Future stars - Alex Sandro

Not a big name in the world of football just yet, but Alex Sandro is the latest in a long line of hugely talented young Brazilian footballers.  The 20-year-old  wing back joined FC Porto this summer, with the Portuguese club continuing to purchase young South Americans with the aim of selling them on for a huge profit.  Something they do incredibly well.

Sandro's instincts are very much to attack above defend, something we have become accustomed to seeing from Brazilian's in this position.  And also something that has become common place in Portugal.

Atletico Paranaense is where the promising youngster started his career, coming through their younth ranks and making his debut in the first team in October 2008.  The next year he was well and truly established within the ranks of the first team, but Atletico knew they would soon be under intense pressure to keep hold of such a promising star.

And when Santos' financial might came knocking, they were powerless to keep hold.  Sandro joined the star-studded squad assembled by the Brazilian club,  who also boast fellow hopefuls for the future Ganso and Neymar.  After settling into life quickly in this side, it was expected he would stay on with his two compatriots who rejected huge overtures to move to Europe in the summer.

However FC Porto's persistence paid off, beating rivals Benfica to the signature, and Sandro was on the move again and joined for around £8m.  This transfer followed hugely successful turnouts in both the South American Youth Championships and Fifa Under-20 World Cup.  Although following an injury in the latter, his participation on club level had to be delayed.  Only recently has he made his debut for the Portuguese giants.

This is yet another example of Porto buying for the future, like we have seen on many occasion.  Just think Ricardo Carvalho, Bruno Alves etc, players who joined for pittance and left for massive sums.  This time they have another peach, a player who loved to attack but can also defend very well and given a good two years could see his place in Brazil's 2014 World Cup squad secured.

Swansea City

The Swans beat arch rivals Cardiff City to become known as the first ever Welsh side to reach the Premier League. After a 3rd place finish last season, it meant the lottery of the play offs sealed their promotion. Under the tutelage of Brendan Rodgers their style of play has received plenty of praise, but can they turn it into top flight safety

Goalkeeper

Jose Moreira has been brought in from Benfica to add competition for places, and could be installed as number one right away. This does look like a potentially sticky point for the club, particularly if Swansea's defence buckles under the pressure of top flight football.

Defence

Ashley Williams is very highly thought of, while both captain and vice captain operate in defensive berths. No real big name defender with top heaps of top flight experience has been brought in, so the trust shown could swing from one extreme right through to the exact opposite.

Midfield


With the free flowing football so often on display at The Liberty Stadium, it is clear that a lot of pacy, creative talent will be on show in the middle of the park. Scott Sinclair is the main man of this side, dazzling since his move from Chelsea, but Wayne Routledge should also be their helping out creatively.

Forwards

Clearly identified as one of the weaker points of the side, and Rodgers reacted by signing Danny Graham and Leroy Lita. The latter of which joins fellow strike partner Luke Moore in having genuine Premiership experience, during their time with Reading and Aston Villa respectively.

Manager

Rodgers stock could not really be much higher right now. He delighted the fans by having his team play such a pleasing, easy an the eye brand of football, and he has now led them to the top tier. Safety will be his hardest task yet.

Areas to Strengthen

When you are a new team to the top flight, you can never have enough experience in your ranks. Plus the need for a large squad in emphasised on a regular basis now, and it is this strength in depth that they could perhaps be lacking.

Expectations

With this being new ground, and achieved when it maybe wasn't too expected in the first place, the Swansea faithful won't be getting too ahead of themselves and 17th place would do nicely.

Odds

5000/1 (Sky Bet)

Players in

Jose Moreira undisclosed (Benfica) Leroy Lita £1.75m (Middlesbrough) Danny Graham £3.5 (Watford) Wayne Routledge £2m (Newcastle United) Michael Vorm £1.5m (Utrecht) Federico Bassone undisclosed (Leeds United) Darnel Situ undisclosed (Lens) Gerhard Tremmel free (Red Bull Salzburg) Steven Caulker loan (Tottenham Hotspur)

Players out

Stuart MacDonald £80,000 (Bournemouth) Darren Pratley free (Bolton Wanderers) Dorus De Vries free (Wolverhampton Wanderers) Albert Serran and Gorka Pintado free (AEK Larnaca) Kerry Morgan free (Neath) Scott Donnelly loan (Wycombe Wanderers) Sam Rose-Miles, Thomas Butler, Jamie Grimes, Cedric Van Der Gun, Charles Kaiser, Jordan Prosser, Matthew Whatley (all released)

Whatever happened to: Freddy Adu

Remember him? The young American prodigy who was going to take the world by storm and put the United States on the footballing map.

A striker who broke an unbelievable amount of records and had the words top clubs, Manchester United, Chelsea and the like, clammering for his signature.

Promising huge sums of money in the process.

Well his lastest loan move to Rizespor in the Turkish Bank Asya 1 League highlights a dramatic fall from grace.

At the age of 14 he signed with DC United, and became the youngest player to appear in a Major League Soccer game.

Two weeks later Adu became the youngsest scorer in MLS history, and began to put his name on the world map.

2002 saw his United States under-17s debut, followed a year later by his first appearance for the under-20s.

This fast tracking added to the pressure on such young shoulders.

After four year at DC United, Adu shunned Europe for a move to Real Salt Lake.

However after less than a year, and two goals in 11 games, the big move finally came about.

But instead of joining one of Europe's elite, he rocked up in Portugal at Benfica.

In his first season he failed to set the side alite, matching his record for Real Salt Lake.

Following this came about a number of unsuccessful loans.

Firstly Monaco, who declined the offer of purchasing the forward at the end of the deal, Belenenses followed although he was released after a change of manager.

Greek side Aris Thessaloniki were next, were an 18 month deal ended early as Adu was phased out of the side.

Trails with several clubs followed, before his latest move to Rizespor.

This history does bring with it one question, how does such a young talent fade away so quickly?

My best guess would be all the pressure heaped on such a young boy, plus the celebrity status, became too much or he became too relaxed with it.

A youngster who was supposed to finally bring football, or soccer if you will, into the public domain amongst the other top sports in the USA.

But alas it was just not meant to be!