YOUNGSTERS/ PLAYERS TO WATCH IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE- 20 years old and below.

Curtis Jones: Central Midfielder/ Liverpool No.17/ 19 years old/ England

Graduating from playing in the U23 to playing in the star-packed Liverpool first team who have had 3 monumental seasons (2017/2018–2019/2020) is no mean feat. The Liverpool academy product has been patient under Klopp featuring heavily only in pre-season games for both 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons. Jones had his debut in the FA Cup game against Wolves in January 2019. He scored his debut goal in 1–0 the FA Cup Merseyside derby in January 2020.

Jones, who won the Premier League 2 player of the season and FA Cup goal of the season for the 2019/2020 season, has scored 3 goals and 2 assists in 21 appearances (15 starts) in all competitions in the 2020/2021 season showing that he has a ravenous eye for goal. The center midfielder’s game is a mixture of flair and aggression and everything you should expect from a good central midfielder. With injuries to regular first team players, Jones is beginning to get more game time.

Callum Hudson-Odoi: Winger/ Chelsea №11/ 20 years old/ England

A special talent from the Chelsea academy. He was part of the team that won the U18 Premier League 2016/2017. He debuted for Chelsea in January 2018 in an FA Cup match against Newcastle. He scored his first goal for the senior team in November 2018 in a Europa League game against PAOK. He scored 5 goals and 5 assists in 24 appearances (12 starts) in all competitions in 2018/2019, 3 goals and 6 assists in 33 appearances (13 starts) in all competitions in 2019/2020. He is currently on 5 goals and 3 assists in 20 appearances (10 starts) in all competitions 2020/2021.

He is right footed but he can play either on the right wing where he can take on defenders and cross or on the left to cut in and take a shot to goal. He is the youngest player to debut in a competitive match for England (Euros 2020 qualifier against Czech Republic in March 2019). He won the U17 World Cup 2017 with England. He also won the Chelsea Young Player of the year 2018/2019.

He has been the subject of multiple transfer bids most notably from German giants, Bayern Munich.

Illan Meslier: Goal Keeper/ Leeds United №1/ 20 years old/ France

Leeds United may play a very energetic and attacking football but they concede a lot of goals- 36 goals conceded in 20 Premier League games in the 2020/2021 season (joint second worst with Crystal palace and only West Bromwich Albion have concede more -48). Despite this, Illan Meslier has managed 78 saves and 6 clean sheets in 19 matches while conceding 35 goals.

In the 2019/2020 run in the Sky Bet Championship, the France U21’s goal keeper was second choice goal keeper and only made 10 appearances; keeping 7 clean sheets and only conceding 5 goals as the Whites were crowned champions and won promotion to the Premier League.

Smith Rowe: Attacking Midfielder/ Arsenal №32/ 20 years old/ England

In July 2018, Arsenals head coach Unai Emery testified that Smith Rowe has a lot of potential and that statement could not be faulted then, can not be faulted now and will not be faulted in for years to come. Smith Rowe had his senior team debut in September 2018 in a Europa League game against Vorskla Poltava and scored his debut goal in the next Europa league game against Qarabag. The 2017 U17 world cup winner has been loaned to RB Leipzig and Huddersfield in 2019 and 2020 respectively. He has been affected a lot by injuries and this is a strong reason why he has not had plenty game time. He also won the FA Cup 2019/2020 and community shield 2020/2021 with Arsenal.

He has been a key player for Arsenal this season so far playing in the number 10 role in the 4–2–3–1 formation most notably in their victory over Chelsea to end a poor run of form in the Premier League. He has scored 2 goals and 5 assists in 10 apps 6 starts in 2020/2021. He got his first Premier League start this season in . He is creative and has a ravenous eye for goal. During games, he likes to slightly drift to the right wing. He is dubbed as the Croydan De Bruyne and recently said that he models how Bruno Fernandes plays.

Wesley Fofana: Central Defender/ Leicester №3/ 20 years old/ France

Signed from French side Saint Etienne to Leicester in October 2020, he plays the right center back position both in the back 3 and back 4.

