Top 20 English youngsters – West Ham, Man Utd & Everton stars take your bow!

Football FanCast
columnist Adam Daley continues his countdown of the Top 20 English
youngsters by looking as he enters the top 10.

One of the big criticisms of
English football today is that there are not enough good quality young English
players. This however should not be taken for face value and there are some
excellent prospects out there. To prove it, here is my choice of the 20 best
young English players under and including the age of 20.

The cut off point for age in this
list is 1^st April 2009, and it is based on current ability AND
potential. Some players have been included despite a lack of first team
football, however their potential is such that they deserve a place. On the
other hand, some other players have been chosen despite perhaps having less
potential than players not included because they have established themselves
into first teams.

Best 20 English players under 20

10.Freddie Sears

Date Of Birth: 27/11/1991

Sears has been considered an excellent prospect since he was
15, when he was already playing in West Ham's U18s. The striker really started
to raise eyebrows during the 2007/08 campaign, when scored 25 goals in 24
matches for the youths and reserves. It wasn't long after that he was
considered for first team duty, and he famously scored a debut goal against
Blackburn Rovers with a diving header in the 81st minute, just 5 minutes and 16
seconds into his first team career.

Sears has gone on to play over 20 games for West Ham in the
Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup, and he's still only 19. Though he hasn't
played in many England youth games (one U19 cap and 2 goals) he's tipped by
many to be a future England star.

9.Giles Barnes

Date Of Birth: 05/08/1988

20 year old Barnes has played over 80 times for Derby County
since signing professionally as a 17 year old. Had he not suffered from a
series of injuries when Derby were in the Premier League then that figure would
be even higher. He signed on loan to Fulham with a possible future fee of up to
£4 million during the latter part of the 2008/09 season, though he's since
struggled for appearances at the London team.

Barnes is a versatile player, who can play anywhere across
midfield and occasionally in a forward position. He was Derby's Young Player of
the Year for the 2006/07 season, and has managed to win 17 England U19 caps
scoring 7 goals. He is often praised for his hard working nature on the
football field, and has also shown that he has an eye for goal after scoring
ten times for Derby. If he can hold off from being injured then there is a good
chance that he can make a real impact in the Premier League in the up and
coming seasons.

8.Fabrice Muamba

Date Of Birth: 06/04/1988

Muamba only just slots into the list, with his birthday
being six days after the set cut off point. He was born in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, and arrived in London at the age of 11 after his father was
forced to flee because of his political views. Muamba started out in Aresnal's
youth system from 2002 and signed a professional contract in 2005. A year later
he joined Birmingham on loan, and became their Young Player of the Year. In 2007
he signed for Birmingham permanently for a fee thought to be £4 million. After
making a total of 74 appearances for The Blues (including 5 goals), he then
signed with Bolton Wonders for £5 million at the start of the 2008/09 season.

Muamba, a powerful central midfielder, is sometimes likened
to Patrick Vieira in his style of play. He's been a regular for England's U21s,
and has also captained the U19s during his time with them. So far in just one
season he's made over 30 appearances for Bolton, proving he's established
himself as a Premiership regular before he's even 21.

7.James Vaughan

Date Of Birth: 06/04/1988

Vaughan is currently the Premier
League's youngest ever goal scorer, after taking the record from James Milner
when he scored for Everton against Crystal Palace when he was just 16 years 360
days old. It also made him Everton's youngest ever scorer, and his appearance
in that match made him Everton's youngest ever first team player.

Vaughan was originally born in
Birmingham, but was spotted by Everton's talent scouts at the age of 9 and
brought there. He then went on to make a number of eye catching appearances for
the youths and reserves, which eventually led to him being considered for the
first team in 2005. Since then he's gone on to make over 30 appearances for
Everton scoring 7 goals, and also featuring in the England U17s, U19s and
U21s.

Vaughan is most notable for his
blistering pace. In 1999 he was recognised as the 3rd fastest 13 year old in
Britain, after being able to run the 100 metres in 11.5 seconds. Unfortunately
he is a player who has had numerous trouble with injuries. Early in the 2005/06
season he suffered a knee ligament injury that ruled him out for the rest of
the season, he suffered a severed foot artery against Bolton in the following
season, a dislocated shoulder in preparation for the 2007/08 season, and
another knee injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the 2008/09 season.
Otherwise he has bags of talent and if he can shake off all the injuries then
he could become a valuable player for England.

6.Danny Welbeck

Date Of Birth: 26/11/1990

Welbeck struck his way into the fore-front of
people's minds during his Manchester United league debut against Stoke, where
he curled a 30 yard shot into the top right hand corner of the net. Since then
there have been numerous rave reviews and comparisons of his potential. Because
of his height and the way he runs people usually compare him to Emmanuel
Adebayor or Nwankwo Kanu.

Welbeck was born in Manchester to Ghanaian parents,
and brought up through Manchester United's youth system. He started playing for
United's U18s when he was 15 years old, and was promoted to the reserve team
when he was 16. In January 2008 (when he was 17) Alex Ferguson declared that he
had become a squad member of the first team. This was followed by a number of
cup games and his league debut. In the mean time he also climbed up England's
youth ranks playing for the U16s, U17s, U19s and was called up to the U21s.

Despite many considering him to have a bright
future for England, there have also been reports that his parent's native Ghana
have been looking at him with a view to calling him up. On top of this there
have even been reports that Scotland are considering him, with him apparently
being eligible again through his parents. Clearly Welbeck is a very wanted man,
and if all goes well, could become a very good player indeed.

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