10 League One Players Ready for the Next Level

10. Craig Mackail-Smith (Peterborough United)

Mackail-Smith's rise is like an on-going love story that still hasn't ended. He came through the youth system at St. Albans City but was subsequently released for not being prolific enough.

He then joined Arlesey Town who play in Southern League Division One Midlands. He has gone from strength to strength ever since. Eventually he was signed by Peterborough from Dagenham & Redbridge for a mere £125,000 and he has repaid the loyalty shown to him by Darren Ferguson.

Make no mistake, this lad is still a work in progress, but he has shown tremendous qualities in his game and could definitely be a threat in the Championship. His main qualities are his game reading and his extremely clinical finishing. He could improve his passing and sometimes his first touch isn't the best.

Verdict: His work-rate and cool head will be invaluable to Posh, and if he continues to improve, Ferguson Jr. will have a fine player on his hands.

9. James Brown (Hartlepool United)

Three words to describe Brown: quick, versatile, and scorer. James Brown is the most highly rated player at Hartlepool. At the tender age of 22, Brown is a product of Hartlepool's youth academy. However, Brown's career to date has been far from straight-forward. 

He ruptured his cruciate ligament in a pre-season friendly against Hibernian and subsequently missed the entire 2005-06 season. He finally made his debut against Port Vale when he came off the bench and scored to make it 1-1. 

The following season he spent the majority of his time on right wing, but his goal-to-game ratio is still quite good. His only downfall is his poor injury record, but if he stays injury free and gets played at his rightful position (striker), he will be a major asset for Hartlepool. Brown has been linked with a £3 million move to Celtic, and West Brom have also expressed interest.

Verdict: If he's good enough for Jeff Stelling, he's good enough for me.

8. Zak Whitbread (Millwall)

Although born in the United States, Whitbread has spent most of his life in Liverpool, England. At the age of eight, Withbread joined Liverpool's Centre of Excellence and worked his way up. He went on loan to Millwall during the 2005-06 season and eventually made his move permanent.

At 6'2" Whitbread is lethal in the air and isn't afraid to get stuck in. His man-of-the-match performance against Leicester City earlier in the season earned him some rave reviews.

Millwall's success has a lot to do with their near water-tight defence, and in that defence, Withbread is the chief in command. He is the football brain in that back four and has time and time again put his body on the line for Millwall.

Verdict: He has vastly improved since the days of 2005-06, and if Millwall go up, he will relish the challenge to play against better strikers.

7. Max Gradel (Leicester City)

Gradel is a tricky winger and a product of Leicester City's youth academy. He spent most of the 2007-08 season on loan at Bournemouth, but despite scoring a hatful of goals from midfield, he could not prevent them from relegation to League Two.

Gradel is comfortable on either wing. He is quick, direct, and has a bag of skills. His downfall is that his crossings aren’t up to scratch and he often drifts in and out of games, but that is understandable for such a young lad.

The death of his mother recently hasn't helped him at all, but he has shown great character and determination to succeed, and for that reason he will go far.

Verdict: Gradel is a "confidence player" and under Nigel Pearson he will be provided with a lot of encouragement and will certainly test the fullbacks in the Championship.

6. Henri Lansbury (Scunthorpe United, on loan from Arsenal)

Lansbury (pictured) is straight out of Arsenal's school of football and will no doubt make a decent career for himself.

Lansbury is a box-to-box midfielder by trade, but can also operate on the right hand side. He is comfortable on the ball, likes to take people on, and contributes massively to Scunthorpe's goals and assists.

The 18-year-old is without a doubt a huge talent and another season on loan at Scunthorpe would benefit him to no end. He certainly has the potential to one day play in the Premiership.

Verdict: Definitely a player to look out for in the future. He can go very far, whether it be with Arsenal or another club.

5. Charlie Lee (Peterborough United)

Peterborough's Player of the Year in two successive seasons, and rightly so. Lee is a versatile player who can play multiple positions (right back, centre back, left back, defensive midfielder, etc.) and do a good job wherever he is put.

