NXGN 2025: Top 20 English teenage wonderkids in football

Back in late 2024, there was a very real fear around Chelsea that they were about to lose Josh Acheampong. The talented right-back was refusing to sign a new contract and with the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Bayern Munich circling, it felt like the departure of yet another homegrown starlet was inevitable for the big-spending Blues.

However, it was announced in December that the 18-year-old had agreed a new long-term deal to remain at Stamford Bridge, and he has since begun forcing his way into Enzo Maresca's first-team plans while showcasing impressive versatility by slotting in at centre-back with relative ease.

Good news has been in short supply for Everton fans in recent years, but as the Toffees prepare to move into their new stadium at Bramley Moore with their Premier League status secured, the signs are that they will have a homegrown midfielder to build a team around over the next decade in the shape of Harrison Armstrong.

The 17-year-old made his first-team debut for the Merseysiders at the start of the 2024-25 campaign before earning a handful of Premier League appearances under Sean Dyche. In a bid to gain further experience, Armstrong was then loaned out to Derby County in January and he is earning rave reviews after some excellent performances for the Rams as they bid to avoid relegation from the Championship.

Southampton almost certainly won't be sticking around in the Premier League as they edge ever closer to relegation, but at least one of the Saints' players will be remaining in the top flight, with Tyler Dibling set to be the subject of a bidding war this summer having established himself as one of the best prospects in English football.

The 19-year-old, who briefly spent time at Chelsea in the summer of 2022 before returning to St. Mary's, has oozed confidence since becoming a regular on the south coast, while Dibling's versatility in attacking areas has also likely played a part in the likes of Tottenham and Newcastle considering moves for him, though they could yet face competition from Bayern Munich if reports are to be believed.

Arsenal became the first team to give a Premier League debut to a 15-year-old when Ethan Nwaneri made his Gunners bow at Brentford back in 2022 and, if Mikel Arteta had his way, he likely would have followed suit in handing Max Dowman his first taste of top-flight football before he turns 16 in December.

As it is, the attacking midfielder is being made to wait due to Premier League rules, but Dowman has already trained with Arteta's senior squad on a number of occasions having shown he can mix it with players who are years ahead of him after becoming the youngest player to ever score in the prestigious UEFA Youth League earlier this season.

Tyrique George might not look like your prototype fleet-footed winger as, rather than having a low centre of gravity, he stands at almost six foot tall, but he has already shown in his few appearances for the Chelsea first team that he can cause problems for Premier League defenders with his speed and dribbling prowess.

The 19-year-old's team-mate at Stamford Bridge, England wideman Noni Madueke, described George as having "talent through the roof", and while competition for places at Stamford Bridge is fierce, particularly in attacking areas, the early evidence suggests that another Cobham product is about to become a first-team fixture in west London.

The fourth member of his family to play in the English top flight, Archie Gray is following in the family business - and making it look easy, too. After being named Championship Young Player of the Year last season having been an ever-present in his debut campaign at boyhood club Leeds United, the 19-year-old has made the transition to the Premier League look easy following his £30m ($40m) transfer to Tottenham.

Gray's maturity is what marks him out among his peers, while his versatility is also mightily impressive, with the midfielder having been forced to fill in at right-back and centre-back for much of his early career while barely missing a beat. Unlike his relatives, Gray is set to represent England rather than Scotland, while his younger brother, 16-year-old Harry, is another to keep an eye on as he closes in on a debut back at Leeds.

Manchester United are starting to make a habit of signing talented youngsters out of the Arsenal academy, and after prising youth-team goal machine Chido Obi away from the Gunners last summer, the Red Devils returned to Hale End to procure centre-back Ayden Heaven in January for just £1 million ($1.3m). The early signs suggest that price will soon be considered a bargain.

The 18-year-old has been pressed into action early in his United career due to a mounting injury crisis, but has looked comfortable on the left side of Ruben Amorim's back-three despite arriving at Old Trafford with just 10 minutes of first-team experience under his belt. If he can maintain this early promise, Heaven could become a fixture in the United line-up.

Brighton's reputation for signing players from abroad at a young age and developing them into Premier League stars is well established by now, but the Seagulls are also starting to show that they can produce their own homegrown talent at a similar rate. Jack Hinshelwood has established himself in the first team at the Amex over the past 18 months and now his cousin, Harry Howell, is making waves at academy level.

Howell broke into the Brighton Under-21s as a 15-year-old last season, and has become a force in Premier League 2 as he approaches his 17th birthday in April. The attacking midfielder is averaging a goal every-other-game at U21 level this season and has trained with Fabian Hurzeler's senior squad on multiple occasions as he closes in on a senior debut.

With Fulham now firmly secure as a Premier League club once more, attention is turning to how they can start introducing homegrown players into Marco Silva's squad in a bid to build a team capable of challenging for European qualification over the next decade. The first player set to make that leap is Josh King, who has already made his first top-flight start for the Cottagers this season.

The industrious 18-year-old midfielder has impressed Tom Cairney, who claimed that "the sky's the limit" for a player who not too long ago was walking out alongside the Fulham club captain as a mascot. Nowadays, King is close to taking Cairney's place in the midfield rotation having also become a fixture for England U19s.

It takes a brave man to mock Erling Haaland, but when Myles Lewis-Skelly marked his first senior goal against Manchester City in February by mimicking the Norwegian's famed 'zen' celebration, it only highlighted the supreme confidence the 18-year-old has showcased since stepping into the Arsenal first team around the turn of the year.

