With all the riches and glamour in the Premier League right now, minutes can be pretty hard to come by for teenagers.
In fact, just 19 players under the age of 20 have been fielded in the English top flight this season, compared to 30 in the Bundesliga and 42 in Ligue 1.
No player highlights just how hard it is for youngsters to make their breakthrough in the Premier League as much as Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi, who has registered just 74 minutes of league football so far this season – that figure only goes up to 296 minutes if you add Europa League minutes.
So, which 19 teenagers have graced Premier League pitches this season and which ones have found the most joy with time on the field?
At Squawka, we’ve ranked all 19 by minutes played at the very top of the English game.
19. Rafael Camacho
Age: 18
Team: Liverpool
Premier League apps: 1
Premier League minutes: 1
At just 18 years of age, it would be harsh to expect Rafael Camacho to make a big impact on the Liverpool first team at this point – especially given the plethora of talent that the Reds have across their entire right-hand side.
The Portuguese has managed just one league minute this season – in a 4-3 win over Crystal Palace – although he did play the full game in Liverpool’s 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Wolves.
18. Eddie Nketiah
Age: 18
Team: Arsenal
Premier League apps: 1
Premier League minutes: 1
While many won’t have heard of Camacho, most will already know the name of Eddie Nketiah. The 19-year-old forward has 15 first team appearances under his belt for Arsenal so far and it feels like he’s been around forever.
This season, though, the Lewisham-born teenager has played just one minute of Premier League football in a 2-1 win away at Bournemouth, with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ruling the roost up front at the Emirates.
17. Joe Willock
Age: 19
Team: Arsenal
Premier League apps: 1
Premier League minutes: 2
With two minutes of playing time in the Premier League so far this season, Joe Willock is flying ahead of Nketiah.
Willock has, however, shown Unai Emery what he can do by scoring twice in Arsenal’s 3-0 FA Cup win over Blackpool this season, notching up four appearances for the first team in all competitions so far this term.
16. Bukayo Saka
Age: 17
Team: Arsenal
Premier League apps: 1
Premier League minutes: 7
Another Arsenal youngster, Bukayo Saka replaced Alex Iwobi in the 83rd minute of the Gunners’ 4-1 win over Fulham on New Year’s Day.
Unlike his aforementioned teammates, Saka is only 17 and has plenty of time on his hands – two Europa League appearances and an FA Cup outing this season is certainly a good return for such a young talent.
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15. Angel Gomes
Age: 18
Team: Manchester United
Premier League apps: 1
Premier League minutes: 9
Angel Gomes has 24 caps for England across various youth levels and is a very highly-rated talent at Old Trafford.
As such, the attacking midfielder has managed just nine minutes on the pitch so far this season, replacing Juan Mata in a 3-1 win over Huddersfield in December – his third senior appearance for the Red Devils to date.
14. Ben Wilmot
Age: 19
Team: Watford (currently on loan at Udinese)
Premier League apps: 2
Premier League minutes: 26
With Javi Gracia placing an immense amount of trust in veterans such as Jose Holebas, Troy Deeney and Adrian Mariappa, it could seem quite hard for some younger players to get a chance in the Watford first team.
19-year-old defender Ben Wilmot, though, managed six appearances across all competitions earlier this season, including 26 minutes of Premier League football, before heading off to Udinese on loan in January for the remainder of the campaign.
13. Callum Hudson-Odoi
Age: 18
Team: Chelsea
Premier League apps: 4
Premier League minutes: 74
Easily the most high-profile name on this list so far, the clamour for Hudson-Odoi to get more minutes in the Premier League has been growing at a substantial rate.
Two goals and three assists across nine cup matches this season have certainly helped increase that noise, as well as extremely public links to Bayern Munich.
Hudson-Odoi is an immensely talented winger and with the likes of Pedro and Willian entering the twilight years of their careers, it’s surely just a matter of time before the 18-year-old battles his way into Sarri’s Premier League starting XI, adding to his 74 minutes to date.
12. Kayne Ramsay
Age: 18
Team: Southampton
Premier League apps: 1
Premier League minutes: 90
One club that certainly doesn’t struggle when giving minutes to youngsters is Southampton and the latest prospect off the production line is 18-year-old defender, Kayne Ramsay.
Ralph Hasenhuttl made the bold move of starting Ramsay against reigning champions, Manchester City, back in December, with the Saints going down 3-1 after having Pierre-Emile Højbjerg sent off. Ramsay held his own, though, and completed seven clearances during the game.
11. Phil Foden
Age: 18
Team: Manchester City
Premier League apps: 8
Premier League minutes: 93
Another of England’s up-and-coming golden boys, Phil Foden has enjoyed plenty of football this season, even if only 93 minutes of it has come in the Premier League.
Foden has five goals in 12 cup appearances this season, with Pep Guardiola insisting the 18-year-old has the quality to ‘stay with City for 10 years’.
David Silva is now 33 and it’s quite possible that both Foden and Guardiola are eyeing up that position as the England U21 international’s route in, once the Spaniard’s legs finally give out.
10. Michael Obafemi
Age: 18
Team: Southampton
Premier League apps: 5
Premier League minutes: 116
Another Southampton player to get joy in the first team this season, Michael Obafemi has six appearances under his belt this season.
In the Premier League, the striker bagged his first goal against Huddersfield in December and also has an assist to his name, while Obafemi also made his Republic of Ireland debut as a late substitute against Denmark in the Uefa Nations League back in November.
