Marcus Rashford Nike Huarache White , 18, of Manchester United controls the ball during the Premier League match against Stoke City on October 2 in Manchester, England. Photo: CFP
One of the biggest clubs in Europe is said to be sniffing around Celtic Park in an attempt to sign a young forward named Dembele but this isn't France Under-21 striker Moussa Dembele, although the 20-year-old is strongly linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain. It is his unrelated namesake -Kakamoko -Dembele who is earning admiring glances from -Manchester City since making his debut for the Celtic Under-20 side earlier this month. To put this into -context, Kakamoko Dembele is only 13 years old.
The youngster's appearance for the club's Under-20 side was 10 minutes from the bench against the Hearts team of the same age group. This came just a few days before another teenager made his bow for -Galatasaray's first team: 14-year-old Mustafa Kapi coming on for a 2-minute cameo during the Istanbul side's friendly against Levski Sofia. It really has been a remarkable couple of weeks for fresh-faced footballers.
It takes a bold manager to throw a kid into competitive football. This is a professional game where livelihoods are on the line Nike Huarache , not just -players and coaches but everyone else associated with the club.
"If they are good enough, they are old enough" were the words that guided Sir Matt Busby in his time as Manchester United manager, but even at a club that has had an academy product in every match-day squad since October 30, 1937 and calls upon 18-year-old Marcus Rashford for the first team, the thought of a 13- Nike Air Huarache Triple White ,14-, 15- or even 16-year-old pulling on the red shirt has long seemed out of the question.
It was that way even in the days of Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and Louis van Gaal - managers with proven track records - never mind under Mourinho. But the rise of Rashford and the progress of players in the academy who have the ability to follow in his footsteps might mean that the likes of Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes or Indy Boonen get some time this season.
Mourinho is not known for his support of youth, even if he did produce a document to the contrary when he first appeared before the media in Manchester Nike Air Huarache Triple Black , but his great rival Arsene Wenger has a long history of trusting teenagers. In his time at Arsenal, the Frenchman has made regular first teamers of a 17-year-old Nicolas Anelka, a 16-year-old Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere, also aged 16, and handed debuts to 20 players under the age of 18 Nike Air Huarache Burgundy , half of the 40 under-18s who have played for the club in its 130-year history.
Not all of those have worked out into either great Arsenal careers or even great careers in general. Anelka and Fabregas enjoyed success both in North London and elsewhere while the jury remains out on Wilshere.
As for players such as Jermaine Pennant and arguably even Theo Walcott, they never quite lived up to the -potential they showed when they were still boys in a man's game, and many more have been long forgotten.
How Kakamoko Dembele, Kapi and Real Madrid's Norwegian international teenager Martin Odergaard fare is for the footballing fates to determine. It could be the start of a career like Sergio Aguero, who is still going strong despite starting out at 15 with Independiente Nike Air Huarache Green , a case of burnout (Radamel Falcao has struggled with injury in a career that began in Colombia when he was 13) or too much, too young like countless long forgotten prospects?
Here are some other schoolboy superstars and how it worked out for them.
Wayne Rooney
The most successful of the Everton schoolboy production line that also included Jack Rodwell, Francis Jeffers, James Vaughan and Jose Baxter but unlike those other players, there's no doubt that Rooney has gone on to greater success since leaving Goodison Park. Captain of club and country and a multi-winner at Manchester United Nike Air Huarache Grey , Rooney has come under fire this season. While he never became the true superstar he threatened to become, he's been at the top ever since he -announced himself with that goal against -Arsenal as a 16-year-old.
Freddy Adu
The American had been on the football radar for a couple of years before he signed a pro contract with the MLS side DC United at the age of 14. He made his debut months later, becoming the youngest player to play in the league, and became the youngest scorer within a few weeks of that. The initial promise faded and Adu travelled the world, turning out for a -variety of clubs. Still only 27 Nike Air Huarache Red , the -former US -international plays for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the NASL, effectively the US second tier.
James Milner
The Liverpool and England utility man has been playing in the English top flight for the last 14 seasons and none of his natural athleticism has been lost over the years. His reputation for reliability has seen him go from a 16-year-old debutant (and youngest Premier League scorer) at hometown club Leeds United, along with a number of other talented youngsters, to champion of England with Manchester City while becoming a starter for his country. Could play in the top flight for another decade.
Mauricio Baldivieso
The youngest player on this list, the Bolivian made his league debut as a 12-year-old when his father brought him on as a substitute for the Aurora team he managed. Still only 20 Nike Air Huarache Black , he has played for several clubs in his native Bolivia and represented the national Under-20 team.
Jason Dozzell
Back before the Premier League, Ipswich Town winger Jason Dozzell became the youngest scorer in the English top tier when he netted against Coventry City barely two months after turning 16. He forged a career for his local side and later Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League before returning to Ipswich. Cemented his place as a Town legend when his own son Andre scored on his debut for the Tractor Boys, also as a 16-year-old, at the end of last sea
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