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FOUR lower-league gems who can light up next year's Premier League
With a host of foreign talent set to join the ranks of the top clubs this summer, perhaps the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United should be looking a little closer to home to find the 'next big thing'.
by Jonathan Naylor on 03 May 2008
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With one place in the Championship race for promotion virtually settled, we now know that some of the brightest talents of the Football League will be gracing the top flight in the navy blue and white of West Brom. The new talents in the form of Ishmael Miller and Chris Brunt, alongside well-known Premier League players like Kevin Phillips and Zoltan Gera, have shown the football world that exciting, creative play is not solely reserved for the glamour of the Premier League.
But who else should we be looking out for in the lower leagues who could be a storming success in the highest level of English football?
Michael Kightly: Kightly’s astronomic rise from non-league to Wolves has been the stuff of most boys' dreams. Plying his trade with Conference side Gray’s Athletic, he was plucked from obscurity by the Midlands outfit who paid a nominal fee for the flying winger on New Year’s Day, 2007. His impact was immediate, finishing runner-up for the fans’ player of the year, despite only joining on loan in November. Scoring six goals in his first season, he was linked with Old Trafford and selected for England Under-21s over the following summer. Despite a niggling injury that has hampered his season, Kightly has still managed to score five goals and provide a strong creative outlet for the rest of the team. A great prospect at 22 and almost assured of a future place in the Premier League.
Joe Garner: Having been allowed to leave by Blackburn Rovers, the club where he learned his trade as an apprentice, the 19-year-old striker left for Carlisle United on loan in January 2007 and has never looked back. Having netted five times in his first half-season, Carlisle splashed out £140,000 on the hot prospect, who repaid their faith with 14 goals in a season cut short by an injury in February. A naturally gifted goalscorer with a knack of scoring at crucial times, including a winner against Leeds United, Garner’s potential could see him rise rapidly through the leagues.
Kris Commons: A fleeting winger with an incredible left foot, Commons has been struggling with an allegiance to boyhood heroes Nottingham Forest and a desire to play at a higher level. A huge threat cutting in and a shot that is feared across League One has placed him firmly on the radar of many Championship and Premier League clubs for a while now. Resisting the overtures, the ‘Ryan Giggs of League One’ signed an extension to his contract in the summer of 2007. But should Forest fail to win promotion, we might be seeing the dead-ball specialist plying his trade in the second or even first tier come August.
Aaron Ramsey: The Cardiff midfielder has had a host of top Premier League clubs battering his door down following the Bluebirds' astonishing FA Cup run this year. At only 17, Ramsey has bags of time to go with his already apparent talent. With Champions League teams sniffing around the Caerphilly-born wonderkid, it is almost inevitable that we will be seeing Ramsey in the top flight sooner rather than later.
Comments (1)
by soccerfanbase.com on May 04, 2008
Danny Shittu Deserves to play in the premiership , hopefully watford will make it through...any soccer lover who will like to interact with other fans and dicuss any soccer related issues should check out Soccer fan base dot com it is free to join.
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