Premier League’s Baby Brigade | OneFootball

It’s not uncommon for players under 20 to take the pitch in a professional soccer match. But this past weekend featured a number of, for lack of a better term, “babies” who proudly wore their club’s crest in the Premier League.

Rio Ngumoha (16)

Rio turns seventeen on Friday, but whatever party he has will pale in comparison to the fiesta he helped unleash in Newcastle. In the 10th minute of stoppage time, with the game tied 2 – 2, Rio found himself unmarked on the left with a Mohamed Salah pass heading straight for him. With an elán and composure far above his years, he calmly and confidently whipped it into the far upper corner of the goal.

Debuts like his are rare indeed.

Max Dowman (15)

You read that right: Max Dowman is all of 15 years old and made his senior debut with the Gunners up 4 – 0 over Leeds. A player of his age hitting the pitch usurped all the Eze talk, and he even drew the 94th minute penalty when Anton Stach (11 years his better) brushed up against him. They let Viktor Gyökeres take the spot kick, which is a shame.

Estévão Willian (18)

With Cole Palmer injured during warm-ups, manager Enzo Maresca turned to their $39M winger from Palmeiras and gave him the nod. This was his first start for the Blues; he did come on as a second half substitute in the 0 – 0 draw against Crystal Palace. And Estévão delivered, driving into the West Ham defense and whipping a perfect cross to Enzo Fernandes for their second goal for his first Chelsea assist.

Mark Guiu (19)

Spaniard Mark Guiu was loaned out to Sunderland during the summer transfer window. While young on paper, he actually played 39 minutes for his parent club Chelsea in the group stages of the Club World Cup last June. His managed one shot and six touches in his debut for the Black Cats in a 2 – 0 defeat to Burnley.

Eli Junior Kroupi (19)

His debut came last week in the 4 – 2 defeat to Liverpool, subbing on for Tyler Adams in stoppage time. This week he actually saw regulation minutes, replacing Evanilson in the 88th minute. Hey, every great career starts somewhere, and how many other players from the French Ligue. 2 can claim two straight appearances in the Premier League, however fleeting?