The English Premier League is generally considered to be the best football league in the world and is home to some amazing soccer talent. It not only makes soccer such a great spectator sport, it’s also a firm favourite with fans who enjoy betting at online sportsbooks, using insights from sites like mightytips.com. There are various bets you can make on football matches, one of them being predicting the name of the goal scorer. The players listed below make worthy candidates.
This article, written by author Kate Richardson, reviews some of the top young players in the Premier League today, briefly summarising their talent, achievements to date, and potential.
Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United
Kobbie Mainoo is a creative midfielder who plays for Manchester United. At just 18 years old, he transitioned from an FA Youth Cup winner to playing for the England international senior team in under two years. He was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, on April 9, 2005, and joined United’s youth academy when he was 9 years old.
He made his debut for the first team against Charlton Athletic in the League Cup on January 10, 2023, and 18 days afterwards, he made his first FA Cup appearance against Reading FC. His first England cap came against Brazil on April 6, 2023. With an excellent work rate, composure on the ball, and great vision, he can play as both a defensive and attacking midfield player.
Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United
Alejandro Garnacho was born in Madrid, Spain, on July 1, 2004. In 2015, Atletico Madrid scouted him, and he joined their youth system. In October 2020, United acquired his services for £420,000. His early promise came to light when he scored an outstanding solo goal against Everton in the FA Youth Cup, a goal nominated for goal of the month in February 2022. His first senior team appearance came in April of that same year.
He is an exciting winger with excellent dribbling skills and the ability to score some superb goals, like the goal from his stunning overhead kick against Everton. At the time of writing, he has made 60 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 13 goals. With the demise of Erik Ten Hag, he may perform even better under new head coach Ruben Amorim. On the international scene, although born in Spain, he played for the Argentinian national team, for whom he has 16 caps to date and has scored 4 goals.
Rico Lewis of Manchester City
Rico Lewis joined Manchester City when he was 8 years old. He made his first appearance for the Under-18 at 15 in the 2021/22 season. He was the squad captain. He plays primarily as a defender but can also play a holding role in midfield. He has great versatility and good tactical awareness.
Lewis’s first senior team appearance under Pep Guardiola was against Sevilla in the Champions League in November 2022, when, at 17 years 346 days old, he became the youngest player to score on his Champions League debut. He played for the England national U18s team in 2021 when he scored a goal against Wales. He made his first appearance for the senior side in November 2023 and, to date, has gathered 5 caps.
Destiny Udogie of Tottenham
Destiny Udogie was born in Verona, Italy, on November 8, 2022. He began his career at Hellas Verona FC and made his debut in Serie A against AC Milan on November 8, 2020. In July 2021, he was loaned to Seria A side Udinese on a one-year loan.
He made 37 appearances for the club, scoring 5 goals before being sought out by Tottenham, who bought him in November 2022 for £17 million. He was loaned back to Udinise for the 2022-23 season, making 33 first-team appearances and scoring 3 goals. Back at Spurs for the 2023-24 season, Spurs’ manager, Ange Postecoglou, used the defender as a left wing-back.
That season, he made 30 appearances, scored 2 goals and laid on 3. He was also nominated for the Young Player of the Year award. He has also accumulated 45 caps for Italy, from the U18s through all levels up to the senior side.
Harvey Elliott of Liverpool
Harvey Elliot was born in Chertsey, England, on April 4 2003. As a youngster, he supported the Reds. He started his football career at the youth academy of Queens Park Rangers, having been rejected by Chelsea due to his slight stature. He later joined Fulham FC’s U18s squad.
In the 2019-2019 season, he broke onto the senior team, making 3 appearances, the first of which, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, made him the youngest player ever in the Premier League. He was 16 years and 30 days old. He first took the field for Liverpool against MK Dons in a League Cup fixture in September 2019.
His first Premier League appearance was at Anfield in January 2020, when he came on as a substitute in the game against Sheffield United. The attacking midfielder has appeared 75 times for the Reds, scoring 4 goals. He is likely to thrive under new head coach Arne Slot. On the international scene, Elliott has made 32 appearances for the U16s to U21s, scoring a creditable 11 goals.
