One Breakout Talent Every Premier League Club Is Waiting On
Arsenal: Marli Salmon, the teenager who looks ready now
Marli Salmon is 16, built like a defender, and already carries himself like he belongs at Arsenal. He became the club’s fourth-youngest player last season, thrown on in the Champions League against Club Brugge at 16 years and 102 days, and he didn’t shrink.
Four first-team outings followed, backed up by 14 games in Premier League 2, where the numbers jump off the page. Salmon won 71.8% of his duels (56 of 78) in PL2; among defenders who contested at least 50, only two did better. He can play right-back or slide inside as a centre-back, and he has already signed a pre-agreement to commit his future to the club when he turns 17 later this month.
With Mikel Arteta increasingly trusting youth in high-pressure moments, this doesn’t feel like a token cameo story. It feels like the start of a proper role.
Aston Villa: Brian Madjo, the Haaland echo
Aston Villa paid about £10.5m to get Brian Madjo out of Metz in January, then had to watch him sit and wait due to registration issues. That wait is over.
The 17-year-old is huge, a centre-forward with the kind of stride and penalty-box presence that instantly brings Erling Haaland to mind. Those comparisons are heavy, but Madjo’s movement and power are hard to ignore. He has scored four times in pre-season and, yes, those games only count for so much. But strikers can only score against what’s in front of them, and he has done exactly that.
Villa have bought a project. They might already have a weapon.
Bournemouth: Veljko Milosavljevic, the vacancy-filler
Marcos Senesi’s departure has left a hole in the middle of Bournemouth’s defence. Veljko Milosavljevic will fancy filling it.
Signed from Red Star Belgrade last summer, the 19-year-old only made seven appearances in all competitions, but he showed enough to suggest there’s a defender of real substance there. 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.
Marco Rose may still want another experienced centre-back, especially with a youthful back line around him, but Milosavljevic has the profile and the platform to take a big step this season.
Brentford: Antoni Milambo, the comeback act
Antoni Milambo arrived at Brentford from Feyenoord for around £21m with a reputation as one of the most advanced young midfielders in the Netherlands. Then his season collapsed.
An ACL injury on international duty in October ended his campaign almost as soon as it had begun. Before that, he had become Feyenoord’s youngest-ever player back in 2021 and, by 2024-25, had grown into a forward-driving, box-to-box midfielder with end product. No Eredivisie player under 21 managed more than his 14 goal involvements in all competitions that season.
He now returns to a Brentford midfield Keith Andrews has quietly reshaped. If Milambo’s fitness holds, his blend of technical quality and attacking threat could give that unit a new gear.
Brighton: Zadok Yohanna, pure chaos on the wing
Brighton have gone back to one of their favourite markets: the slightly raw, wildly exciting winger. This time it’s Zadok Yohanna.
The 19-year-old Nigerian joins from AIK for around £21.5m – a record sale for Swedish football – after just 13 league games. That was all Brighton needed to see. Yohanna is a left-footed right winger who plays as if the full-back in front of him is an insult. Before his move in June, he was attempting more dribbles per 90 minutes than anyone else in the Allsvenskan and 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 far fewer minutes than most rivals.
His final ball still needs work. His courage on the ball does not. He will get people out of their seats, and Brighton tend to know what to do with that sort of player.
Chelsea: Reggie Watson, the Rodri-style anchor in waiting
Chelsea’s academy never stops producing, but plenty of talent has slipped through the cracks. Losing Rio Ngumoha to Liverpool stung, and the club reacted. One of the players they moved quickly to secure was Reggie Watson.
At 16, Watson is already a towering defensive midfielder with a strong frame, neat passing, and impressive spatial awareness. He plays with a personality that belies his age, constantly showing for the ball, constantly organising. It’s not hard to see why some have tentatively compared him to Rodri.
Xabi Alonso has publicly admitted he is “really impressed” with Watson’s pre-season. With Roméo Lavia and Dário Essugo both dealing with fitness and availability questions, there is a pathway. If Chelsea lean into their youth again, Watson could find himself in real Premier League minutes sooner than expected.
Coventry City: Kai Andrews, the decision point
Survival will dominate Coventry City’s thinking. That rarely creates ideal conditions for blooding youngsters, but Kai Andrews might force the issue.
The 19-year-old midfielder made 10 appearances last season before heading to Hibernian on loan, where he struggled to make a consistent impact. Then came a timely reminder of his quality: a first start for Wales in a friendly against Romania. Andrews responded by making nine passes in the final third – the third most of any player on the pitch – and winning two fouls.
