Daily Mail: The most notable graduates from Soccer AM's Skill Skool

Story from Daily Mail:

'Let's get the lesson on!'

Those words will rekindle fond memories for a certain generation of a popular segment of Soccer AM: Skill Skool.

For anyone unfamiliar with the concept, it involved two academy stars who faced off in a battle of skills over three rounds in front of their team-mates.

At the end of the contest, host Rocket - real name James Long - would ask the other players to decide the winner by cheering the loudest for their preferred set of moves before the victor was mobbed by their boisterous counterparts. The format was later changed, with no victor declared and no Rocket.

And the segment, which is no longer part of a programme that will be axed after 30 years on our screens at the end of the season, attracted a host of players who have gone on to become England regulars and even Premier League and Champions League winners.

Here, Sportsmail provides a list of the most notable footballers to have appeared on Skill Skool.

Raheem Sterling

Perhaps the most famous footballer to have been educated at Skill Skool is Chelsea forward Sterling, who went on the Soccer AM segment at the tender age of 15.

Then with QPR's academy, Sterling went head-to-head with Christian Nanetti for the challenge back in 2010.

Sterling at one stage was considered among the best players in the world but he could not get the better of Nanetti on the day.

He has gone on to play for Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, and earned 82 England caps.

Sterling has won four Premier League titles, an FA Cup and five League Cups during a storied career. Not bad for a Skill Skool runner-up...

Jordan Henderson

Liverpool captain Henderson, who lifted the Premier League title with the Reds in 2020, took part in Skill Skool way back in 2008.

Henderson, 17 at the time, went up against then Sunderland team-mate Nathan Luscombe at the club's training ground.

But it was not to be on the day for a fresh-faced Henderson as he was soundly beaten by Luscombe - whose routine bizarrely included the use of a skipping rope.

Thankfully for Henderson, he has enjoyed his fair share of triumphs on the field, winning the Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup, FA Cup and two League Cups with Liverpool.

Luscombe left the Black Cats without making a first-team appearance for the club.

Danny Ings

West Ham striker Ings, a three-cap England international, was also on Skill Skool in 2008.

A 16-year-old Ings was a youngster at Bournemouth and was given the chance to show what he could do when he took on Cherries team-mate Muzzy Holmes.

Unlike Henderson, Ings emerged victorious in the skill battle with Holmes. A clearly confident Ings at one point poses for the camera after ending one of his routines by volleying the ball at Holmes' nether regions.

Ings left Bournemouth for Burnley and has had a successful career in the top-flight, while Holmes did not make a first-team appearance for the Cherries.

Nathan Redmond

Another player to have won an England cap and appeared on Skill Skool is Besiktas winger and former Southampton star Redmond.

Redmond was at Birmingham in 2012 when he took on Akwasi Asante in a battle of skill moves.

The former Southampton and Norwich winger, known for his pace and trickery from the flank, impressed with his set of skills, judging by footage from their battle.

While Redmond has had a decent spell at the top level, his opponent Asante had a good career in Non League having played for the likes of Chesterfield and Chester.

Britt Assombalonga

Last but by no means least on this list is Assombalonga, who is currently plying his trade at Watford back in the Championship.

The now 30-year-old Congolese frontman faced Stephen Hamilton-Forbes during his Skill Skool class when both were at Watford.

It produced one of the all-time great Skill Skool moments when Hamilton-Forbes caught one of Assombalonga's keepie-uppies in his shirt.

Again, no winner this time but a good show of ability from both.

Assombalonga has forged a career as a Championship star, playing for the likes of Forest, Watford and Middlesbrough.