Predicting which young footballers will make it to the very top can be a thankless task, with players seemingly destined for Premier League stardom going from hero to zero in short order.
A player who looks a dead cert at 16 can be down in the lower leagues before his 26th birthday, while others might have to wait until their twenties for a top-flight debut but then go on to feature at World Cups or European Championships for their country.
You might have picked out a star to watch at the club you support, and they might even have picked up first-team minutes at a tender age. As we will soon learn, though, even that is no guarantee of how things might look a decade from now.
Back in 2013, the BBC identified a player from each of the 20 Premier League clubs (well, two from one of the clubs, but we'll get onto that later). The players were picked out by fanzine writers from the sides involved in the 2013-14 season, emphasising that these were the starlets with plenty of noise among those who watched the teams week in, week out.
Impressively, the group of 21 players includes several England internationals as well as internationals for other countries, one of whom has scored at a World Cup. For a variety of reasons, though, some of the others haven't risen quite as high.
Here, Mirror Football takes a closer look at the stars of the future, all of whom are around what should be their peak years, to see how they have got on. It's worth bearing all of this in mind when predicting the future of your team's next big thing.
Which of the 21 stars was the biggest success? Have your say in the comments section
Arsenal: Gedion Zelalem
When Gedion Zelalem joined Arsenal at 16, some anticipated a battle for his international attentions. The Berlin-born youngster was eligible for Germany, Ethiopia and the United States, though he had represented the country of his birth at age group level.
The ball-playing midfielder eventually opted for the US, but never made a senior appearance despite earning under-20 and under-23 caps. He never made a Premier League appearance for Arsenal, either, though one of his four cup appearances under Arsene Wenger came against Galatasaray in the 2014-15 Champions League.
After a couple of loan spells in his teens, Zelalem eventually left Arsenal for good in 2019. He spent the last three-and-a-half years in Major League Soccer, playing only sporadically, and completed a January switch to Den Bosch in the Dutch second tier.
Aston Villa: Gary Gardner
The brother of fellow Villa academy graduate Craig, Gary Gardner also plays in central midfield. The local lad made his Premier League debut as a teenager under Alex McLeish, but a serious knee injury dented his progress.
Gardner was sent on a number of Championship loans before eventually making a permanent switch to Birmingham City, joining his brother at St Andrew's. He has been used sparingly this season, with loan signing Hannibal a fixture in the middle of the park.
Cardiff: Declan John
Teenage left-back John was thrown in at the deep end, starting against West Ham in Cardiff's first ever Premier League match. He ended up making 20 appearances that season, but the Bluebirds were unable to stay afloat under Malky Mackay and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
That same season, he made the first of his seven senior appearances for Wales. Five of the seven would come many years later, though, after he left the Cardiff City Stadium for Rangers and then Swansea.
John is now at Bolton, joining on loan for the 2020-21 season and making the move permanent after helping the team win promotion to League One. He has made 11 league appearances this season as Ian Evatt's side chase another promotion.
Chelsea: Ruben Loftus-Cheek
In the BBC's rundown, midfielder Loftus-Cheek was compared to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. While he hasn't quite reached the levels of the free-scoring former Blues star, he can match Lampard in being an England international and Champions League winner.
Loftus-Cheek made his Premier League debut as a teenager under Jose Mourinho, and the Portuguese manager's record at the time with young talent spoke to how impressive a feat that was. There have been times at which it looked like his future might lie elsewhere - not least during loan spells at Crystal Palace and Fulham - but he is on course to make a 150th Blues appearance this season.
At international level, that successful Palace loan earned Loftus-Cheek a place in Gareth Southgate's squad for the 2018 World Cup. However, he has represented his country just twice since appearing in the third place play-off against Belgium.
Crystal Palace: Reise Allassani
England under-17 international Allassani was playing for Palace's under-23 side when just 16, going up against future Premier League starters including Conor Coady and Andreas Christensen. Big things were expected of the youngster, but injuries got in the way.
Two separate knee ligament injuries kept the forward out for two separate seasons after he left Palace in 2016. An impressive non-league campaign with Dulwich Hamlet in between those two injuries earned him a brief return to the Football League with Coventry, but he is now back in non-league football, joining Wingate and Finchley and making his debut for the Isthmian League side in December.
Everton: Ross Barkley
Ever since Wayne Rooney made a sizzling breakthrough at Everton, fans of the club have been waiting for the next academy sensation to break through. There have been plenty of false dawns, and no one quite at Rooney's level, but England international Barkley certainly showed flashes.
