Which young players have impressed so far?
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We are now more than two months into the Premier League season and the table is starting to take shape, whilst it is becoming more clear who the most impressive players in the league are likely to be.
That goes for young players also, with this XI of players aged 21 or under really having excelled so far this campaign:
GK) Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea)
This selection is cheating slightly as Courtois turned 22 this year, but there is a lack of goalkeepers that young in the Premier League. The Belgian is the youngest regular goalkeeper in the Premier League and perhaps the most impressive.
RB) Calum Chambers (Arsenal)
The summer signing from Southampton has surprised a number of people by taking to his place in the Arsenal first team like a duck to water, whether at right back or in the centre of defence.
CB) Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur)
Started the season in incredible form with two goals in his first two games for Mauricio Pochettino’s side since signing from Sporting Lisbon in the summer, whilst also impressing with his defensive work.
CB) Liam Moore (Leicester City)
The Leicester City centre back is extremely highly thought of in the East Midlands and it is easy to see why from his performances at the heart of the Foxes’ defence so far this season.
LB) Alberto Moreno (Liverpool)
Summer Liverpool signing Alberto Moreno is another 22 year-old, but he remains eligible for Spain’s Under 21 side and this team. Is an exciting talent going forwards and solid enough at defending his own goal, has been their one unarguably good signing of the summer.
RM) Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
Sterling is already a decisive player for club and country and has been Liverpool’s most impressive player so far this season, he would be the star of this hypothetical XI.
CM) Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham Hotspur)
Algerian international Bentaleb is by no means an automatic pick for Mauricio Pochettino at White Hart Lane but always puts in a solid display when he is in the team – a tidy footballer and a big part of the club’s future.
CM) James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
The England Under 21 regular is expected to be the next big breakthrough star at Southampton and was in fine form for Ronald Koeman’s impressive Saints before picking up a serious injury.
LW) Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United)
Has come in for some harsh criticism of his displays having mostly been used as a substitute by Louis van Gaal, but Belgian international Januzaj has shown the same electric pace and trickery that made him so exciting last season.
SC) Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Harry Kane hasn’t had many chances in the Premier League for Spurs, but the 21 year-old is running riot for the club in the Europa League, scoring a hat-trick recently against Asteras Tripolis before donning the gloves for a late cameo in goal.
SC) Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion)
Perhaps the most impressive young striker of the season so far, only Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa have scored more than West Brom’s Burundi-born youngster Saido Berahino so far this season.