Five Young Players To Watch This Season

Every Premier League season opens with a slate of new possibilities. A big part of the appeal of the EPL is that you never really know what will happen in any particular season, there are always some surprise packages along the way.

One steady source of surprise from year to year is the breakthrough of young players. It just so happens that due to whatever circumstances, some young players get the chance to step up for their club and they do so admirably. Last season it was Cole Palmer stepping up for Chelsea, a few seasons ago Saka, Smith-Rowe, and Martinelli stepped up for Arsenal. Who will it be this season?

While we don't have a crystal ball at The False Nine, we have decided to attempt to predict the future regardless. Here are five youngsters we think could have a standout season for their clubs.

But first, a word about the criteria. We have restricted ourselves to first-team players who are 21 and under. We have also tried to be biased towards players who we think will get enough minutes to have a breakout season. So, if someone doesn't make this list it may be because we think he won't get enough game time, not that they aren't talented. We've also excluded players like Garnacho, Mainoo, and Rico Lewis who are already standout players for their teams.

Also, note that this isn't a list of the five most talented youngsters in the EPL. It is just a list of five young players we think could have standout seasons. If a youngster you think is really good isn't here, we probably overlooked him, we're sorry, please let us know in the comments.

Okay, so disclaimers aside, here are the five youngsters we think could have an outstanding season.

I've been following this one since his Southampton days and his success brings me great pleasure. Although his preferred position is right-back, he can play on the left and the right side of defence as a left-back or right-back.

He's a decent passer, carries the ball well, and will stand up to his man in a 1v1. He's not the most aggressive fullback out there but he is very physically strong and measured when heading into tackles and duels and picks his moment well for someone his age. There is no greater acknowledgement of Tino's talents than that he has started the season as the first-choice right-back for Eddie Howe's team, keeping Trippier (who was arguably Newcastle's most important creative player last season) on the bench.

We think this season will be Tino's season.

Here's a quiz: Which 19-year-old center-back talent quietly moved from Juventus to Bournemouth?

The answer? Spanish talent, Dean Huijsen.

This was one of my favourite bits of transfers during the window as it showed that Bournemouth are thinking about the future. Dean is a very modern ball-playing defender. Standing at 6'5' his physical presence is noticeable, but, his best qualities at the moment are on the ball.

He carries the ball well, can shoot from distance and has a great passing range. Very much in the mould of the modern ball-playing defender like a Van Dijk or John Stones.

He's already started one game for Bournemouth and come off the bench in the other two, but there are bits of his game that need ironing out. He's still a bit rash and jumps into tackles recklessly now and again (think Cristian Romero). His positional awareness also needs to improve if he will play at the highest level.

However, these rough edges are only to be expected in a 19-year-old and under manager Andoni Iraola, Dean should have all he needs to iron them out and become a star.

We already covered Archie Gray at length in our earlier essay on the Spurs midfield situation coming into this season so read that if you haven't. He's part of a new generation of young English midfield talent who are beginning to show up on the big stage.

Archie is a versatile player who can do a job in several different areas increasing his chances of seeing minutes. Primarily a defensive midfielder, he can put in a shift at full-back (as he did for Leeds last season). Very much in the mould of a modern defensive midfielder, his most impressive abilities are on the ball and in his reading of the game. He is really calm under pressure and always looks to pick the right pass as opposed to the available pass.

Although 18 and still developing physically, he is nevertheless not afraid to jump into a tackle or be physically imposing in the middle of the park. He is particularly tenacious in all his actions and doesn't let up.

Ange will probably give him the chances he needs to show what he can do this season as Tottenham try to up the tempo this season and it's up to him to take it.

Tottenham have a winger problem and when they signed Wilson Odobert, the 19-year-old seemed like a long-term solution to that problem. But far from being a long-term solution, he immediately started playing for the first team. He has started the last two games for Tottenham and showed his versatility by playing on a different wing in each game.

The young, versatile French attacker can play on either wing or in the middle of the pitch as an attacking midfielder. Odobert fits right into the mould of the kind of winger Tottenham needs because his best attribute is his ability to carry the ball in attacking transitions.

Per The Athletic: "Odobert’s stand-out attribute is his positivity when he receives the ball: per Opta, 36.2 per cent of his carries were considered progressive last season, the highest proportion for any player in the division, underlining how important an outlet he was for Burnley. He is technically gifted, can skip away from defenders with ease and attempts a lot of take-ons relative to how often he runs with the ball."

There is no reason why he cannot hold down a starting berth at Tottenham this season ahead of say, Brennan Johnson. Ange is clearly impressed by him and we're backing him to have a breakout season.

20-year-old Adam Wharton made the move from Blackburn to Crystal Palace in February and under Oliver Glasner, he has become an established starter at the club. He's started three out of three games so far and while Crystal Palace's results haven't been the greatest you can already see why Adam is considered such a great talent.

He is the archetype of the complete central midfielder. Great passing range, and picks the right pass again and again even under pressure. His reading of the game and the space available for his teammates is great and is a tool for his team on the break. Often he passes the ball into space for a teammate to run onto as opposed to passing it to his teammate while they are running.

His close control is also really good, he can get himself out of tight situations in the middle of the pitch, a necessary tool as there is less space for midfielders to operate in the modern game. But, by far his most impressive attribute is his ball-winning ability in midfield. In his last ten Premier League matches, he has made thirty-five tackles and won twenty of them. Right now he's averaging 2 successful tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game. For a technically gifted midfielder, he doesn't shy away from the physical side of the game. And, under Glasner, we are tipping Adam to have a breakout season this season.

This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list of under-21 talent in the EPL. It's just a list of names that we considered but ultimately passed on because we wanted only five. Keep an eye out for these lads as well.

Lucas Bergvall, Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia, Oscar Bobb, Ethan Nwaneri, Marc Guiu, Omari Hutchinson, Liam Delap, Savinho, and Lenny Yoro are all talents who could have great seasons for their clubs.

Whatever happens, we are in for an interesting season and hopefully, we will see some young players find their level and take the league by storm.