For the past few years, I have been predicting a few (relatively unknown) players who I thought would do well at a big club.

Obviously, my scouting skills do not match those of Piet de Visser (yet), but I did predict players like Benayoun (during his Racing Santander time), Dean Ashton (Crewe), Rooney (who didn’t) and Leighton Baines (kinda obvious too) to do well in a bigger club, and they are not doing all too bad.

But, honestly, I also failed with many players, too, like the Brazilian Washington (now playing in the Japanese A-League), Italian Aimo Diana (never played for a "big club" anyway), Derby County’s James McEvely (what was I thinking?), Rafael Sobis (no verdict on him yet) and worst of the lot, the Swiss Johann Vogel (actually Milan never gave him a chance, but he also seems to be struggling at Blackburn!)

So this time, after consulting with a few other "scouters," I have come up with a new list (countdown style) of “RELATIVELY UNKNOWN PLAYERS WHO WOULD DO WELL FOR A BIGGER CLUB.”

5) Stéphane Sessegnon (Benin, PSG, defensive midfielder)

Sessegnon is a central or a defensive midfielder who plays for the French club Paris St-Germain. His name came to prominence twice; when he scored a brace against Lyon during his successful time at Le Mans and his display during the latest African Cup of Nations tournament.

He is not known to score goals, but it’s his great "game reading" ability that is his main strength. Sessegnon is only 5-foot-7, but he is a tough-tackling midfielder.

He is superb on the ball which makes him a a good "ball player," even though he is usually a defensive midfielder. His passing range is excellent, and he is considered to be one of the best midfielders in the Ligue 1.

During his time at Le Mans, he was tracked by clubs like Arsenal and Newcastle but opted to sign for PSG, instead.

Arsene Wenger tracked him for an immediate replacement for the outgoing Flamini, and Newcastle wanted to have a reliable defensive midfielder.

Pundits say his playing style resembles that of Makelele, but if you watch his games you would realize that he is better than Makelele in one aspect: his talent on the ball...not just winning the ball like a normal defensive midfielder would do, but his ability to find his team mate with precision.

Only 24, this player's future looks wonderfully bright (to me at least).

Predicted clubs: Newcastle, Arsenal, Hamburger FC, Schalke 04

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