With the new Premier League season getting underway on Friday, The Athletic has selected a young player to watch from each of the 20 top-flight clubs.
Some of them you will have heard of, others not — but you can expect all of them to impress this season and kick on in their burgeoning careers.
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Ethan Nwaneri
Ethan Nwaneri’s involvement in Arsenal’s pre-season was encouraging. He amassed 189 minutes across five matches (two starts) and the 17-year-old looked assured in midfield.
The technical excellence that has typified his play through the age groups was on display in the United States and at the Emirates Stadium. He has also shown an ability to see the picture quickly and make the right decision on the ball — whether it be with first-time passes around the corner in build-up, his assist for Gabriel Jesus against Manchester United or his drive forward and pass out to Bukayo Saka in the lead-up to Kai Havertz’s goal against Bayer Leverkusen.
Mikel Arteta has not looked to heap expectations upon the youngster, but Nwaneri (right in top image) has done himself no harm with his pre-season performances.
Art de Roché
Rory Wilson
Among scouting circles, 18-year-old forward Rory Wilson continues to be namechecked. Villa signed the Scotland youth international from Rangers in July 2022, following an age-group campaign which saw Wilson rack up 49 goals.
The striker left Rangers at the end of his contract and has since signed another long-term contract at Villa, suggesting he is part of their plans. Given attacking players are likelier to be handed opportunities and cameos than defenders, Wilson may be the next Villa player to break through.
Standing at 6ft (183cm) and still growing, Wilson is a physical and quick forward — able to perform the multi-faceted remit manager Unai Emery expects.
Jacob Tanswell
Owen Bevan
The centre-back’s progress and potential was rewarded with a new long-term deal in June and there is a lot of excitement surrounding the future of the 20-year-old Wales youth international.
Bevan has been at Bournemouth’s academy since he was nine and made his Premier League debut at Anfield against Liverpool in August 2022. Since then, he has been loaned to Yeovil Town, Cheltenham Town and Hibernian, but he didn’t feature for the Scottish Premiership side who he joined in January after an injury setback.
(Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola considers Bevan a top prospect but, frustratingly, he picked up an injury just as he was proving himself in pre-season.
Caoimhe O’Neill
Yunus Emre Konak
Expect Yehor Yarmoliuk to kick on after making 27 top-flight appearances last season while Myles Peart-Harris finally looks ready for this level after successive loans in the third tier. Also, Kim Ji-soo has been officially promoted to the senior setup after spending last year with the B team.
The most intriguing player to watch though will be Yunus Emre Konak. The defensive midfielder signed a five-year contract with Brentford in January the day after he turned 18. He only made his senior debut for Sivasspor in the Turkish top flight last August and his progress has been rapid. Konak has represented Turkey at under-18 and under-23 level and has featured in three of Brentford’s pre-season friendlies.
Thomas Frank is not afraid to give young players opportunities if they deserve them so do not be surprised to see the 18-year-old sooner rather than later.
Jay Harris
Brighton & Hove Albion
Amario Cozier-Duberry
Amario Cozier-Duberry turned down a new contract at Arsenal to move to the Amex Stadium and the 19-year-old winger made an immediate impact on the tour of Japan in July, scoring twice on his debut.
Both goals were stylish finishes, cutting inside from the right to find the target with his left foot. Ring any bells? Well, Jack Wilshere, Cozier-Duberry’s under-18s coach at Arsenal, compared him to Bukayo Saka. Cozier-Duberry could probably do without that level of expectation, but there is no denying his potential.
(Hiroki Watanabe/Getty Images)
Although there is plenty of competition in wide areas, Cozier-Duberry can make his presence felt.
Andy Naylor
Romeo Lavia
Chelsea are two-deep in most positions, so there will be limited chances for academy players to break through — though Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George are the two teenagers they rate highest.
In the first team, though, Romeo Lavia is primed to play a big role under new head coach Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea could hardly have seen less of their £53million ($68m) signing from Southampton in 2023-24 due to a succession of injuries, but the defensive midfielder is already showing plenty of the technical talent that prompted Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly to invest so much in him during the club’s pre-season tour of the U.S.
As long as the 20-year-old can stay healthy this time around, Lavia is a smart bet to establish himself as a serious Premier League talent in 2024-25.
Liam Twomey
Matheus Franca
Precocious midfielder Adam Wharton and defender Chadi Riad, who impressed on loan at Real Betis in La Liga last season, are more known quantities, so I’ll go for Brazilian Matheus Franca.
The 20-year-old, who moved from Flamengo last summer, looked bright in several cameos off the bench, outpacing Kyle Walker away at Manchester City, recording two assists, and providing a man-of-the-match performance in the FA Cup draw against Everton.
He will hope to put the injury problems that dogged him at the end of last season behind him as Palace look to move on from Michael Olise in attacking midfield.
From the academy, those to watch are forward Asher Agbinone, skilful winger Jesse Derry and the 17-year-old Mofe Jemide.
