NXGN 2025: Top 15 English teenage wonderkids in women's football

England's sole representative on the NXGN 2025 list, Michelle Agyemang's consistent goal-scoring record for the Young Lionesses caught the eye a while back. She netted four times in three games at the 2023 U17 Euros, three times in four games at the 2024 U19 Euros and she appears to be taking the step up to the U23s well, too, netting twice against Germany in February, just two weeks after her 19th birthday.

No doubt aiding her development this season is a loan spell in the Women's Super League, after playing for Watford in the Championship last term. Agyemang signed for Brighton back in September and has been developing well in Dario Vidosic's unorthodox system and style, playing a little wider at times in a role she believes is helping her to improve her creativity and ability in one-v-one situations.

It's as a centre-forward that she will hope she can come to the fore with England and Arsenal, her parent club, in due course though, and she certainly has the potential to be a star on both fronts given her wonderful talent and complementary physical profile.

One of three England players to make the Team of the Tournament at last year's U17 Euros, Lola Brown was electric in her team's run to the final. The 17-year-old racked up two goals and two assists in four games, with the highlight of her campaign a match-winning finish against France in the final round of group games to secure top spot for the Young Lionesses, and she put in some great performances at the U17 World Cup later in the year, too.

However, perhaps the greatest indication of her promise is that Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor has started to give the youngster a look-in with the Blues' first-team. Brown has been in the squad regularly this season and made her senior debut back in November, in the Champions League win over Celtic. That's no mean feat in a squad as star-studded as Chelsea's.

With a desire to run at her marker to try and make things happen, it doesn't take long to realise why Brown is so exciting either. Surrounded by top forwards like Lauren James on a day-to-day basis, she'll be learning plenty and, given the style of play of many of the club's wingers, unlikely to lose her direct and positive approach.

Arsenal is the best-represented club on this list by some distance, with their academy having a strong record at producing plenty of homegrown talent. With players like Leah Williamson and Lotte Wubben-Moy there to look up to, these teenagers can see a genuine pathway into the first team, and Madison Earl is one of those looking to follow it.

A bright attacking midfielder, Earl won the Golden Ball as Arsenal's U21s won the prestigious FIFA Youth Cup in May 2024, despite being just 17 years old at the time. She's a stalwart in the U19s and boasts an impressive goal-scoring record throughout the youth teams, especially for a midfielder.

After signing her first professional contract at Arsenal back in January, the teenager is now looking to get some senior experience under her belt. She spent the first half of her 2024-25 season at Bristol City and is now with Sheffield United, where she'll hope to provide an attacking spark that can steer the Blades clear of the Championship's relegation battle.

Another product of the Gunners' academy, Laila Harbert is a more defensive-minded midfielder who also signed her first professional deal at Arsenal in January. Captain of England's U17s, her leadership was evident throughout a remarkable 2024 for the Young Lionesses, as they reached the U17 Euros final and the last four at the World Cup a few months later.

She's been racking up plenty of experience on loan in the Championship over the last couple of years, too, starting 11 times for Watford in the 2023-24 campaign and finding herself an immediate regular at Southampton following a January switch. That will do Harbert's development wonders as she looks to ascend to new levels, having already shown so much promise to date.

Another of those England players who made the Team of the Tournament at the U17 Euros was Nelly Las, a versatile right-sided player who can operate in defence or attack. After helping England's U17s enjoy a great summer at the Euros and a strong autumn at the World Cup, she's now broken into the Leicester City first team, and scored a first senior goal in the FA Cup win over Stoke City in January.

Presented with opportunities to play for Slovakia, the country of her mother, Las has instead opted to dream big with England and the Lionesses will be delighted, because she has bags of talent and the ambition to match. Indeed, in a recent interview with The Athletic, she declared her desire to eclipse role model Lucy Bronze and play for Barcelona as well as the senior national team.

For now, the teenager will benefit brilliantly from being in Leicester, as head coach Amandine Miquel has a remarkable record of developing young players from her time with French side Reims. Her trust in Las in recent months has only underlined what a big role she could play in guiding this electric 17-year-old.

Another name ready to come off the Arsenal production line is Vivienne Lia, who made her senior debut in a League Cup win over London City Lionesses during the 2023-24 season. Just 17 years old at the time, it was a well-earned reward after impressing then-head coach Jonas Eidevall throughout a campaign in which she spent a lot of time around the first team. Having made a "strong impression" on the Swede there, he was extremely pleased to see how took that into her opportunities to play.

"What I really liked about her [debut] performance was that she looked like on the pitch like she does in training," he said at the time. "She does her thing. She doesn't change, just because it's a first team game or if it's three or four thousand in the stands. She takes on players bravely, like she did in practice. She does that in games and that I really like because that's what you want with your players, right? For them to be able to express themselves and not feel hesitant or feel like they have to change, and they can trust the things they do in training because that's what brings them to getting opportunities like this."

A talented winger who looks set to be part of the U19 Euros again this summer, Lia caught the eye when given chances by the Gunners in pre-season and is currently on loan in the Championship with Southampton, where she will hope to rack up plenty more senior experience at the start of what has the potential to be a great career.

One of the breakout stars of the current Women's Super League season has been Lily Murphy, who has seen opportunities come her way while Manchester City have been hit hard by injuries. A winger with incredible pace and tons of confidence, her desire to run at defenders has been refreshing to see and has helped City in some big moments, with her performance against St. Polten in the Champions League in December a real highlight.

"She's really keen to learn, she's really keen to improve, she's very, very humble, and we've been working tremendously hard with her on her finishing, because we know that in games, she will get in three or four times minimum," City boss Gareth Taylor said earlier this season.

