Teenagers Poised to Shine in Premier League Pre-Season

The Premier League’s next wave is already forming – and it’s about to crash straight into pre-season.

Across Europe, from Liverpool’s US tour to Manchester United’s sprint around the continent and Chelsea’s long haul to Australia and Asia, teenagers are being pushed to the front of the stage. Some are already hyped. Others have slipped in under the radar. All of them have a window, right now, to change the trajectory of their careers.

Liverpool: Abe steps into the Salah void

Liverpool know what it looks like when a teenager rips up pre-season. Trey Nyoni and Ben Doak have done it before; more recently, the buzz has centred around Trey Ngumoha. The bar is high. Josh Abe is being told to clear it.

Abe will get his first proper run with the seniors on Liverpool’s US tour, having dipped into a few of Arne Slot’s sessions last season at just 15. That wasn’t charity. It was a reward. He scored eight goals and laid on three assists in 10 league games for the Under-18s before injury cut his campaign short.

The setback didn’t scare anyone off. If anything, it sharpened the chase. Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all tried to tempt him away before he turned 16 earlier this month. Liverpool dug in and kept him on Merseyside.

A left-footed winger who loves to come in off the right, Abe suddenly finds a path opening up. Mohamed Salah has gone. New signing Victor Munoz will arrive late after Spain’s World Cup triumph. Pre-season minutes are there to be claimed. If Abe wants to convince Slot that he can be part of Liverpool’s next attacking cycle, this is his moment.

Chelsea: a new left side, and a familiar surname

At Chelsea, the vacancy is obvious. Marc Cucurella has left for Real Madrid. Whatever shape Xabi Alonso chooses – back three or back four – the left flank needs a new owner.

Jorrel Hato and Levi Colwill can both play there from the existing squad. New arrivals Valentin Barco and Geovany Quenda offer wing-back options, even if Quenda is more at home on the right. The competition is crowded, but Alonso will need depth and variety across a long season.

Into that mix steps Landon Emenalo, a name that will ring out around Stamford Bridge for more than one reason. He is the son of former Chelsea director of football Michael Emenalo, but he’s not here on legacy alone. At age-group level for both Chelsea and England, he has stood out.

A midfielder who can also slot in at left-back, Emenalo is calm with the ball at his feet and brave enough to demand it. That composure is what could catch Alonso’s eye on the club’s tour of Australia and Asia.

He won’t be alone. Reggie Walsh, Shim Mheuka and Ryan Kavuma-McQueen are also expected to travel, each of them heavily backed inside the club to become part of Chelsea’s future in west London. This is the first real audition.

Manchester United: ‘Little Messi’ steps out of the shadows

If there is one teenager carrying the kind of intrigue that followed Ngumoha – and especially Ethan Dowman at Arsenal last summer – it’s Manchester United forward JJ Gabriel.

Inside the academy, he’s been called “Little Messi” since his early teens. Nicknames like that can crush a kid. Gabriel has used it as fuel.

He’s only 15, turning that age in October, yet he dominated United’s U18s last season: 23 goals in 23 league matches and the U18 Premier League’s Player of the Season award to show for it. He also spearheaded United’s run to the FA Youth Cup final. The numbers are ridiculous for someone his age.

Already capped by England at Under-17 level, Gabriel can play through the middle or drift in from wide. Coaches at Carrington talk about his ceiling in the same breath as the best prospects the club has produced in the past two decades.

United’s summer schedule – a rapid-fire tour of Europe taking in Dublin, Gothenburg and Wroclaw – is expected to be his launchpad. He didn’t feature in the opening friendly against Wrexham, but Michael Carrick is set to give him chances before the Premier League kicks off. Once he steps onto the pitch, the expectation is clear: he’s not just there to make up the numbers.

Everton: Graham hunting goals and a breakthrough

Everton’s need is simple. They need goals. Beto and Thierno Barry improved as last season wore on, but if the club wants to return to European football for the first time since 2017-18, they require more firepower.

Braiden Graham might be the surprise answer.

The 18-year-old hit 25 goals in 34 matches across Everton’s youth sides last season, form that earned him a first call-up to the senior Northern Ireland squad for their June friendlies. Now he steps into David Moyes’ pre-season plans and edges towards his first taste of senior club football.

Graham grew up as a central striker, but his slight frame has nudged him out towards the left over the past year. That switch has worked. Cutting in from that flank, he has continued to score and impress. If he keeps doing it over the summer, Moyes will find it hard to ignore him.

Aston Villa: Madjo fights rules, rust and reputation

In France, Brian Madjo’s story started quietly but dramatically. At 16, he was starting Ligue 1 games for Metz. Five appearances later, Aston Villa paid £10 million to bring him to Birmingham in January.

Then everything stopped.

FIFA blocked his registration. Madjo, who turned 17 shortly before the move, had already played three senior games for Luxembourg before switching allegiance to England, where he was born. Under FIFA rules, those caps mean he is classed as a foreign player who cannot be transferred outside his “home nation” until he turns 18.

