The Younger the Better

No, not a reference to our editorial staff's dating policy, but in fact a nicely sweeping generalization of today's football scouting procedures. So in the past we've had landmarks from the likes of Pele and Ronney making severe splashes at the age of 17, and even Premier League debuts from James Milner, among others, at just 16, but over the last couple of years things seem to have accelerated at an alarming pace.