Everyone loves a football wunderkind, a once in a generation talent hailed as the next big thing.
But, for every Lionel Messi or Neymar, there is someone who was destined for greatness but instead disappeared rapidly into obscurity. Freddy Adu, John Bostock, Kerlon, Anthony Le Tellec, Cherno Samba. Any of these names ring a bell? Yeah, we thought so. Whether it was uncovering them on Football Manager and turning them (and you) into a football god or seeing them shine at an international youth talent, all of the above were vaunted as their country’s saviour.
Another one likely to be added to this list in years to come is Martin Ødegaard, the Norwegian sensation who joined Real Madrid, aged just 15, in January 2015. He became Los Blancos’ youngest player when he made his debut that May. But in January 2017 he was loaned to Dutch side Heerenveen for 18 months. The now 19-year-old has scored two goals in 38 appearances. Is there still hope for him?
Check out this video from COPA90 to find out what happened to the next Scandinavian star.