Though naturally a central midfielder, Lewis-Skelly has thrived as a left-back in north London, and he earned his first senior international call-up for March's World Cup qualifiers. Tuchel has spoken glowingly of him since announcing his squad and it wouldn't be a surprise were Lewis-Skelly to make his Three Lions debut in the coming days.

Chelsea's search for a reliable No.9 has been ongoing ever since Diego Costa left the club in 2017, and while the Blues are expected to spend big this summer to address the problem, in Shim Mheuka they have a striker who could one day develop into the prolific goalscorer the club have been crying out for.

The 17-year-old, who joined from Brighton in 2022, has proven his credentials in youth teams for both club and country, and recently became the youngest player to ever start for Chelsea in European competition having caught Enzo Maresca's eye with his performances at academy level.

Very few teenagers are able to step into the Champions League and immediately stand out as one of the most composed players on the pitch, but that is exactly what Lewis Miley did for Newcastle in 2023, as he burst onto the scene amid an injury crisis for the Magpies and did not look out of his depth amongst Europe's elite.

One of the breakout stars of the previous campaign, Miley's minutes have been limited this time around due to injuries and the form of his more senior colleagues, but there is no doubt that the 18-year-old has both the ability and mentality to become an England midfielder of the future.

Manchester City have made raiding the academies of their English rivals for the country's top talents a key part of their business model, so it should come as no surprise that they are among a host of top European clubs who are fighting to sign Leicester City winger Jeremy Monga this summer.

Still just 15, Monga has already been included in matchday squads by Ruud van Nistelrooy as he trains twice a week with the Foxes' first-team squad, with the hope being that an increased role in the senior side will be enough to keep the England U16s captain at the King Power Stadium past the end of the season.

The youngest player to appear in the Premier League for Tottenham, Mikey Moore has been generating an awful lot of excitement among Spurs supporters with his thrilling performances for Ange Postecoglou's senior side this season, both domestically and on the continent.

The 17-year-old's talent has been the subject of hushed conversations both in north London and at England's St. George's Park training base for a number of years now, but Moore has gone mainstream in 2024-25, with his quick feet and passing vision earning him comparisons to Neymar from team-mate James Maddison. Moore could very well prove to be the creative player the Three Lions have been praying for in recent years.

As Manchester City potentially prepare to bid farewell to one assist king, with Kevin De Bruyne having entered the final few months of his current contract, there is genuine belief that academy gem Divine Mukasa can one day fill the void left by the brilliant Belgian at the Etihad Stadium.

The 17-year-old is one of the most creative players in England's youth ranks, while he has also showcased improved finishing skills this season that has resulted in him having 27 direct goal contributions in just 16 league matches for City's U18s in 2024-25.

The rivalry between Liverpool and Chelsea isn't what it was in the mid-2000s, when Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez memorably went head-to-head on numerous occasions, but certainly there will be ill feeling emanating out of Stamford Bridge if Rio Ngumoha goes on to become the toast of Anfield after the Reds stole the forward away from the Blues in the summer of 2024.

Regarded as one of the top prospects in English football, the 16-year-old has wasted little time in making an impact on Merseyside, and Ngumoha's impressive performances for the Liverpool youth teams led to him becoming the youngest player to ever start a first-team game for the six-time European champions in January. He continues to train with Arne Slot's senior squad, and further opportunities shouldn't be too far away.

Not every player who has broken the record for the Premier League's youngest-ever debutant has gone on to become a household name, but Ethan Nwaneri certainly will. The first - and still only - 15-year-old to appear in England's top flight since its 1992 rebrand, the Arsenal youngster was slowly eased into the first-team picture in north London thereafter before truly exploding over the past six months.

The Gunners had to fight hard to convince Nwaneri to sign professional terms with them amid interest from Manchester City and Chelsea, and that effort has certainly proved worthwhile as the 17-year-old has grown into a key figure for Mikel Arteta's side amid an injury crisis in attack.

Competition for places in the Liverpool midfield is fierce as the Reds close in on the Premier League title under Arne Slot, meaning Trey Nyoni has had to be patient for his opportunities despite an impressive pre-season in 2024 that many felt would translate into first-team opportunities at Anfield.

The 17-year-old, who arrived on Merseyside from Leicester City in September 2023, has become the youngest-ever player to make a European appearance for Liverpool in recent months, while his performances at youth level have been compared to a young Paul Pogba by those who saw the Frenchman come through the ranks at Manchester United.

Arsenal are well-stocked when it comes to the goalkeeping department. While David Raya has confirmed his status as one of the best shot-stoppers in the Premier League over the past 12 months, the Gunners have two teenagers in their ranks who profile as top-flight 'keepers for the future in Tommy Setford, who arrived from Ajax last summer, and homegrown Jack Porter.

Porter, 16, already holds the record as the youngest player to ever start for Arsenal - a mark he took from Cesc Fabregas - after making his debut in the Carabao Cup back in September, and having played for the same boyhood team as Gunners legend Tony Adams, he comes from good stock when it comes to making a name for yourself in north London.

Sunderland are in the grips of a battle for promotion back to the Premier League, but even if the Black Cats come up short, homegrown midfielder Chris Rigg will almost certainly be leaving the Championship behind this summer as a queue of England's biggest clubs continues to grow in the hope that they will be able to sign one of the second tier's most impressive performers.

The 17-year-old made headlines in August 2023 when he became Sunderland's youngest-ever goalscorer, and after a season of sporadic appearances last term, Rigg is now a regular in Regis Le Bris' line-up at the Stadium of Light. Manchester United have long been linked with the dynamic youngster, while Arsenal, Liverpool and even Real Madrid are said to be closely monitoring his progress.