That end product is clearly progressing as the game time comes and that is extremely exciting for fans of club and country, because Murphy has all the other attributes to be a real thorn in anyone's side.

When Jane Oboavwoduo went to the U17 Euros with England last summer, she was the youngest player at the tournament by some distance. Born in December 2009, she was just 14 through the tournament, and yet she fully held her own. Starting three of her five appearances, before starting three of her six in the U17s run to the World Cup final later in the year, Oboavwoduo was already an important player in a team mostly made up of 16-and-17-year-olds.

A member of the Manchester City academy - where her older brother, Justin, is also thriving - Oboavwoduo is a quick and versatile forward who provides a real nuisance to opposing defences. It'll be some time yet before she is able to showcase her qualities on a bigger stage at club level, given the age restrictions in the WSL, but what she has shown with the Young Lionesses at her young age is already starting to create some real hype - and rightly so.

One of few players in the England youth system who is based abroad, Erica Parkinson has had quite the journey through her career so far. Based in Singapore and playing with youth football team JSSL Singapore between the ages of four and 15, Parkinson has since been in Portugal, playing with Leixoes, Benfica and now Valadares Gaia. She is another who comes from a talented family, too, with older brother Denis playing in the youth teams at Famalicao.

A midfielder with a wonderful burst of pace and good awareness, Parkinson has been playing regularly in Portugal's top-flight this season, gaining - at 16 years old - the sort of senior experience that few of her England team-mates have. With the goal contributions starting to rack up, her development appears to be on a wonderfully exciting track.

There are not many bigger games to make your senior debut in than away at Chelsea. That's where Sophia Poor's first experience of WSL football came last April, as a 17-year-old, and she was quite literally thrown into the action, too, after a red card was shown to fellow goalkeeper Anna Leat just four minutes into the game. But how the teenager performed in such dramatic circumstances said a lot about her character, with some wonderful saves really catching the eye despite a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the soon-to-be-champions.

A regular starter at U17 level for England, Poor is now getting her chances in the U19s as she continues her national-team development. More game time at club level has been hard to come by, owing to the difficulty that comes with being a young shot-stopper trying to make their breakthrough, but there is little doubt in her ability as a goalkeeper. When she gets her chance again on that stage, she is sure to take it.

Described as "a future star for the country" earlier this season by then-Crystal Palace boss Laura Kaminski, Lexi Potter has gone from strength to strength since joining the Eagles on loan from Chelsea ahead of the 2023-24 season. The combative midfielder helped her the club win the Championship that year, with Kaminski describing her contributions to that success as "outstanding", and is now getting her first taste of WSL football after returning to south London for 2024-25.

That step-up is something that Potter has taken to well, despite still being just 18 years old. Not afraid to do the gritty work, she has the work rate and attitude to match her fantastic talent. One of the first names on the teamsheet for Palace and a regular in the middle of England's U19s, she's shown a lot of promise to date and will only get better.

There is no better way to describe Katie Reid's potential than by pointing to quotes from Leah Williamson, who told an Oxford Union audience last year that she believes the teenager will take her place in the Arsenal team in the future. "Exceptional" was what the England captain dubbed Reid, who made her Gunners debut towards the end of the 2023-24 season.

Physically strong, a good reader of the game and with the technical ability to thrive at a club like Arsenal, Reid is learning from some wonderfully experienced centre-backs by staying in north London for the time being, with Williamson joined in that department by fellow Lioness Lotte Wubben-Moy, world champion Laia Codina and former Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain star Amanda Ilestedt.

For all her qualities, perhaps the most encouraging thing about Reid's play is the confidence that shines through. Not afraid to get stuck into physical duels with some of the toughest centre-forwards in the game, it's no wonder she's already playing with England's U23s, despite still being 18.

Whether it is as a centre-back or midfielder, only time will well, but Zara Shaw looks set for a stand-out career regardless. The 17-year-old would've been a feature of Matt Beard's plans at Liverpool much earlier were it not for age restrictions - he is adamant he would've played her in the first-team at 15 - and injury, with Shaw suffering a brutal ACL setback just as she was impressing in the Reds' 2023-24 pre-season campaign.

After making her return last May, the teenager has started to get her chances in the Liverpool midfield and she has taken them, showcasing her great passing range and strong athletic profile when doing so. She's impressed at centre-back with England, too, and was at the heart of some big moments as the U17s reached the semi-finals of last year's World Cup. She may settle into one position or she may be a versatile player throughout her career; either way, she has the potential to shine wherever she finds herself.

Bristol City have a strong record at giving opportunities to young players - just look at Brooke Aspin, now at Chelsea, and Naomi Layzell, now at Manchester City. In Mari Ward, they have another promising young star on their hands, one they'll hope to keep hold of for as long as possible.

Signed to the Robins' academy from Plymouth Argyle when she was 16 years old, Ward broke into the first team some six months later and has now nailed down a more regular starting role. That has come at right wing-back, but the 19-year-old can also play as an orthodox full-back or a midfielder, as well as also being capable of playing on the left. Such versatility is an ode to her footballing intelligence and general reliability, while the demands of the positions she flips between highlight how strong her work rate is.

Cecily Wellesley-Smith's name always stands out on England squad lists, because the club she represents plays its football down in the English third-tier. Having progressed through the Oxford United regional talent centre and into the first team, making her senior debut at the age of just 16, the teenage centre-back is now on a dual registration contract at the club, having been added to Arsenal's books.

A captain at England youth level, Wellesley-Smith only celebrated her 18th birthday in January but is about to complete her second full senior season with Oxford and has recently trained with Arsenal's first-team, too. Such experiences are doing wonders for her development and have helped make her a regular starter for the Young Lionesses, as she was through the U17 Euros and World Cup last year.