Now comes a big call. Stay and fight for a place under Frank Lampard, or head out again for guaranteed minutes? Either way, he’s on the radar at club and international level.
Crystal Palace: Joél Drakes-Thomas, face of a new era
Crystal Palace are turning a page under Pierre Sage, and Joél Drakes-Thomas is perfectly placed to be one of the new faces of that shift.
He became the club’s youngest Premier League player last season and had already announced himself in Europe. At 16, he made his debut in the Conference League against KuPS, attempting seven crosses – more than anyone else on the pitch – and creating two chances, the joint-most in the game.
A wide player with directness and confidence, Drakes-Thomas has the profile to thrive in a team trying to reinvent itself. If Sage wants to energise Selhurst Park, he has a homegrown winger ready to help.
Everton: Tyrique George, the winger with a clear runway
Tyrique George arrived from Chelsea with promise, but his first few months at Everton were more about adaptation than impact. Joining initially on loan in February, he started just once under David Moyes.
That period might prove useful now. After a full pre-season, the 20-year-old looks poised to step into a bigger role. Quick, direct and eager to run at full-backs, George is exactly the kind of winger Goodison Park responds to. With Jack Grealish back at Manchester City, Iliman Ndiaye attracting interest from abroad and Dwight McNeil slipping down the pecking order, the lane has opened.
If George grabs it, he could go from fringe figure to first-choice in a single campaign.
Fulham: Farhaan Ali-Wahid, numbers that demand attention
Farhaan Ali-Wahid has not played a senior minute for Fulham yet, but the club’s new manager, Álvaro Arbeloa, has already taken a close look in pre-season. The numbers from last year’s PL2 campaign make it obvious why.
The 19-year-old left winger scored 10 goals and added seven assists for Fulham’s Under-21s. Only Chelsea’s Shumaira Mheuka (19) and Liverpool’s Kieran Morrison (18) were involved in more goals than his 17. He also created 26 chances from open play, with just 10 players in the competition bettering that tally.
Ali-Wahid was shortlisted for PL2 Player of the Season. With Fulham in need of fresh attacking options, he doesn’t feel far away from a debut.
Hull City: Charlie Hughes, the defender built for a scrap
If Hull City are going to stay in the Premier League, they will need defenders who enjoy suffering. Charlie Hughes does.
The 22-year-old centre-back started 36 Championship games last season and did not miss a single minute of Hull’s playoff run. He threw himself into everything. His 1.54 blocks per 90 minutes were the highest of any regular player in the division, and his 7.62 clearances per 90 were more than any Hull teammate with at least 1,000 minutes.
Hull will be tested relentlessly this season. Hughes, their defensive lynchpin in the promotion campaign, looks ready for exactly that kind of fight.
Ipswich Town: Tudor Mendel-Idowu, the scholar with sharp edges
Tudor Mendel-Idowu’s story stands out even in a league full of prodigies. Educated at Eton as a King’s Scholar, a former contestant on Child Genius at eight, and now a winger on the verge of a Premier League debut with Ipswich Town.
Football-wise, the 20-year-old has been devastating at Under-21 level. In PL2 last season he produced 15 goal involvements in 17 games (nine goals, six assists). Only three players in the league managed more. He created 33 chances from open play, bettered by just three others, and won possession in the final third 21 times, a figure topped by only two players.
Signed in the summer of 2024 after spells at Chelsea and Anderlecht, Mendel-Idowu has yet to appear for Ipswich’s first team. On this evidence, that wait will not last long.
Leeds United: Jayden Lienou, breaking through a closed door
Young players did not find it easy under Daniel Farke last season. The youngest to appear for Leeds was 21-year-old Facundo Buonanotte, and even he was used sparingly.
Jayden Lienou is trying to change that pattern. The 18-year-old defender started all but one of Leeds’ PL2 games last season and won possession 5.4 times per 90 minutes, the second-highest figure in the side. He was the only youth-team player to feature in Leeds’ first three pre-season fixtures.
Craig Bellamy took notice too, calling Lienou into the senior Wales squad in June. When both club and country are leaning in, opportunities tend to follow.
Liverpool: Trey Nyoni, the vertical passer
A new manager at Liverpool has meant a clean slate for several players. Trey Nyoni has seized his.
The 19-year-old midfielder joined from Leicester in 2023 and had to wait his turn. Under Arne Slot last season, he made 14 appearances in all competitions, but only two starts, both in the League Cup. With Andoni Iraola now in charge, Nyoni has been Liverpool’s standout midfielder in pre-season.
His game is built on verticality. He looks forward first, but not recklessly. Across three friendlies in the United States – against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United – he attempted 154 passes and completed 141 (92%). Of his forward passes, he found a teammate with 44 of 54 (81%).
