Sercan Yildirim     21     Striker     Galatasaray

Technically gifted, lively and unselfish second striker who’s scored goals for Turkey at all levels including the full national side. Truly prolific as a junior, Yildirim was frequently linked with a transfer to Manchester United via Turkish media outlets for the best part of three years. With the potential move to Old Trafford failing to materialise, a spring decamping to Locomotiv Moscow progressed as far as the medical stage before doubts relating to a niggling knee injury startled the Russian club into retreat.

Yildirim looked on course to remain at Bursaspor this summer with no immediate suggestion that he was likely to move anywhere else, but a late transfer window swoop from Galatasaray secured his services. The opportunity to fire the goals to assist Bülent Ünder’s repair job at Gala after a disappointing season is an interesting prospect. He now has the stage to demonstrate his talents and certainly looks more than capable of scooping a hatful of goals in the Super Lig but must turn potential into proven talent.

Long term fitness doubts remain following that failed medical and an injury free season is a must if promise is to be fulfilled. Players that find themselves on Manchester United’s radar are worth keeping an eye on but Yildirim has a long way to go to prove worthy of nudging the interests of Europe’s top clubs again.

“Never looked the same since his first year. Disappointing” - @aznat_

D     How is that knee?

Andriy Yarmolenko     21     Winger/Striker     Dynamo Kyiv

Another very good year for the robust Yarmolenko where he has become a regular source of goals for both club and country. The young Ukrainian plays most frequently as a striker for Kyiv where the inevitable comparisons with Andriy Shevchenko have proved his potential, but at the same time retains enough technical ability to slot in as a left winger when required.  

A series of good performances in Kyiv’s Europa League campaign last season will have ensured Yarmolenko’s name was added to many a scouting list this year. Further progress will more than likely result in a move to Italy with Juventus amongst others maintaining a keen interest in the versatile player. He’s proving to be an intelligent and skilful prospect but if a move to one of Europe’s bigger leagues does materialise, that will surely be the making or breaking of Yarmolenko’s career. 

Scoring goals, playing well and keeping Andriy Shevchenko out of Kiev’s first eleven is quite enough for the moment, Yarmolenko is doing everything that is asked and long may that continue.  A potential superstar.

"Such a marvellous talent.  Score goals for fun these days and you'd imagine he'd be the next Ukrainian icon" - Domm Norris (Slavic Football Union)

C+     Has answered every question asked of him so far, now it’s time to kick on.

Siyanda Xulu     19     Defender     Mamelodi Sundowns

A real prospect for South Africa, towering 19-year-old defender Xulu may already be an Arsenal player were it not for red tape ruling out a transfer to England.

According to reports, a successful trial at the Emirates in 2010 convinced Arsene Wenger that the hard working centre-back was worth investment and a deal was agreed with his Pretoria based club. However complications relating to Xulu’s work permit eligibility closed the door on that particular move and with Arsenal famed for their lack of defensive options, the future could have been very different for both parties. 

Despite this setback, the Durban born youngster has time on his side and will continue his development with the Sundowns where it is hoped that his initial promise does not diminish. With an impressive ability to seek out long range passes and a towering physicality not always associated with such an assured touch, Xulu’s progress is being attentively monitored by Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, suggesting that a move to Spain may well be the next step for the youngster.

“Talented, but needs time to grow.  Arsenal would have been too soon” - @shawla_80

C-     When the move comes we promise he won’t look out of place.

Danny Wilson     19     Defender     Liverpool

Wilson looked magnificent in a very short space of time after breaking into the first team at Rangers aged just 17. Composed, classy and with a touch of the Maldini’s about him, it was no surprise to see scouts falling over themselves at Ibrox to purr over Wilson and try to engineer an immediate move to their club.

Having been linked with every one of the English Premier League’s big boys, it was no great surprise that Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish were the ones to persuade Wilson to join them and swiftly took out the chequebook to confirm the move. Capable of playing at centre back or on the left, the Livingston born youngster had come a long way in less than thirty appearances for Rangers.

He has now already made more appearances for his country than his new club but his time at Liverpool will come if he can live up to that enormous potential. Like Jack Wilshere and many others before him, he may benefit from a loan period at another Premier League club to gain vital first team experience and to pick up the pace of the league around him. At Liverpool he remains a player for cup-ties against lesser opposition but both they and Wilson are in it for the long haul, expect it to be a mutually beneficial relationship.

