Premier League Potential: Ranking the Top 25 Young Players in the EPL

The English Premier League is a hot bed of young talent.

With players in all positions being brought up through England's top flight, the next class of stars expected to put their stamp on the league are an exciting group, to say the least, if they all reach the level of potential demanded of them.

In compiling this list I shot for players 21 years old and younger. That means some players such as Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea and Manchester United's Tom Cleverly and Danny Welbeck are excluded only on age, not on talent.

There are many to choose from and much more talent beyond those listed here but these are the ones that many believe will be the face of the English Premier League when they hit the prime of their careers. 

Craig Dawson

Craig Dawson has been pushing to claim a full-time place in Roy Hodgson's West Bromwich Albion first team.

He scored 10 goals for League One side Rochdale last season before coming back to the Baggies full time.

It was not until last month that he has started to make a name for himself with some great performances in West Brom's last few league victories.

Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling has not had the press this season that he had last season when he burst onto the scene with a five-goal display against Southend United in the FA Youth Cup.

The 17-year-old was handed the No. 31 shirt for the 2011-12 season, but his only major appearance came in the club's preseason friendly with Valerenga.

Sterling also made a splash with the England U17 team at the U17 World Cup where he scored a long-range wonder goal against Rwanda.

He is expected to start making loan moves and a few EPL cameo's over the next few seasons.

Ryo Miyaichi

Arsenal signed Ryo Miyaichi at the deadline of the 2011 January transfer window.

In his first months at Arsenal he went on loan to Dutch Eredivisie Feyenoord where he would make 12 appearances scoring three goals and producing five assists.

This January, he joined Bolton Wanderers on loan just as another young Arsenal man, Jack Wilshere, did two seasons ago to amazing results.

Miyaichi already has a goal to his name with Wanderers after only three total appearances when he helped the club advance to the sixth round of the FA Cup with a victory over Millwall.

John Flanagan

A string of injuries to the Liverpool full-back contingent that had seen all three of Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio and Martin Kelly lost for much of the rest of the season and forced then interim manager Kenny Dalglish to put faith in reserve right-back Jonathan Flanagan.

His Liverpool debut came against Manchester City at Anfield and he made an excellent account of himself as the Reds cruised to an impressive 3-0 victory.

Flanagan would go on to make a total of seven starts for the Reds in the run in of 2010-11 and he signed a new contract with the club in the summer of 2011.

The now 19-year-old has also made four appearances for the Reds this season having participated in all of Liverpool's competitions so far this year, the English Premier League, Carling Cup and FA Cup.

Danny Rose

Another promising Tottenham defender is Danny Rose.

Rose spent time on loan at Bristol City last season with his club mate Steven Caulker and had previous time at Peterborough United and Watford.

The England U21 international has mostly been placed as a left-back, and between himself, Steven Caulker and Kyle Walker, Tottenham have a very promising future in defense.

Sebastian Coates

Another promising Liverpool player on the rise is towering 6'6" Uruguayan defender Sebastian Coates.

The 2011 Copa America Young Player of the Tournament joined the Reds on the back of his national triumph at the 2011 Copa America.

Coates already has seven first-team appearances for the Merseyside club and spends time between the first team and the reserves.

Kyle Walker

Kyle Walker earned a starting place in Tottenham's opening day fixture under Harry Redknapp and has never looked back.

The 21-year-old gathered many experiences through loans in the last three seasons between Sheffield United, Northampton Town, Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa, and it has all paid off.

Walker effectively put Vedran Corluka out of a job at Spurs and has been sensational for most all of the season and is likely to be a permanent fixture for the future years of the club.

He endeared himself to the Spurs faithful in the first North London derby of 2011-12 at White Hart Lane when he scored what would be the winning goal for the club, giving them a 2-1 victory.

Oriol Romeu

Chelsea acquired 20-year-old defensive midfielder from Barcelona over the summer of 2011.

So far he has made 22 appearances under Andre Villas-Boas and has had some impressive moments for the Blues in both the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.

Romeu has a long way to go before filling the boots of a finally-returned Michael Essien, but he already appears to have the faith of the manager.

However, who knows how much longer AVB will last?

Jason Lowe

Blackburn Rovers and England U21 international midfielder Jason Lowe has showed much promise this season as his time in the Rovers first team continues to steadily increase.

Lowe has 23 appearances this season for the club so far with one assist, and made seven appearances last campaign on loan with Oldham Athletic scoring twice and providing one assist.

Connor Wickham

Conor Wickham was the Black Cats' most future-minded signing of the 2011 summer transfer window when he was purchased from Ipswich Town.

He has made 16 total appearances for Sunderland between both Steve Bruce and new manager Martin O'Neal, and will be hoping to continue improving in order to start earning more first-team playing time.

Josh McEachran

Chelsea's most promising midfield prospect of the current roster is almost 19-year-old Josh McEachran.

A loan move for the youngster was secured to Swansea City in January of 2012 where he has made four appearances since moving over to Wales for the remainder of the campaign.

Ross Barkley

Everton's Ross Barkley is one of the youngest midfielders being tipped to make a huge name for himself in the future.

With eight appearances this season, he is still working to earn more first-team action at the club.

The next two years will see some crucial development for the player as he truly needs a few loan spells for him to start getting some experience.

Romelu Lukaku

Belgian international Romelu Lukaku has yet to make a major impact for Chelsea in the EPL since his arrival, with only eight appearances.

