3. Charles N'Zogbia
Born: May 28th, 1986 in Harfleur Signed By: Sir Bobby Robson in 2004 for nominal fee Signed From: Le Havre Left Newcastle: 2009 for £6,000,000 (Source: BBC Sport) League Appearances: 118 League Goals: 9 The youngest player to feature on this list and the only one arguably still in his prime, Charles N'Zogbia joined Newcastle United at the age of 18, acclaimed by Sir Bobby Robson as one of the best youngsters he had ever seen. This high praise was a precursor to four-and-a-half eventful years at the club, with N'Zogbia featuring in 118 league games and scoring 9 league goals. N'Zogbia debuted for Newcastle shortly after he joined the club, in a win over Blackburn Rovers in September 2004. It took until the following season until he established himself as a member of the first team, playing in 41 games in all competitions, but as he did he demonstrated much of the promise that his now former manager Sir Bobby had waxed lyrical about the year before. Linked with Arsenal and other sides higher in the Premier League order at that time during 2006, N'Zogbia had quickly become a fan favourite at Newcastle, but cracks begun to appear during the 2006-07 season, as he often found himself left out in favour of Damien Duff. This culminated in his refusal to sit on the bench at the end of the season, and while his standing at the club recovered, it was the beginning of the end for N'Zogbia's time at Newcastle. In his final seasons at Newcastle, N'Zogbia would often find himself deployed at left back, as opposed to the more attacking midfield role natural to him and his skill set. He remained a key player until late 2008, when - during the calamatous Joe Kinnear reign - he declared his desire to leave the club in order to reach a 'higher level of ambition'. N'Zogbia's public transfer request was swiftly followed by Kinnear's infamous slip of the tongue, in which he called him 'Insomnia', cementing his exit in the January 2009 transfer window. Despite his desire to move to a club of a higher standing, he joined strugglers Wigan Athletic, a team not far from Newcastle in the league table. Since leaving Newcastle, N'Zogbia has featured on two occasions for the French national team, and now plys his trade for another struggling side - Aston Villa - at the bottom of the Premier League. At 26, he still has plenty of time left in his career, but 'Insomnia' appears to have fallen short of becoming the world class player that Sir Bobby Robson suggested he could be.
Would he make the cut today? Yes. The Newcastle faithful would almost certainly never welcome him back, but N'Zogbia is still a talented attacking player, and he would add an extra body to Newcastle's strong midfield contingent.