photo Jeff Reine-Adelaide
From Ryan Giggs to Harry Kane via Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney
and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Premier League has proved a breeding ground for some
of European football's biggest stars.
Ahead of the start of the 2015-16 season this weekend, AFP
Sports selects five teenage players seeking to grab a share of the limelight.
Brendan Galloway (19, Everton)
Everton supporters got their first glimpse of Galloway at
the back end of last season when he started their final two league matches.
Born in Zimbabwe, he moved to England at the age of six and joined Everton in
2014 following a spell with Milton Keynes Dons, for whom he made his debut aged
just 15. It is thought Everton manager Roberto Martinez intends to ease him
into senior football at left-back, but should John Stones depart, Galloway may
be given an opportunity to stake a claim for a first-team place at centre-back.
Joe Gomez (18, Liverpool)
Gomez only joined Liverpool in June, arriving from Charlton
Athletic in a STG3.5 million deal, but British newspaper reports claim he could
feature in the starting XI when Brendan Rodgers takes his team to Stoke City on
Sunday after impressing his coaches in pre-season. The England Under-19
international has predominantly played at right-back and centre-back in his
career to date, but he has turned out at left-back in Liverpool's warm-up
games. "Ideally, centre-back is my main position, but I'm happy to play
right-back or left-back if the manager believes I can help the team
there," Gomez told local newspaper the Liverpool Echo.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (19, Chelsea)
A tall, elegant central midfielder, Loftus-Cheek was a
driving force last season as Chelsea claimed success in the FA Youth Cup and
UEFA Youth League. He was also granted a handful of first-team appearances,
coming off the bench in a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in January and starting
against Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion in May. He was publicly rebuked by
Jose Mourinho for a careless display in a post-season friendly against Sydney
FC, but that only suggested that the Chelsea manager has bigger plans for him
this season. "I listened to what the manager said," Loftus-Cheek
said. "I wasn't at the level I need to be and I need to do better if I
want to play for Chelsea."
Andreas Pereira (19, Manchester United)
A Belgium-born Brazilian youth international, Pereira joined
United from PSV Eindhoven in 2011 and could be set for a breakthrough season
after impressing during the club's pre-season tour of the United States.
Competition for midfield places is fiercer than ever at Old Trafford, but
manager Louis van Gaal's record of promoting young players suggests Pereira may
get chances to impress. Pereira made two first-team appearances last season and
signed a new three-year contract in May. "Andreas has all the attributes
to become an integral part of the first team: great natural talent, coupled
with a good appetite to learn," said Van Gaal.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide (17, Arsenal)
The Emirates Cup pre-season friendly tournament tends to
offer Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger a chance to blood promising players from
the club's youth set-up and this year it was the turn of French attacking
midfielder Reine-Adelaide to thrill the fans at the Emirates Stadium. After a
cameo in a 6-0 win over Lyon, he started the decisive game against Wolfsburg
and created the only goal of the match with a forward dart followed by a
measured through ball for Theo Walcott. Wenger has described the former Lens
player as "something special" and ruled out sending him out on loan
in order to keep close tabs on his development.
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