The Next Wave of English Football Talent

English football’s next wave is already forming, and it will break this summer across pre-season tours from Las Vegas to Vicarage Road, from Wroclaw to the other side of the world. These are not just academy names on team sheets anymore. They’re teenagers walking straight into first-team dressing rooms and asking for a place.

Liverpool’s next wide hope

Liverpool have seen this movie before. A teenager tears into pre-season, ignores the script and forces his way into the manager’s plans. After Trey Nyoni and then Lewis Koumas, it was Amara Ngumoha who set the bar last summer.

Now the quiet expectation is that Josh Abe might be next.

Abe will get his first sustained spell with the senior group on Liverpool’s tour of the United States. He had already dipped into a few of Arne Slot’s sessions last season while still only 15, a reward for a ruthless spell with the Under-18s: eight goals and three assists in just 10 league matches.

Then came the setback. Injury cut short his campaign, and the vultures circled. Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all moved in, sensing an opening. Liverpool dug in and kept him on Merseyside. Earlier this month, he turned 16.

A left-footed winger who loves to cut in off the right, Abe could not have picked a better moment. Mohamed Salah has gone, Victor Munoz will report late after Spain’s World Cup triumph, and there will be minutes to claim. If not this summer, Liverpool believe 2027 or 2028 is when he could truly echo Ngumoha’s impact.

Chelsea’s left side, and a familiar surname

At Chelsea, the vacancy is obvious. Marc Cucurella has gone to Real Madrid. Whether Xabi Alonso sets up with a back three or a back four, someone has to own that left flank.

Jorrel Hato and Levi Colwill are the senior options. New signings Valentin Barco and Geovany Quenda can both operate at wing-back, though Quenda is more natural on the right in that shape.

Into that traffic steps Landon Emenalo.

The son of former Chelsea director of football Michael Emenalo has been quietly impressing at age-group level for both club and country. A midfielder who can also fill in at left-back, he stands out for how calm he looks with the ball at his feet, how comfortable he is in possession when others rush.

Alonso is expected to include him on Chelsea’s tour of Australia and Asia, where he will travel alongside Reggie Walsh, Shim Mheuka and Ryan Kavuma-McQueen. All three have been earmarked for big futures in west London. Emenalo, though, has the profile and the position to catch the new manager’s eye quickly.

Manchester United’s ‘Little Messi’ steps up

Every academy has its whispered legend. At Manchester United, for a while now, that story has belonged to JJ Gabriel.

Once word got out that coaches inside the club had dubbed him “Little Messi” in his early teenage years, anticipation became unavoidable. Now, at 15, his moment is close.

United will embark on a rapid pre-season tour of Europe, taking in Dublin, Gothenburg and Wroclaw. Gabriel did not feature in the opening friendly against Wrexham, but Michael Carrick is expected to give him his chance before the Premier League season begins.

His numbers at U18 level last season were outrageous: 23 goals in 23 league games, enough to be named U18 Premier League Player of the Season. He also led the line in their run to the FA Youth Cup final.

Already capped by England at U17 level, Gabriel can play through the middle or from wide. Inside the club, many regard his ceiling as one of the highest of any academy graduate in the last 20 years. United believe that when he finally steps on the pitch this summer, he will not need long to show why.

Everton’s new finisher

Everton know they need goals. Beto and Thierno Barry improved as last season wore on, but the numbers still weren’t enough for a club with European ambitions.

That opens the door for Braiden Graham.

The 18-year-old scored 25 times in 34 games for 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 joins David Moyes’ group for pre-season and edges closer to a senior debut.

Graham grew up as a central striker, but his slight frame has nudged him out towards the left over the last year. From there he has found a home, drifting infield, attacking space, and continuing to catch Moyes’ attention. For an Everton side desperate to reconnect with European nights, a homegrown goalscorer emerging would change the mood quickly.

Aston Villa, CAS and the 6'4" striker in limbo

In France, it barely made a ripple. In England, it almost went unnoticed. But at the start of last season, a 16-year-old English striker was starting Ligue 1 matches for Metz.

His name: Brian Madjo.

He made five appearances in the French top flight before Aston Villa moved in January, paying £10 million to bring him to Villa Park. Then the story twisted. FIFA blocked his registration.