9. Oliver Skipp
Age: 18
Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League apps: 6
Premier League minutes: 187
With Juan Foyth and Harry Winks just a couple of the names to star for Spurs this season, it’s clear that Mauricio Pochettino is the man you want to work under as a youngster in the Premier League – just look at how Dele Alli and Harry Kane exploded onto the scene under the Argentine.
The north Londoners haven’t made a signing for the past two transfer windows, putting even more emphasis on their youth development, and a real benefactor of that has been Oliver Skipp.
The 18-year-old midfielder has 10 appearances in the first team this term, with six of those coming in the Premier League, totalling 187 minutes. Skipp has been incredibly active during his chances in the first team, having 74.6 touches per 90 minutes in the Premier League and completing 49.57 passes per 90 minutes.
8. Domingos Quina
18 – Aged 18 years and 284 days, Domingos Quina has become @WatfordFC's youngest scorer since Nathaniel Chalobah (18y 135d) in April 2013. Prospect. pic.twitter.com/hZxPxknbIc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 29, 2018
Age: 19
Team: Watford
Premier League apps: 6
Premier League minutes: 304
Watford shelled out a reported £1m to sign Domingos Quina from West Ham in August 2018 and, so far, the Portuguese midfielder has repaid that faith.
The 19-year-old already has six appearances and 304 minutes to his name in the Premier League, scoring once during that time. Quina also has another goal and an assist in cup competitions for the Hornets and is showing plenty of promise.
7. Morgan Gibbs-White
Age: 19
Team: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Premier League apps: 18
Premier League minutes: 453
The brilliant Portuguese duo of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho currently dominate the Wolves midfield. However, nipping at their heels and looking like he’s going to be the real deal is Morgan Gibbs-White.
The 19-year-old first impressed with an assist and brilliant all-round performance in Wolves’ 2-1 win over Chelsea early in December and has started picking up more and more minutes ever since.
Gibbs-White’s attacking intent has seen him complete 1.79 dribbles per 90 minutes in he Premier League this season, the second-highest of any Wolves player, while Jamie Redknapp tipped him to be ‘the next Jadon Sancho‘ in December.
6. Diogo Dalot
Age: 19
Team: Manchester United
Premier League apps: 8
Premier League minutes: 484
Most of Diogo Dalot’s football this season came during the busy festive period, when Man Utd were suffering from a host of injuries at full-back and transitioning between Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The 19-year-old acquitted himself well, though, and with the likes of Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young advancing well into their 30s, the Portuguese full-back must seriously be eyeing up a regular right-back spot at Old Trafford in the near future.
5. Ruben Vinagre
Age: 19
Team: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Premier League apps: 12
Premier League minutes: 510
Nuno Espirito Santo is a simple man. He likes his beards long, his defence three-manned and his footballers Portuguese. Ruben Vinagre is actually one of eight Portuguese players in the Wolves squad at present and, given his age, one of the most understated.
However, the Midlands club parted with around £2.5m for his services in the summer after he impressed in the Championship last season.
Vinagre has made 12 Premier League appearances this season as understudy to Jonny and has shown more than enough to suggest he could be a mainstay for club and country in the years to come.
4. Dwight McNeil
Age: 19
Team: Burnley
Premier League apps: 9
Premier League minutes: 689
Burnley aren’t exactly famed for their academy prospects. However, in Dwight McNeil, it would appear they’re onto a winner.
The winger, 19, has already scored one goal and provided three assists in 689 minutes of Premier League football and has created more chances (1.83) and completed more crosses from open play (1.44) per 90 minutes than any other Clarets player so far this season.
3. Yan Valery
Age: 19
Team: Southampton
Premier League apps: 12
Premier League minutes: 809
At 19, Yan Valery probably wouldn’t have expected to have played so much first-team football for Southampton this season.
The French-Tunisian full-back already has 12 Premier League appearances so far this season, though, and looks every bit the mature, top-flight defender.
Valery has made 2.45 tackles per 90 minutes so far this season, while his athleticism and attacking intent give him all the tools to be the perfect modern full-back.
2. Ryan Sessegnon
Age: 18
Team: Fulham
Premier League apps: 23
Premier League minutes: 1462
With 16 goals in all competitions last season, it’s fair to say that Ryan Sessegnon isn’t exactly a player to have caught us all off guard this season.
Despite all the hype, the 18-year-old took a little time adjusting to the demands of the Premier League and has only managed two goals and five assists so far.
To Sessegnon’s credit, though, he has been asked to play all across the front line, up and down the left wing and just about anywhere else where this struggling Fulham side needs him – a big move may well await in the near future.
1. Matteo Guendouzi
Age: 19
Team: Arsenal
Premier League apps: 23
Premier League minutes: 1556
Matteo Guendouzi’s arrival from Lorient in the summer was definitely filed under ‘one for the future’ by Arsenal fans.
That, however, couldn’t be further from the truth; Guendouzi has already made 23 appearances in the Premier League so far, totalling 32 games in all competitions.
The 19-year-old Frenchman takes the ball with an incredible amount of poise and composure for a player his age and has completed 960 passes so far in the Premier League, the fourth-highest of any Arsenal player.
Guendouzi’s positional awareness perfectly compliments his ability on the ball and should see him become one of Europe’s most coveted number sixes in the coming years.
The post RANKING: Game time received by every teenager in the Premier League this season appeared first on Squawka News.
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