One Rising Star for Every Premier League Club

The Premier League never really stands still. Big names move on, managers come and go, and in the background a new generation quietly sharpens its teeth. Some are already brushing the first team. Others are still locked in academy games on empty pitches. All of them are close.

Here is one young player from each club who could change the conversation this season.

Arsenal: Marli Salmon – the fearless defender

Arsenal have been excited about Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly for a while, but Marli Salmon has barged into the picture with a defender’s timing. At 16 years and 102 days, he became the club’s fourth-youngest player when he stepped off the bench against Club Brugge in the Champions League last December. No nerves, just clean interventions.

He split his time between the first team and Premier League 2 last season, making four senior appearances and 14 for the Under-21s. The numbers hint at why Mikel Arteta likes him: Salmon won 71.8% of his duels in PL2 (56 of 78). Among defenders with at least 50 duels, only two bettered that success rate.

Comfortable at right-back or centre-back, he has already signed a pre-agreement to commit his future to the club when he turns 17 later this month. Arsenal have been ruthless in trimming their squad, but Salmon looks like one of the youngsters they will make room for.

Aston Villa: Brian Madjo – Haaland echoes in claret and blue

Aston Villa paid around £10.5m to take Brian Madjo from Metz in January, then had to park him. Registration rules meant he could only watch as Unai Emery’s side surged. That wait is over now, and the 17-year-old centre-forward has wasted no time making an impression.

He is huge. He moves like a sprinter. The combination of power and movement has already drawn comparisons with Erling Haaland. Those are heavy words for a teenager, but his pre-season has backed up the hype: four goals in friendlies and a constant menace in the box.

Pre-season goals don’t count in May, but they do tell you something. Madjo is getting into the right areas and finishing. For a team juggling European football and domestic expectations, that matters.

Bournemouth: Veljko Milosavljevic – the vacancy in the middle

Marcos Senesi’s departure has left a gap at the heart of Bournemouth’s defence. Veljko Milosavljevic is pushing hard to fill it. Signed from Red Star Belgrade last summer, he only made seven appearances in all competitions, but the 19-year-old has already shown a taste for responsibility.

On his Premier League debut in September, he made more clearances than any other Bournemouth player. A month later, he was making his full international debut for Serbia. That is not a normal route for a teenager still learning the league.

Marco Rose may still crave more experience at centre-back, particularly with a young back line around him, but Milosavljevic is well placed. The opportunity is there. Now he has to take it.

Brentford: Antoni Milambo – comeback route through midfield

Antoni Milambo arrived from Feyenoord for around £21m and looked ready to accelerate straight into Brentford’s midfield. Then his knee went. An ACL injury on international duty in October ended his season before it had really started.

He has history with early breakthroughs. Milambo became Feyenoord’s youngest-ever player in 2021, debuting at 16, but it was the 2024-25 campaign that really showed his range: a box-to-box midfielder, technically sharp, driving forward and contributing in the final third. No player under 21 in the Eredivisie bettered his 14 goal involvements in all competitions that season.

Now he’s fit again and targeting a place in Keith Andrews’ plans. Brentford’s midfield is already useful. Milambo has the tools to give it a new gear.

Brighton: Zadok Yohanna – chaos on the right flank

Brighton have built a reputation on spotting talent before everyone else, and Zadok Yohanna fits that profile perfectly. Just 13 league games for AIK were enough to convince them to spend around £21.5m – a record sale for Swedish football.

The 19-year-old Nigerian is raw, but electric. A left-footed winger who plays from the right, Yohanna was attempting more dribbles per 90 than any other player in the Allsvenskan before his move was sealed in June. He led the league for take-ons driving into the box (six), take-ons in the box (15) and joint-most take-ons followed by a shot (three), despite playing far fewer minutes than many rivals.

His end product still needs polishing. Brighton know that. What they also know is that he will get people out of their seats – and that is often the first step to everything else.

Chelsea: Reggie Watson – the anchor of the future

Chelsea’s academy rarely stops. The challenge is working out which talents actually make it through the crush. Reggie Watson is one the club have fought to keep, especially after losing Rio Ngumoha to Liverpool.

Only 16, Watson is a towering defensive midfielder who already looks like a grown-up in the centre of the pitch. He covers ground, uses his body well, and keeps the ball moving with a calmness that belies his age. The comparisons with Rodri are tentative but understandable.

Xabi Alonso has said he is “really impressed” with Watson’s impact in pre-season, and Chelsea’s midfield picture is far from settled. With Roméo Lavia and Dário Essugo battling fitness issues, there is a clear lane for a teenager who plays with this much personality.

Coventry City: Kai Andrews – a decision to make

Coventry’s first priority is survival. That usually squeezes the space for young players, but Kai Andrews has pushed himself into the conversation. The 19-year-old midfielder made 10 appearances last season before heading to Hibernian on loan.

