The Premier League breeds some of the best young talents of any league in the world. Youth academy stars are given a chance with the first team, and quite often, they stay. As we get closer to the start of the Premier League season, here are five players 20 years old and under, that you need to pay attention to this season.
Leeds United completed its final preseason fixture ahead of opening the Premier League campaign against Wolves on Aug. 6, and Jesse Marsch's men delighted a crowd of nearly 30,000 at Elland Road with a 6-2 beatdown of Serie B side Cagliari.
Marsch selected both of his American players in the starting XI with Tyler Adams playing in the midfield pivot role alongside Marc Roca. Brenden Aaronson was in a front three with Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford.
Crystal Palace have signed American international defender Chris Richards from Bayern Munich on a five-year contract, both clubs said on Wednesday.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. BBC reported Palace will pay an initial $10.33 million for the 22-year-old center back, with the fee rising to $13.35 million with add-ons.
After becoming the youngest goal scorer in NWSL history last month, 16-year-old Portland Thorns prodigy Olivia Moultrie got her second of the season Saturday night and it'll certainly be up for Goal of the Week honors.
The Thorns welcomed Gotham FC to Providence Park with Portland near the top of the table and NJ/NY beneath the playoff line, and it only took the home side five minutes to open the scoring through Taylor Porter after Gotham failed to clear a corner kick.
Center midfielder Malik Tillman shocked the soccer world in May when the Bayern Munich youngster announced he was switching his nationality to play for the United States instead of Germany. Now on a quest for more playing time, Tillman is heading to Scotland on a loan deal with Rangers.
Brace yourself for the sequel, Bend It Like Beckham 2: Going Bottom Bins On Orlando City B, because 19-year-old Romeo Beckham, son of Old Golden Balls himself, has curled home his first set-piece goal for Inter Miami CF II in MLS Next Pro.
Romeo's first foray into football was back in 2014 with Arsenal's Academy, but he was released and briefly pursued a fledgling tennis career while training alongside Andy Murray. However, he returned to the sport last year by joining Miami's reserve team and it looks like the correct decision.
The United States men's U-20 team beat Costa Rica 2-0 on Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras, clinching a place at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup and moving one win away from a spot at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The Philadelphia Union's Paxten Aaronson — younger brother of Leeds United and USMNT attacker Brenden Aaronson — was man of the match for the USYNT with both goals.
The United States men's U-20 team hammered Nicaragua 5-0 on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras. Victory over Costa Rica on Tuesday would guarantee passage to the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, but the ultimate goal is a win in the semifinals on July 1 to book a place at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
When Lionel Messi hopped off the bench in the 75th minute of Argentina's 6-0 beatdown of Serbia and Montenegro to make his World Cup debut in 2006, it wasn't as if the world stopped as one to be witness to The Child ordained for greatness.
If anything, the global reaction outside of Argentina and Spain would probably be more adequately captured as "This guy? He's the future of football? He's got nothing on Ryan Babel."
On July 6, this summer's biggest international tournament gets underway across England as 16 nations compete for the 2022 European Women's Football Championship.