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The 2019-20 Premier League season has been notable for a ton of different reasons, but perhaps the most interesting thing about the campaign has been the use of young players from nearly all of the league’s teams. After years of seeing nothing but big-money buys starring in the Premier League, 2019-20 definitely seems to be ushering in a new era – one in which academy products and homegrown players are suddenly more important than ever.
With that in mind, here is the Premier League’s best team of 2019-20 – made up entirely of players aged 23 or under.
Goalkeeper: Dean Henderson
Sheffield United goalkeeper Dean Henderson has been a revelation this season, helping the Blades to make a stunning charge towards the Champions League spots. Only league leaders Liverpool have conceded less goals than Chris Wilder’s men, with Henderson letting just 22 in while keeping an impressive 10 clean sheets.
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The 23-year old’s save percentage of 75% - making a total of 70 saves – is up with the very best in the Premier League. Not only is there now a calling for him to be made England’s #1, but also for him to supplant David De Gea as the first choice keeper at his parent club Manchester United. Not bad for a first season in the Premier League!
Right-Back: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Both Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Reece James have had excellent seasons at right-back for Manchester United and Chelsea respectively, but when you’re talking about an outstanding young player in the position in the Premier League, it’s hard to look past Trent Alexander-Arnold. Simply put, the 21-year old has become a genuinely world-class performer this season and has been as important to Liverpool’s likely title win as any other player.
Alexander-Arnold has been an ever-present for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, starting in 28 of their 29 games and appearing from the bench in the other, and along the way the England international has scored 2 goals and registered 12 assists – with only Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne claiming more. Somehow, he’s Liverpool’s most creative player despite being a defender, and so it’s an easy call to make to put him into a side like this.
Centre-Back: Joe Gomez
Virgil van Dijk might receive most of the plaudits when it comes to the centre of Liverpool’s defence, but the truth is that while the Dutchman is a brilliant player, his most regular partner at centre-back – 22-year old Joe Gomez – has been equally fantastic throughout the current campaign. Gomez has made 19 appearances for the Reds in Premier League action, and in matches, he’s started in, the Reds have only conceded 5 goals.
With an excellent sense of position for a player so young, a great range of passing with an 88% completion percentage, and tremendous defensive instincts that allow him to score highly in all of the statistical areas, Gomez is a brilliant defender in the making. With van Dijk already 28 years old, it’s not hard to imagine a future in which the England international replaces him as Liverpool’s key centre-back.
Centre-Back: Caglar Soyuncu
When Leicester City cashed in and sold centre-back, Harry Maguire, to Manchester United for a huge fee of £80m in the summer of 2019, eyebrows were raised when none of that money was plugged into signing a replacement. But Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers clearly had an ace up his sleeve in the form of 23-year old Turkish defender Caglar Soyuncu, who had been signed by the club a year prior.
The Turkish international has slotted into the Foxes’ defence seamlessly, playing alongside Jonny Evans and making 28 appearances in the current campaign. Since the start of the season, Leicester have conceded just 28 goals. Soyuncu’s statistics – 1.8 successful tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 3.1 successful aerial duels and 4.6 clearances per game – have been revelatory. To say the Foxes have not missed Maguire would be an understatement – and is a testament to this young star’s immense talent.
Left-Back: Bukayo Saka
This position was a tricky one to pick as Leicester’s 23-year old Ben Chilwell has enjoyed a great season and has helped the Foxes to concede the third-least goals in the Premier League, but in terms of exciting young talent in the left-back slot, it’s hard to look past Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, who has really burst onto the scene in recent months. A converted winger, the 18-year old has largely been deployed as a left-back by new Gunners boss Mikel Arteta in recent games, and he’s proven to be an absolute revelation.
The England U-21 international has registered 3 assists in league action and is a tremendous dribbler – as Newcastle’s defence found out to their detriment in February. But he’s also improving hugely as a defender too – actually averaging more successful tackles per game (1.8) than Chilwell does. With a full season under his belt, there’s every chance that Saka could develop into a truly world-class modern-day full-back.
Midfield: Wilfred Ndidi
It might come as a huge surprise to some given the maturity in his style of play, but Leicester’s holding midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is still 23 years old and doesn’t turn 24 until the 16th December. Unlike some of the Premier League’s other young holding midfielders though – Hamza Choudhury and Declan Rice, for instance – the Nigerian plays with a mix of poise and steel that belie his young age.
