5 footballers who haven't progressed in the last few years the way they were expected to

It may seem that young footballers have it all. Having just crossed over into adolescence, they are on mammoth salaries doing just what they love on a daily basis, seemingly free of the worries and concerns that plague most their age.Granted, most of them go on to lead great careers and fulfill their potential but, on occasion, some fail to reach the level they were expected to and the media are quick to pounce. In the top leagues especially, a good performance at a young age can snatch the headlines and pressure mounts on the individual to emulate that standard in future games.As a result, they begin to lose confidence and that initial spark of genius evaporates.Here are five examples of players who have experienced exactly that and who have failed to progress the way they were expected to...

#1 Adnan Januzaj

One of the few positive aspects of David Moyes’ Manchester United tenure was the surprise emergence of Adnan Januzaj as a key attacking component at Old Trafford. The Belgian starlet bagged a brace in his first start for the Red Devils, racking up an impressive 35 appearances that same season, as well as earning a World Cup call-up the following year.

He was deemed to be United’s next big thing, but such a prediction was all but shattered by the arrivals of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao in 2014, while LVG’s appointment as manager practically spelt the end of the now 20-year-old’s honeymoon phase.

The club seemed cautious of over-working a player who was in his early stages of development to a point where his motivation and determination melted away. Thomas Tuchel was critical of the Belgian’s desire to progress, following the forward’s recent loan spell at Dortmund, from which he has recently returned. It now seems that Januzaj’s best hope of a future in football is a string of cameo performances from the bench each season. A devastating reality.

#2 Davide Santon

Handed his full debut by Mourinho in 2008, Santon quickly established himself as one of the finest full-backs in Italy’s top flight, making his mark in the Champions League a year later and aiding Inter’s Serie A title win. The defender had pace and footballing intellect in abundance but fell out of favour with Mourinho in the 2009/10 season.

After failing to strike a chord with the Portuguese gaffer’s successors, Santon was shown the exit door and signed for Newcastle for £5.3 million in August 2011. Initially, he performed well for the Magpies, contributing to both their defensive and attacking units. The Italian was a consistent inclusion in the Toon set-up, but the success was not to last.

Newcastle’s league form began to deteriorate and the fingers were pointed at the club’s back-line. Davide was “forced out” of the team, as suggested by his partner at the time, and rejoined Inter on loan early last year. The deal became permanent following the termination of his Newcastle contract.

#3 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

In a team boasting the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Özil, cementing yourself as a key forward can prove near impossible and many would argue that the quality surrounding Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has proven to be the greatest stumbling block in his progression as an Arsenal player.

Chamberlain initially signed from Southampton for a fee of £12 million and, to begin with, was somewhat of a revelation. His movement and desire in the final third mirrored that of fellow former-Saint Theo Walcott but, over the years, he has failed to rack up a reasonable goal tally. In five shy of 100 league appearances, the Englishman has managed a meager 5 goals.

As with many of the Gunners crop, Alex has been hit hard by injury. This, coupled with a catalogue of new signings over the years, has meant that Chamberlain has struggled to earn consistent game time.

At present, Arsenal are being linked with new attacking options each and every day and Chamberlain may well continue to fall further out of favour.

#4 Mario Gtze

Götze assumed the role of Borussia Dortmund’s catalyst in a time where the club had snapped up the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus for a mere fraction of what the duo are valued at now. In many respects, the club were in a ‘Golden Era’, challenging and superseding Bayern Münich as Bundesliga champions for many a year and it seemed only a matter of time before the squad would be de-fabricated and Mario and co. would be on their way.

Such predictions took little time to come to fruition and Götze became one of the first to switch over to the Bavarian side of Germany to play for Bayern. His €37 million release clause had been triggered and expectations were through the roof. Unfortunately, the now 23-year-old crumbled under the pressure and his first season saw such poor performances that he managed a full ninety minutes on just thirteen occasions.

Despite his World Cup heroics offering a brief respite from such poor form, the German has since struggled to keep up with the quality shown by such Bayern team-mates as Thiago Alcantara, Thomas Müller and Lewandowski.

#5 Connor Wickham

On 11th April 2009, made his professional debut for Ipswich Town, aged just 16 years and 11 days, becoming the Tractor Boys’ youngest ever player in the process. The English forward went on to make 65 appearances for the side from East Anglia, in which he scored 13 goals.

Very quickly the name of ‘Wickham’ on the Ipswich team-sheet sparked excitement, as the Hereford-born striker proved to be ever-reliable and increasingly prolific in front of goal. Big clubs began circulating like vultures to snap up the youngster, but the Blues affirmed a tight grip on his services until he made a surprise transfer to Sunderland in 2011.

Immediately, the hype died and the nation’s elite outfits lost interest, as Wickham’s form flopped. It was always going to be a tricky transition to the top flight for Wickham, but perhaps moving to the Black Cats was a misguided decision. Since then, Wickham has progressed up the ranks at Crystal Palace but still remains a shadow of the player many expected him to be.

Edited by Staff Editor