Max Mathews
Everton
Youssef Chermiti
From the academy, Stan Mills, a lively winger with an eye for goal, is still recovering from knee ligament damage while others, such as 17-year-old midfielder Harrison Armstrong, are talented but remain a work in progress.
So the closest young player to selection is 20-year-old Portuguese forward Youssef Chermiti, who signed from Sporting Lisbon last summer.
When he recovers from his injury, Chermiti should receive some game time (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Hopes are high for the under-21 international, who scored twice in the pre-season game against Sligo Rovers. He has already impressed Sean Dyche this summer.
Frustratingly, he picked up a foot injury in training that will see him miss the start of the season. But once fit, the aim is for Chermiti to get more regular minutes, either at Everton or on loan.
Patrick Boyland
Jay Stansfield
The average age of Fulham’s starting XI last season was the oldest in the Premier League (29 years and 28 days). They need a youthful injection.
The arrivals of Emile Smith Rowe, Ryan Sessegnon and Jorge Cuenca will help lower the squad’s age, as will the return of Jay Stansfield.
The 21-year-old striker was a rare plus point in a disappointing season for Birmingham City while on loan last year, where he scooped up every individual award. Unsurprisingly, they are desperate to keep him despite relegation. But Marco Silva has said he will be one of his three forwards this season and he will want minutes to maintain his momentum.
Stansfield is a clever, hard-working and dynamic striker who has an eye for goal and can be effective between the lines. If he is to find a pathway into the Fulham team, this season may well decide it.
Peter Rutzler
Finley Barbrook
While Kieran McKenna has forged a reputation for improving young players, this has largely been individuals signed from elsewhere as opposed to Ipswich’s own academy products. Cameron Humphreys is the only player to step up from the academy and earn regular minutes under McKenna — but he barely featured last season. How willing McKenna is to blood youngsters during Ipswich’s return to the Premier League remains to be seen.
McKenna has involved 19-year-old midfielder Finley Barbrook with the first team throughout pre-season. Barbrook, whose twin brother Harry is also on Ipswich’s books, was named under-21 captain aged just 18 and played an important role in the club’s run to the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals in 2022-23.
The energetic, hard-working defensive midfielder — an area in which Ipswich lack depth — enjoyed his first taste of senior football on loan at National League South Chelmsford City last season. He made 30 appearances as the club reached the play-offs and showed he could operate at centre-back.
Ali Rampling
Will Alves
Will Alves, 19, has long been touted as Leicester’s next breakthrough academy star and after making his debut for the first team in an FA Cup tie against Watford in January 2022, fans have been waiting to get another glimpse of him.
Alves ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in December 2022 after a bad tackle from Wolves’ Caden Voice and has since been working on his return, having scored two goals and assisted twice in his five Premier League 2 games since the injury. Despite being of Portuguese descent, Alves has represented England at under-17, under-18 and under-20 level and will be hoping to continue his international ascent this season.
It will be no surprise to see him in Steve Cooper’s squad in the Premier League this season.
Jordan Halford
Liverpool
Trey Nyoni
Trey Nyoni made it into the first-team squad last season when injuries ripped through Liverpool’s squad — and for a 16-year-old, that was quite an achievement.
There are more than just high hopes for the midfielder, now 17, who signed from Leicester City last year and has since grown in both stature and standing.
Granted, Nyoni (left in top image) is still very young. At his tender age, the rigours of Premier League football are demanding. Just look at the year Stefan Bajcetic had after he broke through as a teenager. But Nyoni has star quality.
He moves the ball well, picks up lovely central positions and is so calm and composed in possession. Add to that his desire to get forward and join in attacks and it’s no surprise to hear him talked about in such high regard. His challenge is getting ahead of senior and international players in his position.
Nyoni’s talent might become too big to turn down, though, and if it’s not this year, it’s unlikely to be much further down the line.
Gregg Evans
Manchester City
Oscar Bobb
At Manchester City, there are two definitions for what it means for a youngster to ‘break out’. Generally speaking, you have the previously unknown teenager who gets a few minutes for the club and becomes known to the fans, and then they get moved up to the next category, which is ‘everybody in the country knows their name’.
Phil Foden did that at City, while Cole Palmer only made that graduation when he moved to Chelsea. But now it seems set that Oscar Bobb, 21, will go from ‘well-known to City fans’ to ‘this kid could win young player of the year’.
The midfielder scored a last-minute winner at Newcastle in January and played enough minutes to catch the eye of City fans, so after a very promising pre-season the opportunity is there for Bobb to have a breakout campaign.
Sam Lee
Manchester United
Harry Amass
United are blessed with young players on the cusp of breaking through into the first team. The Athletic has already highlighted 20-year-old midfielder Toby Collyer as a pre-season one to watch and Amad looks to be pushing Alejandro Garnacho and Antony for consideration on the right wing.
One additional player who might make a meaningful contribution in 2024-25 is young left-back Harry Amass, who notched four assists in 22 matches for the under-18 team last season.
