English Premier league teams are now given their youngsters a chance in one of the most welcome developments of the season because some players like Harry Kane successfully came through Spurs club’s academy to become a Premier League hit.
Here are the top 10 compiled by dailymail.co.uk:
10: BERSANT CELINA (MANCHESTER CITY)
Kosovan-born Norwegian who is hotly tipped to be one of the stars of Manchester City's new generation from the Etihad Campus.
Celina, a 19-year-old midfielder, has already been given four first-team appearances by Manuel Pellegrini this season including the key Premier League clash with Leicester in which he replaced David Silva.
Has been at City two-and-a-half years and is in talks about a new contract that will see him as one of the youngsters with a chance of progressing under Pep Guardiola.
9: SHEYI OJO (LIVERPOOL)
Jurgen Klopp has given the 18-year-old five games at Liverpool since he returned from a loan spell in the Championship at Wolves. It is statement of faith in the young winger which was repaid when he set up Daniel Sturridge in Sunday's 4-1 win at Stoke City.
He was signed by Liverpool from MK Dons – the club that also produced Dele Alli – shortly after his 17th birthday, and has been compared to the great John Barnes by former Liverpool striker John Aldridge.
8: REECE OXFORD (WEST HAM)
He set the tone for the season by making his Premier League debut on the opening day in a 2-0 win at Arsenal.
Team-mate Winston Reid joked after the midfielder's breakthrough: 'He's only 16 and probably better than me!'
Now 17, Oxford has made a total of 11 first-team appearances – losing only once to Leicester – and West Ham have worked hard to improve his conditioning so he has a bright long-term future.
7: TIMOTHY FOSU-MENSAH (MAN UNITED)
It says a lot about the 18-year-old defender's ability that his withdrawal from Sunday's game against Spurs due to injury was cited as a reason for United's defeat.
Certainly, the game was goalless when he departed after 68 minutes. Eight minutes later, they were 3-0 down.
The Dutchman has been one of several United academy players thrown in by Louis van Gaal, having signed from Ajax in 2014 as a 16-year-old.
Quick enough to play in central midfield as well as centre back and full back, Fosu-Mensah has already played six first-team games and was hailed as United's best player at White Hart Lane.
6: MATT TARGETT (SOUTHAMPTON)
The 20-year-old had started only three Premier League games before the start of this season but has become an important member of Ronald Koeman's European football-chasing side after being given a new role as a left wing-back.
Saints didn't concede a goal in his first five league appearances of 2016 and he's also been able to make assists to show why he has represented both England and Scotland in international youth football.
Another success story for the club's academy system that produced Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Luke Shaw.
5: RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK (CHELSEA)
Frustrated by the lack of opportunities under Jose Mourinho, Loftus-Cheek has been given a chance by Guus Hiddink as Chelsea seek to show they can produce their own young players.
A clever midfield player, 20-year-old Loftus-Cheek has lost only two of the 13 games he's played for Chelsea this season and weighed in with a couple of goals as well.
The Chelsea fans already adore him and chanted his name when Hiddink controversially took him off at the weekend as they went down 1-0 at Swansea.
4: KELECHI IHEANACHO (MAN CITY)
When Manuel Pellegrini mentioned the 19-year-old Nigerian as a reason for allowing Edin Dzeko, Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic to leave, people were left scratching their heads because they hadn't heard of him. No longer.
Iheanacho, who only made his first-team debut at the start of the season against Watford, has shown enough to suggest he will be the first player to emerge from the revamped City academy to make it at the highest level.
A striker with a clear eye for goal, Iheanacho has scored nine this season including an FA Cup hat-trick at Aston Villa. His tally would undoubtedly have been higher without the presence of Sergio Aguero meaning most of his appearances have come off the bench.
Got the nod ahead of Samir Nasri to be in City's Champions League squad – which shows what the club think of him.
3: CAMERON BORTHWICK-JACKSON (MANCHESTER UNITED)
Aged 19, he got his chance at Old Trafford because United left backs were dropping like flies, with Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Ashley Young all out. But the gangly Mancunian came in and looked so assured from his debut against West Brom in November, his presence hardly weakened the team.
Borthwick-Jackson is clearly a defender who loves to defend but he's also added assists to his game. It was unfortunate for him that an untimely illness prevented him from getting an even longer run in the side. Still, a dozen appearances is something he wouldn't have expected back in August.
2: ALEX IWOBI (ARSENAL)
Those screaming for Arsene Wenger to get the chequebook out have been forced to reconsider slightly due to the impact 19-year-old Iwobi has made this season.
Iwobi has been at the club since he was eight years old and though his debut ended in a disappointing Capital One Cup defeat by Sheffield Wednesday earlier this season, he has blossomed since then.
In recent weeks, he has scored goals against Everton and Watford and showed a maturity on the right-hand flank that has put Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's long-term future at the Emirates in doubt. 'An intelligent boy who loves footballl,' is how Wenger describes him.
England wanted Iwobe to play for them but he has opted to represent his family's country of Nigeria.
1: MARCUS RASHFORD (MAN UNITED)
Possibly the most meteoric rise the English game has ever seen. The 18-year-old Rashford had only started two matches for the United Under-21 side when an injury crisis prompted Louis van Gaal to start him in a Europa League tie against Midtjylland.
Not only did he score twice against the Danes, he followed it up with another brace against Arsenal a few days later, and hit the winner in the Manchester derby, embarrassing World Cup finalist Martin Demichelis in the bargain.
It's the kind of story that United's tradition has been founded upon and made some question whether Jose Mourinho – not a strong believer in youth – should replace Van Gaal. Rashford trained with the famous Manchester boys' club Fletcher Moss before choosing United over Manchester City.
Van Gaal has compared Rashford to Patrick Kluivert, who scored a Champions League final winner for him at Ajax, though the manager did haul him off against Spurs at the weekend and criticised him in the dressing-room.