“A very exciting Scottish prospect, he sailed through games in the SPL and even looked assured in Europe. Definitely Scotland's best hope to become a top centre back. He has a cultured left foot and always looks composed and picks the right pass out of defence. I hope Liverpool use him more this term but not at left back as that’s not his ideal position. Could be the next Alan Hansen” – Scott Johnston (Thefootyblog.net)

“Fairly elegant and composed but so far – at LFC at least – very unremarkable. Not many CBs at his age make the grade. Not that quick, so may take a few more years be good enough, as he'll need to read the game better than quicker counterparts. Very early days” – Paul Tomkins (tomkinstimes.com)

C-     A difficult year of development ahead but already there’s evidence to suggest you could prove to be a bargain.

Jack Wilshere     19      Midfielder     Arsenal

Wilshere had been English football’s worst kept secret for some time before a loan period at Bolton Wanderers in 2009-10 showed the wider watching world a glimpse of the potential he represents. Using his time away from Arsenal to benefit from some first team experience and grow as both a man and a player, Wilshere returned ready to step into Arsenal’s fluid midfield.

While Arsenal slowly became their own worst enemies last season, Wilshere continued to shine. With an intelligence beyond his years and vision honed from years of training next to Cesc Fabregas week in, week out, Wilshire is now an England international with the football world at his feet.

“Wilshere slightly worries me as he’s so good, so young. While players like Joe Cole have had similar gigantic levels of raw talent and stalled, I hope Wilshere can keep developing. If he does, make no mistake, he will be a very special player indeed” – Dave Hartrick (IBWM)

“An ultra-modern midfield player of utter class and authority beyond his years, Wilshere is the fulcrum that England could feasibly be building their team around for the next generation. When pitted against Xavi and Iniesta in the Champions League last season, he not only held his own, he shone. A real gem of a player” – Luke Moore (The Football Ramble)

“Huge potential but his performances in the Premier League have been overrated: he has rarely run a game. That said, was superb against Barcelona which bodes well’”– Michael Cox (Zonal Marking)

B    Stay out of trouble, get fit, show Europe how good you are.

Georginio Wijnaldum     20     Midfielder/Winger         PSV

Aged just 20, Wijnaldum had clocked up over 100 appearances at home town club Feyenoord before PSV came knocking this summer. A stand-out performer for his team during a thoroughly wretched season, Wijnaldum is a highly technical operator through whom attacking play can be channelled. Ticking all the boxes as a classic ‘number 10’ and with a sweet strike from inside or outside the box, the Rotterdam born starlet is equally adept on the flanks as he is in a central role.

On the cusp of full international recognition, Wijnaldum has the potential to dominate matches and will invariably become the focal point of the Dutch side for many years to come. The fact that PSV were able to pick him up for less than 5m Euros in the summer was the work of genius on their part, he’ll cost an Italian, English or Spanish club around five times that when the inevitable happens over the next two years. Wijnaldum is worth looking at now, nothing is as satisfying as feeling ‘in the know’ when he becomes one of Europe’s hottest properties in years to come.

“A graduate of the Feyenoord academy, he is blessed with everything to make him a future star. I would describe him best as a floating trequartista who loves to dribble with the ball – strong pace – and make penetrating runs. He’s shown good goal-scoring instincts and aerial prowess, a brace last season against current side PSV were described as Gullit-esque. Comfortable with both feet, he has the passing range – short or long – to operate from a deeper role. Also with his spatial awareness he can pick a pass instead of always going one-on-one with his opponent, despite the fact he’s got enough in his game to win such a duel” - Mohamed Moallim (Jouracule.blogspot.com)

C+     Big season, high expectations, huge talent. Show us what you can do.

Vladimir Weiss     21     Midfielder/Winger     Espanyol

Talented midfielder Weiss was on the periphery of first team action at Manchester City when everything changed in the summer of 2008. Subsequently stifled at Eastlands, Weiss headed off to Bolton and then to Glasgow, rejecting the opportunity to sign for Celtic in order to don the blue of Rangers on a season-long loan.

We considered this a good move for a player whom hopes in the blue half of Manchester had been high and fully expected Weiss to thrive in the SPL. However, despite a good start, Weiss never really progressed in the way many had hoped. A foot injury brought his season to a premature finale and a promised bang had delivered little more than a meek fizz.

