Summer Transfer Window: 12 Superstars Under 21 Set to Move This Summer

The summer transfer window is still ages away, but already teams are lining up their transfer targets for the summer.

Teams like Arsenal are looking for the next big superstar to return them to the status of being permanent fixtures in the Premier League's Top Four, while Manchester United are looking for a creative midfielder to bolster their quality in midfield.

And many more teams are looking for the right young superstar to take their team to the next level.

Here are 12 under-21 superstars who are sure to move on from their current clubs in the summer.

Xherdan Shaqiri

First, let's begin with some confirmed news: Xherdan Shaqiri will be playing for Bayern Munich next season.

Shaqiri is one of the most exciting wingers in the world today. The 20-year-old currently plays for FC Basel and has been a regular for the team since the 2009-10 season.

In addition, he's already picked up 17 caps with Switzerland's national team and has scored four goals, three of which came in the form of a hat trick against Bulgaria.

The transfer fee for Shaqiri was €10 million, but it'll likely prove to be a worthwhile investment.

Shaqiri has already compared himself to Ribery and stated his ambition to surprise everyone and get a place in Bayern's starting lineup.

Granit Xhaka

Another FC Basel player that has been linked with a move away from FC Basel since his impressive performances in the Champions League is Granit Xhaka.

Xhaka is younger and less developed than Shaqiri, but his potential is very apparent.

In addition to becoming an established starter with FC Basel, Xhaka has already earned six Switzerland caps and scored the winner in a 1-0 win over Luxembourg back in November 2011.

Thus far, Juventus, Manchester United and CSKA Moscow have been linked with Xhaka, while Hamburg have been officially confirmed as having made an offer for the young Swiss.

FC Basel's sporting director Georg Heitz has stated his intention to hold onto Xhaka a bit longer, but with all the offers that are likely to be made between now and the end of the transfer window, it's safe to assume that FC Basel will have to sell Xhaka sooner or later.

Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard has already gotten himself well into the summer transfer window mood.

First, he started by claiming he'd really like a move to Tottenham. Then, in another interview, he gave a positive review of Arsenal, stating that the club has many things that would make a move to England better for him.

I'm betting that he'll talk about how perfect Chelsea are for him next.

Whatever happens, it seems Eden Hazard has already got himself mentally prepared to leave Lille in the summer.

With Moussa Sow gone to Fenerbahce, and Gervinho gone to Arsenal, Hazard's time at Lille looks to be over as the final piece of Lille's best attacking trio in years gets set to move to one of the "big clubs" of Europe.

Junior Hoilett

Junior Hoilett was expected to leave for Tottenham this past transfer window, but the move never materialized as Tottenham opted to build up funds for a big summer splash rather than make any purchases involving transfer fees.

However, it has been revealed that Hoilett has yet to sign a contract extension at Blackburn Rovers and that he could leave for free in the summer.

If he is available on a free transfer in the summer, expect numerous suitors including Tottenham to line up and offer him the opportunity to leave Blackburn Rovers.

Even if Blackburn avoid relegation, the future does not look bright for the team. Hoilett would be wise to pack his bags and move to greener pastures as he looks to take the next step in his career.

Luuk De Jong

Luuk de Jong has pretty much hit the ceiling in terms of how much he can develop in the Eredivisie.

After exploding onto the scene with 19 goals in 48 matches last season, de Jong has already surpassed that total this year by scoring 23 goals and recording 14 assists in just 36 matches.

In addition, he's scored seven goals in his last three league matches for FC Twente, making him one of Europe's hottest strikers.

This past winter, De Jong was linked with a possible move to Arsenal, but the move never materialized. This was not surprising since Thierry Henry was already playing as a backup to Robin van Persie, and de Jong would've cost a lot of money to bring in halfway through the season.

But this summer, de Jong will only have two more years on his contract, forcing the club to start fielding big-money transfer offers for their 21-year-old Dutchman or risk losing him on a free transfer in just two years' time.

Arsenal have had two great Dutch strikers under Arsene Wenger, and Wenger's overall track record with Dutch players has been very good. (Remember Marc Overmars)?

Luuk De Jong could be an excellent fit for Arsenal, and his young age will surely appeal to Wenger's preference for developing his players rather than buying them fully developed.

Yann M'Vila

The speculation on Yann M'Vila's future has died down significantly since a move to Arsenal failed to materialize last summer.

Nevertheless, while M'Vila's agent confirms that M'Vila is quite content at Rennes, he has once again opened the door for a move abroad in the summer with Arsenal and Real Madrid being his likely destinations.

Both Arsenal and Real Madrid could benefit from M'Vila's quality. The defensive midfielder is strong, determined and would inject much needed leadership at Arsenal.

