The list of the best wonderkids competing in England’s top division, compiled by MATCH magazine in 2002, was a mixed bag. Six of the ’20 Premiership Wonderkids who are red-hot potential’ were featured on the front cover of the magazine, which was first published in 1979.
However, several did not live up to the potential that one of the most well-known football journals in the UK gave them, even though a handful went on to become great players.
On the pack, one of the names on the list turned out to be entirely different. When Wayne Rooney made his debut at Everton at the age of sixteen, he created an impression by scoring an incredible goal against Arsenal.
After playing for England at the age of 17, he joined Manchester United in 2004 and went on to become the team’s all-time top scorer with 253 goals in 559 games, solidifying his place among the best Premier League players ever.
Along with Kieran Richardson, another former Red Devil, teammate John O’Shea also made the list after winning several significant awards with Rooney at United.
Chris Shuker and Matias Vuoso of Manchester City earned a total of three Premier League appearances, while Jermaine Pennant and Carlton Cole all had successful Premier League careers after being predicted to be stars at an early age.
It’s interesting to note that Hugo Viana, who made the list and played 39 times for Newcastle, is now City’s new director of football, 23 years after he played in England.
One of 10 players to win the Premier League with two teams, Kolo Toure was a young centre-back when MATCH chose him as a promising prospect. He went on to win the league with both Manchester City and Arsenal.
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)
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