A return to City in the summer offered no further opportunities for the Bratislava born winger and again Weiss has been farmed out on loan, this time to Espanyol. It’s now an inescapable fact that the loan moves look more like City running Weiss’s contract down, rather than any attempt to develop a talented youngster. Whether Weiss is capable of performing at Espanyol to a level that would trouble Roberto Mancini’s first team plans is open to conjecture, but it is a shame that development in a city he called home was disrupted just when things were beginning to happen. A regular at international level, the career of Vladimir Weiss has stalled. Badly.

"A player with every trick in the book, but no end product" - Stefan Bienkowski (The Oval Log)

"Shown real flashes of skill, pace to burn and has excited.  Poor delivery though - awful in fact.  Been told to learn Spanish." - David Cartlidge (Spanish Football.info)

D     Needs a permanent move and a fresh start but there’s still time

Theo Walcott     22     Winger/Forward     Arsenal

In citing Walcott as ‘Winger/Forward’ in the header, we are perhaps looking at the single biggest puzzle surrounding his career. While the player himself has repeatedly stated a desire to play through the middle, his natural (and biggest) asset of blistering pace seems to push both his club and national manger into favouring a wider position for Theo.

At 22 he already has a wealth of experience but the elephant in the room when discussing Walcott will always be consistency. Knowing he is capable of destroying teams on his own, it’s the regular non-performances and poor decisions that frustrate more than anything. Clearly he’ll be given a lot more responsibility at Arsenal this season following the departures of Cesc and Nasri, and may even get regular chances to play through the middle, but there is a real need to see him put in twenty to thirty good performances, rather than one truly outstanding game followed by several average ones.

“Walcott is quick, but he has found the accusation of him being more an athlete than a footballer difficult to shake. Prone to punctuating decent spells of form with significant malaise, he needs desperately to work and improve on his finishing and consistency if he wants to move into that more influential central role he covets” – Luke Moore (The Football Ramble)

“Will never be the superstar people hoped for when he was 17, but he's quietly become a useful player for Arsenal, stretching the play and crossing well, though on counter-attacks he makes poor decisions” – Michael Cox (Zonal Marking)

C-     You could be one of the outstanding players of your generation. Now believe it and furthermore, prove it.

Ante Vukušić     20    Striker     Hadjuk Split

Diminutive striker Vukušić was in devastating form for Hadjuk in 2010-11, scoring at a rate of more than one in every two games for the Split side. Not yet considered ready for a full international cap, Vukušić is gradually gaining confidence and momentum, he is a star very much on the rise.

Inevitable comparisons have been made with former Arsenal striker Eduardo Da Silva and Vukušić is a very similar sort of player but there is perhaps a little more of the Ole Gunnar Solskjær about the young Croatian. A debutant for his club at 17, a regular for the Croatia under-21 side and now Hadjuk’s captain at the ripe old age of 20, it’s fair to say responsibility isn’t a problem for the young striker.

Predictable links to Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle and Fulham all came and went during the summer and Vukušić has the opportunity to continue his development in Split, the best place for him right now.  Partnering Ivan Vuković in Hadjuk’s attack we wouldn’t be surprised to see this lively striker score more than 25 goals in the Croatian league this season which will invariably lead to another influx of those links.

Keep watching this kid, he might just surprise you.

“First half of last season he benefited from Ibricic's play; scored a great winner against Anderlect. When Ibricic left, so did his chances” - @tmarusic

C+     Listen to your mentors, stay selfish and keep working hard.

Jelle Vossen     22     Striker     Genk

22-year-old forward Vossen has had a good 12 months. A formidable goal-scoring record for Genk where he notched 20 times in 37 appearances in 2010-11 demonstrates just how good a finisher the Bilzen born striker is.

Proving to have an eye for goal from inside or outside the box, he found himself regularly on the score sheet with opening goals, equalisers, winners, headers, volleys and tap-ins. His good form was rewarded with full international honours for the emerging Belgian national side and after managing to score twice for his country, his place now looks assured. 

Good strikers are a valuable commodity in world football but the caveat must be made that the Jupiler league might just be Vossen’s level. His international form and a run in the Champions League will determine if a move to one of Europe’s main leagues will figure in his future but there is a real possibility that this is as good as it gets.

Vossen is developing nicely in at a club that suits him. It could be that he’s an excellent player in one of Europe’s smaller leagues and in the long-term, that may well prove to be enough career-wise.    

“Classic poacher for Genk who has a habit of drawing fouls from the opposition. Excellent work-rate and striking ability” – Chris Mayer (The Belgian Waffle)

C-     Are you really all that?