The brand new Premier League season is now well underway, with plenty of eye-catching football already on display.
A number of young players, whether they be transfers or academy graduates, featured in these games and to great levels of success. So, here at Football FanCast we have put together a list of youngsters to keep an eye on at every Premier League this year.
1 AFC Bournemouth – Alex Scott
Starting things off alphabetically with AFC Bournemouth and it remains to be seen how they will fare this year after Gary O’Neil was let go despite keeping the Cherries up against the odds.
The youngster in question is Guernsey-born midfielder Alex Scott, who is yet to make his debut for the club due to injury.
He arrived at the Vitality from Bristol City in the summer after excelling for the Championship club with five assists and one goal last season, and big things are expected of him in the top-flight.
2 Arsenal – Kido Taylor-Hart
It has been a bit of a theme for Arsenal youngsters who make the first-team squad to go on to big things, as can be seen with the two goal scorers from the win over Nottingham Forest recently, Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka. The latter has no cover behind him at the moment and it showed last season with Saka playing a ridiculous amount. So, enter Kido Taylor-Hart.
He is the right-winger for the very successful Arsenal U23s and so, with it looking unlikely that Mikel Arteta will sign anyone in that area, this man may be asked to step up, especially with the addition of European football this year.
3 Aston Villa- Jhon Duran
Jhon Duran arrived at Villa Park from Major League Soccer after a successful year or two with the Chicago Fire.
He is already a full Colombia international so he is hardly a hidden gem but at just 19 he has a few key seasons ahead of him in terms of development.
Duran opened his Premier League account in the 4-0 drubbing of Everton and was also on target against Scottish side Hibernian in Europa Conference League qualification, so the early signs are positive.
4 Brentford – Kevin Schade
Another slightly more recognisable name is Kevin Schade, who has been signed permanently by Brentford after impressing on his short-term loan spell from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg. It must be a fascinating time to be a Bees’ attacker given Ivan Toney’s suspension and Schade may be someone who can pick up some more minutes as a result.
Thomas Frank is, if nothing else, very good at identifying talent and developing them too so Schade could truly breakout this year.
He has already got off the mark this season in the Premier League though, so fans will be eager to see more.
5 Brighton and Hove Albion – Facundo Buonanotte
Brighton and Hove Albion are also known for their excellent scouting abilities and so anyone that arrives at the Amex has half a chance of being a future superstar.
This has been the case for Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Ben White to name just a few, so why can’t that be Facundo Buonanotte next?
He is just 18 and has already made his debut for the Argentina national team as well as surpassing 10 league appearances for the Seagulls.
6 Burnley – Luca Koleosho
A number of Vincent Kompany’s title-winning squad were not only young but relatively unknown too and so choosing a Burnley player wasn’t all that easy. Luca Koleosho doesn’t fit that mould in that he is a new arrival this summer having joined from Espanyol despite having made just six senior appearances for them.
He was born in the United States, is eligible for Canada but is currently playing U19 football for Italy so his heritage is widespread and he played out wide against Manchester City in the season opener.
With an assist and 197 minutes already under his belt in the Premier League, Burnley fans can expect to see plenty more of him.
7 Chelsea – Djordje Petrovic
One new arrival this summer was Serbian shot-stopper Djordje Petrovic, a man who only had a brief spell with the New England Revolution but quickly became the best goalkeeper that the league had to offer and even better than his predecessor at Gillette Stadium, Matt Turner.
There is no doubt that Petrovic has the potential to go to the very top and he may well push David Sanchez for minutes straight from the off at Stamford Bridge, with criticism already filtering in for the latter.
8 Crystal Palace- Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
A lot of the headlines were surrounding Crystal Palace youngsters as Michael Olise’s supposedly nailed on move to Chelsea ended with him signing a new contract at Selhurst Park. Even though Wilfried Zaha has left, the Eagles are in safe hands with Olise and Eberechi Eze.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi was also in the news with several Championship clubs keen on him and so it feels strange to be writing about him as a Palace player.
He was superb on loan with Charlton Athletic and it quickly became apparent that he was far too good for that level. The winger came off of the bench in the defeat against Arsenal and he will be hoping for more opportunities under Roy Hodgson as the season progresses.
9 Everton – Lewis Dobbin
Given the injuries that have hampered Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the last couple of years, Everton fans would do just about anything for a striker who can regularly find the back of the net. He may be more of a winger but Lewis Dobbin can certainly contribute in that department along with the likes of Arnaut Danjuma and Youssef Chermiti.
The youngster started against Wolves more recently, highlighting the trust that Sean Dyche has in the attacker. Getting playing time is the most essential factor in a young player’s growth and Dobbin will surely be turned to again and again this term.
Although, the Toffees have strengthened their attack with the signing of Beto, so his game time may get reduced.
10 Fulham – Luke Harris
Luke Harris played 3 times for a total of 10 minutes last season and he has already surpassed that this time around in a Fulham shirt.
Captain Tom Cairney was withdrawn against Manchester City with just 16 minutes on the clock and Harris was the man to replace him in midfield.
He may not have pulled up any trees but the 18-year-old Welshman certainly didn't look out of place alongside Harrison Reed and Andreas Pereira.
