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The Premier League is the most competitive, demanding and expensive league in the world. Every club is constantly looking to spend mammoth amounts of transfer fees to attract the best footballers from around the world to improve their team. While not every club can always spend large amounts of money to buy top players, clubs often tend to give a chance to some of their youngsters.
Every season we see a number of youngsters, who are unheard of, getting first-team chances and they go on to do surprisingly well. This has become a trend in the Premier League, where we find a group of youngsters who exceed expectations and go on to become footballing stars.
Here we look at four Premier League youngsters who could go on to establish themselves on the world stage.
4. Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace)
A graduate of the Crystal Palace academy, Aaron Wan-Bissaka got his chance in the first team last season after Crystal Palace suffered a number of injuries. After making his debut in February 2018, he impressed against the likes of Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea and was subsequently awarded the Palace's Player of the Month award the following month.
Wan-Bissaka ended last season with just seven appearances. But he made such an impression on Roy Hodgson that the former England manager decided to make him the Eagles first choice right back this season and he has not let him down.
At 21, the young Englishman still has a lot of progress to make, but he is already attracting interest from the likes of Manchester City. If he keeps playing the way he is, it's only a matter of time before a top club snaps him up.
3. Adama Traore (Wolverhampton Wanders)
When Adama Traore left Barcelona to join Aston Villa in 2015, a lot was expected from the Spaniard and he surpassed all of them. His strength, speed and dribbling ability took everyone by surprise. After Aston Villa's relegation, he decided to move to Middlesbrough where he enjoyed two fruitful seasons, one in the Premier League and one in the Championship, where he notched up five goals and 13 assists.
Wolves decided to splash out €20 million for him this season, but to be honest, he is still struggling to adapt to the style Premier League. There is no doubt that Traore is one of the most talented youngsters in the Premier League at the moment. He averages 2.3 dribbles per game and is one of the most fouled players in the League.
At 22, the Spaniard needs to step up and show that he has more to his game than just speed, strength and dribbling. And now that he is under the guidance of Nuno Espirito Santo, he could finally develop into the player everyone expected him to become when he came to the Premier League in 2015.
2. Declan Rice (West Ham United)
At 18, Declan Rice has already made 53 appearances for West Ham United and is the first player since Michael Carrick to do so. The youngster is already being talked about as one of the stars of the future and West Ham recently tied him down to a new contract until 2024.
After impressing last season, Rice has become an integral part of Manuel Pellegrini's team this season. The midfielder could follow in the steps of Frank Lampard, Mark Noble, Joe Cole and Scott Parker and become another great midfielder from the West Ham academy.
The midfielder, who can also play as a central defender, has a pass success rate of 85.7% this season and averages 2.4 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game.
There is no doubt that Rice has a very bright future and it wouldn't be a surprise if one of the top 6 clubs come chasing after him in the coming years.
1. Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Phil Foden came into the spotlight after he won the FIFA U-17 World Cup golden ball in 2017 and was named the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. At 18, Foden has already made 25 appearances for Manchester City and while most of them have come from the bench, Pep Guardiola has described him as a diamond.
The Manchester City manager told ESPN: "He looks skinny, not strong, but he's really really strong. He's an outstanding young player, I think England has a diamond. I know it's not easy when you are with the big clubs. Few 18-year-olds could play regularly, competing with Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and David Silva. He's special, he has had minutes and in the future will have a lot of them."
Foden was always going to find it difficult to get playing time in a star-studded Manchester City squad. But the fact that Guardiola refused to let him go out on loan tell us just how talented he really is.
Eventually the England U21 international might be forced to go out on loan to get regular playing time, but he is definitely a youngster to keep an eye on.
(All stats from whoscored.com)
