Sport
Five Youngsters to Watch This Premier League Season
Pre-season is an opportunity for managers to reshape and refine their team ahead of the new season. With the summer transfer window open and business being conducted on a daily basis, these matches are useful to integrate new signings before the real stuff starts.
It’s also a chance for young players to prove they can handle the step up to the senior side. Several youngsters have already grasped the opportunity given to them this summer. Here are five who could make a big impact on the Premier League in the 2026/27 season.
Dastan Satpaev (Chelsea)
Like so many managers in the Premier League this summer, Xabi Alonso is using pre-season to work out what he has inherited after taking charge of a new team ahead of the 2026/27 season. Dastan Satpaev is someone who has surely caught the eye of the new Chelsea boss.
Alonso has been openly glowing on Satpaev who found the back of the net in a friendly match against Western Sydney Wanderers. The Kazakhstan striker is already a full international for his national team and looks to have the physical frame to handle the demands of Premier League football.
Shea Lacey (Manchester United)
In a summer window that has been quieter than many Manchester United observers expected, Shea Lacey is proving why he deserves to be an important member of Michael Carrick’s squad this season.
Indeed, the 19-year-old has caught the eye in pre-season matches against Wrexham, Rosenborg, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, highlighting his potential as a difference making winger capable of creating and posing a goal threat in the final third of the pitch. Carrick could do worse than calling on Lacey once competitive football restarts.
Ryan McAidoo (Manchester City)
Enzo Maresca is still figuring out his Manchester City squad after taking over from Pep Guardiola and Ryan McAidoo has certainly made a good first impression on the new man in charge at the Etihad Stadium. Indeed, the 18-year-old’s potential has been clear to anyone who has watched City in pre-season.
McAidoo found the back of the net on his first team debut in the FA Cup last season and continues to demonstrate why he deserves more opportunities. The teenager was particularly lively in the pre-season match against Inter Milan in Hong Kong, coming close to scoring the winner.
Trey Nyoni (Liverpool)
Trey Nyoni has been one of the breakout stars of Liverpool’s pre-season so far, featuring in matches against Sunderland, Wrexham, Leeds United and Monaco at a time when new manager Andoni Iraola is looking for players capable of carrying out his instructions and imposing his new style of play.
The 19-year-old has the technical ability to be an important member of Liverpool’s midfield rotation this season with Iraola seemingly a fan. “Even when he [Trey] has one opponent quite close, he asks for that ball and he’s confident, he doesn’t rush. For me, that is very valuable,” said the new Reds manager.
Luca Williams-Barnett (Tottenham Hotspur)
Roberto De Zerbi needs solutions to the problems that have dogged Tottenham Hotspur in the last two seasons and Luca Williams-Barnett is emerging as a possible solution in pre-season. Spurs have a “precious diamond,” in De Zerbi’s own words, on their hands.
The young forward is quick, has a skill or two in his bag to get away from an opposition defender and is always keen to get a shot away on goal when he has the opportunity to do so. Williams-Barnett is still raw and has certain parts of his game to refine, but he could be in line for some minutes in the Premier League this season.
