Top Young Soccer Players Likely to Move Abroad (or to a bigger team atleast)

*There is a 2012 version of this post. Check it out here*

Soccer is one of the hardest sports to pick out some of the best up and coming soccer players (although Arsene Wenger seems to be very good at it). Here are some that you may already know and maybe one or two you may not have heard of.

Update: February 14/2012

This is a long overdue update to the list. Its been 2 years since I initially posted it and after dozens of comments and over 10,000 views, its finally time to update the status of all the players in the article.

The young Chilean is one the players to watch in this years World Cup. At his best he reminds me of a tricky little monkey. Small, quick, agile, all perfect traits of a very effective winger. With a bag of tricks and abundance of speed, he gets by defenders easily and looks cool doing it. IMO he is the soccer version of Barry Sanders (for all of you who don't know who he is, just one of the greatest running backs to ever play in the NFL..just youtube him) Alex Ferguson has been watching him ever since R9 moved to Real Madrid and supposedly Udinese have slapped on a 20 million price tag on his head.

*For the people who watched the video, this kid did a fake rabona which was pretty dope (dope means cool btw)

Potential Clubs: Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Lyon

Estimated Value: 20 million

Update: Who would have known he would have gone to Barcelona for 26 million.

The Englishman has long been on the radar of some of the big clubs in England and although he's missed out a chance in Fabio Capello's squad, he's definitely going to be on some managers shopping list. Since joining Man City as a trainee, he's developed a reputation for being a no nonsense defender. The boy has got strength, athleticism, heart and the technique to carry himself on the pitch. With all the arab money Man City can get their hands on, they probably wouldn't even care if they lost one of the best right backs in soccer right now.

Potential Clubs: Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Wolfsburg, Real Madrid (there linked to almost everyone so I'm pretty sure there looking at Micah as well)

Estimated Value: 10-15 million

Mesut has been hyped up for a few years now. Nicknamed the new Diego by the Werder Bremen faithful, he has certainly made sure that the fans forgot about the cunning Brazilian. With his wacky hair certainly represents his flair for the game. With accurate passes, goals from sharp angles, Ozil is the future of the German national team. Be sure to watch him at this years World Cup.

Potential Clubs: Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City

Estimated Value: 15 - 20 million

Update: Headed over to Madrid for 15 million.

How to describe Eljero Elia??? The younger Ryan Babel. Both players pack a punch. They both can use there speed to skip past defenders at ease. Both have an array flicks and tricks that breaks down defenses. What makes Elia different? He performs on a consistent basis. Part of the 23 man squad for the Oranje, he may not start because of deep attacking talent (Robben and Van Persie are just an amazing duo but Robben might have an injury scare) but do expect him to be used as a super sub. A talented young duo with all the skills to be successful in a bigger league.

Potential Clubs: Liverpool, Man City, Juventus, Tottenham

Estimated Value: 12-15 million

Update: Juventus got a nice deal for 9 million.

Hailed as a prodigy since he was 15 years old, Arfa graduated from the famous Clairefontaine academy. Part of the dynamic duo at Lyon with Karim Benzema, he contains tons of pace, excellent dribbling skills, a very tricky winger through and through. His only downside is that he does not have the maturity that another player his age or experience has. Arguments with teammates and coaches have seen him been transferred from Lyon to Marseille. Despite his temper tantrums, the talent is there…all he really needs is a manager that will whip him into shape (Sir Alex comes into mind ;) ) Picked to play in the World Cup for France, be sure to look out for him because he sure can play.

Potential Clubs: Manchester United, Everton, PSG, Tottenham

Estimated Value: 10-15 million

Update: Newcastle are making some shrewd purchases as of late. Ben Arfa transfer was undisclosed.

If you have not heard of him yet *sigh*, just watch the video below:

This kid can put on a show and then some. With some very tricky moves, he makes defenders look like their playing in a Sunday League. He won the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award for the second time in a row (he's just that good).

Potential Clubs: Arsenal, Man United, Inter, Barcelona, Real Madrid

He's personally said he would only move to Arsenal but we know how soccer players roll these days (C.R.E.A.M).

Estimated Value: $20 million