da gbg bet： There are plenty of rough diamonds who have gone on to make the grade at the highest level, with the latest being Luton Town's Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu
da leao： Over the past two decades Premier League clubs have increasingly turned to overseas transfers to bolster their squad. It therefore seems counter intuitive that there would be an influx of non-league players making it to the top level.
Yet, this is exactly what has happened.
Despite Premier League clubs casting their talent nets wider than ever before, there have still been plenty of players slipping through the cracks and entering the character-building world of part-time football.
Here are some of the lucky few who managed to bounce back from this disappointment to return to the summit of English football, with Luton Town's Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu making history as he becomes the first player to feature for the same club at non-league and Premier League level.
Getty ImagesJoe Aribo
Joe Aribo, who sealed a £6 million move to Southampton in summer of 2022, has been one of the latest non-league to Premier League success stories.
In a previous life Aribo lined up for Staines Town in the Isthmian League Premier Division. Incredibly, the midfielder was never picked up by a professional academy in his youth, but his one season for Staines – who have since sadly gone out of business – was enough to convince Charlton to hand him a one-year deal following a successful trial.
A full debut followed over 12 months later in 2016 with Aribo soon establishing himself as a regular starter and fan favourite.
A move to Rangers in 2019 would follow, with the Nigeria international falling narrowly short in the 2022 Europa League final – his last action before signing for Saints.
AdvertisementGettyMichail Antonio
Michail Antonio has had a pretty strange career, evolving into one of the most effective strikers in the Premier League after spending significant time shoehorned in at right-back. This is not the only distinguishing feature of his playing career either.
The West Ham icon's footballing education actually came at Tooting & Mitcham United, located a stone's throw from his home stomping ground of Wandsworth.
After a handful of senior appearances in non-league Antonio was snapped up by Reading in October 2008, beginning a long, winding road to the Premier League.
A string of loan moves and sporadic appearances for the Royals followed, before successive spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest solidified Antonio's reputation.
West Ham took a chance on him in 2015 and the rest, as they say, is history.
GettyMax Kilman
Every time Wolves play on TV you can feel the painful restraint the lead commentator is exercising to avoid mentioning Max Kilman's futsal past. Unfortunately, they are rarely successful in avoiding bringing up the fact that he has 25 England caps in that form of football.
A less-discussed aspect of Kilman's pre-Wanderers career is the time he spent in the lower reaches of the game.
Following his release from Gillingham, the defender joined Welling United and then Maidenhead United, making 33 appearances for the latter and helping the Magpies finish above non-league sleeping giants Leyton Orient and Hartlepool in the National League.
He played predominantly as a left-back during that campaign but has moved into Wolves' back three seamlessly in recent seasons. Kilman is genuinely one of the most technically proficient defenders in England with rumours linking him with a top-six move having been rife.
Getty ImagesChris Smalling
From Maidstone to the Eternal City, Chris Smalling has had quite the footballing journey.
After being released by Millwall, Smalling rocked up at the Gallagher Stadium in Kent and after just a few appearances clubs were queueing up to offer him a professional contract.
Amid strong interest from Middlesbrough, the centre-back was eventually snapped up by Fulham. Soon enough he had established himself in the first team and Manchester United came calling.
Despite catching some unfair criticism from fans at times, Smalling went on to win every domestic honour available to him, including a pair of Premier League titles, and also lifted the Europa League in 2017.
After falling down the pecking order at United, Smalling has gone on to rebuild his career at Roma, tasting continental success in the form of Europa Conference League glory in 2022. His form in Italy has even led to calls for him to add to his 31 England caps.