Lee started his career at Tottenham, but never made an appearance. He was sent out on loan to Millwall, and once he returned he was eventually released for being surplus to requirement.

Ferguson Jr. signed him up on a three year contract, and Lee hasn't looked back since. He is a firm fan favourite for his versatility, tough tackling, and long range shooting.

On the second last day of the season, Peterborugh secured their promotion away at Colchester United with a 1-0 win. Charlie Lee scored with one of the finest individual goals you will see at this level.

Verdict: An absolutely vital player for Peterborough, and in order to adapt to life in the Championship they need Lee more than anything. There is no doubt whatsoever that Lee will cut it in the second tier.

4. Andy King (Leicester City)

Andy King is an English born Welsh player. He made his debut in a 0-0 draw against the Wolves, and scored his first goal from an impressive 35 yards against Southampton.

King is a disciplined box-to-box midfielder. He plays the game like it should be, simple. In his first full senior season, King has scored 11 goals from midfield and what's more impressive is that he has played 45 out of 46 league games for Leicester. The only one he missed was due to a Wales International game.

King has many important attributes to his game. He reads the game perfectly. He hardly goes into unnecessary rash tackles and the evidence for that is his disciplinary record. He has only received one yellow card in his pro career, and that was for arguing with the ref. He helps his defence out regularly and he sees the danger quickly.

His downfall is that he is sometimes caught in possession, and also goes missing in big chunks of the game now and then. King isn't the quickest either, but makes that up elsewhere in his game.

He's already made more than 70 appearances for the club, which is a tremendous achievement and proves his fitness is second to none.

Verdict: A step up to the Championship will be a big test for King, but he will enjoy the challenge. There is no reason why he should not adapt.

3. Gary Hooper (Scunthorpe United)

Gary Hooper is an interesting player. He has scored 24 league goals and 30 in all competition. When a sniff of a goal scoring chance presents itself, he takes it.

Hooper's time at Southend United wasn't very good at all, and for £175,000, Nigel Adkins could not go wrong with him. As far as we are concerned, Hooper has paid back every single penny.

Hooper began his career at Grays Athletic where many other players have spent time i.e. Freddy Eastwood, Michael Kightly, Sam Sodje and Aaron McLean.

Southend snapped him up, but his time under Steve Tilson was far from successful, and he subsequently got sold to Scunthorpe. Hooper hasn't looked back since.

Verdict: At only 21, Hooper still has much to learn, but under a good manager he will definitely end up playing at a higher level than League One.

2. Simon Cox (Swindon Town)

Cox has 35 goals in 62 games. The stats don't lie. This kid is a raw talent and is the main reason why Swindon Town are not relegated to League Two. He's got tremendous pace and his finishing would envy most Championship strikers.

Cox was born in Reading and came through the youth academy there. He was sent on loan to Brentford (twice) and Northampton, but never excelled at either club due to injury. He unfortunately broke his leg at his first spell at Brentford and was sidelined for quite some time.

His third loan spell, this time at Swindon, is when he got his real breakthrough and Swindon subsequently decided to sign him permanently. After a storming season for Cox, he has attracted interest from several clubs and Swindon have turned down substantial bids from both Celtic and Leicester City.

He is very quick and he can put chances away. He also has that knack of getting to rebounds first.

Verdict: He will no doubt play at a higher level sooner than later. His stats for a relegation battling outfit are nothing short of tremendous.

1. Fabian Delph (Leeds United)

Fabian Delph is a product of the Leeds Youth Academy. He captained Leeds reserves at 17-years-old and, even at the tender age of 18, he demanded high standards from his teammates.

Fabian Delph is an amazing young player. He has that coolness on the ball like a seasoned pro, yet is only 19. He is technically very good, probably one of the best in the division. He is a real handful. He is very quick, good in one-on-one situations, can shoot well, and can also create goals. 

He has been linked with several Premiership clubs, which is not a surprise at all. This lad will go very far and if Leeds do not get out of the League One as soon as possible, he will get snapped up by a club higher up.

Verdict: The sky is the limit for this boy. If he keeps his feet on the ground, stays humble, and continues learning, he will go very far.