If Curtis Jones moves on and Liverpool direct most of their transfer budget towards attackers, the path for Nyoni into regular minutes becomes very clear.
Manchester City: Ryan McAidoo, the winger Maresca loves
Breaking through at Manchester City is notoriously difficult. Ryan McAidoo is doing everything he can to make it impossible to ignore him.
The winger posted 12 goal involvements in PL2 last season, with only Reigan Heskey (15) contributing more for City. He made his senior debut in unforgettable fashion, scoring the ninth goal in a 10-1 FA Cup demolition of Exeter City.
This summer, he caught the eye again in a pre-season friendly against Inter. McAidoo’s one-v-one ability stood out, and he had the second-most touches in the opposition box (13). Enzo Maresca did not hide his admiration, calling him “the type of winger I love.”
At a club stacked with attacking talent, that kind of endorsement matters.
Manchester United: JJ Gabriel, the prodigy chasing history
Every academy has its crown jewel. At Manchester United, that player is JJ Gabriel.
His story has already taken a few twists. He almost left at the end of the 2024-25 season until senior figures intervened. By then, he had become the youngest player ever to represent United’s Under-18s, scoring twice on his debut at just 14. After turning 15 in October, he was quickly pulled into first-team training.
He stayed focused on the Under-18s and dominated. Gabriel scored 23 goals in the 2025-26 U18 Premier League, a total beaten by only one player, and was named Player of the Season. A skilful, fearless attacker who can play wide or centrally, he showed those traits when he came on late in United’s pre-season friendly against Atlético Madrid.
The record for the youngest Premier League player is probably safe. Becoming United’s youngest Premier League player, beating Angel Gomes’ mark of 16 years and 263 days, is not. That chase will be one of the stories of United’s season.
Newcastle United: Park Seung-soo, the Gordon replacement in waiting
Newcastle United’s transition away from Eddie Howe has opened doors that once felt firmly shut. On the left wing, one of those doors is marked Park Seung-soo.
The 19-year-old South Korean joined last summer and spent last season bedding in with the PL2 side. He averaged 4.7 dribble attempts per 90 minutes and impressed with his energy and close control. With Anthony Gordon gone and new signing Bazoumana Touré still to prove himself, there is a vacancy on that flank.
Park has looked sharp in pre-season. If he carries that form into the autumn, a top-flight debut will not be far away.
Nottingham Forest: Kalum Thompson, the fearless dribbler
Nottingham Forest moved early to secure Kalum Thompson from Linfield last July. He was 16, slight, and immediately trusted to play above his age group.
He spent the majority of last season with the Under-21s, becoming their youngest player and still logging 1,090 minutes – a total bettered by only four teammates, three of whom are now 20. The 17-year-old won the club’s scholar of the year award and justified it on the pitch. His 4.7 dribble attempts per 90 ranked highly in PL2, and his six goal involvements were more than any other Forest player.
A tricky left winger with purpose to his play, Thompson looks like the next in a line of wide players Forest will be tempted to fast-track.
Sunderland: Nilson Angulo, the unfinished article with upside
Nilson Angulo is older than most names on this list at 23, and he cost Sunderland around £15m in January. That fee and age bring expectations, but his first months in England were more flicker than flame.
There were glimpses of the player Sunderland thought they had bought from Anderlecht: the athleticism, the flair, the ability to beat a man. A solid World Cup with Ecuador has now reset the narrative. He has had time to adapt, to understand the pace and physicality of the English game.
The version of Angulo that terrorised defenders in Belgium is what Sunderland want to see. Before moving, he had attempted more dribbles (111) than any other player in the Belgian Pro League, and only Christos Tzolis – now at Arsenal – bettered his 11 goal involvements. If Régis Le Bris can refine his game without blunting his edge, Sunderland will have a serious attacking outlet.
Tottenham: Lucá Williams-Barnett, numbers that scream ‘ready’
Tottenham seem to produce a new attacking talent every couple of years. Lucá Williams-Barnett is next in line.
He started last season with the Under-18s and finished it on the fringes of the first team, making one senior appearance and sitting on the bench regularly. In PL2, he was electric despite playing only 10 games. The 17-year-old attacking midfielder recorded a remarkable 1.25 combined goals and assists per 90 minutes, ranking fourth among all players with at least 500 minutes. He also created 0.8 big chances per 90, again fourth in the league.
Spurs have leaned heavily on him in pre-season, and he has responded with the same swagger and productivity. If that continues into the campaign, he will not be a secret for long.