Madjo, who turned 17 shortly before the transfer, had already earned three senior caps for Luxembourg before switching allegiance to England, where he was born. Those appearances mean FIFA now class him 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, fighting to overturn the ruling. While the legal wrangling continues, Madjo is allowed to play in friendlies. He wasted no time, scoring twice against Walsall in Villa’s first pre-season outing as Europa League winners.

At 6'4" and physically dominant, he has drawn comparisons to Romelu Lukaku and is seen as one of the standout striker prospects in the English system. Whether he can feature competitively in the first half of Villa’s season remains unclear, but he has a full summer to convince Unai Emery exactly what he brings whenever the green light finally comes.

City’s next defender steps out

Enzo Maresca will start Manchester City’s tour of Asia with a stretched senior group. Many of his stars went deep into the World Cup, so the door swings open for the next generation.

Most eyes will gravitate towards Jeremy Monga, the teenager City prised away from Leicester City after beating Arsenal to his signature. But the player most worth watching may be Stephen Mfuni.

The 18-year-old centre-back made his City debut in January before heading to Watford on loan. There, in the Championship, he impressed in his first real taste of senior football, reading the game with a calm that belied his age. Injury cut that spell short, but he is fit again and back in contention.

A left-footed centre-half with composure on the ball and sharp anticipation, Mfuni has the profile every elite club craves. Premier League sides are already queuing up to take him on loan this season. City fans will hope Maresca gives them a good look at why over the coming weeks.

Arsenal’s other 16-year-old

Much of the noise around Arsenal’s academy has centred on Ethan Nwaneri and then Dowman. But Hale End has produced another 16-year-old with a serious chance of forcing his way into Mikel Arteta’s plans: Marli Salmon.

Salmon made four first-team appearances last season. With William Saliba unavailable and both Ben White and Jurrien Timber still working their way back from injuries, he could see plenty of minutes once the Premier League champions start their pre-season schedule in early August.

Comfortable at right-back but happiest in the centre of defence, Salmon is highly regarded in north London for his maturity and quality in possession. Arsenal’s back line has become one of the most demanding in Europe. The fact a 16-year-old is even in that conversation says plenty.

Newcastle’s Dutch conductor

Newcastle’s summer has been turbulent again. Key players have gone, money has come in, and the recruitment drive has tilted younger.

Sean Steur is the headline name in that youth intake.

Signed from Ajax for £23m after breaking into their first team, Steur stood out in the Eredivisie for his passing range and tempo control. At 18, he was on the radar of several top Premier League clubs before choosing Tyneside, where he will help bridge the gap left by Sandro Tonali and potentially Bruno Guimaraes.

With other midfielders still away on post-World Cup breaks, Steur should see plenty of action as Newcastle spend most of pre-season in the UK. If he settles quickly, he could shift the balance of their midfield before the window even closes.

Spurs’ homegrown spark

Tottenham’s recent chaos has obscured one clear positive: the academy conveyor belt is starting to hum again. Roberto De Zerbi has a senior squad evolving in his image, and behind it a cluster of young talents ready to push.

Luca Williams-Barnett is among the most exciting of them.

The attacking midfielder, who can also operate out wide, made his first-team debut last September. Then he had to wait. Opportunities dried up, and patience became part of his development.

That might now change. Williams-Barnett caught the eye in Spurs’ win over MK Dons on Wednesday and has booked his place on the club’s tour of Australia and New Zealand. With Mikey Moore potentially heading out on loan again, there is a clear lane for him to compete for minutes this season.

Brighton spend big on the future

Brighton have built a reputation on clever, low-cost youth recruitment. This summer, the model remains, but the price tags have ballooned.

They have paid Tottenham £46m for centre-back Luka Vuskovic. They have also sent £21.5m to AIK for winger Zadok Yohanna.

Yohanna, 19, arrives on the south coast after a blistering run of form: five goals and four assists in just 11 club appearances since the turn of the year. Chelsea had tracked him closely, but Brighton moved decisively.

Quick, direct and armed with a full bag of tricks, Yohanna looks tailor-made for the Premier League’s open spaces. Brighton will take him to France for the first leg of their pre-season. Defenders there will get an early taste of the problems he intends to cause in England.

From Abe in America to Yohanna in France, from “Little Messi” at United to the 6'4" striker stuck in legal limbo, this pre-season is not just about fitness and shape. It is an audition for the next decade of English football.

Which of these teenagers will still be on the pitch when the games stop being friendlies?