Back in 2002, MATCH magazine put together a list of the top wonderkids playing in England’s top tier and it proved to be a mixed bag.
The magazine, which was first created in 1979, picked out ’20 Premiership Wonderkids who are red-hot prospects’ and included six on the front cover.
But while a few proceeded to achieve greatness in the game, a fair amount did not live up to the potential given to them by one of the most popular football publications in the United Kingdom.
One of the names in the list proved to be completely separate on the pack. Wayne Rooney was making waves at Everton, where he made his debut at 16 and announced himself with a stunning goal against Arsenal.
He played for England at 17 and then signed for Manchester United in 2004, going on to become the club’s record goalscorer with 253 goals in 559 appearances and cementing himself as one of the greatest players in the history of the Premier League.
Teammate John O’Shea won a number of major honours alongside Rooney at United and he too made the list, along with another former Red Devils player in Kieran Richardson.
Jermaine Pennant and Carlton Cole both had solid Premier League careers after being tipped for stardom at a young age, while Manchester City pair Chris Shuker and Matias Vuoso made a combined total of three Premier League appearances.
Interestingly, Hugo Viana, who played 39 times for Newcastle and made the list, is City’s new director of football 23 years on from his stint in England as a player.
Manchester City’s new director of football Hugo Viana played 39 times for Newcastle. Image: Getty
Kolo Toure was a young centre-back when MATCH selected him as an exciting prospect and he went on to win the Premier League with both Arsenal and Manchester City – one of ten players to do so with two clubs.
The list of 20 wonderkids in full:
20.Michael Chopra (Newcastle United)
19.Liam Ridgewell (Aston Villa)
18.Luke Wilkshire (Middlesbrough)
17.Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal)
16.Chris Shuker (Manchester City)
15.Darren Carter (Birmingham City)
14.Kieran Richardson (Manchester United)
13.Filipe Oliveira (Chelsea)
12. Hugo Viana (Newcastle United)
11. Milan Baros (Liverpool)
10. Stefan Moore (Aston Villa)
9.John O’Shea (Manchester United)
8.Vicente Vuoso (Manchester City)
7.Carlton Cole (Chelsea)
6. Jermaine Pennant (Arsenal)
5. Grant Leadbitter (Sunderland)
4. Adam Chambers (West Bromwich Albion)
3.Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
2.Thomas Butler (Sunderland)
1.Wayne Rooney (Everton)