Ndidi has appeared in 23 of Leicester’s 29 games, and it’s hard to dispute the idea that the Foxes are a far better team with him involved; they’ve only lost 5 league matches when he’s played. While he’s only scored 2 goals, his defensive statistics are phenomenal – averaging 4 successful tackles, 2.7 interceptions and 2 clearances per game. Essentially, he has developed this season into the player Leicester have needed for some time – a genuine replacement for N’Golo Kante.
Midfield: Ruben Neves
Like Ndidi, it’s almost hard to believe that Wolves’ Ruben Neves is still 23 years old – in fact, he only just turned 23 a couple of weeks ago. The Portuguese midfielder joined the Midlands club back in 2017 from Porto with a reputation as one of Europe’s best prospects, and after 2 successful seasons there, he’s definitely lived up to the hype.
This season has seen Neves appear in all of Wolves’ Premier League games. He’s only had a hand in 3 goals, scoring 2 and registering 1 assist, but few players in the competition are able to blend together the ability to hold off opposition attacks while also beginning his own side’s offensive moves. Simply put, he’d probably walk into any other side in the Premier League and he’s a big part of Wolves’ current Champions League push.
Midfield: James Maddison
2019-20 has seen the rise of a number of highly talented young attacking midfielders, and to the delight of Gareth Southgate, the majority of them are English. In terms of this list, Jack Grealish (too old by a few months) and Phil Foden (hasn’t played enough games) can’t be considered, which leaves the choice down to Leicester’s James Maddison or Chelsea’s Mason Mount.
In the end, Maddison slightly edges it; he’s made 28 appearances for the Foxes, starting in 25 of their league games, and has put together a record of 6 goals and 3 assists. He’s averaged a phenomenal 2.7 key passes per game, manages 1.6 successful dribbles per game, and has received 4 Man of the Match awards from WhoScored.com. After replicating last season’s impressive form, there can be no doubt about his credentials now.
Wide Forward: Richarlison
Eyebrows were raised when Everton paid £50m to bring Watford attacker Richarlison to Goodison Park in the summer of 2018. The young Brazilian had after all only played one full season in the Premier League, and only scored 5 goals in 38 appearances. His debut season with the Toffees was impressive at points but still slightly patchy; this season, however, the Brazilian has been largely fantastic.
Richarlison has played as both a central striker or a wide forward playing off Dominic Calvert-Lewin, scoring 10 goals and registering 3 assists in his 27 appearances in the Premier League. His attacking statistics are impressive – an average of 2.7 shots, 1.2 key passes and 1.8 successful dribbles per game – and no other Everton player has earned more than his 5 Man of the Match awards. It’s hard to deny now that he’s one of the Premier League’s best young attackers – and he’s still only 22 years old.
Wide Forward: Marcus Rashford
It seems like a lifetime ago now that Marcus Rashford burst onto the scene back in 2016, but the Manchester United forward is still only 22 years old, and the current season has seen him in the best form of his career. Prior to picking up a back injury, he’d scored 14 goals and registered 4 assists in 22 games – averaging involvement with a goal every 104 minutes.
Deployed largely as a wide forward by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – hopefully ending the myth that he’s better as a central striker altogether – Rashford has been absolutely fantastic, torturing opposing defences with his dribbling skills and ability to shoot from seemingly any angle. Red Devils fans will be ecstatic that by the time the season commences – or when 2020-21 starts – he should be fit and ready to go again.
Striker: Tammy Abraham
Okay, so it’s true that by the time the 2019-20 season was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham’s form had tailed off slightly. Injuries had sidelined him for a while and he was clearly somewhat tired, but in the first half of the campaign, no striker was hotter in the entire Premier League.
The 22-year old last scored in January, and yet only 9 other players – proven strikers like Mohamed Salah and Sergio Aguero – have scored more Premier League goals than his tally of 13 this season. Abraham has scored all types of strikes too – tap-ins, headers and highly skilled finishes – and he’s also chipped in with 3 assists. Chelsea have been looking for an heir to their famous #9 shirt for years, and in this massively talented academy graduate, they’ve found one.
