Ravel Morrison, two ex-Chelsea starlets, and Tottenham’s ‘next Didier Drogba’ – Premier League wonderkids who didn’t live up to the hype
Young and talented footballers are always the subject of hype.
It has been the case for time immemorial – it’s not just a Premier League phenomenon.
It often goes the same way too, mutterings of a youngster impressing in the academy are followed by run outs in the League Cup or off the bench in an injury crisis.
Federico Macheda burst onto the scene at Manchester United in 2009 but faded almost immediately
The increased exposure leads to many anointing them as the next big thing – but not every footballer’s career can go down this path.
Some take to senior games with ease and are immediately superstars, just look at Wayne Rooney’s rise.
Others drop out of the first-team and struggle to make it back, often needing loan spells in a lower division, while some have to leave their first clubs completely and start afresh.
Those youngsters are left to rebuild their careers away from the limelight and even if some manage to bounce back, others don’t.
So which Premier League wonderkids failed to live up to the hype? talkSPORT.com takes a look.
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Ravel Morrison
Dubbed by Alex Ferguson as ‘the best kid you’ll ever see’, the controversial midfielder was an integral part of United’s youth side in the early parts of the last decade.
While his football ability can never be called into question, his work ethic and attitude were far from exemplary at Old Trafford as he trained alongside Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard.
The Red Devils cut their ties with Morrison in 2012 as he joined West Ham, but his career never took off there either.
Loan spells with Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff followed, with Morrison’s contract in east London eventually terminated.
Serie A giants Lazio were his next stop but it didn’t work out for Morrison in Italy, or in Mexico with Atlas, and he also failed to settle during a brief stint with Swedish side Ostersund last year.
Morrison was rated as one of the best young talents ever by Sir Alex
It was then Morrison was offered a lifeline – and a big one at that.
When Sheffield United signed him last summer, there were more than one or two eyebrows raised at Bramall Lane.
Blades boss Chris Wilder insisted it was ‘a good fit for the player and the club’ when the signing was confirmed.
However, with the Yorkshire outfit exceeding beyond all expectations in the English top-flight, Morrison was only able to make one competitive appearance before being shipped out on loan to Championship side Middlesbrough for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.
He retains hope of fulfilling his potential and gave a brilliantly honest interview to talkSPORT in May about failing to grasp his chances but, at 27, he hasn’t got long left to make his mark.
Ravel Morrison tells talkSPORT: If I could sit back and go through my life again, there would be a lot of things I’d change.
Souleymane Coulibaly
After a stunning nine-goal haul, including a hat-trick against Brazil, at the 2011 Under-17 World Cup the whole globe had its eyes on the young Ivorian.
Naturally, he was labelled ‘the next Didier Drogba’ and Tottenham pipped Manchester United and Real Madrid to his signature.
In 2012, a great goal and a back-flipping celebration against Southampton at White Hart Lane increased interest in the player from fans, who believed they had a real wonderkid on their hands.
Coulibaly was once likened to Drogba, but failed to make the impact that was hoped for
A loan move to Italy didn’t pan out and he later left permanently to Bari without making a first-team appearance.
Coulibaly returned to England with Peterborough, while spells with Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle sandwiched a six-goal haul in nine games for Egyptian side Al Ahly.
He’s now with Tunisian side ES Sahel and is only 25 years old.
Bruno Cheyrou
He never really had a chance after ex-Reds boss Gerard Houllier dubbed him the ‘next Zidane’.
Upon the Frenchman’s arrival from Lille for £4.5m in 2002, Houllier said: “To me, Bruno has some of the attributes of Zinedine Zidane, he has his ability to pick a pass, and moves a little like him.
“Zidane is 29 and at the very peak of his game, while Bruno is just a youngster, and is still very much learning, especially about English football.
“Look at Pires and Wiltord at Arsenal. They took time, because the Premiership is so different to France. It is so much quicker and more physical. But look at them now.”
In the end, Cheyrou was unable to establish himself as a regular first-team player at Anfield and his Reds career lasted just two seasons.
Liverpool fans thought they landed the next Zidane when Cheyrou arrived
Josh McEachran
He was widely tipped as the man who would be the first Chelsea youth prospect to breakthrough since John Terry, but ultimately a harsh reality came crashing down on the youngster.
