Premier League Young Talents to Watch This Season
The Premier League is about to open its doors again, and with it comes the same old noise: title talk, transfer rows, pressure on managers. Beneath all that, something more interesting is brewing. A new wave of teenagers and early‑twentysomethings are edging toward the light, hoping to do what Max Dowman did for Arsenal last season and turn anonymity into headlines in a matter of months.
Some will stay on the fringes. One or two could reshape their clubs’ seasons.
Arsenal – A 16-year-old eyeing a grown man’s partnership
Arsenal’s back line is supposed to be locked. Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba are the bedrock of a title-chasing defence, yet into that picture steps Marli Salmon, just 16, and already playing like someone who has been there a decade.
Converted from an attacker to a centre-back, Salmon carries the calm of a No. 6 and the confidence of a winger. He reads danger early, wins his duels in the air, and isn’t shy about gliding out from the back with the ball at his feet. He can also slide across to right-back, which will help him sneak into squads.
Breaking that first-choice pairing is a brutal task, but his preseason composure has not gone unnoticed. Cup games and late Premier League cameos may be his route in. Once he’s in, it will be hard to look away.
Aston Villa – A 6-foot-3 spearhead with options
Brian Madjo’s path has already taken a few turns. Born in London, raised in Luxembourg, capped three times by their senior side before switching to England’s youth ranks, the 17-year-old centre-forward now stands on the edge of a serious role at Aston Villa.
He is a big man who plays big, but not just in the old-fashioned way. At 6-foot-3 he can act as a target, yet he runs the channels, presses hard, and stretches defences in behind. Signed from Metz for around £10 million in January, he hit four goals in preseason and even started against Bayern Munich.
Ollie Watkins will reclaim his shirt once his post-World Cup break ends. Until then, Madjo has a rare window to show he can be more than a backup plan.
Bournemouth – A towering midfielder who refuses to stand still
At Bournemouth, Malcolm Dacosta doesn’t look like a typical holding midfielder. At 6-foot-3, the Ecuador youth international fills the middle of the pitch, but he moves across it with surprising ease.
He covers ground, bites into duels, and then drives forward with the ball instead of just recycling it. There is a long shot in his locker too. Named Bournemouth’s 2025-26 Academy Player of the Year, he sat on the first-team bench several times last summer and has impressed new manager Marco Rose in recent weeks.
His confidence showed in that outrageous 10-1 preseason win over Genoa, where he joined the scorers. For a side that often needs more control and presence in midfield, Dacosta feels like a timely option.
Brentford – International experience before a Premier League bow
Benjamin Fredrick is 21, but he arrives at Brentford with a résumé that makes him look older. Fifteen top-flight games on loan at Dender in Belgium, fast-tracked into the Nigeria squad, and five World Cup qualifiers already behind him.
He is quick, aggressive, and versatile enough to play both centre-back and right-back. In either role, he is comfortable defending big spaces and strong in the air. Brentford rarely rush defenders, but this is not a kid straight from the academy. He looks ready to step in now.
Brighton – A dribbler worth a record fee
Brighton have made a habit of finding the next big thing. With Zadok Yohanna, they paid like they mean it.
The 19-year-old Nigerian left his homeland for AIK last summer, broke into the Allsvenskan, scored his first goal by March, and had a Nigeria call-up by May before a hamstring injury halted that particular rise. Then came the leap: Brighton broke the Swedish transfer record to bring him in for €25 million.
Operating mainly from the left, Yohanna explodes over the first few yards and keeps the ball glued to his feet. In some games for AIK he completed more than 10 dribbles, a number that underlines just how relentlessly he attacked full-backs. His decision-making still needs polish, but Brighton haven’t paid that fee to hide him in the stands. Autumn could come quickly for him.
Chelsea – A teenager trusted in midfield
Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli has grown up in Chelsea’s shadow, literally. Born in Sydney but raised near Cobham, he has been at the club since under-8 level and is now starting to bend records in his favour.
Last season he became Chelsea’s youngest UEFA Youth League starter and their youngest scorer in the competition. He can operate in several central roles, and what stands out is his blend of physical maturity and sharp mentality. New head coach Xabi Alonso took him on the preseason tour of Asia and went further still: Nicoll-Jazuli started alongside Moisés Caicedo in a 1-0 defeat to Juventus in Hong Kong.
At 16, he is already being trusted in serious company. That says plenty about where the club think he is heading.
