BBC News
· collected 2026-08-04 · by Michael Emons, Alex Howell, Nick Mashiter, Nizaar Kinsella, Aadam Patel, Shamoon Hafez, Simon Stone, Ciaran Kelly, Nick Mashiter, Nizaar Kinsella
- Published
Which youngsters will make their mark on the 2026-27 season?
The Premier League is not far away, with reigning champions Arsenal hosting newly promoted Coventry City on Friday, 21 August.
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Arsenal → publish → Friday
We have picked 20 prospects, one from every Premier League club, who will be looking to enjoy a breakthrough season.
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who → pick → season
Who knows, some of these listed could provide a real bargain for you Fantasy Premier League managers out there.
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some → know → managers
Arsenal - Max Dowman (attacking midfielder/forward)
It feels strange to say that a player who has already scored a goal in the Premier League is about to have a breakthrough season - but that is exactly the case for Max Dowman.
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that → feel → Dowman
He broke the record to become the youngest scorer in Premier League history last season and made his first league start on the final day of last campaign, too.
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He → break → campaign
The attacker is still only 16 years old, and made six appearances in the league last season, but after being given a taste of first-team action is set to be more involved this time around.
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attacker → make → action
Dowman scored in a pre-season friendly win over Girona and going forward is likely to be a legitimate option for manager Mikel Arteta, both on the wing and as a number 10.
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going → score → number
Arteta will still protect the highly rated youngster, but this season could be the time we see Dowman in the Arsenal first team on a regular basis.
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we → protect → basis
The midfielder has been highly rated at Villa Park for some time and is considered the best of their recent crop of talent to come through the academy.
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midfielder → rat → academy
He made his first-team debut at Arsenal last season and made four appearances for Unai Emery overall, including two in the Europa League.
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He → make → League
A strong start to pre-season, including a goal in the defeat by Real Sociedad, underlines the 19-year-old's potential.
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start → include → potential
became the youngest Bournemouth player to start a Premier League match when he played against Brighton in September.
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he → become → September
Milosavljevic, who turned 19 on 28 June, featured in seven Premier League games in 2025-26, with the Cherries winning four and drawing one.
However, the 6ft 4in defender has not featured since January because of a knee injury, but will be hoping to get back to his best and continue his impressive start at Vitality Stadium.
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defender → turn → Stadium
He joined the Cherries from Red Star Belgrade on deadline day at the start of September in 2025, for an initial fee of £13m.
Brentford - Kaye Furo (striker)
In January, Brentford paid £8m to sign Belgian striker Kaye Furo from Club Brugge.
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Brentford → join → Brugge
A 6ft 3in quick and powerful striker, Furo had played in the Champions League against Arsenal before moving to west London with Bees boss Keith Andrews saying: "Kaye is someone we have tracked for a while that we are really excited about bringing to the club.
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we → play → club
"His attributes are ones I like and feel we can develop within the environment we have created.
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we → like → environment
I have no doubt he will be a big player for us."
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he → have → us
Furo played two FA Cup ties for Brentford before making his Premier League debut in May, coming on as a late substitute in a 3-0 victory over West Ham, and Andrews will be hoping for a big season from the 19-year-old.
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Andrews → play → old
Brighton - Zadok Yohanna (winger)
Brighton have established a reputation for finding exciting young talent and Seagulls fans will be hoping they have done it again with the purchase of 19-year-old Nigerian right-winger Zadok Yohanna.
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they → establish → Yohanna
The club agreed a £21.5m deal to sign Yohanna from Swedish club AIK Stockholm, where he scored five goals and provided four assists in 18 appearances.
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he → agree → appearances
Former Brighton midfielder Warren Aspinall, speaking on the Albion Unlimited podcast, felt the club's fans had every reason to be optimistic.
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fans → speak → reason
"It's a little bit of a scalp because two other big clubs in England were chasing him in Chelsea and Newcastle, so they got ahead of them which is very good," said Aspinall.
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Aspinall → chase → them
"It might be the right price and the going rate for an up-and-coming, good player.
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It → go → player
"Have we got another diamond to polish up?
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we → get → diamond
That's what we're looking for - these rough diamonds to polish up and sell on for big money."
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we → look → money
Chelsea - Dastan Satpaev (forward)
Kazakhstan striker Dastan Satpaev, 17, appears the most likely of Chelsea's young prospects to break through, having received praise from new manager Xabi Alonso.
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likely → appear → Alonso
Satpaev opened the scoring against Western Sydney Wanderers with a powerful near-post finish and looks quick, powerful and capable of finding the net regularly.
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Satpaev → open → net
He already has Champions League experience and is a superstar in his homeland, winning nine caps since 2025.
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He → have → 2025
There have also been impressive cameos from midfielders Landon Emenalo, who has been converted into a left-back, Reggie Walsh, Reggie Watson and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli.
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who → convert → back
Coventry City - Kai Andrews (midfielder)
Central midfielder Kai Andrews made his Coventry City debut aged 17 at the start of the 2023 season.
Andrews, now 19, can also play on the left and featured 10 times for the Sky Blues last season before spending the second half of 2025-26 on loan at Hibernian.
That was his second spell in the Scottish Premiership after a loan spell at Motherwell the campaign before.
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That → make → Motherwell
He scored his first senior goal in Hibernian's 2-1 league victory at Celtic in February, and he has already been capped three times by Wales.
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he → score → Wales
Andrews has been back in Coventry colours in pre-season and will be hoping to force his way into Frank Lampard's Premier League line-ups.
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Andrews → hop → ups
Crystal Palace - Joel Drakes-Thomas (winger/wing-back)
Crystal Palace's successful Conference League campaign, which ended with the Eagles winning their first European trophy, provided an opportunity for young players to impress.
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players → end → opportunity
Joel Drakes-Thomas was one of those to shine as, aged 16 years and 192 days, he made his senior debut in the 2-2 draw with Finnish side KuPS, producing a player-of-the-match performance.
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he → shine → performance
He played against Leeds two days after the KuPS match, becoming the youngest player to turn out for the club in the Premier League.
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He → play → League
Drakes-Thomas, who can play as a right wing-back or on the wing, turned 17 in June and signed his first professional contract with the Eagles at the beginning of July after being with the club since the age of six.
He has already made four senior appearances and will be hoping for many more in 2026-27.
Everton - Harrison Armstrong (midfielder)
Central midfielder Harrison Armstrong has been with Everton since the age of five and established himself as a key member of the first team in the second half of last season.
He made his Toffees Premier League debut early in the 2024-25 campaign and has now played 16 times in the top flight as well as having half-season loans in the Championship, firstly with Derby County and then Preston North End.
His performances led to him being named Everton's young player of the season and he has regularly featured for England Under-19s.
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he → play → Under-19s
The 19-year-old can play either as a defensive midfielder or in a more advanced role.
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old → play → role
"He's not looked out of place in the Premier League.
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He → look → League
That's the biggest compliment I could give Harrison," said Everton boss David Moyes in January.
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Moyes → give → January
Fulham - Jonah Kusi-Asare (forward)
It promises to be a big season for exciting forward Jonah Kusi-Asare after he completed a £5m permanent move to Fulham in the summer
The Swede, who turned 19 in July, joined on a five-year deal with an option for a further 12 months after he had played 10 times for the Cottagers while on loan from Bayern Munich last season.
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he → promise → Munich
…and 122 more, not listed.