Real Sociedad's Haris Seferovic Taking the Carlos Vela Career Route

Real Sociedad's Haris Seferovic was a bigger star than Mario Götze, Neymar, Isco and Coutinho during the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, but almost four years later, Seferovic's career is in a state of flux.

He spearheaded Switzerland's attack with five goals as they won the U-17 World Cup in what was described as "one of the biggest surprises in the history of FIFA competitions" by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

All five Swiss players nominated as an "outstanding player" by FIFA's technical study group have yet to reach the heights of Götze or Neymar—the latter didn't even receive an outstanding player nomination during the tournament. 

• Goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist won the Golden Glove. 
  • Three years into his Aston Villa career, he's yet to play a Premier League game.

• Left winger Granit Xhaka was assured in possession, a set-piece specialist and combined brilliantly with overlapping left-back Ricardo Rodríguez.
  • Xhaka transitioned into a centre midfielder at senior level. 
  • His upside prompted Borussia Mönchengladbach to invest €8.5 million, though he's considering leaving the club after a tumultuous first season. 

• Central midfielder Pajtim Kasami had a magical left foot and was a commanding player.  
  • Bounced around Lazio, Bellinzona and Palermo—currently on the books of Fulham. 
  • "Kasami has got away with repetitive pressing of the self-destruct button since he was a kid, but it looks like it’s finally caught up with him," said Jeff Livingstone at In Bed With Maradona.

• Deep-lying forward Nassim Ben Khalifa, a goal-scoring and creative threat, was the Silver Ball recipient.
  • Moved to Wolfsburg from Grasshopper Club Zürich, where he's spent the large majority of the last three years on loan to various clubs. 

The U-17 World Cup culminated with a Seferovic winner against Nigeria and two months later, he became a Fiorentina player.  

This was the same player who went goalless in 277 minutes of play at the 2009 Euro U-17s and wasn't a first-team starter at Grasshopper.

Seferovic represents the dangers of scouts putting too much stock into a youth tournament held over 22 days. 

When he scored six times in 23 games for Fiorentina primavera, Viola management knew he wasn't going to turn into a modern day Josef Hügi.

This is why the club signed Amauri, Mounir El Hamdaoui, Santiago Silva, Luca Toni after his Emirati sojourn and an injured Giuseppe Rossi. 

Five days before Fiorentina paraded Mario Gómez in front of their fans, the club sold Seferovic to Real Sociedad for €3 million, as he hopes to salvage his career just like Carlos Vela did. 

The Mexican's claim to fame was via the 2005 U-17 World Cup like Seferovic four years later. 

Vela, Giovani dos Santos, Ever Guzmán and César Villaluz lit up the tournament with panache attacking play. 

Vela left Guadalajara for Arsenal, a decision which hindered his career. 

• His loan spell to Celta Vigo was over before it started.

• He had two loan stints with Salamanca and Osasuna before being finally granted an English work permit.

• Injuries disrupted his 2009-10 season, limiting him to only six percent of the Gunners' Premier League campaign, meaning his chances of breaking into the first XI for the 2010-11 season were limited. 

• He spent the latter half of that season on loan at West Bromwich Albion as a bit-part player which shattered his dreams of making it in the Premier League. 

• Chris Brunt, a mainstay on the right, led the club in assists. Jerome Thomas had the left side to himself. Peter Odemwingie scored 15 times and created seven goals up front. 

Sociedad only made two notable signings in preparation for the 2011-12 season, McDonald Mariga and Vela, both on loans. 

Vela scored the most goals and registered the most assists leading Txuri-urdin management to turn the loan into a permanent signing. 

He again led the club in La Liga goals and assists last season in a free-roaming role on the right. 

Keep an eye on several of his teammates as their profiles will expand should the club make it to the Champions League group stages. 

• Carlos Martínez is a world-class right-back with his rumbustious ball-winning and overlapping runs. 

• Centre-back Iñigo Martínez, a classy defender with goal-scoring instincts, might be the next Sociedad player to garner a substantial transfer fee. 

• Rubén Pardo, who can spray the ball around like Óliver Torres, stands to gain the most from Asier Illarramendi joining Real Madrid. 

• Vela formed a lethal triumvirate alongside Xabi Prieto and Antoine Griezmann—players who'll be key to Seferovic's fight to be relevant again. 

There's an opening at centre forward because Imanol Agirretxe is serviceable but not elite whilst Diego Ifrán's 19.5 shots per league goal average was disastrous. 

Seferovic's hat trick against Livorno, a brace against Crotone and a Man of the Match display versus Spezia on loan at Novara last season have given Sociedad belief that he can be their No. 9—they would have signed him loan if they thought otherwise.  

+allanjiang

Follow @allanjiangLIVE

Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com and Squawka.com