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The academy system remains the traditional route for football’s brightest stars, with talent spotters often identifying precocious talent at ever-increasingly younger age groups.
That said, there have been instances of several Premier League stars who have taken unorthodox routes to the summit of English football. We’ve decided to take a look back at some of the division’s best success stories, those who have emerged from the most unheralded of footballing backgrounds.
Here are five of the best ‘rags to riches’ Premier League footballers…
Rickie Lambert
Having been dropped by boyhood club
Liverpool and then released by Blackpool as a youngster, Lambert spent the majority of his career in the lower divisions turning out for clubs such as Macclesfield Town, Stockport County and Rochdale.
He would spend the summer of 2001 working in a beetroot factory, before Macclesfield took a gamble by offering him £50-a-week in travel expenses.
He would slowly develop his game at Moss Rose and later Stockport, before a fine goalscoring record at Rochdale earned him a switch to Bristol Rovers where his career really began to take off.
Lambert scored 51 league goals in 128 appearances for the League One side, prompting Southampton to sign the then 27-year-old forward for an eyebrow raising £1m after their own slip into the third tier.
Lambert would prove the catalyst behind back-to-back promotions for the South Coast club, hitting 117 goals in 235 appearances during his five-year spell at the club. That form saw his career come full circle, rejoining boyhood club Liverpool in 2014.
Whilst the move may not have worked out, it was a dream come true for the Liverpool local who also earned senior international recognition, memorably scoring with his first touch for England against Scotland in 2013.

Charlie Austin
Another born goalscorer, Austin scored prolifically in non-league football for Kintbury Rangers, Hungerford Town and Poole Town, his form at the latter persuading Swindon to gamble on the predatory forward.
Prior to his 2009 move, Austin worked as a bricklayer for his father’s building firm, the forward believing his chance in football had gone after being rejected by Reading aged 14.
Austin would handle the step-up to Swindon and League One admirably, scoring 31 goals in 54 league games for the club to earn a move up another division to Burnley. Another prolific spell would earn him a switch to divisional rivals QPR, who he would fire to promotion to the Premier League.
He would score 18 goals as the club were relegated the following season, proving he belonged at Premier League level. A move to Southampton would follow, where he would spend four seasons before joining West Brom in 2019.

Steve Finnan
The only player in football history to have played in the World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup, Intertoto Cup, all four divisions of English football and the Conference, former Ireland full-back Finnan’s career saw him perform reliably across a host of competitions.
Beginning his career at non-league Welling Town, Finnan would represent the likes of Notts County, Birmingham and Fulham before a successful five-year spell at Liverpool.
At Anfield he would win the Champions League and FA Cup, whilst he also earned 53 caps for the Republic of Ireland in a successful international career.

Les Ferdinand
Spotted by QPR whilst playing for non-league side Hayes pre-Premier League, Ferdinand would go on to become one of the division’s most prolific goal-getters during a distinguished career.
Ferdinand began his career at non-league AEL before moving to Southall and then Hayes, before QPR gambled on his ability and signed him for £30,000 in 1987.
‘Sir’ Les would go on to score 149 Premier League goals and earn 17 England caps, his finest season coming with Newcastle in 1995/96, scoring 25 goals to be named as the PFA Player’s Player of the Year.

Jamie Vardy
Perhaps the best story on this list.
Vardy’s meteoric rise has been well documented, having risen from part-time football to Premier League title-winner and record breaker at Leicester City.
Released by boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday, Vardy would turn out for Stocksbridge Park Steels and F.C. Halifax Town before earning a move to ambitious Fleetwood Town.
Just one prolific season with the seaside club attracted Leicester’s interest, who signed the forward to boost their hopes of promotion from the Championship.
Vardy would help the Foxes secure a return to the top flight, before playing a crucial role in arguably the greatest sporting story of all-time. Having narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, rank outsiders Leicester would shock world football by winning the Premier League, with Vardy scoring 24 goals.
That total included a Premier League record of scoring in 11 consecutive games, the forward being named as the FWA Footballer of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season.
At 32 he continues to be the club’s focal point, recently moving ahead of Gary Lineker into sixth place in the club’s all-time scoring charts.

Credit: thefootballfaithful.com

Many football fans hate the international break when their players pick up injuries, and Chelsea fans are no different.
Blues supporters have had to endure another tortuous week looking at some of their players once again drop down with injuries.
It has been a tricky start for Frank Lampard as he looks to mould his new side, and he has had to deal with some big injury problems to some key players.
N’Golo Kante, Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are just a few big players who Lampard has been able to use to the full extent, while the Chelsea boss has had to change his formation several times because of it.

January could prove to be a very interesting time at Tottenham as Mauricio Pochettino looks to add to his squad.
Dele Alli and Lucas Moura are the only notable signings the Argentine has made in the winter transfer market in his five years in the capital, but that could be about to change with the team needing some fresh faces.
That means a few players could make way, although they may find it hard to part with the likes of Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen as clubs are unlikely to offer money given they can sign them for nothing in the summer.

