Lionel Messi recently named his 10 most promising youngsters in world football and included Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha on his list.
However, just because Messi thinks that your future is bright, it’s certainly no guarantee that you’ll make it at the top level.
Indeed, back in 2015, the Barcelona legend was asked to name 10 youngsters who he thought had a bright future in the game.
Among the players he named were Timo Werner, Maxwel Cornet, Kenedy and Jeremie Boga – players who’ve enjoyed relatively successful careers at the top level.
He also included Manchester United’s James Wilson, who made his senior debut for the club in 2014 and scored two goals against Hull City during a 3-1 triumph.
Being just 18 years old at the time and scoring a brace on your senior debut, the hype levels quickly went into overdrive for the young striker.
In September 2015, he signed a new four-year deal with the Red Devils and was named by Messi as one of the most promising players on the planet.
However, after struggling to establish himself under Louis van Gaal and then Jose Mourinho, Wilson spent the final three years of his United career out on loan.
The biggest setback of his career came while out on loan at Derby County as he sustained a nasty ACL injury, which kept him sidelined for around a year.
He eventually left United in 2019 to join Aberdeen, following a successful loan spell with the Scottish club.
However, he only lasted six months with them and left to join Salford City in January 2020, having failed to score in his last 16 matches for Aberdeen.
Since then, Wilson has bounced between League One and League Two, having also had stints with Port Vale and Northampton Town.
During 2024-25, he made just nine substitute appearances for Northampton in League One and was released by the club over the summer.
Now aged 29, he’s been without a club since the summer and will no doubt be weighing up his options.
While Wilson’s career so far certainly isn’t to be sniffed at, he’s not quite reached the heights that many had predicted from back in 2015.
Indeed, that’s often the danger when tipping young players for stardom. It’s a complete lottery and players can develop and peak at vastly different ages.
That’s why players like Ngumoha, who’ve been tipped for stardom by Messi recently, need to take each game as it comes.
Along with naming the Liverpool wonderkid, Messi also included the likes of Como’s Nico Paz, Chelsea’s Kendry Paez, Rennes’ Mohamed Kader Meite and Chelsea’s Andrey Santos.
It remains to be seen whether any of those players make it to the top level, but they’ve been given the seal of approval by arguably the greatest player of all time.
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