Youth players to make step up?

From your clubs what players do you think will make the step up?

I know pool fans have talked about Nemeth,Plesis and Pacheo (sp) looks like a great talent from the highlights I have seen.

United:
Welbeck? Fabian Brandy?

Arsenal:
I can expect quite a few players to make the step up.
Vela, Lansbury? Merida and Randall

Man City:
Danny S
Ched Evans
Ben Mee

I am sure Villa and Boro have quite a few talents aswell

Apparently Villa have a striker who is faster the Gabby his surname starts with D but I can't recall it atm.

Anyway post your future talents

I think Craddock might have another chance in some cup games..

Graham Owens has been getting attention in the reserves and I think he made the bench for the full side twice last season..would like to see what he's all about.

Porritt has signed a pro contract now so he might get some cup games..maybe still too young though.

The big one will be Turnbull..not exactly stepping up from the youth team..but he's hardly played and he might end up being no1 this season.

West Ham:

Tomkins ( made a few appearances last season )

Now I go to sleep

Its hard to tell with Arsenal. The likes of Vela and Ramsey are young and have not played a game for Arsenal yet, however they have experience elsewhere and will be part of the first team set-up regardless going into this season. I also expect a number of players to be loaned out as well, Randall, Gibbs, Traore and possibly Barazite should really be going off for a season to get used to the demands of playing professionally each week.

I'm going to tip Harvard Nordtveit to make the step up this season.



He had some injuries last year but from what I heard he done very well in the games he played in, apparently his style is fairly similar to Jonathan Woodgate. Wenger's reluctance to invest in the defence is another positive for him. Carling Cup games and cover for the first team is still a good step for an 18 year old.

I hope Alessandro Tuia will get his debut. New Nesta apparantly, and if he wants to follow in his footsteps, he should start playing soon.

Wellbeck ,Possebon,Macheda and lots others who can/cant depending on how they took their chances and how next 2-3 years of their developement goes.
Brandy is too small to make it yet.

I'll leave the west ham portion to deano, he knows a bunch, but for me tompkins, sears, and one or two others.

Delfouneso is probably the guy you're thinking of, Easter. Not sure if he's faster than Gabby, as I haven't seen him play, but he comes with a good rep at youth/reserve. Scored with his first touch in a friendly the other day.

We may have a few in and around the squad (we may have to if we don't sign a bunch more players). Along with Delfouneso, players like Steiber (winger), Lichaj (cb), Albrighton (mid), Williams (st), Baker (cb), Herd (rb/cm) have been playing in recent friendlies and went on Swiss tour, so could be in the first team squad. I don't know a great deal about most of them, though

Looking at the players who have played a few games in our first team, and at those who have played first team football elsewhere on loan, we have David Edgar who has done the former, Andy Carroll who has done a bit of both, and Tim Krul who did the latter last season at Falkirk. Of these, Edgar seems the most likely to feature significantly next season. He looked decent towards the end of last season in a few appearances, a bit more able, well rounded and assured on the ball than some of our past reserve defender promotions, and he's been praised a lot for the way he has captained our reserve side. As things stand, he is our reserve centre back, who will step in if one of Taylor or Faye get injured, so he should get a lot of playing time.

Carroll looks an alright player, a tall forward who isn't great in the air and who isn't maybe the strongest, but who has a good touch and seems to have a knack for scoring. I don't think he looks like a huge talent, and his lack of pace might prevent him from being a Premiership player, but we will see - after a friendly against Juventus last year in which he played, Buffon was full of praise for him, so that is something.

Everything I hear about Krul is really positive, and I think he has the potential to be our first choice keeper in years to come - the problem at the moment is that we have two very established keepers in Given and Harper, so it is difficult to see Krul getting many games this season.

Of the rest, Lua Lua is still very young, but he certainly added something different in his couple of appearances for our first team last season - some pace and intent to a very slow midfield. It would be nice to see him getting a few games next season, and if we don't sign much more for the midfield, I can see him playing a bit, either as an attacking midfielder our out on one of the wings. We have two young defenders who can play at left back and centre back in Tamas Kadar and Ben Tozer, and given our lack of cover in those positions, one of those may get chances next season (there have been suggestions that Kadar may go somewhere on loan). Fabio Zamblera is a young striker who scores goals for Italy Under-18s, but next season is probably soon for him.

@Bash: It is reported in Holland that Chelsea, Feyenoord and Heerenveen are all interested in Krul. He really needs games and isnt likely to get those at Newcastle so is a sale on the cards?

I hope not - obviously, moving to Chelsea would make no sense if he wants playing time - but he seems ready for first team football at a high level, and so it is a difficult situation, because Harper and Given both have a few years left in them and it would be hard to drop either from the first team picture. Incidentally, we also have Fraser Forster, a young goalkeeper of a similar age, who was a substitute for the first team towards the end of last season - so the competition is high at the club.

Ideally, Krul would go on loan again next season, and after that he would be phased into our first team over a couple of years. The issue is who he would go on loan to; whether he's happy going on loan; whether a loan move would have any further consequences. A loan move to a Dutch club sounds perfect - but then, after a season of playing for such a club, he might not want to come back. It is tricky, but I don't see us selling him.