With 33 international caps and more than 200 Premier League appearances to his name, Barkley's career has been a successful one by most metrics. However, perceptions might be skewed by the fact that so much of his best form came at such a young age.
Barkley made his Premier League debut at 17 and shone with Everton, but failed to hit the same heights at Chelsea despite playing in the 2019 Europa League final win. Still just 29 but without an England appearance since 2019, he finally left the London club this summer and joined Nice in Ligue 1.
Fulham: Cauley Woodrow
Talented young striker Woodrow had the misfortune of breaking into a chaotic Fulham team destined for relegation. His only Premier League goal came on the final day of the 2013-14 season, with Felix Magath's team already assured of a bottom-three finish.
After failing to deliver the Cottagers an immediate top-flight return, the frontman was sent on a succession of loans before eventually completing a permanent move to Barnsley. He impressed for the Yorkshire side, scoring 53 times in 155 appearances, and moved back to boyhood club Luton Town over the summer.
Hull: Max Clark
An England youth international, defensive talent Clark was made to wait for his Hull chance. It came in the 2017-18 season, after the departure of Andy Robertson allowed him to step into the left-back role, and the defender made 30 appearances for his hometown club.
That form earned him a move to Vitesse, and a taste of Europa League football in a squad which also included Chelsea loanees Jake Clarke-Salter and Eduardo. He returned to England in 2021, and is now at Stevenage in League Two.
Liverpool: Jordon Ibe
Liverpool won the race for highly-valued winger Ibe in 2012 after he had attracted attention by making his Wycombe debut aged just 15. He made 41 Premier League appearances for the club, including a handful under Jurgen Klopp after the manager's 2015 appointment, before making a £15m move to Bournemouth in 2016.
There were flashes of quality from the Cherries' then-record signing, but he fell further and further out of favour before leaving on a free in 2020. He made just two league appearances in his final season with Bournemouth as they were relegated from the Premier League.
Moves to Derby and Adanaspor followed, with little in the way of first-team action. He has also bravely opened up about struggles with depression, and is currently without a club at the age of 27.
Man City: Jose Angel Pozo
Pozo was snapped up from Real Madrid as a teenager, and impressive form for City's under-23 side left fans with high hopes. He did eventually get chances in the Premier League under Manuel Pellegrini, making his one start in the competition as City won 1-0 at Leicester in December 2014.
The forward left for Almeria at the end of that season, and has since racked up more than 200 appearances in Spain's top two tiers. He helped Rayo Vallecano climb into the top flight in 2021, but has mostly featured from the bench for Andoni Iraola's side this term.
Man Utd: Adnan Januzaj
For the first few months of the 2013-14 season, Adnan Januzaj looked like the real deal. In a difficult season for Man Utd under new manager David Moyes, the winger was a welcome distraction from some on-field issues during a nightmare title defence.
He made 35 appearances in that first season, prompting Belgium to act quickly to ensure they avoided a tug-of-war for him at international level. He had to wait until 2018 for his first senior international goal, though, netting against England in a World Cup group game.
By then, Januzaj was no longer at United, leaving in 2017 after loan spells at Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland. He spent the last five full seasons with Real Sociedad, making more than 100 LaLiga appearances, before making a summer switch to Sevilla.
Newcastle: Adam Campbell
Newcastle fans love a homegrown striker, and Campbell looked for a while as though he could be the next one to make a real first-team breakthrough. The Tyneside-born frontman became the Magpies' youngest ever player in European competition at the age of 17, but he managed just 23 minutes of Premier League football before leaving in 2015.
After a few years in the lower leagues, Campbell returned to the north-east in 2019 with a move to Darlington. He's now playing in the National League with Gateshead.
Norwich: Jacob and Josh Murphy
Twin brothers Josh and Jacob Murphy both impressed in the 2013 FA Youth Cup final as Norwich beat a Chelsea side including future Premier League starters Loftus-Cheek, Christensen and Nathan Ake. Both made their senior debuts for the Canaries in the 2013-14 season, but neither are still at Carrow Road.
Jacob is still a Premier League player, finding a new lease on life at Newcastle under Eddie Howe. He made his 100th Premier League appearance for the club this season, and has a shot at European football next term.
Josh also returned to the top flight after leaving Norwich, but his first season at newly-promoted Cardiff in 2018-19 brought relegation. He left the Welsh side over the summer and now plays for Oxford United in League One.
