For many football fans, there is nothing more exciting and more pleasing than seeing a young player make his breakthrough into senior football.
Some make their debut, but falter when it comes to consistency. Others flourish, and take the football world by storm.
Here, we will take a look at just a handful of prospects plying their trade in Britain and beyond. Who will make 2015 their year?
Kurt Zouma – Chelsea
With the Carling Cup final having just in the bag there’s no better place to start than with young Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma. The Frenchman finally made his big money move in the summer to Chelsea after agreeing seeing out his loan at former club St Etienne, but fans of the London club and English football alike haven’t seen much of their young signing. That was until the cup final.
Zouma dominated the Spurs midfield in the anchor position usually occupied by NemanjaMatic. Although his passing wasn’t perfect, his tackles and overall performance won him rave reviews. With John Terry reaching the end of his illustrious career, Zouma looks like he is more than ready to make the step up to the Chelsea starting eleven – bringing with him an abundance of pace and power.
RELATED : Arda Turan tipped to complete Manchester United transfer
Hector Bellerin – Arsenal
Some make their debut, but falter when it comes to consistency. Others flourish, and take the football world by storm.
Here, we will take a look at just a handful of prospects plying their trade in Britain and beyond. Who will make 2015 their year?
Kurt Zouma – Chelsea
Zouma dominated the Spurs midfield in the anchor position usually occupied by NemanjaMatic. Although his passing wasn’t perfect, his tackles and overall performance won him rave reviews. With John Terry reaching the end of his illustrious career, Zouma looks like he is more than ready to make the step up to the Chelsea starting eleven – bringing with him an abundance of pace and power.
RELATED : Arda Turan tipped to complete Manchester United transfer
Moving across London we find ourselves at the home of Arsenal. With many young players their first big break in the team comes from first-team injuries or cup action. Having come into the side at roughly the same time as fellow academy graduate Francis Coquelin, Hector Bellerin has not only filled in at right back, his performances have been near-phenomenal. Arsenal spent big money last summer strengthening at right back, bringing in Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers as two players more than capable of playing there. However, Bellerin hasn’t put a foot wrong and is deserving of an extended run this season. With pace to burn, his performances will give Arsene Wenger a headache when all parties are available.
Jordan Ibe – Liverpool
Staying in England for the moment and moving to the Northwest a promising young winger has recently been recalled from a loan spell at Derby County. Liverpool fans will have seen him play in the youth teams since his arrival from Wycombe, but Jordon Ibe has announced his presence on the grand scale since the turn of the year. Despite picking up an injury, forcing him to miss a month, Ibe looks like he could be set for a big future at Anfield just like Raheem Sterling. Pace, power, control and bravery have already been displayed in abundance and Ibe looks like the first of many at Liverpool’s academy ready for the step up. Expect to see more of the young talent when he returns from injury and into the new season.
Ross Barkley – Everton

Probably the most well-known talent English talent on the list, Ross Barkley, looks to be having a poor season. In truth, it is Everton as a whole, not just Barkley, that have struggled for momentum recently, but he remains a great prospect for the Toffees midfield. Having shown his abilities from deep, wide and behind the striker in recent months, Barkley possesses a style of play that, if used with the right players around him, could be devastating. With powerful runs, an eye for pass and a willingness to take a shot on, Barkley could really improve the fortunes of club and country if allowed to. Already an established Premier League player, the young midfielder could really make this year great, and provide a selection headache for England coach Roy Hodgson as attention eventually turns to Euro 2016.
Jack Grealish – Aston Villa
A lesser known talent for many, except for maybe Irish fans, the next player on the list is young midfielder Jack Grealish. At the age of 19, Grealish – born and raised in England – has already made a handful of appearances for Aston Villa, and had a largely successful loan at Notts County. A lot of speculation over his international future made the media before Christmas despite his failure to cement a place in a struggling Villa side. Grealish, however, looks like he could be a top talent if he is given a chance in a first team scenario. I would expect to see a lot more of the young winger before the end of 2015.
Saido Berahino – West Brom
Staying in the region, and across to West Bromwich Albion, we find one of England’s best young striking options. Saido Berahino has become a star for his club, and has sparked a lot of transfer speculation with some very convincing performances, finding the net 18 times in all competitions this season. Great pace and a keen dribbling ability have had many likening the young forward to Daniel Sturridge, and with a real eye for goal it’s hard to argue with the comparison. Whether his future lies at West Brom or elsewhere, Berahino is one to watch for some time to come.
Harry Kane – Tottenham
We couldn’t really leave England without mentioning one man in particular; Harry Kane. Spurs fans might have been worried as they read on without me mentioning their beloved star striker, but frankly his upturn in form and development this season has made him fall into the category of best for last. An astonishing 24 goals in all competitions this season has made Kane one of the most dangerous frontmen in England. Height, strength, a finish and some remarkable positioning (and a bit of luck along the way) have made Kane a devastating weapon for Spurs. Should he not burn out by the end of the season, having played 40 games already, Kane will have to prove his worth once again next season, but there appears to be little doubt over the young forward’s potential.