But how much are the Tottenham players actually worth if Pochettino wanted to cash in?
football.london takes a look at the figures from
Transfermarkt .

Harry Kane – £135m
It comes as no surprise to see that Kane is the most valuable player at the club.
In fact, he’s the most valuable player in the Premier League alongside Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
Christian Eriksen – £90m
Spurs just won’t get £90m for the Dane given he can leave for nothing next summer if his contract situation doesn’t change.

A January exit could be a real possibility if clubs are willing to buy him, although they might be few and far between as they can sign him on a free transfer at the end of the campaign.
Dele Alli – £85m
The midfielder’s value has decreased in recent months after a drop in form from his previous best.
Son Heung-min – £72m
Daniel Levy would no doubt want in excess of £72m for Son given his importance to Spurs over the past few years.
Tanguy Ndombele – £58.5m
The summer signing has yet to justify his price tag after some poor performances since his big-money move from Lyon at the start of July.

Davinson Sanchez – £49.5m
Spurs’ most valuable defender but he cannot get a game at present with Alderweireld and Vertonghen ahead of him.
Giovani Lo Celso – £45m
The loan signing has only appeared in three games this season with a hip injury sustained on international duty leaving him on the sidelines.
Toby Alderweireld – £36m
The player’s contract situation means they just aren’t going to command a fee of £36m for the Belgian.
Will be able to leave on a free transfer in the summer if he doesn’t sign a new contract.

Lucas Moura – £36m
Spurs stand to make a profit on the Brazilian at present after signing him from Paris Saint-Germain for £25m in January 2018.
Harry Winks – £36m
Winks’ price tag has skyrocketed over the past 12 months after becoming a key part of Pochettino’s team.
Ryan Sessegnon – £31.5m
Set to return to action after the international break from the hamstring injury he sustained in the summer, Spurs got a very good deal on the player given he cost £25m.

Eric Dier – £27m
An exit for Dier could be a real possibility with plenty of players ahead of him in the pecking order in both defence and midfield.
Hugo Lloris – £22.5m
Spurs will have to cope without the Frenchman until 2020 after dislocating his elbow early on against Brighton.
Paulo Gazzaniga now has the chance to push for the No.1 spot following a couple of clangers from his teammate.
Moussa Sissoko – £22.5m
The midfielder’s long-term future is in N17 as he penned a new contract with the club until 2023 last month.

Danny Rose – £22.5m
Remains at Spurs despite looking likely to move on in the summer.
You would expect it to be his last season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium unless something drastically changes.
Ben Davies – £22.5m
Signed a new contract in the summer and now looking to make the left-back berth his own once again.
Jan Vertonghen – £19.8m
On course to leave Spurs on a free transfer in the summer unless his contract situation changes before then.

Erik Lamela – £19.8m
Spurs would want a lot more than £19.8m if the Argentine moved on following a good start to the season.
Victor Wanyama – £13.5m
Another player who still remains in the capital despite looking likely to leave ahead of the current season.
Serge Aurier – £13.5m
Tried to seal a move away from the Lilywhites in the summer but a deal never came to fruition.
Like Rose, looks set to be his last season at the club.

Juan Foyth – £13.5m
Now a full Argentina international and worth a lot more than £13.5m.
Kyle Walker-Peters – £9m
It doesn’t look good for him at Spurs with Sissoko starting ahead of him at right-back against Brighton.
May look to move on if opportunities don’t come his way.

Oliver Skipp – £7.2m
Time on the pitch will be very hard to come by this season with the amount of midfielders ahead of him in the pecking order.
Paulo Gazzaniga – £1.8m
Now has his chance between the sticks following Lloris’ injury.
Another player worth more than their apparent market value.

Credit: football.londob

Considering Arsenal are on course to achieve their targets for the season there has been a remarkable groundswell of opinion against Unai Emery.
Eight games into the season Arsenal sit third in the table and within touching distance of Manchester City. League leaders Liverpool might have disappeared off into the sunset but the Gunners hold an advantage over all the sides they were expected to vie with for a top four finish this season.
Emery headed into his second campaign in charge well aware of what Arsenal expected of him and if he needed any further reminder Raul Sanllehi spelled it out for him on Thursday night at a fan’s forum.

“We said to Unai that we just missed out on qualifying for the Champions League last year, but this year with a stronger squad, we expect you to do that,” the head of football told fans.
That is the target but how is Emery faring overall?
football.london examines the key facets on which a manager should be judged and assesses how Emery is faring.
Tactics and style of play
Perhaps the greatest divide between Emery and Arsenal supporters lies in the style of play he has implemented at the Emirates Stadium. There was almost inevitably going to be a stylistic shock after Arsene Wenger left; whoever succeeded him would surely not have such lofty goals as translating football to artistic planes.
One of the defining features of Wenger’s later years was the stockpiling of diminutive No.10s, a moment defined by him signing Mesut Ozil for the hell of it when he already had the league’s best creator in Santi Cazorla. The identity of ‘Emeryball’, meanwhile, has become defined through the preponderance of defensive midfielders he deploys in big games.