Southampton: Luke Shaw
Shaw looked destined for big things at a young age, making his Southampton debut at 16 and becoming a Premier League starter just a few months after his 17th birthday. The left-back's form under Mauricio Pochettino in the 2013-14 season earned him a World Cup call-up with England, and a big-money move to Manchester United followed.
A double leg break early in his Old Trafford career could have spelled the end, and indeed it did take Shaw a while to get back to his best after the horror injury. He has outlasted a number of managers and defensive challengers, though, and has the chance to bring up 250 appearances for the Manchester club this season.
At international level, injuries and the form of others meant Shaw barely featured for England between 2015 and 2020. He admitted to having given up hope of a recall before returning to Gareth Southgate's squad in March 2021, but he started all but one of England's games across Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.
Stoke: James Alabi
London-born striker Alabi was viewed as a potential solution to Stoke's problems up front after they scored just 34 times in the 2012-13 season. New manager Mark Hughes couldn't find a place for the teenager, though, and he spent time out on loan before dropping into non-league not long after he left the Potters in 2015.
Now 28, Alabi is playing in the National League for Maidstone having made a summer switch from Bromley. He has scored just twice, with the newly-promoted team looking set to drop straight back down to the sixth tier.
Sunderland: Jordan Pickford
Jordan Pickford was still waiting for his Premier League debut in 2013, but Sunderland fans had high hopes after impressive loan spells in non-league. The homegrown goalkeeper continued gradually climbing the pyramid through loan spells before making his Black Cats bow in January 2016, and within months he was first-choice.
A big-money move to Everton followed Sunderland's 2017 relegation, as did an England debut. More than five years on, he is his country's regular keeper with 50 caps and has made 200 top-flight appearances for the Toffees.
"With 33 international youth appearances to his name already, the 19-year-old's long-term goal will be to become the England number one," Sunderland's writer told the BBC. It doesn't always work out like that, but Pickford is one of the best examples of youth quality leading to senior recognition.
Swansea: Jernade Meade
A product of the Arsenal academy, Meade joined Swansea on a free transfer ahead of their first Europa League campaign. However, the youngster lasted just one season before moving into non-league football.
A left-sided player, Meade tried his luck overseas with spells in Sweden and Norway before returning to the UK, and now plays for Dartford in the Conference South. Born in Luton, he now represents Montserrat at international level and made his debut for the Caribbean island in a World Cup qualifier in 2021.
Tottenham: Tom Carroll
Carroll was known by Spurs fans as a great passer of the ball long before he broke into the first team. Indeed, comparisons were made with Luka Modric - who left Spurs in 2012 - with the youngster viewed as the next talent likely to occupy a similar creative central midfield role.
The England under-21 international made his top-flight bow at 20 and laid on a late winner for Gareth Bale against West Ham in February 2013. He made more than 50 appearances for Tottenham in total, while loans included a season under former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp at QPR.
Carroll eventually left for Swansea, with whom he played in the top two divisions during a four-year permanent stint, but injuries have damaged his progress in recent years. Now 30, he is without a club after leaving Ipswich Town at the end of last season.
West Brom: Saido Berahino
Teenage striker Berahino had caught the eye with some impressive loan spells, and was eventually given a Premier League chance by Steve Clarke shortly after his 20th birthday. A return of 14 league goals in the 2014-15 season brought a first senior England call-up, but things then went south.
Frustration at West Brom's failure to sell him to Spurs was the start of a falling-out between Berahino and then-manager Tony Pulis. Stoke would eventually move for the striker in 2017 despite his scoring form drying up, but two-and-a-half seasons in the Potteries brought just three league goals.
Berahino had a bit more success after moving to Belgium, and notched a few goals for Sheffield Wednesday last season before moving again - this time to Cypriot side Apollon Limassol. After not making it onto the pitch for Roy Hodgson's England, he changed his international allegiances to his birth country of Burundi and has scored once in 17 senior caps.
West Ham: Ravel Morrison
There was no questioning the talent of former Manchester United starlet Morrison. The question was whether he would be able to show the required level of consistency on the pitch after leaving the Old Trafford club for West Ham.
For the first half of the 2013-14 season, the playmaker thrived under Sam Allardyce, scoring a memorable goal in a win at Spurs. However, he finished the season out on loan in the second tier after his relationship with the manager turned sour.
Morrison has been something of a nomad since leaving east London, playing in Italy, Mexico, Sweden and the Netherlands. He is now at D.C. United in Major League Soccer, having followed manager Wayne Rooney there from Derby.
