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According to the Premier League website, "Premier League 2 is a competition that replaced the Under-21 Premier League from 2016/17, with a greater focus on technicality, physicality and intensity to bring players as close to the first-team experience as possible."
The age limit for those involved recently rose from Under-21 to Under-23, which means that even a handful of experienced players who have been dropped to their respective reserve teams can potentially feature in some of these PL2 matches.
Of course, any player in this situation will be desperately wanting to be bumped to their club's senior side, but they know that they'll need to give everything they've got in PL2 games to even get acknowledged.
In this list, we'll run through five players who have been very impressive for their respective PL2 sides so far this season and deserve to make the jump to the Premier League.
#5 Eddie Nketiah
Eddie Nketiah is a 19-year-old centre-forward who plays for Arsenal. He also plays for England's U21 side, having made four appearances since his debut in May 2018.
With 7 goals and 3 assists from just 9 games in the PL2, Nketiah is certainly the one to watch. He possesses rapid pace, a superb eye for goal and can even link up well with his attacking teammates, which is something much more difficult than it sounds.
Often times, players -- especially those who are inexperienced -- can lose sight of the teammates around them and only focus on the goal ahead, but this tends to lead to them getting closed down by multiple defenders and ultimately nothing comes of the chance. His natural ability to look up and pick out a pass rather than shoot at goal all the time separates him from the rest.
Being at a club with the stature of Arsenal, however, is always going to make things ten times harder. If you think about the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette who currently play up front for the Gunners, these are the types of players that Nketiah will be expected to challenge for a first-team spot.
A more likely scenario will see the youngster be shipped out on loan to get valuable first-team football elsewhere -- the Championship is the typical place for players of his calibre to head to.
#4 Tahith Chong
Tahith Chong is a 19-year-old right winger who currently plays for Manchester United. He has also featured twice for Netherlands' U21 squad, having made his debut back in November 2018.
In 14 appearances for United in PL2, Chong has found the back of the net five times and assisted once. His composure on the ball is a sight to behold and proves that he has the maturity and wherewithal to cope with the pressure of the Premier League should he make the jump across to there soon.
He has already dabbled in high-profile games like the Premier League match against Southampton back in February, before featuring in the last ten minutes of a Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain, in which United won 3-1.
Fans will no doubt be keeping an eye on Chong's progress and will be eagerly awaiting the day he gets his call-up to the first team properly.
#3 Mason Greenwood
Mason Greenwood is a 17-year-old centre-forward who currently plays for Manchester United. He has also featured for England U18s five times since making his debut back in September 2018.
Now, when we talk about a hot prospect, there can be no greater example of this phrase right now than Mason Greenwood. He has scored 13 goals in 12 appearances, assisting five goals in the process for the U18 squad; netted 5 goals in 5 games in the UEFA Youth League; a goal in 3 appearances in the PL2; and even bagged himself 3 goals in 2 games in the FA Youth Cup.
There is no doubt about it, Mason Greenwood is going to be special.
He, like Tahith Chong, also featured in United's 3-1 win over PSG in the Champions League, coming on for the last few minutes to get a taste for what it's like to be on that grand stage. He then followed that up with an appearance in the final ten minutes against Arsenal in the Premier League, in which he played well, despite the 2-0 loss.
Greenwood's tender age is probably what's keeping him from making the jump across to the senior side right now, but in no time at all, expect to see him make it into United's first team.
#2 Xande Silva
Xande Silva is a 22-year-old right winger who currently plays for West Ham United. He has also featured 14 times for Portugal's U20 squad since having made his debut back in May 2016.
Despite being the oldest player on this list, Xande Silva shows rapid signs of improvement and continues to perform well in virtually every game he plays for West Ham's PL2 side.
He has scored 7 goals in 6 appearances, registering a single assist in the process. Silva has also had a taste of Premier League football when he played against Burnley back in December, coming on in the last 20 minutes as a substitute.
Sometimes the more cynical football analysts say that once a player reaches Xande Silva's age and they're not in or around the first team, they are basically past it. Well, Silva is proving the opposite right now. He works hard in the PL2, scoring goals for fun and biding his time until West Ham call him up, which at this rate, won't be long at all.
#1 Elias Sorensen
Elias Sorensen is a 19-year-old centre-forward who currently plays for Newcastle United. He has also featured for Denmark's U21 side twice since making his debut in January of this year.
The Dane's stats in the PL2 speak for itself, with 12 goals in 14 appearances, as well as a single assist to his name, marking him out as one to watch. What separates Sorensen from the rest of the strikers in the division is that he possesses impressive strength on the ball and can shield off a defender at will, before turning to either shoot or lay it off for a teammate.
He's certainly a top talent in the youth system and will become a valuable asset to Newcastle when he inevitably makes the transition across to their first team. By that time, he will have grown stronger both physically and in terms of his footballing ability.