Emery’s greatest critics would even go so far as to question whether there is a footballing identity there. He would challenge that and so would the Arsenal hierarchy. They want to be a team that presses aggressively and wins the ball high up the pitch – hence the repurposing of Lucas Torreira into an advanced role – but too often their manager’s tendency to adjust his plans for his opponents means that that is not seen.
Instead Arsenal are too often stultifyingly slow in their build-up whilst conversely cavalier when playing out from the back. At their worst their gameplan seems to revolve around little more than giving it to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It does work though.
Intriguingly the occasions an Arsenal identity has been most visible are when fringe and youth players come to the fore. The likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have offered the defensive acumen Emery demands from his forwards, allowing the Gunners to press and explode into transitions high up the pitch.

Credit: football.london

Manchester United could add Moussa Dembele and Edwin van der Sar to the club, James Maddison spotted outside, and Gareth Southgate considers a change.

Manchester United will not rush into any transfer activity this January, according to the Mail on Sunday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes that he must finish in the top six to keep his job, and has signed up to use a player database service, Driblab, to help identify his future targets. The club are currently considering an offer for Lyon striker Moussa Dembele, but don’t want to pay the £71 million asking price.

Credit: Eurosport.com

Gareth Southgate has a problem. The England manager needs to find a solution in his team’s midfield – and his attempted fix on Friday night backfired badly.
England had cruised through this Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, scoring goals galore against their limited Group A opponents.

But against the Czech Republic on Friday night – where they suffered their first qualifying defeat in 10 years – their long-standing difficulty in building play from the back and up the pitch through midfield resurfaced in glaring fashion. The problems were plain to see in the summer at the Nations League finals against the Netherlands, when a lack of options led to England’s centre backs taking costly risks and the team being pegged back in their own third for long periods.

“The deep, embedded problem for English football and England teams is that they had no options to play through midfield,” Gary Neville told Sky Sports at the time.
It was the same story in Prague.

Mason Mount replaced Ross Barkley in the starting line-up after a fine start to the season which had seen him displace his Chelsea team-mate in the Premier League. But rather than slotting in just ahead of Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice in a midfield three, the 20-year-old debutant was pushed forwards into a far more advanced role.
Perhaps Southgate had been emboldened by England’s previous big wins in this group, where they had smashed at least four goals in each fixture. But, after the early penalty, it became clear England’s shift to a 4-2-4 only served to amplify the team’s passing problems.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur make their January transfer plans, Marco Silva has been given three matches to save his job and Sergio Ramos eyes up a gold medal in Tokyo.

Manchester United are ready to make an ambitious January move for Leicester City duo James Maddison and Ben Chilwell, according to the Mirror. The pair have been on top form this season and have been constantly linked with the Premier League top clubs. United have reportedly sent scouts to watch the young English stars in high-profile matches against Tottenham and Liverpool in recent weeks. The duo would cost around £130 million and are expected to be replacements for attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard and left-back Luke Shaw, who have both failed to impress on a consistent basis over the past few seasons.

Romelu Lukaku hit his 50th and 51st international goals as Belgium became the first team to qualify for Euro 2020 after they hammered San Marino 9-0 – matching the record for the biggest margin of victory in their history.
Inter Milan striker Lukaku became the first Belgian to reach the milestone with a right-footed shot to open the scoring in the 28th minute.

He set up Nacer Chadli three minutes later before an own-goal from Cristian Brolli put Belgium 3-0 up. Lukaku grabbed his second – and 51st goal for Belgium – on 41 minutes, assisted by Real Madrid’s Eden Hazard.
A deflected Toby Alderweireld effort in the 43rd minute and a Youri Tielemens shot in stoppage time saw Belgium cruise in 6-0 up at the break.

Belgian First Division A side R.S.C. Anderlecht have passed up the opportunity to sign Nigeria U17s free-kick expert Wisdom Ubani when he attains the age of majority.
Ubani underwent trials at Anderlecht but failed to impress their youth team coaching staff.
The Giant Brillars F.C, Enugu striker received a pre-contract offer from an unnamed Scandinavian team prior to his trip to Belgium but rejected their advances.
At the 2019 U17 Africa Cup of Nations, Ubani was the Golden Eaglets standout player, ending the competition with three goals but has recently suffered a dip in form.
Golden Eaglets coach Manu Garba is worried about the player’s consistency and had considered axing him from the 25-player traveling squad to Sao Paulo.
Ubani was a shadow of himself in last month’s UEFA ASSIST Invitational Tournament in Turkey, failing to score in any of the three matches played by the Golden Eaglets.
Manu opted to include the 2003-born player on the roster only because he helped the team qualify for the World Cup in Brazil.

Credit: allsoccernigeria.com