Cole Palmer of Chelsea
Last season was the big breakthrough season for the now 23-year-old Palmer. But, before that, he’d been on the periphery for many years. You’ve only got to take a look at his early international career.
- 2017 (aged 15) – England U16s
- 2019 (aged 17) – England U17s and U18s
- 2021 (aged 19) – England U21s
- 2023 onwards (aged 21 to 22) England
He joined Manchester City’s academy in 2010 and progressed to captain their U18s throughout the 2019-2020 season. He made his first team debut in September 2020. But he remained very much on the sidelines, making only 19 appearances for the Citizens until his move to Stamford Bridge in 2023.
It was to prove significant and provide him with the opportunity to display his outstanding attacking skills to the fullest. He became the first Blues player (21 or under) to notch up 10 goals in one season.
In February this year, he became the Men’s Young (last season) Player of the Year and went on to become the Blues’ player with the most goals and assists in a single season aged 21 or younger, finishing the season with 27 goals and 15 assists across all competitions. He was also nominated for Premier League Player of the Season.
John Duran of Aston Villa
20-year-old John Duran, who joined Villa in January 2023, has been on blistering form this season. As a result, he has just signed a new contract which will keep him at the club until 2030. He’s become the Premier League’s “super sub,” scoring 6 goals this season, 5 of which after which he’d been brought on as a substitute. 2 of the 6 were special.
The first was a long-range strike against Everton. It not only won the Goal of the Month at the BBC but also won the Premier League’s Goal of the month too,..The second was also equally memorable. It was a superb lob over the goalkeeper which secured a historic, last-minute win for Villa against Bayern Munich. His scoring ability as a sub sees him second behind Erling Haaland in the Premier League goals-per-minute ratio stats.
Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace
Adam Wharton plays as a central midfielder for Crystal Palace. Born February 5 2004, Wharton began his career at Blackburn Rovers’ youth academy. His technical ability, understanding of the game, and ability on the ball. Wharton made his full 90-minute Premier League debut in August 2022 against Blackpool.
His impressive performance won him the Man of the Match award. Between 2022-4, he made 44 appearances for Rovers, scoring 4 goals, before moving to Selhurst Park in February this year. He has regularly been called up to the England squad during his young career and with luck, could follow in the footsteps of other Palace greats like Wilfried Zaha, and Eberechi Eze.
- 2022-3 England U19s
- 2023 – England U20s
- 2024 – England U21’s and senior squad
He made his first appearance for the senior national side as a substitute in June 2024. He was also called up to the squad that finished runners-up in the 2024 UEFA European Championship.
Ronnie Edwards of Southampton
Up to this point, all of the players I’ve selected are playing in the Premier League, but there are some very talented youngsters in the lower divisions. Take 21-year-old Ronnie Edwards. Although he was signed by Southampton in July this year, the centre-back came to notice while playing for Peterborough in League One from 2020 to 2024. As a 19-year-old, he picked up his 10 first international caps. for the U19s, and in the last two seasons has won 13 more for the U20s
Yankuba Minteh of Brighton and Hove Albion
Gambian born Yankuba Minteh is the last of the best young players in my review. He was scouted in Gambia by Newcastle United whose ranks he joined in 2023. They put him out on loan to Feyenoord where he scored 10 goals and made 6 assists in 27 appearances.
His July transfer to Brighton and Hove Albion for £30 million in July this year made an immediate impact, when in his first game for the Seagulls, he set up Kaoru Mitoma for the opening goal against Everton. He netted his first Premier League goal against Tottenham in October this year.
Closing Thoughts on the Best Youngsters in the Game Today
Whether or not you think these are the 10 best players in English football at present, the one thing that cannot be denied is that they are rising talents and are highly thought of. There are many other rising talents to keep an eye on like Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, both youngsters at Arsenal. It’s players like these who will keep Premier League matches at the top of the list when it comes to sporting entertainment.