The broadcasting revenues have enabled Premier League teams to attract foreign youngsters to ply their trades in one of the toughest leagues in the world. English youngsters too, for that matter, have benefitted from the improved infrastructure that comes in with the added benefit of the financial structure compared to other leagues. This list contains players aged 21 or below.
Let’s take a look at who sits where.
#10 Michael Obafemi
Value – £3.15 million
Age – 20 (6 July 2000)
Club – Southampton
Michael Obafemi is a Republic of Ireland international playing for Premier League club Southampton. Having joined the Saints youth academy in 2016, Obafemi made the first-team squad in 2018. In the 2020/21 season, he has been restricted to only two league appearances due to Danny Ings and Che Adams being ahead of him in the pecking order.
#9 Amad Diallo
Value – £13.5 million
Age – 18 (11 July 2002)
Club – Manchester United
Amad Diallo is an Ivorian player who joined Manchester United last winter transfer window for a fee of around £19 million from Serie A club Atalanta. Touted as the next big thing by Italian media, Diallo has mostly been involved with the United’s U23 side since joining. His most notable contribution so far has been in the Europa League Round of 16 tie against AC Milan, where he scored an instinctive header to bring Manchester United back into the game.
#8 Dwight McNeil
Value – £19.8 million
Age – 21 (22 November 1999)
Club – Burnley
Dwight McNeil has been an integral part of Sean Dyche’s Burnley side for a few years now. In a one-dimensional and static system, McNeil is the major creative spark down the left flank. With his ability to dribble at pace and a strong left foot, the former Manchester United youth product has the ability to deliver deadly crosses inside the box. In his 32 appearances this season, he has managed to score two and set up another five goals for his teammates.
#7 Gabriel Martinelli
Value – £19.8 million
Age – 19 (18 June 2001)
Club – Arsenal
Since joining in the summer of 2019 from then Brazilian fourth-tier club Ituano for a fee around £6 million, Gabriel Martinelli has been a revelation in this Arsenal side. In his first full season, he became the first Arsenal teenager since Nicolas Anelka to score 10 or more goals in a season. Due to an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury, he has spent the best of eight months on the sidelines this season, only recently returning to full fitness.
#6 Fábio Silva
Value – £22.5 million
Age – 18 (19 July 2002)
Club – Wolverhampton Wanderers
In September 2020, Fábio Silva joined Wolverhampton Wanderers for a club-record fee of around £36 million. The 18-year-old has been touted as the next big thing from Portugal after the emergence of the likes of João Félix, Nélson Semedo and many others. Silva made his debut for Wolves in an EFL Cup defeat to Stoke City. In his 28 appearances for the West Midlands outfit, he has bagged six goals and a single assist.
#5 Pedro Neto
Value – £31.5 million
Age – 21 (9 March 2000)
Club – Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Pedro Neto is a Portuguese footballer who joined Wolves in the summer of 2019. Since joining from Serie A club Lazio, Neto has developed into a player of immense quality. Apart from driving straight into the heart of any defence, the Portuguese youngster has a great cross in his locker. He averages 4.2 dribbles, 2.1 key passes and wins 1.7 fouls per game for this team. In his 35 matches this season, Neto has managed to score 5 goals and provide 5 assists, in what has been a dismal season for Wolves.
#4 Callum Hudson-Odoi
Value – £31.5 million
Age – 20 (7 Nov 2000)
Club – Chelsea
Callum Hudson-Odoi broke into the Chelsea setup in the summer of 2019. Under Maurizio Sarri, Hudson-Odoi was predominantly used as a left-winger or as a No. 10. When Thomas Tuchel arrived in January 2021, he made it clear that to play in his system, one has to be versatile and fluid. In these last four months, Callum has been used as a right-wingback to provide balance to his system. In his 34 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, the 20-year-old has scored five and assisted another five to take his goal contribution to double digits for the season.
#3 Ferran Torres
Value – £45 million
Age – 21 (29 Feb 2000)
Club – Manchester City
With the team performing so well on all fronts, Ferran Torres’ inclusion in the Manchester City team has gone under the radar. Brought in as a long-term replacement for Riyad Mahrez at the right flank, Torres has had to be content with his limited game time for this star-studded Manchester City team. In his 32 appearances in all competitions, half of which were as a substitute, the ex-Valencia man has scored 10 goals and laid down three assists.
#2 Mason Greenwood
Value – £45 million
Age – 19 (1 Oct 2001)
Club – Manchester United
Mason Greenwood broke into United’s first team under the tutelage of current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær. With a troublesome right-winger slot and no immediate solutions, Greenwood was entrusted with this new role and wreaked havoc during Project Restart where he scored in almost every game he played. Mason Greenwood became the first Manchester United teenager since Wayne Rooney to score 15 goals in a season. This year though, due to his two-footedness, Solskjær has at times pushed him up front to lead the line as well. In his 46 appearances this season, the 19-year-old has managed to score 10 goals and add 6 assists to build on his last year’s exploits.
#1 Bukayo Saka
Value – £54 million
Age – 19 (5 Sept 2001)
Club – Arsenal
Bukayo Saka has been the focal point of anything good coming out of Arsenal for the last 18 months. Since breaking into the first team as a seventeen-year-old kid under previous manager Unai Emery in the 2018/19 season, Saka’s overall play and maturity has grown far beyond his age. In a disjointed squad, he played as a left-back, right-back, central midfielder, right-winger, left-winger, and as a No. 10. The most fascinating aspect is his ability to produce performances from any position he plays at. With impeccable service and an eye for a pass, Saka contributed four goals and eleven assists to his team’s cause last season.
With many pundits and experts doubting his ability to produce consistently, Saka has taken his game to another level. In the 41 matches he has played this season, the 19-year-old completed 3 successful dribbles and 1.7 key passes every 90 minutes. His seven goals and nine assists is a testament to the good work being done at Hale End.
Written By
Rahul Saha
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