Scotland didn’t quite work out, yet he finished the campaign on a high with Wales. Handed his first start in a friendly against Romania, Andrews looked at home, making nine passes in the final third – the third most of any player on the pitch – and winning two fouls.

Now comes the key call. Stay at Coventry and fight for minutes under Frank Lampard, or head out again on loan for guaranteed game time? Either way, his next step will define the pace of his rise.

Crystal Palace: Joél Drakes-Thomas – the Selhurst spark

Crystal Palace have a new manager in Pierre Sage and a fanbase desperate for a fresh storyline. Joél Drakes-Thomas could be central to it. He became the club’s youngest Premier League player last season and already has European experience.

His debut came in the Conference League at just 16, against KuPS. He didn’t hide. Seven crosses – more than any other player on the pitch – and two chances created, joint-most in the game. It was the performance of a winger who wants the ball and wants responsibility.

Sage’s arrival signals a new era at Selhurst Park. Drakes-Thomas has the talent and the temperament to become one of its defining faces.

Everton: Tyrique George – room on the wing

Tyrique George showed flashes at Chelsea but needed time to settle after joining Everton on loan in February. One start under David Moyes told its own story. He was learning the system, the expectations, the league.

Now he has a full pre-season behind him and a clearer path ahead. Quick, direct and eager to run at full-backs, the 20-year-old has started three of Everton’s four friendlies, helped by Iliman Ndiaye’s absence amid interest from abroad.

Jack Grealish has returned to Manchester City after his loan, Dwight McNeil has slipped down the pecking order, and the wide roles are open for a new name. George is well placed to grab one.

Fulham: Farhaan Ali-Wahid – numbers that demand a chance

Fulham’s Under-21s already know what Farhaan Ali-Wahid can do. The first team may find out soon. The 19-year-old left winger signed his first professional deal last summer and responded with 10 goals and seven assists in PL2.

Only Chelsea’s Shumaira Mheuka (19) and Liverpool’s Kieran Morrison (18) produced more goal involvements than Ali-Wahid’s 17 in the competition. Just 10 players created more chances from open play than his 26. Those are not empty numbers; they show a player who both finishes and supplies.

He was nominated for PL2 Player of the Season and new Fulham head coach Álvaro Arbeloa has already involved him in pre-season. A debut feels close.

Hull City: Charlie Hughes – the blocker in the storm

Hull City know what’s coming. Promotion brings glamour and pain in equal measure, and a newly promoted side can spend long spells defending their own box. In Charlie Hughes, they have a centre-back built for that reality.

The 22-year-old started 36 Championship games last season and played every minute of Hull’s successful playoff campaign. He throws himself into danger with a defender’s instinct: 1.54 blocks per 90 minutes, the highest rate of any regular Championship player, and 7.62 clearances per 90, more than any Hull teammate with over 1,000 minutes.

Hull may suffer this season. Hughes, though, has the profile to shine under pressure.

Ipswich Town: Tudor Mendel-Idowu – brains and end product

Tudor Mendel-Idowu’s story stands out even in a league full of prodigies. The winger spent most of his youth development at Chelsea, then a year at Anderlecht, and now finds himself at Ipswich Town, still waiting for a first-team debut.

Off the pitch, he once appeared on the TV show Child Genius at the age of eight and later became a King’s Scholar at Eton College. On the pitch, his numbers for Ipswich’s Under-21s last season were just as striking: 15 goal involvements in 17 PL2 games (nine goals, six assists). Only three players bettered that total in the league.

He also created 33 chances from open play – again, only three players managed more – and won possession in the final third 21 times, beaten by just two others. Intelligent, industrious and dangerous, Mendel-Idowu looks ready for a higher level of complexity.

Leeds United: Jayden Lienou – breaking through the glass ceiling

Under Daniel Farke last season, youth opportunities were scarce. The youngest player to feature for Leeds was 21-year-old Argentina international Facundo Buonanotte, and even he barely played. Jayden Lienou is trying to change that pattern.

The 18-year-old defender started all but one of Leeds’ PL2 matches, winning possession 5.4 times per 90 minutes – the second-highest figure in the side. He then became the only youth-team player to appear in each of Leeds’ first three pre-season games.

Craig Bellamy liked what he saw too, calling Lienou into the senior Wales squad in June. That kind of endorsement, from both club and country, tends to move you up the queue.

Liverpool: Trey Nyoni – vertical passes, vertical rise

A new manager means new eyes on old talent. Trey Nyoni has seized his chance. The midfielder joined Liverpool from Leicester in 2023 and endured a quiet first year, making 14 appearances under Arne Slot, just two of them starts in the League Cup.

