Paul Pogba, Manchester United. Age: 16
United beat off Arsenal and upset his former club, Le Harve, when signing Pogba in the summer. Tall, powerful and skillful, the French wonderkid has been starring in the Academy league and was recently promoted to United’s reserves.
John Bostock, Tottenham. Age: 17
An exciting, attacking midfield player, Bostock created history when he made his debut for Crystal Palace at the age of just 15. Has impressed at Spurs since moving there in 2008 and is now on loan at Brentford, for who he scored twice on debut, leading Bees manager Andy Scott to compare the youngster to Zinedine Zidane.
Jack Rodwell, Everton. Age: 19
Manchester United and Chelsea are sniffing around Rodwell, a big, composed midfielder who can also play at centre-back. Has already played 35 games for Everton and been a hit for England Unider-21s.
Gael Kakuta, Chelsea. Age: 18
Kakuta’s controversial move from Lens earned Chelsea a transfer ban but in time his club might consider their punishment to have been worth it to secure such an original talent. Confident, technical and possessing of a bag of tricks, Kakuta made a coruscating Premier League debut versus Wolves last month.
Vladimir Weiss, Manchester City, 20.
Already a fixture in a Slovakia squad bound for South Africa 2010, Weiss may not have to wait long to shine his star across world football. A brilliant winger with a knack for scoring, Weiss has found first team opportunities limited at Manchester City but sparkled recently versus Arsenal in the Carling Cup.
Euro Youngsters to watch:
Mario Balotelli (Inter). 19. Strong, powerful and fast … and very headstrong. The son of Ghanaian parents but born in Italy and adopted by Italians, has the talent to go to the World Cup with Italy if he can prove sufficient maturity and self-discipline.
Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina). 20. Stylish and precocious attacking midfielder from Montenegro who destroyed Liverpool in the Champions League earlier this season. Known as the new Roberto Baggio in Tuscany, and for that Fiorentina want to hold onto him.
Angel Di Maria (Benfica). 21. Argentinian with a lovely, precise left foot and the speed and skill to beat a marker. Rose to prominence at the 2008 Olym,pics and is one of the key reasons for Benfica’s high-scoring start to the campaign. Slated to start for his country at the World Cup.
Dominic Adiyiah (Milan). 20. Top scorer at the World under-20 Cup and spearhead of Ghana’s gold medallists there. Has agreed to join Milan next month, but will first will make his case for a starting place at the World Cup at the African Nations Cup.
Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen). 21. Playmaker who was the star of Germany’s triumph at the European under-21 championships in June and now a member of the senior squad. From a Turkish immigrant background, he chose to represent his country of birth.
Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht). 16. Earlier this month became the third youngest players to score in a senior Uefa club competition, with his goal for Anderlecht in the Europa League against Ajax. The Belgian is 6ft 3 already, rapid … and admired by Chelsea, Milan and Real Madrid.