Sometimes the ‘next big thing’ in football goes on to be a world-beater… but here are five that didn’t warrant all the noise.
5. Michael Johnson
Johnson was a product of the Manchester City youth academy and was considered to be the best of a group that also included Daniel Sturridge and Micah Richards.
He broke into the first-team in 2006, aged just 18 and in the 2007/08 season, was a City regular under Sven Goran Eriksson and nicknamed ‘FEC’ – Future England Captain – in the Eastlands dressing room.
Injuries restricted the midfielder to 10 games over the following two seasons, before a cruciate-ligament injury effectively ruined his career. He did spend one season on-loan at Leicester in 2011, again under Eriksson, but only made seven appearances.
Johnson was released by City in January, aged just 24 after stories emerged about his troubled private life. He was twice prosecuted for drink-driving and an amazing picture on Twitter emerged last month, showing a bloated and barely recognisable Johnson.
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