There are plenty of players who looked good or even potentially great when they were 18-20 or so, but played only a handful of times for the first team, before leaving within 2 or 3 seasons and gradually becoming names that are merely footnotes in football's history. I'm talking about football in general, not just our club.
Completely agree. For every Bale, Kane and Walker there is a Carroll, Winks, Walker-Peters, Tanganga and Skipp. And those are the success stories. We don’t hear about all the young players who don’t make it, or we forget about them because they make no impression.
But the pay off when you get a Bale or Kane or King is so high that it’s worth persevering with. Every ten years or so you get that one gem.