Even though it’s been just two games, the 2025/26 Premier League campaign is already giving us the impression that this is going to be a season written by the young stars of the league.
And I’m not just talking about players who are indeed young but are already established Premier League superstars like Erling Haaland, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Martin Odegaard, and now Florian Wirtz.
No, I’m talking about players who haven’t even turned 21 years old yet or are just teenagers, already scoring decisive goals and shining for some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.
So with the 2025/26 Premier League campaign now fully under way, let’s preview the youngsters who could have a big say on the final table, ranking the top 10 U21 players in English football right now.
10. Arsenal LB Myles Lewis-Skelly
We begin with the scrappy Myles Lewis-Skelly who won his fair share of admirers within the fanbase and his fair share of haters outside of it, and that means he’s doing something right.
Lewis-Skelly is raw and not the most technical player, but he is a determined one-on-one defender and a solid progressor of the ball who is rapidly becoming a fixture at the left back position for an Arsenal side that needed one.
9. Manchester City RB Rico Lewis
On the flip side, Rico Lewis has made the right back position his home, and his emergence as a solid Premier League starter helped make it easier for Manchester City to ship club legend Kyle Walker out to AC Milan; he’s since returned to the Premier League to play for, ahem, Burnley.
Lewis has been tabbed for greatness by Pep Guardiola for years and is the latest academy success written by Manchester City. The 20-year-old fullback already had three tackles, three interceptions, and two key passes this season for the Citizens.
8. Arsenal AM Max Dowman
Just 15 years of age, Max Dowman is already a senior player for Arsenal and impressed in a 30-minute cameo appearance off the bench in the Gunners 5-0 blowout of Leeds United this past weekend.
It isn’t going to be easy for Dowman to keep getting minutes with Eberechi Eze joining on as an attacking midfielder, however, another injury to captain Martin Odegaard is a reminder that there will be chances for Dowman to step into this role for Mikel Arteta’s side.
In this case, Odegaard’s injury doesn’t appear to be serious, but Dowman still did get his chance to shine in the Premier League, and there is no question that he and Ethan Nwaneri are going to be the future for Arsenal.
7. Liverpool LW Rio Ngumoha
What a way to make your first mark on the Premier League. Although everyone has been hyped about record-breaking Liverpool signing Florian Wirtz, true Kopites have been exciting about Rio Ngumoha’s impending call-up to the senior side for longer than anyone was aware that the German international would be coming to Anfield.
Ngumoha stepped up and won the game for Liverpool, helping the Reds secure a 3-2 win over Newcastle with a late winner to push the Premier League champions over the line against another top-five side.
The 16-year-old sensation showed his composure and technical quality with a very well-taken winner for the Reds, and that goal is a microcosm of the skill and maturity that Ngumoha brings to this team.
Already at his age, Ngumoha is going to be an important role player for a Liverpool side that is open to rotation and open to anyone starting if they prove to Arne Slot that they are the best option.
6. Manchester United CB Leny Yoro
So far, it hasn’t been easy sailing for Leny Yoro in the Premier League, as the center back went from being one of the best in his position while at Lille in Ligue 1 to being arguably below the line of an average Premier League starter since joining a rather malfunctioning Manchester United outfit.
Last season, the Red Devils were nowhere near the top half of the table, and Yoro suffered accordingly behind a makeshift midfield that really hasn’t gotten any better under the tutelage of Ruben Amorim.
Yoro is still a teenager, and there’s no denying that he was a special talent in Lille. But if he wants to crack the top five, he’s going to have to be a lot more consistent and more willing to seize games by the bull’s horns.
5. Newcastle LB Lewis Hall
Lewis Hall was one of a few revelations for Newcastle during the 2024/25 Premier League season, as the Magpies managed to squeeze into fifth place and return to the Champions League.
One of the best left backs in English football today, Hall is a borderline elite progressor of the football who uses his speed well and never seems to tire, bombing up the pitch to support a Newcastle attack that can certainly use extra numbers.
Last season, the 20-year-old wide man registered four assists and 1.3 key passes per game for the Toon, and it’s not far-fetched to think that his growth will accelerate and enable him to double those numbers, even if Newcastle lose Alexander Isak before the window closes.
4. Chelsea LB Jorrel Hato
There are quite a few new young stars in the Premier League, and while Andrey Santos just turned 21 to knock himself off the U21 list, Chelsea still have two players in the top 10 after snagging Jorrel Hato from Ajax.
Highly touted around European football as arguably the best young defender to sign on the summer transfer market, Hato proved his quality and versatility in Amsterdam as a center back and left back at Ajax.
Hato averaged 2.6 combined tackles and interceptions per game for Ajax with just 0.3 dribbles per game allowed in the Eredivisie last season, entrenching himself as, already, one of the best one-on-one defenders in the world out wide.
Chelsea will greatly benefit from Hato’s ability to start as a left or center back, and it’s easy to see why Arsenal also wanted him badly and why Chelsea were willing to spend nearly 40 million pounds on the teenage talent.
3. Arsenal RW Ethan Nwaneri
The left-footed Ethan Nwaneri is also highly versatile, and he could get minutes in two or three different positions for Arsenal this season. But even after the signing of Noni Madueke, you’d still back the most exciting young talent at Arsenal to get his share of minutes in relief of Bukayo Saka on the right wing.
Saka has been begging for some quality backup, and Nwaneri is another option who is already capable of shining at the Premier League level, having teased his talents with four goals and two assists in the Premier League, three goals in the League Cup, and two goals in the Champions League last season.
Those are strong numbers and highlight Nwaneri’s technical ability and goal-scoring instincts. He is a major player already, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Nwaneri got 1,500-2,000 minutes this season as one of the league’s true breakout stars.
2. Tottenham CM Lucas Bergvall
Tottenham center midfielder Lucas Bergvall is already vital to the Tottenham cause and had his breakout last season, emerging to play a crucial role in Spurs marching to a historic Europa League title.
The Swedish international is a tireless runner, a willing defender, and classy on the ball. Still a U21 talent, Bergvall joined Tottenham after choosing them over Barcelona, and it proved to be a smart move since he’s been able to be a true fixture in the Spurs midfield.
Bergvall isn’t going anywhere as a starter in Thomas Frank’s lineup, and the spark he provides with the ball at his feet has real matchwinning quality. Nobody else in the Tottenham midfield is an X-Factor like him as a dribbler, and you can see why Real Madrid are already flirting with him.
1. Chelsea RW Estevao Willian
Chelsea right winger Estevao Willian has stood out at several tournaments in his young career, and the ex-Palmeiras prospect already looks like a much more complete and dangerous player than former teammate Endrick, who can scarcely get a start for Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, Willian is an important player to Chelsea and should end up being their main starter on the right wing by the end of the season, because his ability to take defenders on and create chances for teammates – or himself – out of sheer nothingness is the kind of quality you just can’t teach.
Willian needed mere minutes to bag his first career Premier League assist, and there will be plenty more of those to come for the fleet-footed Brazilian in the 2025/26 season.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2011. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has contributed to sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. Joe’s work has appeared in ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling, respectively.