Young talents to shine in the Premier League this season | OneFootball

The Premier League begins next week and there is always interest in which young talents will make the biggest impression. We select five to watch.

Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)

Nwaneri was short on game time last campaign but after a Premier League season under his belt, he is more weathered and should be afforded more game-time.

At 18, he can either play as a backup RW to Bukayo Saka, or through the middle. Given the mixed form of Martin Odegaard last season, and the need to rest Saka more this year, there should be ample opportunity for Nwaneri to prove his worth.

He managed nine goals and two assists in 37 games in all competitions last year, including four goals in the Premier League and two in the Champions League.

This season he will be aiming to establish a starting spot in the team, and Mikel Arteta should be more trusting.

The Spanish manager is known to take time to bed players in, and fans were clamouring for Nwaneri to play more last term. It could be a similar issue that wonderkid Max Dowman may face this season.

Arteta is clearly a fan of Nwaneri however, and said last season: “It is rare to see a talent like this at 17 years old… He needs to see that he can fly and don’t clip any wings.”

Estevao (Chelsea)

One of the most exciting Brazilian talents since Neymar, winger Estevao has been getting Chelsea fans excited for a couple of years now, and he has finally joined up with the squad and begun training.

Nicknamed ‘Messinho’ due to his similarities to Lionel Messi, the 18-year-old scored 27 goals in 83 games for Palmeiras.

He has already impressed Blues fans after picking up the man-of-the-match award when Chelsea faced the Brazilian side in the Club World Cup.

Enzo Maresca’s side won that day but Estevao scored a stunning individual goal and gave Marc Cucurella a very tough night.

He is small with a low centre of gravity, but deceptively strong. There are some concerns about his physicality and whether he will be able to adapt instantly to the Premier League, but on the evidence of his duel against Cucurella, he should be ok.

Leny Yoro (Manchester United)

Yoro was out injured for four months soon after joining United from Lille for £52m last summer, so this will be the season when he can show why some believe he can become one of the best centre-backs in the world.

Since making his debut for United in December, he is in the top 3 per cent of defenders for progressive carries with 1.89 per game, and in the top 9 per cent of defenders for pass completion with 92.4%, according to stats website FBREF.

With no European football for United this season, the 19-year-old should have more time to find his feet and nail down a starting spot in the heart of the defence.

Ruben Amorim has already been complimentary of Yoro, calling him a “special talent” and a “modern defender” who is “good when you want to press high and leave strikers one against one”.

It seems very likely that Yoro will be an integral part of Amorim’s side this season and also of United’s future.

Wilson Odobert (Tottenham)

Odobert may finally get a chance to show Spurs fans what he can do on the left wing now that Son Heung-min has left Tottenham.

The French winger, 20, was signed from Burnley early last season but got a hamstring injury after four games that kept him out until February, and failed to nail down a starting spot with Son and Mathys Tel ahead of him. He was also tried as a number ten once or twice by Ange Postecoglou.

Under Thomas Frank in pre-season, Odobert alternated on the left wing with Brennan Johnson, who traditionally plays on the right. Unless Tottenham sign another left-sided attacker, Odobert is in pole position to take the reins from the South Korean.

Conor Bradley (Liverpool)

Despite being at Liverpool for two years already, Bradley had always been behind Trent Alexander-Arnold in the right-back pecking order. Now with the Englishman’s move to Real Madrid, Bradley may be given more chances.

The 22-year-old Northern Irishman currently has a muscle injury that will see him miss the first few weeks of the season, but with Arnold’s replacement Jeremie Frimpong being new to the league, he may need bedding in.

And while Frimpong’s offensive quality is unquestionable, there are doubts over his defensive capabilities. Bradley is a more balanced full-back and it would not be a huge surprise if he is the starting right-back eventually.

According to stats website FBREF, Frimpong doesn’t rank any higher than in the top 61 per cent for any defensive statistics, including tackles, interceptions, blocks and clearances. By contrast Bradley is in the top 27 per cent for clearances, at 3.23 per game, as well as averaging 2.10 tackles per game while Frimpong averages 1.13.

This is all while Bradley’s attacking statistics are just slightly inferior to Frimpong’s. It will be interesting to see how Arne Slot uses the two right-backs, and it seems likely they will rotate based on the opposition Liverpool are playing.