Youngest players in the Premier League right now

GMS takes a look at the youngest footballers in the EPL this season.

Collage of Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo, Manchester City's Rico Lewis and Liverpool's Ben Doak

Highlights

  • The Premier League is witnessing a surge of young talent making their mark on the field.

  • Promising teenagers like Kobbie Mainoo and Jack Hinshelwood are catching the attention of fans and managers.

  • It is important for these young players to seize their opportunities and continue performing to secure their place in the league.

The Premier League is a ruthless, high-intensity and demanding division, so it's always impressive to see a teenager line up alongside seasoned professionals, who have developed a resilient physique to cope with the physicality. That notion has certainly lessened in recent times, as the English game evolves into a more possession-based approach, which is largely due to Pep Guardiola's influence since arriving on these shores from Bayern Munich in 2016.

But notwithstanding that, you have to be a fully-fledged athlete or an exceptional technician to compete in what is widely regarded as the best league across the continent and beyond. So when a manager sees fit for a teenager in the early stages of his professional career to enter the relentless field of play, fans tend to take note of what could be the league's next emerging superstar.

In recent weeks, we've seen Manchester United hand 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo a full debut at Everton's Goodison Park and the 2005-born midfielder certainly delivered, playing a key role in his side's 3-0 victory. "Mainoo has been Manchester United's best player by a street. A brilliant, brilliant Premier League debut from him," said Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville.

"Unbelievable," Roy Keane added. "We don't want to get too carried away but I'm sure we will. He looked like he always had time on the ball today, his decision-making, in terms of when to go long when to go short, in terms of off the ball as well. What an all-round performance."

Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo

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Kobbie Mainoo has impressed for Manchester United this season.

Mainoo looks destined to become a key asset in the Manchester United midfield over the coming decade and perhaps an England call-up awaits the promising youngster next year, should he continue to perform for the Red Devils. Alejandro Garnacho is another Red with huge potential and if the pair fulfil their early promise, the Old Trafford masses will have the luxury of watching two world beaters every week.

Though, quite remarkably, despite the youth of the aforementioned duo, there has been a plethora of younger players taking to the field of a Premier League game in 2022/23, as GIVEMESPORT takes a look at the 10 youngest players in England's top-flight right now. It's important to note, that each player's age is taken from when they made their first appearance of the season.

[th][b]Youngest 2023/24 Premier League players[/b][/th]
# Player Team Age of first appearance
1 Ryan Oné Sheffield United 17 years, four months & two days
2 Lewis Miley Newcastle United 17 years, six months & 11 days
3 Ben Doak Liverpool 17 years, nine months & two days
4 Deivid Washington Chelsea 18 years, four months & 23 days
5 David Ozoh Crystal Palace 18 years, five months & 15 days
6 Jack Hinshelwood Brighton 18 years, five months & 19 days
7 Luke Harris Fulham 18 years, five months & 21 days
8 Kobbie Mainoo Manchester United 18 years, seven months & seven days
9 Ben Parkinson Newcastle United 18 years, eight months & one day
10 Rico Lewis Manchester City 18 years, eight months & 21 days

10 Rico Lewis - Manchester City



18 years, eight months and 21 days

rico-lewis-manchester-city

Manchester City's Rico Lewis enjoyed his breakout season during the 2022/23 campaign and is already becoming part of the furniture at the Etihad. The versatile full-back, who has operated in midfield at times, made his England debut in November 2023, a day before celebrating his 19th birthday and could be making the trip to Germany in 2024 to feature at the European Championships.

Lewis has started four of City's five Champions League group games and was given glowing praises for his performance against RB Leipzig by his boss Pep Guardiola. "What a player! What a player!" the Spaniard said post-match. "I've been a manager for 14, 15, years and lucky to train one of the best players in the world in Barcelona.

"To find a player like him playing in the pockets, how he has to move as a holding midfielder, moving in the spaces, he is one of the best I've ever trained by far. He's a humble guy, doesn't talk much. He didn't play much this season but he is going to play a lot."

9 Ben Parkinson - Newcastle United



18 years, eight months and one day

ben-parkinson-newcastle-united

Ben Parkinson made his senior debut for Newcastle United during a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth on the south coast in November 2023. The 2005-born wide player signed his first professional contract with the Tynesiders in July 2023 and Eddie Howe has great belief in his abilities.

Parkinson's numbers are particularly impressive with the under-18 set-up but since moving up an age group, his output in front of goal has dwindled somewhat. That's to be expected, however, as he continues to switch between first-team responsibilities and academy, having been named on the senior bench six times, including against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

[th][b][b][b][b]Parkinson's academy stats[/b][/b][/b][/b][/th]
Age Group Appearances Goals Assists
Under-21 16 3 1
Under-19 3 0 0
Under-18 32 11 5

8 Kobbie Mainoo - Manchester United



18 years, seven months and seven days

kobbie-mainoo-manchester-united

The aforementioned Mainoo impressed on his full debut against Everton in November 2023 and is being tipped to become the future of United's midfield. Born in Stockport, the academy graduate was targetted by Manchester City's well-oiled scouting network whilst coming through the Carrington ranks but opted to remain put at Old Trafford.

Still, the treble-winners continue to be linked with the promising teenager as we head towards the January transfer window but Mainoo - speaking after his debut against Charlton in January 2023 - spoke of his desire to stay at the club: "(My ambition is) to stay around it and to keep on getting more games is the ultimate goal. I want to stay at this club, I've been here my whole life."