Andoni Iraola’s arrival has changed the tone. On Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States, Nyoni has been their standout midfielder. His game is built on verticality: always looking forward, but rarely reckless.

Across friendlies against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United, he attempted 154 passes and completed 141 of them (92%). On forward passes alone, he completed 44 of 54 (81%). With Curtis Jones potentially leaving and Liverpool seemingly focusing their transfer budget on attackers, the door in midfield is ajar. Nyoni looks ready to walk through it.

Manchester City: Ryan McAidoo – the winger Maresca loves

Breaking through at Manchester City is one of the hardest tasks in the game, but Ryan McAidoo is making a serious attempt. The winger impressed in PL2 last season, with only Reigan Heskey (15) registering more goal involvements than his 12 for City.

He got a taste of the big time in the FA Cup, scoring the ninth goal in a 10-1 demolition of Exeter City on his first-team debut. This summer, in a pre-season friendly against Inter, he caught the eye again with his one-v-one ability and constant presence in the penalty area, recording the second-most touches in the opposition box (13).

Enzo Maresca has made his feelings clear, describing McAidoo as “the type of winger I love”. At City, that kind of endorsement is priceless.

Manchester United: JJ Gabriel – the next great hope

Every era at Manchester United seems to come with one academy prodigy who carries outsized expectations. Right now, that player is JJ Gabriel. He almost left at the end of the 2024-25 season before senior figures intervened. Since then, his reputation has only grown.

At 14, he became the youngest player to represent United’s Under-18s, scoring twice on his debut. After turning 15 in October, he was quickly invited to train with the first team, but his main stage remained the U18 Premier League, where he scored 23 goals last season. Only one player in the competition managed more, and Gabriel was named Player of the Season.

A skilful, brave attacker who can operate wide or through the middle, he played with the same freedom when he came on late in United’s pre-season friendly against Atlético Madrid at the weekend. The record for youngest Premier League player is beyond him, but Angel Gomes’ club record – 16 years, 263 days – is within reach. Old Trafford will be watching.

Newcastle United: Park Seung-soo – the opening on the left

Eddie Howe leaves behind a strong Newcastle side, but some fans felt he could have trusted youth more. A new era brings new chances, and Park Seung-soo is well placed to benefit.

Signed last summer, the 19-year-old South Korean winger spent last season adjusting in PL2, averaging 4.7 dribble attempts per 90 minutes and standing out with his energy and neat footwork. He prefers the left flank, where Newcastle now have a vacancy.

Anthony Gordon has gone. Bazoumana Touré has arrived, but if he starts slowly, the competition opens up. Park has impressed in pre-season and looks close to a top-flight opportunity.

Nottingham Forest: Kalum Thompson – the scholar of the wing

Nottingham Forest moved quickly to bring in Kalum Thompson from Linfield last July. He was 16 then, but spent most of 2025-26 playing for the Under-21s, the youngest regular in the side.

He logged 1,090 minutes – only four Forest Under-21 players, three of them now 20, played more – and ended the season as the club’s scholar of the year. On the pitch, he is a tricky, purposeful left winger, averaging 4.7 dribble attempts per 90 in PL2 and contributing six goal involvements, the highest total in the Forest squad.

At 17, he is still in the early chapters of his story, but Forest clearly believe in the ending.

Sunderland: Nilson Angulo – the slow burn

Nilson Angulo stretches the definition of “breakout”. He is 23 and reportedly cost Sunderland £15m when he arrived from Anderlecht in January. His first months were patchy: flashes of flair, signs of rawness, but no sustained impact.

Those months may prove useful now. Angulo has had time to adjust to the league and the club. A reasonably encouraging World Cup with Ecuador has sharpened his confidence, and his underlying profile remains exciting.

Before leaving Belgium last season, he attempted more dribbles (111) than any other player in the Pro League. Only Christos Tzolis – now at Arsenal – bettered his 11 goal involvements. If Régis Le Bris can refine his decision-making, Sunderland might finally see the Anderlecht version of Angulo in full.

Tottenham: Lucá Williams-Barnett – end product in numbers

Tottenham’s academy has a habit of producing attacking players who look ready before their time. Lucá Williams-Barnett is the latest to step into that spotlight. He started last season with the Under-18s and ended it on the fringes of the first team.

He made one senior appearance and spent several games on the bench, but his most telling work came in PL2. In just 10 matches, the 17-year-old attacking midfielder delivered 1.25 combined goals and assists per 90 minutes – fourth-best among all players with at least 500 minutes. He also created 0.8 big chances per 90, again ranking fourth.

This summer he has featured heavily in pre-season, carrying that momentum into the new campaign. For a club that prizes creativity between the lines, Williams-Barnett looks tailor-made for what comes next.