Tom Taiwo: a case of be careful what you wish for

It's possible that, at the very early start of his career, Tom Taiwo would have envisaged getting a run out at Carlisle's Brunton Park one day, as perhaps a substitute or a starter as Leeds United looked to battle their way out of League One.

When he signed for Chelsea back in 2008, it's possible he thought he could forget all about the Cumbrian town completely. Signing a contract with Carlisle and becoming a fans' favourite with the club probably wasn't exactly what he had in mind at the time.

It was back in the summer of 2008 that the teenage midfielder made his controversial move from Leeds' academy to Chelsea, prompting the majority of right-thinking football fans into the distinctly uncomfortable position of agreeing with Ken Bates.

Bates complained to the FA and Premier League that Taiwo, and fellow teenager Michael Woods, had been 'poached' by the Premier League club. The two clubs eventually reached a £5m out-of-court settlement for the pair.

If Chelsea are interested in you, then it's reasonable to assume you must be a bit special, but Taiwo failed to make an impression at Stamford Bridge.

He was immediately loaned to Port Vale and made four appearances, but the Valiants opted against extending his loan. At the end of the season he had a trial with MLS expansion side Seattle Sounders, but nothing materialised.

In July last year Taiwo was on the move again - this time to Carlisle United, making an impression and battling into the first team. The northern Blues fans are delighted he's now signed from the more illustrious southern Blues.

While Taiwo's case is not unusual, it does highlight a worrying trend Premier League clubs and promising youngsters.

Clubs such as Chelsea can afford to hoover up promising young players for what is loose change to them, but often vital cash for the lower-league club that developed the player.

Is this a good thing? Well, on one hand it shows that Premier League teams are scouring the lower leagues for future English talent. On the other there's a good argument it stunts their development, denies them a chance to develop at their lower-league parent club and potentially earn a higher transfer fee if they go on to star.

It hurts clubs like Crewe who put a lot of time and effort into developing youngsters. The Alex's manager, Dario Gradi, recently complained that one of his young players had been tapped up by a Premier League club.

Remember John Bostock, the teenage prodigy who earned rave reviews at Crystal Palace? He moved to Tottenham for a measly £700,000, earning the fury of Palace chairman Simon Jordan (and agreeing with both Jordan and Bates is a highly unlikely event).

Bostock is currently on loan at Brentford, a division lower than Palace, and how the Eagles could do with the youngster at this point in time - not just for his footballing ability, but for a potentially higher transfer fee than the one they received from Spurs.

In reality, smaller clubs (and there's a sliding scale of small here) are powerless to keep hold of their young starlets, who are often lured, by means foul or fair, to sit on the bench for several years before getting back to where they started, behind 31-year-old journeymen in League Two.

There are exceptions. Transfers to Arsenal have arguably helped the footballing development of Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott, while Charlton's teenage sensation Jonjo Shelvey rejected a move to Chelsea and is developing nicely at the Valley.

As for Taiwo, he's has now ended up exactly where he started - League One - albeit with a lower-placed club. Who's to say that he wouldn't have been better off staying at Leeds, learning the trade with a club he knew and staff he were familiar with his abilities.

Who knows, perhaps this teenager could have been starring in Leeds' famous victory over Manchester United last weekend, rather than starring at a frozen Brunton Park.

(Pic via Carlisle United)