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The long wait is finally over. The English Premier League will start its new season this week, with Manchester City looking to become only the second team ever to win the league in three straight years. Football fans will get to enjoy the talents of Raheem Sterling, Sergio Agüero, Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane and many more once again on a weekly basis.
With each new season, we can also look forward to seeing some of the stars of the future, as the younger generation of players will set their sights on leaving their mark on the game. Kane himself famously came out of nowhere in 2014-15 to score 21 Premier League goals. Now he's already one of the deadliest strikers in Premier League history, the England captain and a household name all over the globe.
Let's have a peek at 10 Premier League players who look set for a breakout season in 2019-20.
#10 Mason Mount (Chelsea)
20-year-old Mason Mount is one of the many Chelsea youngsters who have been developed by the club via multiple loan deals. He demonstrated great potential at Vitesse, producing 14 goals and nine assists in the Eredivisie, and he also enjoyed a successful spell at Derby County last season with nine goals and four assists.
Derby, of course, were managed by new Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, which puts Mount in a very good position to break through in the Premier League in 2019-20. Lampard knows all about him and Mount has been actively involved in the team during the preseason.
Following Eden Hazard's departure to Real Madrid, Chelsea are desperate for creativity and Mount can provide that. He still has some work to do to seal down a regular spot in the team, but Lampard seems to be a great fan of his; it looks like a matter of time before England call-ups follow for the Portsmouth-born midfielder.
#9 James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Compared to Mount, James Ward-Prowse comes from a completely different end of the spectrum as he already has nearly 200 Premier League games to his name. But it seems like he's so far just scratched the surface of his potential.
Ward-Prowse has been a solid Premier League player ever since making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2012. But if the end of 2018-19 is anything to go by, then we can still expect a lot more from him.
Southampton's new manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, who arrived in December, seemed to have found the perfect buttons to push on Ward-Prowse as he scored seven goals in the final 16 games of the season.
The versatile midfielder posted a new career record with the seven goals, which included a pair of world-class free-kicks in back-to-back games against Manchester United and Tottenham. He could end up having a massive year, especially with Hasenhüttl now in charge for the whole season.
#8 Will Hughes (Watford)
Will Hughes is another player who has been around for a while, but there's a general feeling that he's yet to fulfill his big potential.
Hughes has been very highly rated ever since making his debut for England U21 as a 17-year-old. However, he had to wait for his chance in the Premier League for many years after being stuck at Derby County.
2019-20 will be the third Premier League season for Hughes at Watford, and big things are expected after he became a regular first-teamer last season. He featured 32 times in the league, with 31 of the games coming as a starter.
After struggling with injuries throughout his young career, 2018-19 was the first season in a while that Hughes didn't have a single problem with his health - which helped him become one of the key players for the Hornets. However, there should still be more to come considering Hughes was involved in just six league goals (two goals scored, four goals assisted) last season.
#7 Max Aarons (Norwich City)
19-year-old Max Aarons will be a totally new face in the Premier League after helping Norwich reach the top flight for the first time since 2016. The young defender had a wonderful debut season as a professional, logging 41 games in the Championship on his way to becoming a member of the PFA Team of the Year and the EFL Young Player of the Year.
A number of bigger clubs have taken notice of Aarons, but Norwich managed to hold on to him over the summer - which sets him up for a big year. Had Aarons joined one of the big boys of the league, he would've likely been stuck on the bench for most of the season. Instead, he'll be Norwich's starting right-back, and he's also capable of filling in on the left if needed.
Aarons is a very mature defensive player for his age, and he also offers an attacking threat - he had six assists in the Championship last season, which was the fourth-most in the team. The England U19 international also scored twice himself.
#6 Morgan Gibbs-White (Wolves)
Even though Morgan Gibbs-White is three weeks younger than Aarons, he's already set for his fourth professional season.
The Stafford-born midfielder made his first-team debut for Wolves as a 16-year-old back in January 2017. The 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup winner has been in and around the first team ever since, and he's expected to take another big step forward after playing in 26 league games last season.
Nuno Espirito Santo didn't change his side much so Gibbs-White had only five starts, but he looked very promising every time he was on the pitch. In 2019-20 there will surely be more chances to shine, given that the club has secured European football for the first time since 1980–81.
