Premier League: The Best 11 Under-20 Players in England Right Now

Since the development of the academy system in English football, there has been an increasing focus on both attracting and developing the best young talent in the world.

Jack Wilshere emerged last season as one of the Premier League's brightest young talents.

There seems to be a raft of vastly-talented young players emerging from Premier League and Championship academies (and also being snapped up from around the World) for increasingly sizable fees.

With the amount of talent out there, it is difficult to narrow down the field.

Nonetheless, here is the starting 11 I would pick from the players under 20 currently registered to clubs in England. 

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea

The goalkeeper position is one of the more difficult areas in which to fully assess the talent available.

In general, very young goalkeepers rarely get the opportunity to play in the first team and are either farmed out on loan or only take the field for the reserves.

In July, Chelsea splashed out on a 19-year-old goalkeeper with solid first-team experience and vast potential.

The 6'6" Thibaut Courtois played 40 games for Genk in their title-winning team last season.

No sooner had he signed for Chelsea than he was sent out on loan to Atletico Madrid.

The giant Belgian is a huge talent, who I'm sure will be a Premier League star in the future. 

Left-Back: Jack Robinson, Liverpool

Attack-minded full-back Jack Robinson became the youngest player to feature for the Liverpool first team at just 16 years and 250 days.

Now 17 years of age, the Warrington-born youngster will have to be patient after the signing of Jose Enrique. But in a few years he may well be challenging the Spaniard for a regular start.

Jack has represented England at the Under-16, Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 levels.

Right-Back: Carl Jenkinson, Arsenal

Carl Jenkinson joined Arsenal from Charlton Athletic this summer for a fee believed to be in the region of one million pounds.

Born in England, the 19-year-old has represented both England and Finland (qualifies through his mother) at youth level.

Given how good a judge of young talent Arsene Wenger has proven to be over the years, hopefully the English FA will be pushing to ensure Jenkinson represents England when he is ready to become a full international.

Jenkinson has already featured twice for Arsenal this season against Udinese in the Champions' League and against Liverpool in the EPL. 

Centre-Back: Phil Jones, Manchester United

Manchester United beat off competition from the likes of Arsenal and Spurs to secure the signing of defender/midfielder Phil Jones from Blackburn this summer. 

Sir Alex Ferguson paid in excess of 16 million pounds for the 19-year-old, who made 28 appearances for Blackburn last year.

He went on to shine at the Under-21 European Championship this summer.

Jones received a full England call-up in August, but the game against the Netherlands was cancelled.

Early season injuries to both Ferdinand & Vidic should give Jones a good chance to establish himself in the side, having featured twice already this season.

Jones could prove to be one of the best signings of the summer, and a central defensive pairing of Jones and Chris Smalling could prove formidable for Manchester United for years to come.

Centre-Back: Jeffrey Bruma, Chelsea

At 19 years of age, Chelsea's Jeffrey Bruma is already a full Dutch international.

He joined Chelsea from Feyenoord for £100,000 when he was just 15 years old.

He has played six times for the Chelsea first team and enjoyed a successful loan spell at Leicester City.

This season, Bruma has been loaned out to Hamburger SV.

If he shines there, he may get the opportunity to challenge for a place in the Chelsea side next summer.

Midfielder: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsenal

Eighteen-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Arsenal from Southampton this summer for a fee of around five million pounds (rising to 10 with add-ons).

The youngster notched 10 goals in 43 appearances for Southampton last season and was named in the PFA League One Team of the Year.

Alex has one cap for the England Under-21 side, but he has yet to feature for Arsenal.

I'm sure Arsene Wenger will ease him into the side in the same way he did with Theo Walcott.

He will take time to make an impact, but when he does it could be huge.

Midfielder: Jack Wilshere, Arsenal

Jack Wilshere joined the Arsenal academy at age nine, and they have developed him into the best young midfielder in the country.

At just 19 years of age, he is already a first-team regular for Arsenal and has five full caps for England.

He is a key part of the future for both club and country and will be an immense talent by the time he reaches his early twenties.

If I was picking a captain for this team then Wilshere would get the nod.

He is the stand-out player in this XI.

Midfielder: Josh McEachran, Chelsea

Josh McEachran made 17 appearances for Chelsea last season, and at just 18 years of age, he has a big future ahead of him.

Josh has four caps for the England Under-21 side.

With the maturity, passing and vision he has displayed so far in his career, a full England cap seems a certainty over the next few years.

With many of Chelsea's current crop of midfielders starting to approach the twilight of their careers, McEachran may well establish himself as a first-team regular sooner rather than later.

Midfielder: Ross Barkley, Everton

In amongst the doom and gloom surrounding Everton's financial issues, Ross Barkley's debut was a beacon of hope for Toffee's fans.

Barkley had been set to make his debut last season but suffered a double leg fracture while away on England Under-19 duty.

During his debut against QPR, he showed no ill effects from that injury, and some Everton fans have compared his impact to the debut of Wayne Rooney.

Ross demonstrated expansive passing, assuredness on the ball and an eye for the goal.

He should get plenty of opportunity at Everton, where playing resources are limited and David Moyes has an excellent record of giving young players a chance to shine.

While Everton fans won't like the mention of the name, Barkley has the potential to be the next Steven Gerrard! 

Striker: Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea

Chelsea paid a fee rumored to be as high as 20 million pounds to secure the signature of 18-year-old striker Romelu Lukaku.

The 6'3" striker had already scored 14 goals in 41 appearances for Anderlecht, where his performances and style of play has seen him dubbed "The New Didier Drogba."

Lukaku is also a full Belgian international and scored a brace of goals against Russia in a friendly last year.

Romelu's style is perfectly suited to English football, and I'm sure he will be a huge success at Chelsea in the future.

Striker: Connor Wickham, Sunderland

Connor Wickham signed for Sunderland this summer from Ipswich Town for a fee of around eight million pounds (rising to 12 with add-ons).

The 18-year-old showed huge potential while at Ipswich and has already represented England at the Under-21 level.

The decision to move to Sunderland may prove a shrewd one for Wickham, who is likely to see more game time in Wearside than would have been likely at Liverpool, with whom he was also linked.

If he is given time, he certainly has the potential to be a quality player for Sunderland and England in the future.

The Subs Bench

Here is the subs bench:

Goalkeeper: Jack Butland, Birmingham City

Defender:John Flanagan, Liverpool

Defender: James Tavernier, Newcastle United

Midfielder: Emmanuel Frimpong, Arsenal

Midfielder: Ryo Miyaichi, Arsenal

Striker: Frederico Macheda, Manchester United

Striker: Sammy Ameobi, Newcastle United

Putting this list together was particularly challenging, as there is a huge amount of young emerging talent in the Premier League and Championship.

Trying to narrow down the candidates to a starting XI was surprisingly difficult.

In particular, there are a vast number of midfielders who could have made the list, and I'm sure some fans will be keen to point out players—like Jonjo Shelvey—who haven't even made the bench.

For what it's worth, I'm a Newcastle United supporter and would have loved to have fit Haris Vukic and Mehdi Abeid into the list, but there were simply too many brilliant midfielders.

On the positive side for English football, eight of my 11 are eligible to play for the national team and—in midfield in particular—the future looks very bright.