TT Soccers: Young Player of the Season

Rob McCarthy continues the 2014 TEAMtalk Soccers awards ceremony by presenting the gong for the Premier League's Young Player of the Season.

Firstly, let's make clear what the parameters are for this award.

We decided the nominees had to be 21 or younger when the campaign kicked off last August, which means that PFA nominees Eden Hazard, Aaron Ramsey and Daniel Sturridge were not considered.

This is always a highly-contested award and there were certainly no shortage of candidates, but it's the following quintet that stood out for our readers as we reveal the Young Player of the Season.

5. Adnan Januzaj:

There wasn't much good, if anything, that came out of the David Moyes era at Old Trafford but the emergence of Adnan Januzaj under the Scot was certainly something that United fans can take from his reign.

The 19-year-old announced himself on the Premier League stage with a superb brace in the 2-1 win at Sunderland back in October and added further goals against West Ham and Newcastle.

At a time when many of United's big guns were playing well below par, Januzaj appeared on the scene with a swagger and maturity that was beyond his years.

England came a calling but Januzaj opted to play for the country of his birth - Belgium - instead, and such has been his meteoric rise that he was named in their provisional squad for this summer's World Cup.

Look for Januzaj to develop further under Louis van Gaal next season.

4. John Stones:

The boy from Barnsley is another who has come from seemingly nowhere to become an integral part of Roberto Martinez's back four at Everton, and is on standby for England's World Cup squad - despite winning only eight U-21 caps so far.

Signed from the Tykes in January 2013, the 19-year-old made his Premier League debut for the Toffees in September against Chelsea.

It wasn't until January 1 this year against Stoke that Stones made his first league start for the club and he has certainly made a name for himself since, forming an excellent partnership with Sylvain Distin in the absence of Phil Jagielka.

Composed on the ball and a good reader of the game, despite his tender years, Stones can struggle with more physical forwards but he will only get stronger and we could well be looking at an England captain of the future.

3. Ross Barkley:

The Toffees playmaker seems to have been around for a while but is still just 20 and has now firmly established himself as a regular for the Toffees.

Barkley won his first senior England cap against Moldova in September last year and has clearly impressed Roy Hodgson enough for the England coach to hand him a place on the plane for Brazil.

The midfielder, who can also play in the hole, made 38 appearance for Everton last season, scoring seven times - including stunning strikes against Newcastle and Manchester City.

It's pretty rare these days for England to produce a footballer capable of producing Gascoigne-like runs, but Barkley also shows terrific composure and this has certainly been a breakthrough year for the former Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds loanee.

2. Raheem Sterling:

The real beauty about Raheem Sterling is that he can play anywhere and still have an impact on the game; that's how good of a footballer is he.

Originally starring as a wide man at Anfield, the 19-year-old has also played centrally and in the hole this season. His pace and trickery are key facets to his game but not enough credit is given to how good a passer of the ball he is too.

Nine goals and five assists in 33 league appearances tells you how important Sterling has become to Liverpool and he is certain to be one of the Premier League's outstanding attacking talents for years to come.

1. Luke Shaw:

The young man that arguably forced one of the world's best left-backs into international retirement, Luke Shaw is the deserving winner of this season's Young Player of the Year award.

When Ashley Cole called time on his England career, the reality will surely have struck Shaw that he was on his way to Brazil this summer.

At 18 years of age - he'll turn 19 in July - Shaw really is a freak of nature, standing at 6ft 1in and being built like the proverbial brick outhouse.

Some critics have pointed out that his defending is not at the top level but he's only 18 and will learn the more he plays at the top level.

Going forward, however, there can be no denying that Shaw is pure class. Powerful, quick, dynamic and with quality on his final ball to go with it, this is the reason why this lad is being linked with a number of the top clubs in England.

Shaw is fortunate that he is playing in an era when full-backs are given more freedom to get forward, but few could argue that he is already one of the outstanding talents in the game.

So take a bow Luke as you are TEAMtalk's Young Player of the Season.

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