Gibbs-White hasn't yet scored a goal as a professional in nearly 60 games and he only recorded just one assist last season in the Premier League, so he's still very raw. But once he cements his place in the team, there's every chance that he'll take the league by storm.
#5 Dwight McNeil (Burnley)
Burnley aren't known to be a great talent producer, but with Dwight McNeil they have a player who looks set to excite fans for at least a decade. The Rochdale-born player was one of the biggest reasons why Burnley overcame a difficult start last season to secure another year of Premier League football. Sean Dyche's team picked up 28 of 40 points since December 30, which is when McNeil was promoted to the starting lineup.
McNeil, who was rejected by Manchester United at an early age, had three goals and five assists in 15 games before cooling off in the final few rounds of the season. Playing mainly on the left wing, McNeil linked up superbly with forwards Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood, who both ended up with double figures in goals.
McNeil looks capable of getting 10-plus goals himself if he manages to spend a whole season in the starting XI.
#4 Harvey Barnes (Leicester City)
Just like McNeil, Leicester's Harvey Barnes also built up some really nice momentum ahead of the new season with a strong finish to last year.
Statistically, he didn't do as well as the Burnley man and he had a less prominent role, featuring a lot as a substitute. But the England U21 international was just as exciting, taking everyone on fearlessly on the wing while creating chances for both himself and others.
Championship fans already know what Barnes is all about, after he spent the first half of 2018-19 on loan at West Bromwich Albion. The Burnley-born player had nine goals and six assists in 26 games before Leicester recalled him in January.
Barnes ended up with only one goal and two assists in 16 Premier League games, but he found himself in great scoring spots regularly. With more experience, he can only get better.
#3 Miguel Almiron (Newcastle United)
Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez stole the show at Newcastle last season, which led to Miguel Almiron flying under the radar. But with both now out of town, the Paraguayan sensation has a chance to make the team his own.
The former MLS star wasn't involved in any goals during his 10 Premier League appearances in 2018-19 after signing for Newcastle in January. But he played a huge part in improving the team's offence - Rondon had five of his 11 goals after Almiron joined, while Perez netted nine of his 12 during the last few months of the season.
Almiron had 22 goals and 19 assists in 68 MLS games for Atlanta during his two-year stay at the club. He's full of creativity and has an eye for goal - from both inside and outside the box. It will be hard to stop him once he gets going in the Premier League.
#2 Max Meyer (Crystal Palace)
Adjusting to a new league can be very tough at times, and that proved to be the case with Max Meyer last season. The former Schalke man earned only 15 starts for Crystal Palace in 2018-19, producing one goal and two assists.
He should be capable of much more now that he's had 12 months to adjust to a new league and culture.
Meyer, who has four caps for Germany and captained the team at the 2016 Olympics, had five goals and five assists in his best Bundesliga season back in 2015-16. His stay at Schalke ended on a sour note though, after he was forced to play out of position in a more defensive midfield role.
Palace manager Roy Hodgson has again given Meyer more freedom on the pitch which has helped the midfielder demonstrate his talents once more. He's earned a lot of praise for his preseason performances, and that should lead to him playing a much bigger role in 2019-20 - especially when Wilfried Zaha's exit comes a reality.
#1 Diego Rico (Bournemouth)
Spanish football fans know all about Diego Rico, but his first season in England was a major disappointment in 2019-20. The former Leganes and Zaragoza man failed to cement a place in the team and managed just 12 games in the league. The team ended up playing exactly one million euros for each of his Premier League appearances.
Rico is one of Bournemouth's biggest ever signings, and manager Eddie Howe likely still has high hopes for him. The 26-year-old left-back is a technically gifted player, who's also on set-piece duties when he plays, so he has a very important role to play.
He's also nicely set up for success at Bournemouth after first-choice left-back Charlie Daniels spent a chunk of the preseason nursing an injury.
Full-backs have a big role in Howe's gameplan, which resulted in four goals and three assists for Daniels in 2016-17. Rico could easily match these numbers in 2019-20, or even better them, if he makes the left-back position his own.