Can't see many, if any academy players making it into the top four senior sides. When is the last time a Utd academy player actually did so? Granted I don't know much about them, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see the likes of Campbell, Wellbeck, Eagles, Martin etc all flogged off sooner or later.

Same goes for Liverpool

Out of the ones I know about, I can see Sturridge doing some of note at City this season

Maybe Sinclair at Chelsea who looks a decent prospect, but then he'll probably be at somewhere like Wolves within a season

Not sure if I really would consider the likes of Vela, Ramsey, Insua etc 'making the step up' none of them have really come from the academy of the teams in question

Well Noble already has made the step up...

Tomkins, Sears, Collison, Eyjolfsson, Stech...

The first 3 will get most oppurtunities...

Sears is my choice though...Tomkins is still young and inexperienced, so even though he'll be a great CB in the future...he needs a loan spell for confidence. Collison won't really get near our midfield if they stay fit...so a loan spell needed for him too.

Sears proved what he's capable of, and should get first team oppurtunities.

The other 2 are 17 and 19 I think. Stech is a goalkeeper, so won't play much. Eyjolfsson needs some English football...

For us I'd say Gabi Misa and Iago Aspas.

Calidad wrote:Can't see many, if any academy players making it into the top four senior sides. When is the last time a Utd academy player actually did so? Granted I don't know much about them, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see the likes of Campbell, Wellbeck, Eagles, Martin etc all flogged off sooner or later.

Same goes for Liverpool

Out of the ones I know about, I can see Sturridge doing some of note at City this season

Maybe Sinclair at Chelsea who looks a decent prospect, but then he'll probably be at somewhere like Wolves within a season

Not sure if I really would consider the likes of Vela, Ramsey, Insua etc 'making the step up' none of them have really come from the academy of the teams in question

Fletcher was the last one 2-3 seasons ago.

We're also apparently signing Joe Mattock...England U21 and Leicester City full back. He's got great potential...he'd make the step up IMO.

Calidad wrote:
Not sure if I really would consider the likes of Vela, Ramsey, Insua etc 'making the step up' none of them have really come from the academy of the teams in question

well

what else would you call it?

Plessis played a few games last season and was one of the reasons we were able to sell Sissoko to Juventus. Insua has recently been linked with a loan move to Newcastle, which would be interesting since it will give him first team football but also probably drum out any defensive intelligence and sense that he may already have. Nemeth people have been raving about already, and I don't want to over hype him so I'll just say he is the best young player I have ever seen. A lot of our other fringe young players are fairly ordinary, Leto and Hobbs are ok but I don't see them ever being world beaters.

Of the 20 or so kids Rafa poached, most are still only 17 or 18 so wont be expecting much from them this season.

Difficult to assess this for Hibs really. Alot of our team/squad is made up of academy players, though Fletcher aside, none of them have made any real impression in the vein of Scott Brown, Riordan, Whittaker, Thomson e tcin previous seasons

For us, this MIGHT be Fletcher's season to actually prove himself as a future star, because for me he is over-hyped and inconsistent, and his form dropped considerably admidst all the Madrid speculation and Scotland call up. He isn't helped by the having such $h!t team mates though.

Others could include Damon Gray (who's actually English) & Darren McCormack

As far as I'm aware there's hope that our current U19 team have some real prospects i.e. Bryne, Cropley, Tomlie, Hanlon (the latter of which is already in the senior side at 17) but McCormack aside, I'm not to hopeful of the ones floating in the senior team at the moment like McCann, Stevenson, Campbell and Chisholm

Cesc Soler wrote:Its hard to tell with Arsenal. The likes of Vela and Ramsey are young and have not played a game for Arsenal yet, however they have experience elsewhere and will be part of the first team set-up regardless going into this season. I also expect a number of players to be loaned out as well, Randall, Gibbs, Traore and possibly Barazite should really be going off for a season to get used to the demands of playing professionally each week.

I'm going to tip Harvard Nordtveit to make the step up this season.


He had some injuries last year but from what I heard he done very well in the games he played in, apparently his style is fairly similar to Jonathan Woodgate. Wenger's reluctance to invest in the defence is another positive for him. Carling Cup games and cover for the first team is still a good step for an 18 year old.

What about that midfielder/winger who we had an article about in our thread?

Wilkshire I think his name was.

Gael Kakuta! He's bloody brilliant.

Freddy Sears - West Ham. What a debut!

Harry Forrester- Aston Villa.

Lampard on Kakuta:

"I think Kakuta stands out for his ability. His natural talent for someone who is just 16 is amazing...!

Tweedle wrote:Wilkshire I think his name was.

Luke Wilkshire is shite

Jack Wilshire.

Far to young IMO. I think he has only just finished his GCSE's! Needs another season in the reserves until he can think about making a play in the first team squad.

Since 1888 wrote:@Bash: It is reported in Holland that Chelsea, Feyenoord and Heerenveen are all interested in Krul. He really needs games and isnt likely to get those at Newcastle so is a sale on the cards?

They can f@ck off.

Cesc Soler wrote:

I'm going to tip Harvard Nordtveit to make the step up this season.

He should. Last september he was to start vs. Newcastle, but the physiotheraphist said no in the last second - he hadn't fully recovered yet. Since then, as you say, he had some injuries. He'll be very exciting to follow