Football

Jack Wilshere Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has a reputation for developing young talent, but Wilshere is unusual: he is English. A 16-year-old goal-scoring, creative midfield player from Stevenage (like Lewis Hamilton and Ashley Young), he has yet to feature in the Arsenal first team but a buzz is developing after his excellent pre-season performances.

Joe Hart Time was when English goalkeepers were considered the best in the world. In recent years they have been more of a laughing stock, but the emergence of Joe Hart could change that. Already Manchester City’s first choice, aged 21, he made his England debut against Trinidad & Tobago in June and could be a fixture in the squad for years to come.

Motor racing

Sebastian Vettel Anyone whom Bernie Ecclestone, the ringmaster of Formula One, says has the right stuff is worth following. At 21, two years younger than Lewis Hamilton and potentially just as exciting, Vettel became the youngest Formula One driver two years ago and last year became the youngest to lead a grand prix. The German has just been waiting for the right car, and was given a boost recently when it was confirmed that he would be replacing David Coulthard on the Red Bull team.

Tennis

Juan Martin Del Potro The next big player to come out of Argentina, the 6ft 6in Del Potro has had a staggering summer, winning four titles in a row between Wimbledon and the US Open, thus becoming the first player to win his first four trophies in consecutive events. Unusually for an Argentinian, he prefers hard courts over clay. After his 22-match winning streak this year, Del Potro has advanced to 17th in the world rankings. And he is not even 20.

Rugby

Danny Care After rejecting Sheffield Wednesday’s offer of a youth contract to concentrate on rugby over football, Care has shown that he made the right choice by being selected first for the England sevens side and then the full side against New Zealand this summer. His pupillage as understudy at Leeds to Justin Marshall, the All Black scrum half, showed when he scored a try in his second start for England, in Christchurch. England fans will be hoping that there is much more to come from the Harlequins player.

Miles Benjamin England are well blessed with powerful rugby backs but this could be the season when Benjamin, a 20-year-old monster who weighs 16½ stone, breaks into the senior side. The Worcester Warriors wing was his club’s leading try-scorer last season and the fourth-best in the Premiership and he impressed at the Under-20 World Cup this summer.

Rowing

Zac Purchase A more scrawny version of Steve Redgrave, Purchase has the youth, talent and drive to become as much of a hero in lightweight rowing as Redrave was in the beefier version. Purchase was world champion in the lightweight single sculls, for which he holds the world record, in 2006 at the age of 20 before uniting with Mark Hunter in a double last year. The Britons were the only boat in the world to go through 2008 unbeaten, culminating in winning the Olympic gold medal last month.

Golf

Anthony Kim One of the less familiar names in the US team for the Ryder Cup this month, but if games were won by self-belief alone then Kim would be up there with Tiger Woods. The 23-year-old American, born of South Korean immigrant parents, has won twice on the American PGA Tour this year, came seventh at the Open Championship (having been in with a shout at the title for much of the final day) and has advanced to number 15 in the world rankings.

Cricket

Samit Patel The Nottinghamshire all-rounder is 23 but made his county debut as far back as 2002 when he outscored a certain Kevin Pietersen, now the England captain. Patel was elevated into international cricket for the first time last month and has instantly made himself at home. He became only the fourth England spin bowler to take five wickets in a one-day innings, against South Africa last week, and offers better batting ability (his first-class average is 46) than any other spinner.

Athletics

Oscar Pistorius The South African sprinter has something to prove after he won his long-running court battle to compete in the Olympics but failed to get selected. The world record-holder at 100, 200 and 400 metres in disability events heads for the Paralympics aiming for three medals of the best colour but his mind is already on trying to compete against able-bodied athletes in 2012.