7 Luke Harris - Fulham



18 years, five months and 21 days

luke-harris-fulham

Fulham gave Luke Harris his senior debut in August 2022 as a 17-year-old and he went on to appear a handful of times for Marco Silva's side thereafter. During the early stages of the 2023/24 campaign, the Welsh playmaker again found himself on the fringes for the Cottagers but did make two outings against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

Despite his prolific record with the under-21s, the Jersey-born midfielder, who models his game on Frank Lampard, is still awaiting a full Premier League debut. "Last summer it was planned that Luke would go and play senior football and become stronger but unfortunately regarding the situation with Joao it didn't give us time," Silva said.

"If he goes he has to play football he is still a young lad and learning what division is not the most important thing." So it appears a winter exit is on the cards for Harris, who likely won't be short of any loan suitors.

[th][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b]Harris' academy stats[/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/th]
Age Group Appearances Goals Assists
Under-21 42 27 6
Under-18 26 11 6

6 Jack Hinshelwood - Brighton



18 years, five months and 19 days

jack-hinshelwood-brighton

Jack Hinshelwood is the latest promising youngster to emerge from Brighton and Hove Albion's immense academy and despite only celebrating his 18th birthday earlier this year, he is already becoming a regular in Roberto De Zerbi's team. The England youth international, who can operate in defensive midfield and across the backline, has racked up seven appearances for the Seagulls across the 2023/24 campaign.

Hinshelwood netted his first Brighton goal last week, scoring the winner against Brentford after climbing high to head home Pascal Groß's well-flighted cross. The versatile teenager had a pretty impressive goal record at the youth level and is well-positioned to continue that knack in De Zerbi's free-flowing system.

[th][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b]Hinshelwood's academy stats[/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/th]
Age Group Appearances Goals Assists
Under-21 32 5 4
Under-18 35 6 8

5 David Ozoh - Crystal Palace



18 years, five months and 15 days

david-ozoh-crystal-palace

David Ozoh made his Crystal Palace debut in January 2023 during a goalless draw against the high-flying Newcastle United to become the Eagles' youngest-ever Premier League player, aged 17. The 2005-born midfielder was crowned under-21 Player of the Season in May 2023 and is starting to make inroads towards a place in the first team.

The England youth international has made three brief cameos under Roy Hodgson but is still awaiting a full debut, However, with the South Londoners struggling of late, having won 1 of their last nine games, the former England boss could turn towards the teenage prodigy to bring a presence in midfield.

4 Deivid Washington - Chelsea



18 years, four months and 23 days

deivid-washington-chelsea

Chelsea outlaid £17.2m to sign Deivid Washington from Santos in the summer of 2023, tying him down to a seven-contract, evincing their faith in his talents. The towering centre-forward was firing in the goals at youth level for the Brazilian outfit and forced his way into the senior set-up before departing for West London.

Football Talent Scout's Jacek Kulig described the 18-year-old as a "complete forward/modern target man" butnoted that he must work on his "finishing and general operating with his weaker left foot" to advance his game. Washington made his senior debut for the Blues during a 2-0 defeat to Brentford in October 2023 but hasn't featured since.

Chelsea youngster Deivid Washington

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Deivid Washington is earning comparisons with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and cost Chelsea £17m to sign from Santos.

[th][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b]Washington's stats[/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/th]
Team Appearances Goals Assists
Santos 16 2 0
Santos U20 13 6 0
Chelsea 1 0 0
Chelsea U21 1 1 0

3 Ben Doak - Liverpool



17 years, nine months and two days

ben-doak-liverpool

Liverpool signed highly-rated winger Ben Doak in 2022, paying a £600,000 compensation fee to Celtic and he has since made nine appearances for Jürgen Klopp's team. The tricky jet-heeled wide player, who turned 18 in November 2023, is on the first-team fringes and is waiting patiently in the wings for regular starting opportunities.

Doak put up impressive numbers for the academy during the 2022/23 season, particularly in the UEFA Youth League, where he bagged four goals and assisted as many across eight outings. He made his Scotland under-21 debut at the age of 17 and has netted twice in seven outings, so he's certainly making rapid progress.

[th][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b][b]Doak's (Liverpool) academy stats[/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/th]
Team Appearances Goals Assists
Under-21 15 5 2
Under-19 8 4 4
Under-18 5 2 2

2 Lewis Miley - Newcastle United



17 years, six months and 11 days

lewis-miley-newcastle-united

Lewis Miley, a rangy box-to-box midfielder, has come to the fore for Newcastle United during the 2023/24 campaign, stepping up in the place of several injured players. Howe has placed total trust in the Gateshead native and even started him away at Paris Saint-Germain's Princes Park fortress in the Champions League.

The 17-year-old won't celebrate his 18th birthday until May 2023 but is already displaying the maturity of a seasoned veteran during his fledgeling Magpies career. Miley has started the last five matches across all competitions and Howe has praised the promising teenager's "calmness" and "brilliant brain". "I cannot imagine myself delivering this performance when I was 17. He was unbelievable," said Miley's midfield partner Bruno Guimarães.

1 Ryan Oné - Sheffield United



17 years, four months and two days

ryan-oné-sheffield-united

Ryan Oné is the youngest player to feature in the Premier League during the 2023/24 season, as he made his Sheffield United debut against Arsenal in October 2023 at the age of 17 years, four months and two days old. The 2006-born centre-forward arrived at Bramall Lane in the summer of 2023 from Scottish League One side Hamilton Academical for a 'six-figure sum'.

The starlet already had 36 senior appearances to his name with The Accies, finding the net four times. Speaking to Daily Record, former teammate Lewis Smith said: "Ryan is an unbelievable player, for his age especially. What he can do with the ball is great. We are disappointed to lose him from our team but we are really happy for him."

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