Luciano Vietto – Villarreal
Moving to Europe, we can only start in one place with arguably the best new youngster in Spanish football; Luciano Vietto. The Argentine arrived at Villarreal in the summer and has gone from strength to strength since. Pace, dribbling, a good goal record and a certain type of doggedness in his game have many comparing the number 7 to Man City and fellow Argentine star Sergio Aguero. With 11 goals in 23 appearances so far this season for the Yellow Submarines, Vietto is interesting many of Europe and England’s top clubs.
Gokhan Tore –Besiktas
Following an impressive display against Liverpool in the Europa League, and a tentative link to Tottenham Hotspur, it would be hard to not mention young Turkish star Gokhan Tore of Besiktas. Blessed with great pace and close ball control, the winger looks like he could light up any game he plays in. As a fan of the Premier League I personally would relish the thought of seeing him play each week. An exciting and dangerous attacking talent, Tore looks like he could launch his career this year.
Hachim Mastour – AC Milan
Last but not least is a young midfielder than many have been talking about – and it isn’t Martin Odegaard. The final mention of this piece is for the young Italian talent of AC Milan Hachim Mastour. The attacking midfielder is on the cusp of breaking into the first team of AC Milan and provide a spark that has been missing since the departure of Kaka. The excitement around a player yet to make his senior debut seems almost unbearable for the fans of the Serie A giants, but once he turns 17 (June 15th this year), Mastour will be eligible to make his debut. Expect big things next season from the Italian.
The deal comes after a rather shocking season from the forward at Manchester United. A lack of form led to him scoring just four goals in his Old Trafford loan spell.
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But Jose Mourinho obviously believes that Falcao can be restored to his old self, the man who earned the nickname El Tigre for his goal-scoring exploits at Atletico Madrid and Porto.
Falcao was delighted with the chance to have a second stab at the Premier League. He spoke to Chelsea’s official website, saying: “I am very happy to be joining Chelsea and can’t wait to start training and help with our aim of retaining the league title and being successful in Europe.”
The 29-year-old will link up with former Atletico teammates Thibaut Courtois, Filipe Luis and, most importantly, Diego Costa.
Falcao established a magnificent attacking partnership with Costa in his final season at Atletico before a big money move to Ligue 1.
Chelsea fans will be hoping that they can reek devastation together once again.
The Colombian international will spend the forthcoming season at Stamford Bridge having been on loan at rivals Manchester United for the previous campaign.
Falcao, 29, only managed four goals during his spell at Old Trafford, with United decided against making his move permanent.
But Chelsea have now added him to their striking ranks and the player has already set his sights on trophy success.
'I am very happy to be joining Chelsea and can't wait to start training and help with our aim of retaining the league title and being successful in Europe," he told the club's official website.
Arda Turan is keen to come to England and is set to sign for Manchester United, according to European football expert Andy Brassell.
The Turkish attacker is set to leave Atletico Madrid this week with his agent revealing he’s set to sign for a new club on Friday.
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United have been strongly linked with a deal along with Chelsea, and amid contrasting reports about where he’ll end up, European football expert Brassell says he expects Turan to sign for the Red Devils.
‘Turan wants to come to England,’ he told talkSPORT.
‘My gut feeling tells me he’ll go to Manchester United’.
Atletico are against Turan leaving and any interested party must pay his £29.2million release clause to do business.
The Atletico Madrid midfielder has been strongly-linked with Manchester United - but his agent insists he has not agreed a deal to move to Old Trafford.
Arsenal and Chelsea are also believed to be among the Premier League clubs pursuing the highly-rated Turkish captain.
Louis van Gaal is determined to sign a midfield enforcer this summer and is tracking Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin.
Arda Turan's agent says the Turkish midfielder's move away from Atletico Madrid will be completed by the weekend -- while denying a deal has already been agreed with Manchester United.
Turan's representative, Ahmed Bulut, revealed last week that the 28-year-old playmaker had decided to leave Atletico this summer -- saying that the preferred destination was the Premier League, and that conversations with three unnamed clubs were underway.
This has led to speculation that Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool could be to bring in the former Galatasaray player -- who has a €41 million release clause in an Atletico contract which still has two years left to run.
AS reports that Arda's most likely destination is Chelsea, with former Atletico left-back Filipe Luis potentially returning to the Estadio Vicente Calderon as part of the deal.
Talking to Turkish channel NTVSpor, in quotes picked up by AS, Bulut said that he could not confirm or deny the media reports, but the situation would be clarified within days.
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