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The dice unionwonderkids who didn't make itImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Wonderkids such as Jose Baxter (left), Federico Macheda (centre) and Michael Johnson were unable to fulfil their early promise in the Premier LeagueByShamoon HafezFootball reporterPublished8 September 2025Two teenagers have made headlines during the Premier League season's early weeks.Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha became just the second 16-year-old after Wayne Rooney to score the winning goal in a Premier League match - scoring at Newcastle United on 25 August.That was two days after Arsenal's Max Dowman became the second-youngest player to feature in the Premier League, at just 15, as he made his debut in a win over Leeds United.Some early developers go on to great careers. But early potential does not always translate to meaningful success.Steve Sallis is a renowned mentor and qualified coach who has worked with players such as Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham, new Arsenal winger Eberechi Eze and Liverpool defender Joe Gomez. "Young players need to have an identity aside from being a footballer," Sallis, who also works as a PE teacher, tells BBC Sport. "It is about trying to make them succeed in both education and sport but remembering they are still a child."Young people don't see pressure, I have never met one who has. The less they think about it at that age, the better. The key is making sure safeguarding and welfare is in place."There are lots of reasons why they may not fulfil their early potential such as too much, too soon, money, the reality of the grind of professional football."Having worked with clubs and organisations like Uefa, player care is a big deal nowadays compared to how it was 10 years ago."BBC Sport takes a look at some names who broke through at a young age, but then fell away.Andy TurnerClub: Tottenham Debut: 15 August 1992 Premier League appearances: 20 Goals: 3Former winger Turner became the Premier League's youngest goalscorer at 17 years and 166 days - striking a late winner for Tottenham against Everton on 5 September 1992, less than a month into the new competition's first season. His record stood for nearly five years before being broken by Michael Owen at Liverpool.Having been given his debut in 1992 - when Terry Venables, Doug Livermore and Ray Clemence were in charge of the team - Turner fell out of favour under Ossie Ardiles before a serious ankle injury sent him on a nomadic career with numerous loan spells in the Football League."Everytime someone young scores a goal, people mention it to me," Turner, who is now head of development at Hednesford Town, tells BBC Sport. "It is quite nice to reminisce and to know exactly how people in this scenario are feeling."When I saw Rio Ngumoha score, his story reminded me of my own. He played well in pre-season and took his chance and I was similar, then being given an opportunity in the first team. He came off the bench and scored in the last minute like me."Young players need to be good enough and these guys are special talents. In my season at Spurs when I played, I was managed very well. I was told when I was going to be involved, my parents were kept updated and there was a plan. "The evening before I made my debut, Mr Venables rang my dad and said make sure I don't go out and go to sleep early because I was going to play on Saturday. He was a fantastic man and when I had problems he would invite me to his office and make me a cup of tea."We lost 6-2 at Liverpool towards the end of that season but I wasn't involved in the game and he took me to the centre circle and said: 'It's good here, isn't it?' He told me to see him on Monday for a new long-term contract. By that morning, he was sacked."James VaughanClub: Everton Debut: 10 April 2005 Premier League appearances: 51 Goals: 7More than 20 years on from his memorable debut goal for Everton against Crystal Palace, Vaughan remains the Premier League's youngest goalscorer at 16 years and 270 days. At the time, he was rewarded, external with a ￡10-a-week pay rise.But a succession of injuries blighted his time at Goodison Park. He scored only six further league goals for Everton, but went on to enjoy prolific spells at Huddersfield, Bury and Bradford among others."I don't think I handled it that well," Vaughan said to the Athletic, external when reflecting on his time at Everton. "I went into myself and stayed indoors a lot."I didn't want to go anywhere. I don't like attention. If I felt like I'd be in a situation where someone would recognise me I'd try to steer clear. It was frowned upon courting attention at Everton."You'd get home, turn on Match of the Day and see yourself. I remember my mum phoned me and said she was getting followed by the press and she was back in Birmingham. It was daunting."Michael JohnsonClub: Manchester City Debut: 21 October 2006 Premier League appearances: 37 Goals: 2Box-to-box midfielder Johnson was given his City debut by Stuart Pearce and was tipped to become a star for both club and country.But a succession of long-term injuries took their toll. He managed only four league appearances in his final three seasons with the club, and was unable to resurrect his career in a loan spell at Leicester.He was finally released by City in 2013 aged 24, before leaving football and going on to work as an estate agent. He said afterwards, external he had been attending a clinic for a number of years to deal with mental health issues.He told the Manchester Evening News: "I'd be grateful if I could now be left alone to live the rest of my life."Matthew BriggsClub: Fulham Debut: 13 May 2007 Premier League appearances: 13 Goals: 0At 16 years and 68 days, left-back Briggs is the fifth-youngest player to appear in the Premier League.He managed 13 league games for the Cottagers before embarking on a varied career, which included earning 17 international caps for Guyana.Briggs told BBC Sport in 2019: "I don't really think I dealt with it particularly well - from that day [his debut], that's when everything started going downhill and the pressure just got to me, I guess."It's hard for me to look back at it because I used to think I'd failed - I used to hate having that title - but now I look at it as something to be proud of."Don't feel entitled like I did because you made your debut at 16 - you've got to keep proving and showing why they put you there in the first place."Jose BaxterClub: Everton Debut: 16 August 2008 Premier League appearances: 5 Goals: 0Following in the footsteps of Wayne Rooney and James Vaughan, Baxter became Everton's youngest first-team player aged 16 years and 191 days when he played against West Brom.But he managed only five Premier League appearances in total, before enjoying a successful playing career at Oldham and Sheffield United.In a revealing interview with BBC Sport, he spoke about his drug use during his playing days as well as dealing with depression.Baxter said: "I was in a bubble, being on quite a lot of money at a young age. I didn't really know any boundaries in terms of money, going out and spending stupid stuff, and doing silly stuff."Federico MachedaClub: Manchester United Debut: 5 April 2009 Premier League appearances: 22 Goals: 4Italian striker Macheda is probably the player on this list who made the biggest impact, scoring a stunning winning goal on his debut for Manchester United against Aston Villa.Remarkably, he netted another winner against Sunderland six days later as the Red Devils edged back above Liverpool to go top of the league, and eventually going on to become champions.Macheda managed only two further league goals for United but went on to have a decent career in the Championship, as well as in Greece and Turkey.Izzy BrownClub: West Brom Debut: 4 May 2013 Premier League appearances: 15 Goals: 0Making his debut for West Brom against Wigan aged 16 years and 117 days, Brown is sixth on the all-time list of the Premier League's youngest players. It was his only game for Albion.The attacker went on to join Chelsea, where he made one further top-flight appearance, before loan spells at various clubs, including a Premier League stint at Brighton. He retired in 2023, aged 26, because of an Achilles injury.Despite being forced to quit early, he said on social media, external he had "lived the dream that most don't get the opportunity to live" and for that he was "eternally grateful".Reece OxfordClub: West Ham Debut: 9 August 2015 Premier League appearances: 8 Goals: 0Oxford is the youngest player to appear in West Ham's first team - he made his Premier League debut aged 16 years and 237 days against Arsenal.He made only eight league appearances before going on to make his career in the Bundesliga at Borussia Monchengladbach and Augsburg, who released him in the summer.Related topicsPremier LeagueFootball
