What happened to ex-Luton Town and Sheffield Wednesday wonderkid Mourinho tipped for England

Jose Mourinho had backed Izzy Brown to play for England after he joined Chelsea, but the attacker didn't hit those heights in his career. Jose Mourinh

There are many highly-rated youngsters in the world of football, but few can say they made their Premier League debut at the age of 16.

However, Izzy Brown can, with the talented attacker having impressed at West Brom after working his way through the academy to make the first-team.

Albion were a top flight club at the time, so it was unrealistic to expect Brown to force his way into the XI on a regular basis, but that appearance was proof that all connected to the Baggies felt they had someone who could go on to make a big impact in the game at their club.

Izzy Brown’s talent caught the eye of Chelsea from West Brom

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Unfortunately for West Brom, such talent wasn’t going to go unnoticed, and, much to the frustration of many at The Hawthorns, Chelsea signed the teenager, just months after he had played in the Premier League.

It’s easy to see why Brown wanted to join Chelsea given their reputation for developing youngsters, but the manner of the exit was a real blow for Albion, who eventually received just £1m for the player, with the fee decided by a tribunal.

Of course, moving to a club like Chelsea meant Brown was going to have to be patient in his bid to reach the first-team, but there’s no denying that would’ve been the aim for the forward after he decided to make the switch from West Brom to the capital.

José Mourinho had backed Izzy Brown to play for England

And, with securing Brown’s signature seen as a real coup at the time, it’s fair to say that Chelsea weren’t playing things down in terms of their ambitions for their new recruit.

That’s after legendary manager José Mourinho, who was back for his second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge when Brown joined, made it clear that he expected the youngster to play for England - along with two of his teammates.

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“My conscience tells me that if, for example, Baker, Brown, and Solanke are not national team players in a few years, I should blame myself. They are part of a process the club started without me. In this moment, we have players who will be Chelsea players. And when they become Chelsea players, they will become England players, almost for sure.

“At 16 or 17 I don’t think it’s good for them to go somewhere else to play, like in the Championship. At 17 they have to train with us and they have to learn with us. They will learn a lot.”

With Brown 17 at the time of those comments, it gives a clear indication of what sort of talent Chelsea felt they had on their hands at that moment in time.

Izzy Brown did show moments of quality in his career

It’s up for debate as to whether those comments from Mourinho will have helped Brown or not. On one hand, it can’t have done his confidence any harm to receive such praise from a figure like the Portuguese coach. Equally so, it may have added unnecessary pressure.

Yet, for whatever reason, Brown’s career didn’t take off in the way that many, like Mourinho, expected.

He was contracted to Chelsea for eight years, but he played just once for the club, with seven loan spells arranged during his time with the Blues, and he didn’t feature for England above U20 level.

Nevertheless, there were still positive moments for Brown in his career, and one standout spell came with Huddersfield, who he helped to a memorable promotion after joining on loan in January.

Under David Wagner’s guidance you got to see why Brown had been so highly regarded earlier in his career, as he had the ability to make things happen in the final third.

Izzy Brown was forced to retire through injury

That was probably as good as it got for Brown, who also had spells in the EFL with Leeds United, Luton Town and Sheffield Wednesday, without making too much of an impression.

But, it would be wrong to look back on Brown’s career without discussing the role that injuries played, as he had terrible luck.

From an ACL to hamstring problems and an Achilles issue that forced his retirement at 26, Brown struggled for the regular football that he would’ve wanted.

That constantly hindered his progress, and it often felt like one step forward and two steps back as he would struggle to stay fit.

Of course, that would have had a major impact on his body, and for an attacking player that relied on agility, speed and constantly changing direction, all of these issues mean you have to adapt how you play the game.

Ultimately, Brown got to live the dream by becoming a Premier League footballer, as well as playing for some very big clubs during his career.

However, he didn’t manage to fulfil his undoubted potential, which prompted Mourinho to make his England prediction, with a combination of factors, notably injuries, preventing him from doing just that.