Handed his debut at just 17 years old, the midfielder became the first player born after the tournament’s inception to play in the Champions League during in a match against MSK Zilina.
And after impressing in his debut in 2010 he then went on to make 17 first-team appearances for the club, which saw Real Madrid monitor his progress with view to making a bid.
His bright start to life in a Chelsea shirt stalled when manager Carlo Ancelotti was sacked as his successor, Andres Villas-Boas, quickly moved him out of his set-up and sent him on loan to Swansea.
Spells at Middlesbrough, Watford, Wigan and then Vitesse Arnhem all followed and ultimately, he failed to prove he was worthy of another run in the first-team.
After leaving his boyhood club aged 22, McEachran has since played key roles in the Championship for Brentford and Birmingham City.
McEachran’s Chelsea career fizzled out under Villas-Boas
Fran Merida
The Spaniard drew comparisons with Cesc Fabregas after following his compatriot to the Gunners in 2005 from Barcelona.
Big things were expected of the midfielder with Wenger describing him as ‘an absolutely amazing player’.
He failed to live up to the hype, though, and never managed to establish himself as a regular in the first-team.
Merida joined Atletico Madrid in 2010 and currently plays for Osasuna.
Fran Merida joined Arsenal from Barcelona and it was hoped he could follow in the footsteps of Cesc Fabregas
Jordon Ibe
Every top club in England wanted Ibe, who became the youngest ever Football League player when he made his Wycombe Wanderers debut in October 2011, aged just 15 years and 311 days old.
Two months later, Liverpool were the lucky club to sign him and good performances for the club’s youth sides saw him get a run in the first-team during the 2014/15 season.
Ibe’s first Premier League start came in a goalless draw at Everton in February 2015. It was a game that saw him play out of position at wing-back, but he still won the Man of the Match award.
He was given a new long-term deal at the end of the season and Raheem Sterling’s departure from the club meant Ibe was seen as the England international’s successor at Anfield – former Red John Aldridge claiming Ibe would develop into a better winger than Sterling in June 2015.
Ibe was supposed to be Sterling’s successor but it certainly didn’t work out that way
How wrong Aldridge and the ‘Ibe’s better’ brigade of Liverpool fans were. He was sold to Bournemouth in the summer of 2016 under Jurgen Klopp and the player has really struggled to make an impact on the south coast, scoring just three Premier League goals in almost four seasons at the Cherries.
Ibe has recently been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, having been banned from driving for crashing his car into a coffee shop last summer
He will also leave Bournemouth at the end of the current campaign on a free transfer.
Adnan Januzaj
The Belgian was tipped to be the next big thing at United, inheriting Ryan Giggs’ iconic no.11 shirt after his breakthrough season under David Moyes in the 2013/14 campaign.
Januzaj was unable to fulfil that potential at Old Trafford, consequently falling out of favour under Moyes’ successor Louis van Gaal and also Jose Mourinho.
“I always knew I had the quality to play for Manchester United. I know what I am capable of,” he told Sky Sports News.
“I didn’t really get a chance because at the time he [Mourinho] probably wanted more experienced players with names.”
A season-long loan to Borussia Dortmund during the 2015/16 season was cut short because of a lack of playing time, before another poor temporary spell at Sunderland the year after.
He has, however, restored some his reputation at Real Sociedad and looks to be heading into the prime years of his career.
Adnan Januzaj was unable to become a first-team regular at Old Trafford
Gael Kakuta
Chelsea have just been through a transfer ban but it wasn’t the first time they were handed this punishment.
The signing of Kakuta, who was dubbed ‘the most gifted player of his generation’ as a 16-year-old, proved to be a disastrous move for the club.
It got the Blues banned from signing players, but fortunately for Abramovich and Co this was later overturned on appeal.
The midfielder was seen as an incredible talent after he broke through the Congo Under-16s all the way up to the Under-21s with a brilliant 23 goals in 73 appearances.
And despite being on the verge of the first-team, Kakuta ended up making just 16 appearances for Chelsea before joining Sevilla in 2015.
He went on to have spells with Hebei China Fortune and Rayo Vallecano and now the 28-year-old is a regular at Amiens in Ligue 1 where he recently gave a reminder of what he could have been with a brilliant goal against Paris Saint-Germain.
Kakuta was dubbed ‘the most gifted player of his generation’ as a 16-year-old
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