What happened to the 15 players tipped to be 'future England stars' by the Daily Mail
In January 2013, the Daily Mail newspaper shined a light on some of the very best youngsters England had to offer and described them as "teen stars" that fans should get excited about.
The piece from the paper came about after former England star Jamie Redknapp expressed his worries for the future state of football in the country.
A whole host of Daily Mail "experts" came together to come up with a list of 15 players who they said would have a very bright future ahead for the England national team.
13 years on and it's fair to say the list was very much a mixed bag, with many failing to represent England at senior level and failing to fulfil their potential.
Advert
We take a look at all 15 stars and the direction their careers went in.
George Green - Everton
At the time, Green was said to possess "an eye for a pass" and was "technically good" - to the point that he even received comparisons to England legend Paul Gascoigne.
However, he failed to play for Everton's first team and ending up dropping down the leagues into Non League and now plies his trade with Liversedge.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - Chelsea
Loftus Cheek was a top talent at Chelsea and ended up playing 155 times for the Blues. He did also work his way into the England squad and has been capped 11 times, including featuring at the 2018 World Cup.
Now at AC Milan in Serie A, he made his first England appearance in seven years against Wales in October.
Jerome Sinclair - Liverpool
Liverpool's youngest ever player aged 16 and six days, Sinclair could not nail down a first-team spot at Anfield and later signed for Watford. Sinclair only played 14 times there and had a spell on loan at CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria.
More recently the former West Brom academy prospect signed up for the Baller League six-a-side competition and it was reported that he bought a Morley's fried chicken franchise in Birmingham.
Jordan Rossiter - Liverpool
Another Liverpool prospect, Rossiter was likened to Steven Gerrard by Robbie Fowler but he played just five teams in the first team and ended up playing permanently for Rangers, Fleetwood Town, Bristol Rovers, Shrewsbury Town, Waterford and current employers Sporting Jax in the USL in the United States.
John Lundstram - Everton
Lundstram was highly-rated at Everton but was released without a first-team appearance. He did play in the Premier League with Sheffield United and proved to be a valuable weapon for many fans' FPL team in the 2019/20 season.
He impressed at Rangers and joined Turkish side Trabzonspor, who loaned him out to Hull City for the 2025/26 season.
Izzy Brown - Chelsea
Brown was a key part of Chelsea's dominant side at youth level and made just one first team appearance for the Blues - instead being sent on a raft of loan spells.
His last club were Preston North End, who released him without a single appearance after injury problems. Those issues caused Brown to retire from football in April 2023.
Joe Gomez - Charlton
The first of two Charlton prospects on the list, versatile defender Gomez has gone on to have a very solid career - winning everything there is to win with Liverpool. Injuries have not been kind to him but he has still managed 15 caps for England - the most recent of which came in 2024.
Max Clayton - Crewe
Crewe's production line is a strong one and a few years back they had both Nick Powell and Max Clayton ready to move on to bigger and better things. After a trial period with Sunderland, striker Clayton signed for Bolton and then Blackpool before a very short spell with Altrincham. He went on to transition into the pizza making business with Jordy's Pizza, which is a huge hit in Nantwich.
Luke Shaw - Southampton
Shaw was tipped be England's first-choice left-back for years to come and it is only injuries which have resulted in him getting 34 caps. Shaw has regularly returned from lay-offs and been a fine servant for United and of course he is the only player to score for England in a major final since 1966.
Shaw also featured at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and Euro 2024 despite a lack of minutes for United.
Will Hughes - Derby County
Hughes never get the England call and likely never will but he has had a respectable Premier League career and helped Crystal Palace win the FA Cup in fairytale fashion last season.
At one stage there was a suggestion that he could play for Wales but Hughes, who played for England's Under 21 side as a 17-year-old, was ruled ineligible.
Diego Poyet - Charlton
Son of former Spurs and Chelsea player Gus, Diego won Charlton’s Player of the Season award as an 18-year-old and bagged himself a move to West Ham, where he played just 10 times.
He travelled far and wide and played in Argentina and Cyprus and declared to play for Uruguay but failed to make a senior bow.
Poyet retired after two years without a club and was assistant manager to his father at Universidad Catolica, the Greece national team and K League 1 side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
Nathaniel Chalobah - Chelsea
Another Chelsea academy product who had a raft of loans, Chalobah made his England debut as a very late substitute for Harry Winks in a 3-2 UEFA Nations League away win over Spain in 2018.
He entered the fray in added time after 90 minutes, meaning he technically played zero minutes - though his actual playing time was 6 minutes and 54 seconds and the second-shortest in history.
Chalobah is still playing for Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.
Jack Grealish - Aston Villa
The most expensive player on the list by some distance, Grealish picked England over the Republic of Ireland and made his debut in September 2020. A huge hit at Euro 2021 when England reached the final on home soil, he was a key part of Manchester City's treble-winning side but a loss of form and injuries saw him lose his spot in the Three Lions squad and led to a loan to Everton.
An unfortunate foot injury in February ruled him out for the season and killed his chances of earning an England recall for the World Cup.
Diego De Girolamo - Chesterfield
De Girolamo pledged allegiance to Italy after a phone call from the great Arrigo Sachi but he never played higher than the Under 20's. At club level, the striker played 10 times for Sheffield United and soon dropped down the divisions with Buxton, Macclesfield and Matlock Town in Non-League.
Callum Burton - Shrewsbury
A goalkeeper who was tipped to follow fellow Shrewsbury alumni Joe Hart, Burton has played for a multitude of clubs in England's lower leagues. He is currently with high-flying Wrexham but his game-time has been limited.
Topics: England
Josh Lawless