries, and he was soon on the move again, joining Huddersfield Town. From there he played for Birmingham, Bury, Sunderland, Wigan, Portsmouth, Bradford City and Tranmere Rovers before retiring in 2021 at 33 years old. Once he was healthy, the forward was a solid goalscorer and had decent spells at numerous teams, but those moments came far too rarely and that's largely why he never quite succeeded at the Toffees.

It would have been incredibly hard for anyone to live up to Rooney's impressive impact at Everton after he burst onto the scene, but only Barkley seemed to ever really come close to meeting his standards at the team. Even he wasn't quite on the level of the former Manchester United man, though. Then again, there weren't many players who were.