10 Man Utd Youngsters Who Never Fulfilled Their Potential

8. Fraizer Campbell

Six years ago, Manchester United were in an incredibly healthy position. Arguably Europe€™s elite side, having lifted the Champions League that season, not only were the club well stocked in attacking options with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney, but they had a long line of young and hungry strikers waiting in the wings for their moment. Among them was a 20 year old Fraizer Campbell, who had surpassed the ritual loan at feeder club Royal Antwerp with flying colours, netting 20 goals in 31 appearances, before becoming a Hull City hero by bagging 15 goals as they sealed their first ever promotion to the top-flight. Predictably, speculation was rife with regards to the England U21 international€™s future, with Campbell becoming the subject of a club record £7 million bid from the Tigers. Ferguson, however, was adamant that the youngster was needed at Old Trafford.

''We do not have any strikers apart from Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez and Fraizer plays in that area. He is quick and determined and he can do very well in the game. Frazier۪s future is here.۪۪ - Sir Alex Ferguson, August 2008.

By the end of the season, however, it had become abundantly clear that Campbell was not going to succeed at Old Trafford, having been shoe-horned to White Hart Lane on loan as part of the deal which took Dimitar Berbatov the other way. His first season in the top-flight proved a troublesome one, as he managed to find the back of the net just once in a struggling Spurs side, leading Ferguson to advise Campbell to find a permanent switch more suitable to his level. Since tying up a £3.5 million move to Sunderland in 2009, Campbell has spent the majority of the last six seasons battling injury, with a paltry 21 goals to show for his efforts.