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The 2019-20 season in the Premier League has been notable for a number of reasons – Liverpool’s incredible run at the top of the table, the surprising rise of Sheffield United, and numerous clubs including Tottenham and Arsenal changing their manager – but one of the most intriguing things to watch has been the rise in clubs using academy products in their first team.
From Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount to Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood and Tottenham’s Japhet Tanganga, it seems that all of the Premier League’s top sides now have products of their youth system in their starting XI.
Not all of the top flight’s best youngsters play for its biggest clubs, though; here are 5 of the Premier League’s best academy products from outside of the ‘Big Six’.
#1 Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Despite newly-promoted Aston Villa struggling for Premier League traction this season, the Midlands club can still call upon perhaps the best player outside the ‘Big Six’ in the form of their academy product Jack Grealish. One of the league’s most dangerous attackers, the 24-year old has had no problem adjusting to the top flight, scoring 7 goals and registering 6 assists in 25 games thus far.
The 24-year old attacking midfielder – a lifelong Villa fan – first signed with his local club at the age of 6, and worked his way up through the club’s various youth sides before spending the 2013-14 season on loan at Notts County. It was 2014-15 that saw him really burst onto the scene, though, as his exciting performances helped Villa to the FA Cup final and made him into a cult hero with the fans.
Grealish’s reputation slipped somewhat in the subsequent seasons, as his off-field behaviour was called into question and he picked up some injuries as Villa were relegated into the EFL Championship, but his return from another injury in 2018-19 inspired the club on a lengthy unbeaten run that culminated in their promotion.
The youngster was handed the club’s captaincy in the process, and has taken the responsibility on his shoulders, often carrying his team through tricky situations with his creativity, dribbling abilities and penchant for drawing fouls.
Without Grealish, Villa may well have ended up in far more trouble than they currently are. How much longer they can keep him is anyone’s guess, but if they can avoid relegation, they may not need to sell him just yet.
#2 Harvey Barnes (Leicester City)
Leicester’s rise back to prominence has been one of the most interesting things to watch during the current season, and one of the players who has really stepped up during the campaign has been winger Harvey Barnes. Tipped for his first senior England call-up next month, Barnes has displayed devastating form at times, and his return of 4 goals and 6 assists in 18 starts makes him one of the Premier League’s most dangerous attackers.
Brought up in Leicestershire, Barnes first signed with the Foxes’ academy at the age of 9, and made his first team debut in a Champions League match with FC Porto in December 2016 just days before his 19th birthday. The remainder of the 2016-17 season saw him on loan at MK Dons, and further loans to Barnsley in 2017-18 and West Bromwich Albion in 2018-19 followed – the latter of which saw Barnes score 9 goals and make 6 assists in 26 appearances.
The winger’s form for the Baggies in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign was enough for Leicester to recall him, and since then he’s gone from strength to strength, becoming a regular starter and linking up remarkably well with the Foxes’ other key attackers like Jamie Vardy and James Maddison.
With excellent dribbling skills and a strong range of passing, Barnes clearly has the kind of skills that mark him out as a top-level performer – and if Leicester continue to push for a Champions League spot, he’ll soon be able to show off his skills at the highest level, something his performances this season have deserved.
#3 Declan Rice (West Ham)
Initially part of Chelsea’s academy, Declan Rice found himself released by the Blues at the age of 14, only to immediately find a spot within West Ham’s famed youth academy soon thereafter. And it’s definitely a move that’s worked out well for the holding midfielder; since breaking into the Hammers’ first team in 2017-18, Rice has become arguably the club’s most notable academy graduate since the likes of Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand emerged in the late 1990’s.
A tough-tackling yet cultured defensive midfielder, Rice’s athleticism and speed mark him out from his peers, and despite West Ham’s struggles this season, the 21-year old has maintained a high standard of performance, appearing in all 27 of the Hammers’ Premier League matches after missing just 2 of their fixtures last season.
Already a full England international after making switching his allegiance from the Republic of Ireland in early 2019, it’s clear that Rice’s best years still lie ahead of him – and could well end up lying away from the London Stadium should the Hammers find themselves relegated into the EFL Championship this season.
If Rice does indeed leave West Ham for greener pastures – he’s already been linked with a move to Manchester United, for instance – he’d join the long list of Hammers’ academy graduates to go onto success on a bigger stage. For now though, West Ham fans will be hoping he can help to save them and preserve their Premier League status.
#4 Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
No Premier League club can truly be considered a ‘one-man team’, but it definitely feels like Crystal Palace come close at times. That’s because Roy Hodgson’s Eagles can call upon the services of one of the very best attackers in England’s top flight in the form of Wilfried Zaha – and the Ivory Coast international is one of their own, having been produced by Palace’s academy after joining them as a 12-year old.
Zaha first broke into the first team at Selhurst Park in the 2010-11 season, and by the end of 2012-13 – the campaign that saw Palace promoted from the EFL Championship to the Premier League via the play-offs – his star had risen to the point that he was recognised as one of the country’s best young players. The summer of 2013 saw him sign with Manchester United – but he failed to settle at Old Trafford, and after one season away, he was back with his boyhood club.
Since then, he’s gone from strength to strength, using his remarkable dribbling ability, tremendous work ethic and goalscoring skills to practically carry the Eagles through some of their matches. When Palace have needed someone to step up, Zaha has always been there to pull something special out of his bag of tricks.
Given his links with most of the Premier League’s bigger clubs, how much longer the Eagles can hold onto the Ivorian remains debatable, but for now he remains firmly a Palace player, and if they are able to retain their Premier League place again in the current season – which seems highly likely – then Zaha certainly deserves plenty of credit.
#5 Dwight McNeil (Burnley)
Given their links to practically every exciting young player in the Premier League these days, Manchester United must be kicking themselves that they let Dwight McNeil slip from under their umbrella back in 2014. That year saw the winger – just 15 years old at the time – move from Old Trafford to Burnley’s academy, where he’s since broken through into the first team and made quite the impact.
A classical winger whose exciting style belies the defensive brand of football usually played by Sean Dyche’s Clarets, McNeil has plenty of speed and dribbling ability, and he isn’t afraid to use it – bombing down the left wing and looking to either send crosses into the box for the likes of Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes, or make a beeline for goal himself.
McNeil’s debut season in the Premier League – 2019-20 – saw him make 21 appearances for Burnley, and his impact was immediately felt; his emergence into the starting line-up coincided with the Clarets going on an impressive 8-match unbeaten run that practically cemented their spot in the top flight for another season.
The current campaign has seen the winger score 2 goals and register 5 assists in his 27 appearances, and in the process he’s made his England U-21 debut. If he continues on the same trajectory there’s no doubt that a senior cap – and probably a move to a bigger club – will follow, but for now he remains one of the best academy products outside of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’.