Coventry City – From Right to Dream to Premier League engine room
Coventry’s record signing, Carlo Yirenkyi, comes from a production line that knows what it’s doing. The Right to Dream Academy in Ghana has already given Europe Mohammed Kudus and others; Yirenkyi looks next.
He has spent the past two seasons at Nordsjælland, the Danish club closely linked to the academy, and last year he was named the Superliga’s Young Player of the Season. His game is relentless. He runs, he tackles, he presses, and he still finds the energy to drive forward from box to box.
On the biggest stage of all, he delivered. Yirenkyi started Ghana’s World Cup opener against Panama and scored a 95th-minute winner in a 1-0 victory. Coventry then paid a club-record £23 million to bring him in this summer. For a newly promoted side, he could become the heartbeat very quickly.
Crystal Palace – A winger who already knows the big stage
Joél Drakes-Thomas has grown up at Crystal Palace, joining the club at six and learning his trade in a system that loves wide players who run at people.
Now 17, he plays mainly on the right, either as a winger or an attack-minded wing-back. He is fast, direct, and constantly looking to commit defenders, but he also tracks back and respects the dirty work. His senior debut against KuPS in the Conference League last season was outstanding, and days later he became Palace’s youngest-ever Premier League player away at Leeds.
He helped the club win the U18 Premier League Cup and signed his first professional contract in July. The pathway is laid out in front of him; he just has to keep sprinting along it.
Everton – A boyhood prodigy pushing for a step up
Braiden Graham has been breaking records since he was 15. Back then, he became Linfield’s youngest-ever player when he debuted in the Irish top flight in March 2023. Now, at 18 and at Everton, he is trying to turn youth promise into senior minutes in England.
He is a flexible forward who can drift in from the left or play centrally. Mobile, nimble, and with a sharp eye for goal, he scored 21 times at youth level last season, a haul that brought a first senior call-up for Northern Ireland. He has trained with the Everton first team throughout preseason.
For a club that often turns to its academy in difficult moments, Graham looks well placed to make the jump.
Fulham – A midfielder rebuilding after a brutal first impression
César Palacios’ first taste of senior football was cruel. Seven minutes into his Real Madrid debut, a 2024 preseason friendly against AC Milan, he tore his ACL. The dream paused right there.
He responded the only way a serious player can. Back with Castilla, Madrid’s B team, he scored 14 goals from central midfield last season, timing his late runs into the box with real precision. Fulham saw enough to spend €10 million on him this summer and, crucially, to reunite him with Álvaro Arbeloa, his former Castilla coach and now the man in charge at Craven Cottage.
Palacios knows how to arrive in the box at exactly the right moment. In the Premier League, that knack can be priceless.
Hull City – A Busquets disciple with an eye for goal
Jens Hjertø-Dahl grew up watching Sergio Busquets, then built his own game on top of that template. At 6-foot-4, the Norwegian has the frame of a centre-back, but the brain of a deep-lying playmaker and the instincts of an attacking midfielder.
He often drops deep to receive the ball, staying calm in possession and knitting moves together, yet he also surges forward and makes late runs into the penalty area. That is where he separates himself from his idol. Busquets scored 19 times in more than 700 games; Hjertø-Dahl hit seven league goals in just 14 matches for Tromsø last season.
Hull City paid around €9.3 million for him this summer. They still have to decide his best role, but the key is obvious: keep him on the ball in the final third and let him dictate.
Ipswich Town – A record signing with something to prove
Sindre Walle Egeli arrived at Ipswich last summer with a price tag that turned heads: £17.5 million, a Championship record. The Norwegian right winger’s left foot is the main reason why.
He loves to cut inside and whip curling shots towards the far corner, or send in-swinging crosses and threaded passes through tight gaps. His first season in England, though, was quiet. Four goals in the Championship is respectable, not spectacular.
Now he gets a second act, this time in the Premier League. The stage is bigger, the defenders sharper, but the platform is perfect for a breakout if he can sharpen his end product.
Leeds United – Another Cresswell stepping up
Leeds know the Cresswell name well. Richard Cresswell led their line between 2005 and 2007. Charlie Cresswell came through as a centre-back before moving to Ligue 1 in 2024. Now it is Alfie’s turn.
At 19, Alfie Cresswell has converted from centre-back to defensive midfielder. That background shows. He duels aggressively, holds his position, and reads danger like someone who has lived on the last line of defence. His passing has improved as he has moved forward, giving him a more rounded profile.