However, he has a great pedigree of success from his time at Anderlecht and the Belgian League. Additionally, at the age of 18, his size and power are already impressive.

In most cases it takes big forwards a little longer to develop. But given the chance, Lukaku could be great for the Blues in the future.

Jack Rodwell

Jack Rodwell is one of the next generation that has been tipped for greatness on multiple occasions.

The 20-year-old Everton and England U21 international has a remarkable amount of EPL experience for his age, with over 100 caps for the Toffees since 2007, and having scored nine goals and provided five assists in the time.

His best overall season was in 2009-10 where he made 36 appearances.

Emmanuel Frimpong

Arsenal's Emmanuel Frimpong hoped for an increased opportunity to play his powerful style of all-out aggression and power all the time when he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers for the remainder of the 2011-12 campaign to boost the Wolves' hopes to stay up.

However, after 14 Arsenal appearances and five showings for the Wolves, Frimpong has been ruled out for the foreseeable future with a severe knee injury.

Martin Kelly

Liverpool's Martin Kelly performed his way to prominence last season when he stepped into the right-back spot during the injury spell of Fabio Aurelio. Glen Johnson was moved to left-back for part of the remainder of the season, allowing young Kelly to step up.

His consistently impressive performances saw him be a dangerous presence for the Reds down the right flank in support of the offense.

The Reds' recent Carling Cup final victory might not have even been possible had Kelly not scored his first Liverpool goal against Chelsea in the third round back in the early stages of the competition.

Steven Caulker

Tottenham Hotspur's 20-year-old defender Steven Caulker is making a name for himself around the English leagues as he is now on his third full-season loan.

Two years ago, he made 44 appearances for Yeovil Town in League One where he made several Team of the Week appearances.

Last season, he spent his time in the Npower Championship with Bristol City, making 29 appearances and scoring twice for the club, earning the club's Young Player of the Year award.

The England U21 international so far has made 15 appearances for newly promoted side Swansea City who believed they had signed one of the future's best defenders according to WalesOnline.

Aaron Ramsey

Aaron Ramsey knows all too well the long road that his teammate Emmanuel Frimpong is about to face with a major injury, as Ramsey suffered what was almost a career-ending injury when his leg was broken by a rash Ryan Shawcross tackle a few years ago.

Ramsey is only 21 years old; however, he appears to have been around for a good while and is a believed permanent fixture in the midfield for club's future.

The youngster has three goals and six assists for Arsenal so far this season in all competitions, and is the future of the Welsh national team along with North London rival Gareth Bale.

Victor Moses

Despite a frustrating season for Wigan Athletic, young attacking midfielder Victor Moses has been putting in some eye catching performances that have seen him produce two league goals and an assist in 26 appearances.

This has been his best season for the Latics so far, and looks to possible see him in line for a transfer to a bigger club in the summer, should Wigan fail to stay up.

Jordan Henderson

Jordan Henderson was a permanent fixture in Steve Bruce's Sunderland sides in both 2009-10 and 2010-11. Both of those seasons saw him awarded with the` Wearside club's Young Player of the Year awards.

Henderson joined the rebuilding Liverpool in the summer of 2011 for a massive £20 million transfer fee.

There have been good and bad performances by the England U21 captain since his move to Merseyside, with him being used primarily as a right-sided midfielder so far.

You can tell he lacks major experience on the right flank, especially in his Carling Cup final performance as he is not good at providing width and cuts into the middle to much from the flank.

However, he is believed as one of several that could possibly fill the boots of Steven Gerrard whenever his Liverpool days are over.

Phil Jones

Phil Jones joined Manchester United over the summer of 2011 from Blackburn Rovers.

After having cemented himself in the Rovers first team at the end of last season, he was ready for a new challenge and was brought to Old Trafford by Sir Alex Ferguson.

So far he has 30 appearances for the Red Devils and has been impressive ever since making the move to United. Jones has scored goals in both the League and in Europe.

Mario Balotelli

There is no doubting the ability of Mario Balotelli. The 21-year-old already has 10 goals in the EPL with only 16 appearances.

However, he will have to learn to keep his temper on the pitch and his antics off it in check.

If he can do that, there is little limit to the height of success he can rise to.

Jonjo Shelvey

Jonjo Shelvey is one of several player thought to have the ability to eventually assume the thrown of Steven Gerrard at Liverpool.

The youngster had a brilliant loan spell with Blackpool in the Npower Championship earlier in the season, scoring six goals and providing two assists.

Since returning to Liverpool, he contributed a goal and assist in the Reds FA Cup third-round victory over Oldham Athletic.

His performance over the course of 2011 was enough to earn him the 2011 PFA Young Player of the Year.

Jack Wilshere

Jack Wilshere is truly believed to be the future of Arsenal in the middle of the park.

A long-term injury has seen him sidelined for nearly the entire year, but he has proved time and time against that he is capable of great things and should be looked to for great things in the future.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stole the show for Arsenal when he secured a brace in the Gunners 7-1 demolition of Blackburn Rovers a few weeks ago, and the 18-year-old joins the ranks for the talented Arsenal youth under Arsene Wenger.

Speed, vision and work rate already have shown through in the youngster's play, and are sure to lead him to a great career.

With the amount of young talent around Oxlade-Chamberlain, there is no doubt that Arsenal could become a force to take the EPL by storm once again.

Conclusion

There is a huge amount of potential and talent in the English Premier League under the age of 21.

If you can think of some more in the top flight that have been missed, please post them in the comments below.

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