5 young Premier League players who made their breakthrough during the 2017-18 campaign

This season has proved to be the first of many for some young stars who have thoroughly impressed once given the chance. In this slideshow, I will be looking at five youngsters who have paid back their manager's faith this campaign.

#5 Aaron Wan-Bissaka

The 19-year-old full-back has been part of the Crystal Palace academy since he was 11 years of age, and made his top-flight debut earlier on this season. Although he had been named on the bench in previous campaigns, he didn't manage a regular-season appearance, yet that all changed at home to Tottenham Hotspur where he instantly became a fan favourite.

Despite losing 1-0 on the day courtesy of a late Harry Kane winner, the right-back impressed thoroughly and gained well deserved praise. He even won the club's 'Player of the Month' accolade for March which is most impressive considering most of his appearances have come against some of the best sides in the country.

The England U-20 international has only made just six Premier League appearances as of yet for the Eagles, however, four of those have been against top six sides, and he has hardly put a foot wrong. There is no doubt there are more Palace appearances left in the bag for Bissaka, and he is looking well on his way to becoming a very successful academy product.

He was dropped for Palace's most recent win against Brighton during which first-choice right-back, Joel Ward was at fault for one of the goals of the opposition. This will inevitably get Roy Hodgson thinking as to who he will name in the starting line-up for their trip to Watford this coming Saturday.

#4 Declan Rice

A potential star in the making

A former Chelsea youth product who has now made over 20 Premier League appearances for the Hammers, a mistake by Chelsea perhaps? The 19-year-old central midfielder/centre-half has been heavily praised by his manager and pundits alike for his solid performances. The Irishman captained the U-23 side to promotion last season and is now blossoming in England's top division.

Rice was named as a substitute five times last season and finally came to make his Premier League debut during their final game of the season. Unfortunately for him, it was in the 91st minute. In the same month, he was invited to train with the Republic of Ireland senior team having represented them since U-16 level and he has since made his senior debut for his country.

There is no doubt that Rice is a very promising player, and there is a very high chance he may be one of the first names on the team sheet come next season; he has even been tipped as future Hammers captain by teammate, Pablo Zabaleta.

#3 Andreas Christensen

Chelsea v Crystal Palace - Premier League

The Danish centre-half joined Chelsea in 2012 from Dutch outfit Brondby IF and made his senior appearance for the club in 2014. Christensen made just one Premier League appearance for the Blues before being loaned out to German side Borrusia Monchengladbach in 2015. He stayed in Germany for two years before returning to West London at the beginning of the current campaign and has since made a name for himself.

The 22-year-old has regularly kept captain Gary Cahill out of the side and has featured in 25 of the club's 33 Premier League matches this term; an impressive feat for a player who had only played a handful of top-flight minutes before this campaign.

Christensen has no doubt been a bright spark in an average performing Chelsea side this season. It is a lot of pressure having a 22-year-old at the heart of the defence, but Christensen has dealt with it terrifically. The centre-half has talent in abundance and will be looking to start even more regularly come next season.

#2 Trent Alexander-Arnold

Alexander-Arnold produced a stellar display in the UCL quarterfinals

Alexander-Arnold joined Liverpool in 2004 at just six years old and has been there ever since. He captained both the U-16 and U-18 teams and made his first-team debut in 2016. He made his Premier league debut that season and ended the 2016-17 with the Young Player of the season award.

Despite having only played in half of their top-flight games this season, he has enjoyed nothing short of a phenomenal campaign for the Reds. At the tender age of 19, he has already cemented himself into Jurgen Klopp's starting eleven and has already made 7 Champions League appearances. In the process, he has become the youngest ever Englishman to start a Champions League Quarter-Final, in which he was awarded Man of the Match in a 3-0 home win over Premier League Champions, Manchester City.

Having already kept Nathaniel Clyne out of the Liverpool side, Arnold has been tipped by many to be picked for England's World Cup squad, although it does seem unlikely. The Liverpool-born lad has helped his team to a Champions League Semi-final (at least) and a top-four finish.

In a season where his side's attacking trio have received most of the credit, Alexander-Arnold's performance has not gone unnoticed and he deserves every ounce of credit he gets. This is just the beginning of what will undoubtedly be an unbelievable career.

#1 Davinson Sanchez

Another one of Pochettino's shrewd signings

Adapting to Premier League football at 21 cannot be an easy task, especially arriving from the Eredivisie. However, Davinson Sanchez has somewhat made it look rather simple since joining Spurs for a fee in the region of £40 million. The Colombian centre-half has played a pivotal role for Spurs having featured in 27 of their 34 top flight matches thus far and has done well to keep Toby Alderweireld out of the side for the majority of the season.

Sanchez and fellow centre-half, Jan Vertonghen have formed a solid partnership in the heart of Tottenham's defence and have kept 11 clean sheets in the League this season; Spurs have also only conceded 31 goals this season, the fourth best record in the division.

At just 21 years of age, Sanchez still has the majority of his career ahead of him, and there's no question that it looks promising. He has already proved himself as a capable, consistent Premier League defender, and that's an impressive feat at his age, he has a very bright future ahead of him whether at Spurs or elsewhere.