His biggest problem is not talent but timing. Daniel Farke leaned heavily on senior players to keep Leeds up last season. Whether he opens the door to more academy graduates this time will define Cresswell’s immediate future.
Liverpool – A midfielder forcing the manager’s hand
Trey Nyoni has been waiting for Liverpool to truly look his way. Signed from Leicester City at 16, he has hovered on the fringes at Anfield, making six Premier League appearances last season without ever quite breaking through.
This summer, he changed the conversation. On the club’s preseason tour of the United States, the 19-year-old was arguably Liverpool’s standout performer. He dictated tempo, sprayed passes with range and accuracy, and looked tactically at ease in a variety of shapes. Those displays came while Alexis Mac Allister was still on a post-World Cup break.
Some supporters have already started calling for Nyoni to line up next to Ryan Gravenberch when the real games start. He has done his part. Now it is up to Andoni Iraola.
Manchester City – A record-breaking dribbler joins the champions
Jeremy Monga arrives at Manchester City with records already behind him. Two years ago, at 16 years and 34 days, he became Leicester’s youngest-ever starter, taking a 59-year-old mark from Peter Shilton. Days later, he overtook Jude Bellingham as the Championship’s youngest goalscorer.
He has been terrorising right-backs ever since. Mostly operating from the left, Monga constantly drives at his marker, looking to beat his man rather than play safe. No player in the Championship attempted more take-ons last season than his 6.5 per 90 minutes.
City paid £10 million to bring him into a squad stacked with attacking talent. The jump is huge, but his fearlessness in one-on-one situations is exactly what made him impossible to ignore.
Manchester United – A 15-year-old chasing a 70-year-old record
Even by Manchester United’s standards, J.J. Gabriel’s numbers at youth level are outrageous. Twenty-three goals in 23 U18 Premier League games, usually against players up to three years older, and the league’s first-ever U18 Player of the Season award to show for it.
He also became the youngest winner of the Jimmy Murphy award, given to United’s best youth player. At 15, that is no small feat. On the pitch, he can play wide or as a false No. 9, combining electric acceleration, agility and balance with a ruthless eye for goal.
Whether he debuts this season is still an open question. If he does so before Oct. 25, he will erase a club record that has stood since 1956, when David Gaskell played in the Charity Shield at 16 years and 19 days. The clock is ticking, and everyone at Old Trafford knows it.
Newcastle United – Ajax schooling for a rebuilt midfield
Newcastle’s midfield has been ripped apart. Sandro Tonali has gone to Tottenham, Bruno Guimarães to Arsenal, and the engine room needs rebuilding on the fly. Into that gap steps Sean Steur.
Signed from Ajax in a deal worth up to €27 million, the 18-year-old made 26 appearances for the Dutch club last season. He is two-footed, able to play as a holding midfielder or a more advanced pivot, with a velvet first touch and crisp passing range. Off the ball, his positioning still needs work, but his preseason in black and white has been eye-catching.
New manager Matthias Jaissle may not have the luxury of easing him in. Steur looks ready to start; Newcastle may need him to.
Nottingham Forest – A defender built for a back three
Zach Abbott has already felt the heat of a major occasion. His biggest game so far came when he started Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup semifinal against Manchester City in April 2025. Last season he added three Premier League appearances and some Europa League minutes.
He is a composed centre-back with the physical tools to cope at this level. He reads danger, steps out confidently with the ball, and doesn’t panic under pressure. New boss Oliver Glasner is known for preferring a back three, a shape that often gives young defenders an extra layer of protection and clear passing lanes.
For Abbott, that tactical shift could be the opening he needs to become a regular.
Sunderland – A loanee who earned his stay
Timur Tutierov’s Sunderland career took a while to get going. Signed from Kolos Kovalivka in 2023, he had to wait until a loan spell at Exeter City last season to get proper senior minutes. Seventeen games, three goals, and a clearer sense of what he can do.
He is a flexible attacker, comfortable across the front line, but he comes alive when driving directly at defenders or sprinting in behind. This summer he looked like a candidate to leave again.
Then came preseason. Goals against York City and Liverpool changed the mood, and Sunderland responded by handing him a new contract until 2028. The club have shown their faith; now it is on Tutierov to repay it in the Premier League.
The names are young, the stories still half-written. Somewhere in this group is the next breakout star, the next teenager to turn a quiet August into a season that nobody saw coming.
