5 footballers who became world class after a change in position

We all know how Gareth Bale's career suddenly lit-up once he was moved higher up the pitch. Southampton had sold what they regarded as 'a promising left-back' to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2007, for a fee of £7 million.

It is unlikely that they would have predicted that the Welsh kid would one day become a world-class winger, let alone the most expensive player in the world, and winner of three Champions League titles.

Well, that is what something as simple as a change in position can do for a footballer. While many have found success post a change in position, some have benefited so much so as to develop into world beaters. Gareth Bale is only one of them.

Today we shall look at five such players, who went from being above-average to world-class with an amendment in position, and loads of training to go with it.

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#5 Robin van Persie

Van Persie turned out to be a hugely productive striker.

Robin van Persie was a 20 year old lad when Arsene Wenger noticed something special in him. Back then, he was one of the many impressive young wingers - fairly quick, good technique on the ball, good ability to beat a defender, and decent finishing. However Arsene Wenger saw him as a completely different footballer, and boy was he right.

Robin van Persie was, as we all know, moved to the centre of the pitch and instructed to play as a striker. God knows, he made an extraordinary career out of it.

He quickly became one of Europe's hottest properties, and also one of the best players in the world. Manchester United would consider themselves lucky to acquire his services for a very modest fee of £24 million.

In his career, he has scored over 300 goals, including that header in the World Cup against Spain that got him the title of "The Flying Dutchman". Definitely one of the most exciting forwards to watch in the history of the Premier League, and one of the deadliest of his era too. Thank you, Arsene.

#4 Vincent Kompany

Kompany is regarded as one of the finest leaders on the planet.

At the age of just 17, Vincent Kompany was already playing first-team football for Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League. He was deployed as a defensive midfielder there, and did pretty well, for he attracted Hamburg's attention with his performances, who then brought him to Germany to replace Daniel van Buyten.

After 2 years in the Bundesliga, he was given the step-up to England by in-transition Manchester City, managed by Mark Hughes. The Welshman played him in his natural position till 2010.

While he did fairly well as a defensive midfielder, it wasn't looking like he could personally keep up with City's progress. That all changed at the turn of the decade, when he started to play as a centre-back.

Eight years on, he's one of the best defenders in the history of the Premier League, and one of the best captains in the world. He is about to lift his third Premier League title at the end of this season and more could follow in the future. That's one thing Mark Hughes did right.

#3 Ryan Sessegnon

Sessegnon has been on fire ever since he took a more attacking role.

A story almost exactly similar to Gareth Bale's. Fulham's 17 year-old Englishman is a superstar in the making. Like Bale, he started off as a left-back, but his quality on the ball was just too good for him to continue playing in that position.

He graduated to left-wing, and hasn't disappointed since. His numbers speak for themselves, 14 goals and 6 assists in 40 games in the Championship.

Almost every club in England would love to have a talent like that in their arsenal, but Tottenham are thought to be the one most seriously interested in the teenager. That'd be another similarity with Bale! Perhaps it's written in the stars.

All stats via transfermarkt

#2 Bastian Schweinsteiger

Schweinsteiger enjoyed tremendous glory playing as a holding midfielder.

Louis van Gaal's time at Bayern Munich saw a lot of changes take place at the club, mostly for the good. The dutchman handed out first team debuts to Thomas Muller and David Alaba. He signed Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez, both of whom have proven to be successes.

Another important change he implemented was to change Bastian Schweinsteiger's position. When he arrived in 2009, Schweinsteiger was playing as a right-winger/right-sided wide midfielder.

Van Gaal most certainly did not approve of that, and thought very, very differently of Bastian. He saw him as a defensive midfielder, who could not only break attacks with strength and grit, but make them too with flair and finesse. The rest is history.

Now, Bastian Schweinsteiger has departed Bayern as a legend and plays his football in the MLS. He will always be regarded as one of the finest players we have witnessed. Good move, LvG.

#1 Paul Scholes

Scholes established himself as one of the greatest midfielders of all time

Who knew good ol' Scholesy was once a striker?! In September 1997, more by luck than by judgement, Sir Alex Ferguson played Paul Scholes in midfield because Roy Keane was out injured.

He was previously playing the role of a strike partner to Eric Cantona or Andy Cole. However, he didn't just prove to be a worthy deputy for Keane, but an even better midfielder than the Irishman!

He grew rapidly as a deep lying playmaker, splitting defences with his pin-point long balls, and breaking nets with thunderous volleys.

They say "necessity is the mother of invention". Perhaps we can look at Scholes as an invention of Sir Alex. We're glad it happened, or else we'd very possibly be deprived of a legend of the game.