Villa have taken the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, trying to overturn the decision. While the legal battle rumbles on, Madjo is at least allowed to play in friendlies – and he wasted no time reminding people what he can do, scoring twice against Walsall in Villa’s first pre-season outing as Europa League winners.

At 6ft 4in, with power and presence, he has already drawn comparisons to Romelu Lukaku. Within England’s youth ranks, he’s seen as one of the standout striker prospects of his generation. Whether he’s cleared to play in the first half of Villa’s season remains uncertain, but Unai Emery will use this summer to assess him closely. Competitive debut or not, Madjo has the platform to show exactly why Villa pushed so hard to sign him.

Manchester City: Mfuni ready to step out of the shadows

Enzo Maresca’s first pre-season at Manchester City will be shaped by absences. Many of his senior players went deep into the World Cup and will return late. That opens the door for the club’s teenagers.

Jeremy Monga, signed from Leicester City after City beat Arsenal to his signature, will grab early headlines. The one to really watch, though, might be Stephen Mfuni.

The 18-year-old centre-back made his City debut in January before heading on loan to Watford. At Vicarage Road he took to Championship football quickly, impressing with his reading of the game and composure on the ball, only for injury to cut his stay short.

Now he’s fit again and back in front of Maresca. Left-footed, calm in possession and intelligent in his positioning, Mfuni has the profile modern elite clubs crave at centre-half. Premier League sides are already circling with loan offers. If he performs on City’s tour of Asia, those offers will only multiply – and City fans will get a glimpse of a defender widely tipped to become a future England international.

Arsenal: Salmon steps into a stretched back line

At Arsenal, the academy spotlight has shone brightest on Ethan Dowman, but he’s not the only 16-year-old making noise at Hale End. Marli Salmon is pushing hard behind him.

Salmon already has four first-team appearances under his belt, and circumstances could hand him more. William Saliba is unavailable, while Ben White and Jurrien Timber are still working their way back from injuries. When the Premier League champions start their pre-season friendlies in early August, minutes in defence will be there for the taking.

Salmon can play at right-back or in his preferred role at centre-back. Coaches in north London rave about his maturity and his composure with the ball. If he handles this summer the way he handled his first senior tests last season, he won’t be just a stopgap.

Newcastle: Steur to steady a shifting midfield

Newcastle’s transfer window has been chaotic. Key players have gone. New faces have arrived. Underneath the noise, Eddie Howe has quietly added serious youth talent.

Sean Steur might be the pick of the bunch.

Signed from Ajax for £23 million after breaking into their first team, Steur arrives on Tyneside with a reputation built on his passing range and control in midfield. He’s only 18, but his performances in the Eredivisie last season drew interest from a string of top Premier League clubs before Newcastle won the race.

With Sandro Tonali gone and Bruno Guimaraes’ long-term future always a topic of debate, Newcastle’s midfield needs new architects. With several senior midfielders still on post-World Cup breaks, Steur should see plenty of action during a pre-season largely based in the UK. If he settles quickly, he could fast-track his way into Howe’s plans.

Tottenham: Williams-Barnett pushes for a real role

Tottenham’s recent years have been turbulent, yet beneath the surface the academy is quietly producing a new core. Roberto De Zerbi has a senior side full of energy and intent, but what’s coming behind them is just as exciting.

Luca Williams-Barnett sits near the top of that list.

He made his first-team debut last September but has had to wait for further chances. His patience might finally be rewarded. In a recent win over MK Dons, the 18-year-old attacking midfielder caught the eye again and secured his place in De Zerbi’s squad for the club’s tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Comfortable centrally or drifting wide, Williams-Barnett is expected to compete for real minutes this season, particularly if fellow academy talent Mikey Moore departs on loan to gain more experience. This pre-season is his opportunity to convince De Zerbi he belongs in the Premier League, not just in the background.

Brighton: Yohanna, tricks, pace and a big price tag

Brighton’s recruitment department has built a reputation on finding value in teenagers before anyone else spots them. This summer, they’ve kept the age profile but raised the stakes.

Luka Vuskovic has arrived from Tottenham in a £46 million deal. On the wing, Zadok Yohanna has joined from AIK for £21.5 million. Those are serious numbers for teenagers, even by Brighton’s ambitious standards.

Yohanna, 19, has been on a rapid rise. Since the turn of the year, he has scored five goals and delivered four assists in just 11 club appearances. Chelsea tracked him closely before Brighton moved decisively.

He brings pace, flair and a bag of tricks that should torment full-backs. As Brighton head to France for the opening phase of their pre-season, Yohanna will be desperate to show that he can translate Scandinavian form into Premier League menace.

Across the league, the pattern is clear. Established stars are resting. Managers are experimenting. Contracts and courtrooms are shaping some destinies; raw talent and nerve will decide the rest. By the time the new season kicks off, which of these teenagers will still be on the fringes – and which will have forced their way into the heart of the story?