This list is more about potential than experience. Who is one good performance away from a £40,000-a-week contract and the Wag that comes with it? There is deliberately no place for players over the age of 30, or those who have played more than two seasons in the top flight. So Kevin Phillips (West Brom) and James Beattie (Sheffield United), both former England internationals to boot, are ineligible. The same goes for Robbie Fowler, now seeing out his career on Cardiff City's treatment table. Players on loan from top-flight clubs are also excluded - including future stars such as QPR's Scott Sinclair (on loan from Chelsea), Wolves' Darron Gibson or Hull's Fraizer Campbell (both Manchester United). I considered reserving a spot for John Bostock, Crystal Palace's 16-year-old prodigy, but his time will come. Oh, and if this had been an XI rather than a 10, I would have included a goalkeeper, either Casper Ankergren at Leeds, or David Marshall at Norwich.
1. Zoltan Gera, West Bromwich Albion (Age 28)
If your parents decide to name you Zoltan, you have little choice but to do something great with your life. Zoltan the Magnificent: yes. Zoltan the Crap: no. Fortunately for Mr and Mrs Gera, their son is captain of Hungary and one of the most complete attacking midfielders in the Football League - he's intelligent and unselfish, he scores goals and he sets goals up. On his day, of which there have been many so far this season, he is too good for the Championship.
2. Michael Kightly, Wolverhampton Wanderers (22)
The Basildon-born winger was released by Spurs as a schoolboy, then shown the door by Southend at 19. Lesser players might have looked for a new career. Not Kightly, whose dazzling form for Grays in the Conference earned him a move to Wolves in 2007. His obvious desire to prove the doubters wrong is reminiscent of Kevin Phillips (another who rebuilt his career from the non-League up), while his pace and blood-twisting runs have prompted comparisons to Ryan Giggs.
3. Danny Shittu, Watford (27)
Wise man say: you don't go through Shittu, you go around him. The Nigerian central defender is built like an NFL linebacker, and then some. No forward in the world has the strength to outmuscle him. But there is more to his game than power. He's tidy on the ground, great in the air - as you would expect of someone who is 6ft 3in - and has already scored several crucial goals this season, often from set pieces. The worst job in football? Marking Danny Shittu at corners and free-kicks.
4. Michael Mifsud, Coventry City (26)
Malta's most famous player may never get a chance to play in the top flight; he is 5ft 5in, which hardly fits the powerhouse template for the modern Premier League forward. But 'The Mosquito' makes up for his lack of inches by buzzing in and around the area, annoying the hell out of defenders twice his size. He scored twice at Old Trafford in September, to knock Manchester United out of the Carling Cup, then repeated the giant-killing feat with two goals at Blackburn in the FA Cup last month.
5. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Wolverhampton Wanderers (21)
But for a broken leg, suffered in 2005 while playing for Manchester United's reserves, Ebanks-Blake would probably be a Premier League regular by now. But the Cambridge-born forward's career is back on track. 'He's got power, he's got pace, he's hungry to make a reputation,' says Ian Holloway, the manager who brought him to Plymouth, for £200,000, in 2006. His 21 goals in 49 league starts there made it impossible to hold on to him and Wolves signed him for £1.5m last month.
6. Joe Ledley, Cardiff City (21)
Premier League clubs crave versatile players. It's no longer good enough to be a one-position pony; every manager in the top division wants a Michael Essien, someone who can fill in almost anywhere on the pitch and not look out of place - a super-utility player. Ledley is no Essien, but has proved already that he can play in central midfield, on the left wing - his best position - and at left-back. Everton have shown an interest in the Wales international, whose all-round talent demands a bigger audience.
7. Andrew Surman, Southampton (21)
'I would like to say that me and Ronaldinho are very similar players, but I think I might get a bit of stick for that.' Yes Andrew, you might. Surman is long on confidence (it helps that he is blessed with the sort of clean-cut, boy-band looks that would attract the highest calibre of Wag) and that's why he will go far. Born in Johannesburg to British parents, the attacking midfielder is qualified to play for South Africa but thankfully he looks set to choose England, whom he has represented at under-21 level.
8. Jermaine Beckford, Leeds United (24)
In terms of raw material, Beckford is the ideal modern forward: tall (6ft 2in), quick, powerful and with a natural eye for goal (he's the leading scorer in League One this season). He's also capable of scoring sublime, instinctive goals - see his effort for Scunthorpe, where he played on loan in 2007, against Rotherham, when a reverse dragback was followed by a clinical, curling finish into the top corner. If he can find a way to do that every week, then Premier League clubs will take note.
9. Kelvin Wilson, Nottingham Forest (22)
Forest fans used to chant, proudly: 'You'll never beat Des Walker'. Now they have another precocious centre-back to sing about, although 'You'll never beat Kelvin Wilson' doesn't scan as well. Wilson is Nottingham-born and started his career with Notts County, before moving to Preston. He rejected a bid from Leeds in 2007, despite having agreed personal terms, in favour of a return to his home town. Strengths? Great recovery pace, composure on the ball and excellent timing in the tackle.
10. Billy Jones, Preston North End (20)
Meet the next Tony Adams. Or the next Jamie Carragher. From the defenders that Jones has been compared to during his short career, you get the picture - he's an uncomplicated centre-back with an old-fashioned name, not afraid to clear his lines by blasting the ball into Row Z. That said, he has also played in central midfield and at full-back, so it's unfair to label him one-dimensional. He's a natural leader and has captained England at every age group up to under-20.
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