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Youth academies provide a solid foundation for most clubs across the world. Hence, it is no surprise that so many top clubs across Europe have started to promote youngsters from their academies. However, it is not always possible to spot a diamond in the rough.
Some players do not necessarily live up to their billing during their youth careers. However, this is when some clubs need to treat such potential stars with some patience rather than releasing or selling them for a cheap buck.
This is because some players peak later in their careers, especially at those clubs that give them the right environment to thrive in.
On that note, let's take a look at five academy rejects who proved their boyhood clubs wrong.
#5 Joao Felix (FC Porto)
Joao Felix is currently struggling for minutes at Atletico Madrid this season but the attacker remains one of the finest youngsters in the game at the moment.
The Portuguese forward is being played out of place by Diego Simeone and is perhaps also being played in a system that does not suit his strengths. However, Felix has always shown glimpses of brilliance and potential over the last three years in Spain.
Atletico will surely feel that it was premature of them to stump up €126 million for him in 2019. This is despite his bright professional debut campaign in the 2018-19 season with Benfica.
He registered 20 goals and 11 assists in 43 matches in all competitions that season.
However, it is worth noting that the youngster is not a product of the "Aguias", as he was an academy player at rivals FC Porto. Felix joined the "Dragoes" as an 8-year-old and trained for seven years in the youth set-up before they released him.
The forward went on to join Benfica and contributed 22 goals in his debut season while also winning the league title.
Things have not necessarily clicked for Felix since then but FC Porto will certainly regret missing out on a mammoth fee for one of their academy players.
#4 Jamie Vardy (Sheffield Wednesday)
Jamie Vardy's success story is one of the most heart-warming tales of the game purely because of this determination and belief to make it to the top.
Vardy, who always dreamed of being a footballer, trained with Sheffield Wednesday's youth academy during his teenage years. However, he was released by the club in 2003, leaving the player with little to no prospects.
The 2016 Premier League winner started playing in the seventh tier of English football with Stockbridge Steels. He also worked part-time at a carbon fiber factory during that time.
After playing for seven years with Stockbridge, Halifax Town signed the striker before Fleetwood Town purchased him only a year later. However, Vardy's fortunes were going to shine even brighter as the then Championship side Leicester City brought him to the King Power in 2012 for just £1.2 million.
Although he did not immediately settle into the side, he had bright moments in his debut Premier League campaign in the 2014-15 season.
However, nobody would have predicted that he would have propelled Leicester to Premier League glory the following season. He scored 24 goals in 36 league games. His performances earned him the 2016 Premier League Player of the Year as well.
Since then, he has gone on to win the FA Cup and the Community Shield while also winning the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2019-20 season.
Hence, Vardy, who continues to perform for the Foxes, has become an icon at the club, something he could have only dreamed of two decades ago.
#3 Samuel Eto'o (Real Madrid)
Samuel Eto'o is one of the best strikers of the 21st century and was arguably the best centre-forward of his generation.
The former African striker is the only player to have won continental trebles with two different teams in consecutive seasons. He did it with Barcelona (2009) and Inter Milan (2010).
He has scored 362 goals and provided 117 assists in 724 club appearances while also being named African Footballer of the Year on four occasions. Hence, the Barcelona and Inter Milan icon certainly had a glittering career.
However, his journey began at Real Madrid's youth academy back in 1996. The striker played two seasons for the club's B team before playing a bit-part role in the senior squad.
However, Los Blancos never saw any potential in the player. They sold him to Mallorca in 2000, who broke their then club record fee to sign Eto'o for €7 million.
The former Cameroon international went on to haunt Real Madrid as he scored in Mallorca's 5-1 victory over them in 2003. He also scored against them in the 2003-04 campaign before joining arch-rivals Barcelona in 2004.
Real Madrid, despite their glorious success, will regret not having kept Eto'o at their club for longer than they did.
#2 Marco Reus (Borrusia Dortmund)
Marco Reus is often known for his one-club-man loyalty, something he would pride himself over. This is especially when so many of his teammates have switched allegiances over the last decade.
The German midfielder has been at Borussia Dortmund since 2012 and completed 10 years of professional football at the club this year. He has scored 156 goals and provided 118 assists over the last decade while also winning the Bundesliga Player of the Year award on two occasions.
This is an incredible return for a player who only cost them £14.5 million. However, they would not have had to pay this amount either if they had not released him from their academy in 2005.
Reus joined the club's youth set-up as a 6-year-old and trained with them for nearly 10 years. However, he could never showcase his potential in the youth teams, courtesy of which they decided to part ways with the youngster.
However, the attacker revitalized his career at Rot Weiss Ahlen before joining Borussia Mochengladbach in 2009.
Dortmund eventually realized their mistake and brought him back. Reus got the redemption he deserved for not giving up on playing at the highest level of the sport.
#1 Serge Gnabry (Arsenal)
Serge Gnabry, despite being only 27, is currently a Champions League winner and a four-time Bundesliga winner amongst his many other accolades.
The winger has blossomed into a world-beater since joining Bayern Munich in 2017. He has already scored 69 goals and provided 49 assists in 189 appearances for the German club, and many believe the best is yet to come.
However, it has been a long and tough road for Gnabry to be where he is right now.
The attacker moved from one German academy as a kid before signing for Arsenal as a 16-year-old in 2011. Arsene Wenger was famous for identifying and developing potential youngsters into world-class players and the same was expected of him when it came to Gnabry.
However, the winger only managed 12 goals & eight assists in 38 appearances during his three-year senior career at Arsenal. He also had an uninspiring six-month loan spell at West Bromwich Albion.
Hence, Arsenal sold him to Werder Bremen in January 2016 for just £4.5 million. Gnabry made sure to make the Gunners regret this decision as he scored 11 goals in his one and only season at Bremen. This convinced Bayern Munich to sign him the following summer.
Since then, Gnabry has turned into one of the best attackers in world football. This is Arsenal fans hoped he would materialize into during his time in North London.
