5. Micah Richards
Dave Thompson/PA Wire/Press Association ImagesCast your minds back to 2006 when an 18-year-old Micah Richards had the world at his feet: former City boss Stuart Pearce tipped the defender to achieve great things in Manchester, claiming that he could one day be club captain for as long as a decade. By the time Richards was 23 he had established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet and across five seasons he improved at an unparalleled rate, picking up two PFA award nominations and becoming England's youngest defender at a senior level in the process. His efforts in the 2011-12 campaign spurred City onto their first Premier League title, and Richards was nominated as the club's player of the year. The only way was up. Two years later however, Richards found himself a forgotten outcast, while fellow team-mate Pablo Zabaleta revelled in the praise. Limited appearances left Micah and City fans puzzled, as one of the nation's rising stars was left in the shadows for far too long and now a summer exit is almost a certainty. Richards will be entering into a prime age in the coming season and there will be no shortage of clubs itching to take the defender away from the Etihad. There is no doubting that Richards belongs in the upper echelon of football, so expect teams such as Liverpool and Tottenham to be the frontrunners for his signature - though current the bookies have Newcastle as his most likely destination.