Yearender 201: Five best emerging players in Premier League

Despite the level of competition which allows no margin for error and managers finding it difficult to field younger players, the Premier League has been consistently producing extraordinary young talents over the years.

Here, we look at five emerging players in the Premier League who have showcased their talent on a fairly regular basis during the year 2021.

Valentino Livramento – Southampton

Over the past two decades, Chelsea have come a long way and have been immensely successful both in England and Europe. They have also done well to build a brilliant youth academy that has produced some massive talents over the years. However, the Blues have particularly not been successful in promoting most of their biggest talents to the first team and it seems like Livramento could join the list of the ones that got away from the West London club. The young right-back moved to Southampton in the summer in search of first-team football and his impact at St. Mary’s has been more than commendable and he deserves to be in this list.

Curtis Jones – Liverpool

Liverpool have a midfield that boasts incredible quality as well as depth and it is an area where Jurgen Klopp likes to rotate as well. Despite having a well-stocked midfield, 20-year-old Jones already has more than 50 first team appearances for the Reds which speaks volumes about the immense talent of the midfielder. Jones has enjoyed a pretty decent 2021 and despite his injury struggles, he deserves to be in this list. Klopp is evidently a huge admirer of the local lad who has come through the academy and he seems to have a bright future at Anfield.

Emile Smith Rowe – Arsenal

Arsenal have not quite had a year to remember in 2021 but there have still been a few positives for them. One of them is certainly the emergence of Smith Rowe. The 21-year-old struggled to break into the Arsenal side before the second half of the 2020-21 season but he has now established himself as one of the star players at the Emirates. He was rewarded the number 10 jersey in the summer and has been one of the best performers for the Gunners during the current campaign.

Conor Gallagher – West Bromwich Albion/ Crystal Palace (On loan from Chelsea)

Another product of the brilliant youth academy of Chelsea, Gallagher has been on fire this season for Crystal Palace on loan from Chelsea. The 21-year-old spent the last season on loan at West Brom and it was nothing spectacular for the youngster as he could not make much of a difference to the Baggies’ side that was eventually relegated. However, the midfielder has excelled under Patrick Vieira this campaign having already scored six goals and providing three assists in 16 games.

Declan Rice – West Ham United

Rice has been a highly regarded talent from a pretty young age but the 22-year-old has taken his game to a whole another level in 2021. He has been the catalyst for West Ham’s overwhelming rise and also had a Euro Cup campaign to remember. The stock of the 22-year-old keeps getting higher and higher as the midfield dynamo is very close to truly reaching the world class status.