Amass’ technical and physical qualities mean he is adept at overlapping, underlapping and inverting from left-back into midfield.
With Tyrell Malacia still recovering from a serious knee injury and Luke Shaw ruled out for the first few weeks of the season, the 17-year-old Amass could see some game time over the coming weeks.
However, at 5ft 8in and possessing a slight build, Erik ten Hag will have to be careful about the right opposition to try the full-back against.
Carl Anka
Lewis Hall
There’s a boring answer, a slightly less boring answer, and very a boring answer.
The boring answer is Jamie Miley, which provides some sense of deja vu as The Athletic predicted in this same piece last season that his younger brother, Lewis, would break through.
Jamie, also a midfielder, is 20, two years older than Lewis. He made his full first-team debut against Hull City in pre-season, played on the tour of Japan and started in the 4-0 win against Girona. Except more to come.
The slightly less boring answer is Trevan Sanusi, who arrived from Birmingham City last summer. The 17-year-old winger caught everybody’s eye in pre-season, particularly against Girona, and will likely get opportunities to make an impression this season.
The very boring answer is Lewis Hall: the youngster tipped to break through is a £28million signing from Chelsea. That’s the Premier League for you.
Still only 19, Eddie Howe seemed sniffy about him at first but by the end of last season Hall was the starting left-back and looked like a very tidy footballer.
He made 22 appearances in 2023-24, played 967 minutes, and scored two goals against Manchester United. He also played six times for England Under-20s, just in case the senior side is looking for a left-back.
(Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Andrew Hankinson
Zach Abbott
Abbott, a defender, became the second-youngest player ever to play for Forest’s first team in August 2022 when he featured against Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup.
Abbott has represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-18 level, and has long been on the radar of other clubs, including Manchester United.
The 18-year-old is a composed defender who is strong on the ball. He played in the pre-season friendly games against Chesterfield, Sunderland and Millwall and did not look out of place.
Making the step up to the first team — particularly as Forest look to establish themselves as a regular face in the Premier League — will be a bigger challenge.
It may be that he heads out on loan for more regular first-team football in the coming weeks. But, whether his development continues at the City Ground or elsewhere, he is regarded as being a very bright prospect.
Paul Taylor
Southampton
Tyler Dibling
There are plenty of exciting young players on the cusp of Southampton’s first team, with Tyler Dibling leading the way. The 18-year-old midfielder made his first-team debut in August last year and committed his future to the club by signing a new contract in December 2023.
Dibling impressed as part of the under-18s and under-21s teams and has been part of several matchday squads under Russell Martin.
(Robin Jones/Getty Images)
His rise through the ranks caught the attention of Chelsea in 2022 and Dibling spent a brief stint away from Southampton before returning after failing to settle in their under-18 squad. More minutes is a crucial next step as he continues his development.
Mikey Moore
Moore is the most exciting young player to emerge from the Tottenham academy for a generation and he signed a three-year deal this week.
The winger earned some first-team action for Ange Postecoglou’s side at the end of last season, making two brief substitute appearances in Premier League games in May, which Postecoglou said was a “reward” for how well he had been training with the seniors.
This summer, he has played a starring role for the first team, popping up with goals and assists. You have to remind yourself that Moore has only just turned 17, which means he will need careful management this season.
In recent years, Tottenham have had gifted teenagers — Marcus Edwards, Troy Parrott — who were hyped before they were ready for first-team football. Everyone at the club will be keen that Moore progresses at his own pace.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
George Earthy
In just his second Premier League appearance, it took midfielder George Earthy just 67 seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute to score his first senior goal. The 19-year-old’s strike against Luton Town at the London Stadium in the last home game of the season was a moment he had been building towards for the last 13 years at the club’s academy.
After the game, he was given the Mark Noble Young Hammer of the Year award and David Moyes, having managed his penultimate game, praised the boyhood fan who had ticked off a lifelong dream.
Earthy, 19, is an attack-minded midfielder who has impressed at every age group for West Ham and his regular involvement on the recent pre-season tour of the U.S. bodes well ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Caoimhe O’Neill
Pedro Lima
Gary O’Neil has been careful to caution fans against expecting too much, too soon from Pedro Lima, the Brazilian right-back Wolves signed this summer from Sport Recife.
There is every chance that the 18-year-old might not even make the matchday squad at the beginning of the season if everyone is fit, with Nelson Semedo and Matt Doherty likely to start the campaign ahead of him in the full-back pecking order.
Lima is “still young and plays quite young”, said O’Neil in a recent podcast appearance. Roughly translated: he has a lot to learn about tactical and positional play and decision-making.
(Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)
But fans have already seen examples of his attacking potential in pre-season and O’Neil has spoken of the huge talent that convinced Wolves to go toe-to-toe with Chelsea for his signature and eventually win out.
So, when he does get a chance at some stage in the next year, there will be lots of excitement about what he might deliver.
Steve Madeley
(Top photos: Getty Images)
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