Championship's 10 youngest ever goalscorers from Gareth Bale to Jude Bellingham

James Vaughan hit the headlines earlier this week when he was named as sporting director of Tranmere Rovers.

Vaughan raised eyebrows after the appointment, especially considering he is still only 33. The former centre-forward retired at the end of last season and has now moved into a prominent upstairs position with the League Two club.

It followed a pattern of trend-setting for Vaughan, who became the Premier League's youngest ever goal-scorer when he netted for Everton back in 2005 - at the age of 16 years and 270 days.

With that in mind, we've trawled the archives to look at the ten youngest players to notch a goal in the Championship since the year 2000 - and what they are up to now.

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10. Simon Walton (17 years, 1 month, 6 days)

Walton just makes the top ten, edging out fellow teen scorer Jonjo Shelvey.

Walton notched his historic goal in only his ninth senior outing for boyhood club Leeds. It came against Reading in October 2004, inside the first minute. Unfortunately Lloyd Owusu restored parity to deny Walton and Leeds the the win that day.

Since leaving Leeds in 2006 he's played for a clutch of clubs such as Hartlepool, Plymouth and QPR. Still only 34, he's dipped into non-league in recent years with his latest club Havant and Waterlooville.

9. Gareth Bale (17 years, 21 days)

Bale has gone on to become a world superstar, winning the Champions League an incredible four times with Real Madrid.

But before his Spanish sojourn, he made his name on the South Coast with Southampton.

And Bale notched his first senior goal in the Championship on the first day of the 2006-07 campaign. He scored a superb free-kick in a 2-2 draw at Derby - the first of many in a career that has also seen him star for Tottenham, Madrid and his beloved Wales.

Now 32, Bale's future looks to be away from Madrid with his next destination far from certain.

8. Dan Gosling (17 years, 19 days)

Gosling was barely 17 when he notched in Plymouth Argyle's 3-0 win over Colchester in February 2007.

His fine form for the Pilgrims earned him a high-profile move to Everton but after not much playing time he departed for Newcastle. Again, he would hardly feature on Tyneside and seven years at Bournemouth followed.

He was a regular for the Cherries and featured prominently but moved to Watford in early 2021, where he helped them win promotion. He's made just one appearance in the Premier League this season.

7. Andre Dozzell (16 years, 11 months, 14 days)

Dozzell netted on his senior debut for Ipswich Town against Sheffield Wednesday in April 2016.

It completed a remarkable piece of symmetry with his father Jason's career, after Dozzell senior netted on his top flight debut, also for Ipswich, 32 years prior. That made him the youngest scorer in the top flight at the time.

Andre's fine form last term for the Tractor Boys persuaded QPR to pay an undisclosed fee for him in the summer and, still only 22, he's already been tipped as a future Premier League star.

6. Connor Wickham (16 years, 11 months, 10 days)

Having been tipped for big things as a youngster, Wickham came through Ipswich's academy and netted his maiden senior goal in a 1-0 win over Scunthorpe United back in March 2010.

The tall striker had already been winning plenty of admirers in football and it was little surprise when several Premier League suitors started sniffing around him barely a year later.

Wickham moved to Sunderland for £8million but he failed to ever hold down a regular first team place on Wearside. He left in 2015 to join Crystal Palace with the Black Cats making the majority of their money back.

But his spell in London saw him blighted by injuries, restricting him to 41 Premier League games in six years. His rotten luck continued after a short spell at Preston and he most recently joined MK Dons on a free

5. Billy Jones (16 years, 7 months, 8 days)

Jones added his name to this list thanks to his goal in a 1-0 win for Crewe against Reading back in November 2003.

The defender went on to have three years at Gresty Road before moving to Preston, West Brom, Sunderland and then Rotherham.

He spent the second half of last season back on loan at Crewe, making a handful of appearances.

Now aged 34, the full-back is currently without a club.

4. Theo Walcott (16 years, 7 months, 2 days)

Like Bale, Walcott would go on to bigger and better things after initially starring in the Championship.

Walcott notched his first Saints goal on his debut in a 2-1 defeat to Leeds in October 2005. That campaign would see him score five times as he got regular action for a team who struggled after top flight relegation.

Walcott though would be plummeted into the limelight after moving to Arsenal in January 2006 for £12m - and then was a shock pick for the England squad for that summer's World Cup in Germany.

He went on to win 47 England caps and star for the Gunners until 2018. He left for Everton before sealing a return to Southampton, initially on loan before re-joining permanently.

3. Lee Holmes (16 years, 6 months, 23 days)

Holmes was highly-rated within Derby and England's youth set-up and he scored his first senior goal in October 2003 in a 3-1 loss against Coventry.

Holmes was eventually loaned out by Derby a number of times before signing for Southampton, then in the Championship, in 2008.

He went on to play for Preston and Exeter and was most recently signed to non-league side Mickleover.

2. Ryan Sessegnon (16 years, 3 months, 2 days)

Sessegnon notched for Fulham in a 2-2 draw with Cardiff in August 2016.

That would be the first of many goals in a Cottagers' shirt and during the 2017-18 campaign the wing-back scored an incredible 15 league goals as Fulham got promoted.

He joined Tottenham for a fee of £25m in August 2019 but struggled to make an initial impression and spent a season on loan in Germany with Hoffenheim.

Now back at Spurs, he has featured ten times this season for Antonio Conte's side.

1. Jude Bellingham (16 years, 2 months, 2 days)

Bellingham broke the Championship record when he notched in a 2-1 win for boyhood club Birmingham against Stoke in August 2019.

Barely 16, Bellingham was winning huge praise and admiration from plenty of onlookers.

He would play more than 40 times in his breakthrough campaign for the Blues and earned a £25m move to German giants Borussia Dortmund.

He's since established himself as one of the hottest properties in world football and already has 10 England caps amid interest from some of the Premier League's biggest clubs.