At Real Madrid, he would complement Xabi Alonso well as neither Lassana Diarra nor Sami Khedira have displaced the defensive tenacity needed to make Real Madrid impenetrable against the best offense of Europe.

His transfer fee will likely be large, but the investment could prove worthwhile for whatever team splashes the cash for him.

Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne is already officially a Chelsea player, signed by Chelsea on deadline day in the January transfer window for a fee of £7 million.

However, he was sent back to Genk to continue developing with the Belgian club, and his future still remains a bit unclear.

It is rumored that De Bruyne will be at FC Twente next year after his six-month loan ends and not playing with Chelsea.

Personally, with the extreme lack of quality wingers at Chelsea's disposal, I don't understand signing De Bruyne at such an early time and yet making him play on loan for a year-and-a-half.

If I were Andre Villas-Boas, I would incorporate De Bruyne into my squad this summer and give him the opportunity to break into the team.

Whatever happens though, De Bruyne will move on from Genk in the summer.

Jack Rodwell

Jack Rodwell hasn't had a great season, finding himself hampered by injury problems and replaced in the starting lineup by Darron Gibson.

Nevertheless, Rodwell is still highly rated as one of the best talents in the English game, and Chelsea have been named as his primary suitor.

Rodwell's transfer could work out well for all parties involved. A big-money transfer would give Everton the funds to reinvest in their squad and would allow Rodwell to get off to a new start after struggling with injuries in the past couple of seasons.

Finally, Chelsea would gain a quality defensive midfielder who might be able to help improve the quality of their poor defense.

Lucas Moura

With the Neymar drama put on the backburner in light of his recent contract extension, the attention has shifted to Lucas of Sao Paolo.

At only the age of 19, Lucas has already established himself as one of Sao Paolo's best players and has earned 10 Brazil caps since debuting against Scotland in March 2011.

Chelsea appear to be Lucas' biggest suitors, but the young Brazilian has kept his feet on the ground, stating that he is just happy to be doing well with his current club.

It may be too early for Lucas to make a move to Europe, especially in light of how Neymar and Ganso have held off their departure, but if enough money is offered, a big European club may just be able to snag Lucas for their team.

Ryad Boudebouz

Ryad Boudebouz is a promising Algerian winger currently playing for Sochaux.

Boudebouz was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool over the January transfer window, but the move never took place.

In the end, the failure of the move had a lot to do with Boudebouz. Boudebouz ruled out a January transfer, stating his desire to remain with Sochaux until the summer.

He also stated his desire to remain in France. This ultimately took Boudebouz off the radar of most major European clubs and of course narrowed his options considerably.

However, there's little doubt that Boudebouz will ultimately move on from Sochaux at the end of the season. The club have struggled mightily in recent games and find themselves rooted to the bottom of Ligue 1.

Though relegation is far from confirmed, it looks likely and there's little chance that Boudebouz will choose to play in Ligue 2 instead of moving to a bigger club.

Victor Moses

If Wigan somehow avoid relegation again this season, I will be amazed. Their team has been so lacking in quality this season that it is genuinely remarkable they've managed to take points off of any team in the Premier League.

Most of the times that Wigan have managed to win or draw a game, it has been because of Victor Moses. This season, Moses has assisted or scored a goal in three of Wigan's four wins and has easily been Wigan's most impressive player.

Queens Park Rangers were rumored to be interested in making a move for Moses in January, but decided to wait until this summer to make a bid for Moses. 

If Wigan are relegated, there's no way a player as talented as Moses will continue to ply his trade with Wigan, a truth which Roberto Martinez has already faced up to.

However, even if Wigan somehow do avoid relegation, Moses is likely to move. Wigan would need to make major squad changes to improve their status as a Premier League club, and a club like QPR with money and an improving standard of players would be hard to resist.

Emmanuel Mayuka

Emmanuel Mayuka is a Zambian striker who finished as one of the top scorers of the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations. 

Mayuka scored two goals in his first two games in the ACON to get off to a hot start, but he'll be remembered for his excellently-taken game-winning goal against Ghana which took Zambia to the final against Ivory Coast.

Mayuka has been linked with Arsenal (of course, because he's young), Newcastle (of course, because he's African) and Fulham in the wake of his great success at the Africa Cup of Nations, and though he still needs to improve his game, he could prove to be a good signing for any team.

Personally, Mayuka reminds me very much of Seydou Doumbia, CSKA Moscow's goal-scoring machine. Both are big, strong, agile and of course, both made their names with BSC Young Boys.

It'll be interesting to see if Mayuka can continue to display his talent after the ACON and develop into a world-class striker the way Doumbia has developed with CSKA Moscow.