Fofana has the highest interceptions (41), blocks (12) and clearances (70) for Leicester in the Premier League in 16 appearances (16 starts). He has won 53 aerial duels (Second highest for Leicester) and 27 tackles too. His performances so far show that he is a good signing for Leicester and will foster healthy competitiveness among the central defenders. His disciplinary record shows that he needs a bit of caution. He has 6 yellow cards for Leicester City in all competitions so far.

Mason Greenwood: Attacker/ Manchester United №11/ 19 years old/ England

He made his debut when he was just 17 years old in the 3–1 comeback against PSG in March, 2019 coming in as an 87th minute substitute for Ashley Young. He scored his first goal for United after 9 appearances in the 1–0 win over Astana in the Europa League in September 2019 and since then the 19 year old has continued to shine. He has scored 4 goals and 3 assists in 23 appearances (14 starts) in all competitions 2020/2021. In the 2019/2020 season, He scored 17 goals and 3 assists in 49 appearances (26 starts). He is a home grown talent. He scored 18 goals, 4 assists for United’s U18 the season before he was called to the men’s team.

A major feature is that he is good with both foot which makes it hard for opposition defenders and goal keepers to predict his movement. His pace and fine finishing in front of goal is well suited for Man United’s counter attacking style under Solskjaer. He mostly plays in the right wing despite playing as a center forward in the academy.

Pedro Neto: Winger/ Wolverhampton Wanderers №7/ 20 years old/ Portugal

He showed potential after scoring 6 goals and 4 assists in 44 appearances (17 starts) in 2019/2020. Generally the whole team has struggled this season but he has managed 4 goals and 3 assists in 24 appearances (21 starts) in all competitions in 2020/2021 season.

His speed and dribbling makes him very lethal on counter attack. There is more to his game than that. The Portuguese also actively involves himself in the attack and currently has the highest key passes for Wolves in the Premier League this season (38). The next after him is Traore (27). He also has set piece duties. His preferred position is playing as a left winger even though he is left footed. He has also played in the left wing back position.

Bukayo Saka: Midfielder/ Arsenal №7/ 19 years old/ England

He made his debut for Arsenal in November 2018. He scored his debut goal (with two assists) in their 3–0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League in September 2019 and since that wonderful performance Saka has continued to flourish. The Arsenal academy product began to establish himself in the first team playing the left back position to fill in for the first team players with injuries. He is a wonderful beautiful player and his versatility stands out. He has played in left wing Back, left winger, right winger and central midfielder depending on what formation Arteta deploys (3–4–3 and 4–2–3–1).

He is no doubt an attacking threat and was very vital for Arsenal as they won the FA Cup 2019/2020 and community shield 2020/2021. He scored 4 goals and 12 assists in 38 appearances (29 starts) for 2019/2020. He has scored 5 goals and 4 assists in 25 appearances (21 starts) for 2020/2021. His speed and technicality makes it difficult for opposition players to mark him. With the ball to his feet, he can dribble them away. Without the ball he makes runs to exploit the space behind the defenders.

Philip Foden: Midfielder/Manchester city №47/ 20 years old/ England

Whether he is playing in the right or left wing or center midfield, Phil Foden is a sensational English talent is very versatile.The 2017 U17 World Cup Golden Ball prize winner made his debut for Man City in the Champions League game against Feyenoord FC in November 2017. He scored his debut goal in the Carabao Cup against Oxford United in September 2018.

Since then, Foden has grown from strength to strength. He scored 6 goals and 2 assists in 25 appearances (10 starts) in all competitions in 2018/2019 and went on to score 8 goals and 9 assists in 28 appearances (18 starts) in all competitions in 2019/2020. He is currently on 9 goals 5 assists in 26 appearances (19 starts) so far in all competitions in 2020/2021.

· Notable mentions:

Gabriel Martinelli: Attacker/ Arsenal № 35/ 19 years old / Brazil

Conor Gallagher: Midfielder/ West Brom № 18/ 20 years old/ England