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Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott is the youngster player to star in the Premier League
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Several of the youngest ever top-flight debutants failed to live up to their hype
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Two Fulham teens have been fast-tracked onto our list
Some players take their time to make their mark while others are thrown into the deep end, making their top-flight debuts at such a tender age they have school the following Monday.
These ten young guns upset the Premier League odds by being selected ahead of established superstars and living out a childhood dream when still a child.
Jack Wilshere – 16 years and 256 days
Wilshere emerged onto the scene to enormous hype after impressing through the Arsenal ranks and soon set about justifying all expectations.
From his six-minute cameo against Blackburn in 2008 that made him the Gunners youngest ever debutant, and into the seasons that followed, this bustling, box-to-box creative star appeared to have it all.
Sadly, off-the-pitch issues and a succession of injuries repeatedly reined back his substantial ability, ultimately making his career a ‘what if’ tale.
No football bets today feature the midfielder, or at least not when focusing on the top-flight. If fate had been kinder, they surely would have.
Jack Robinson – 16 years and 250 days
Presently on the periphery of Sheffield United’s first team, the 28-year-old defender has carved out a decent career, predominantly spent in the Championship.
What he’s best known for however, is coming on as a sub during Rafa Benitez’s final game in charge of Liverpool in 2010.
Those few minutes made Robinson the youngest player at the time to have ever played for the Reds and equipping himself well, a bright future beckoned.
Our Premier League predictions suggest a bright future beckons too for Liverpool this term, with a second Premier League title up for grabs.
Reece Oxford – 16 years and 236 days
Classy, composed, and capable of playing either in the centre of defence or midfield, big things were expected of Oxford when he broke through from West Ham’s famed academy.
An outstanding debut on the opening day of the 2015/16 season saw the youngster steal the show during a 2-0 win away at Arsenal. Those high expectations only grew.
Some necessary loans, to gain experience, eventually resulted in a sideways switch to the Bundesliga with Augsburg, and though it may seem like a promise unfulfilled, he remains classy and composed, impressing in Germany.
Gary McSheffrey – 16 years and 198 days
Thrust into the limelight at an age when typical concerns are acne and not looking awkward in front of girls, the Coventry-born winger immediately excelled for the Sky Blues during a high-point for the club.
During that prolific era, Coventry had a terrific team, featuring the likes of Robbie Keane, Gary McAllister and the hugely underrated Mustapha Hadji.
McSheffrey’s debut marked the last occasion a Premier League side consisted of eleven English players and came against local rivals Aston Villa.
He would go on to make 143 appearances for Coventry – most of which were in the Championship – before signing for Birmingham for £4m in 2006. A second spell for his hometown side several years later saw both player and club in decline.
Rushian Hepburn-Murphy – 16 years and 198 days
The distinctly named forward made two appearances in the Premier League for Aston Villa, each a year apart, the first coming in 2015 when he replaced Christian Benteke late-on to round off a routine thrashing of Sunderland.
Unable to gain a foothold in the first-team squad, Hepburn-Murphy featured a handful more times in the Championship as the Villans adapted to life in the Championship but a failure to find the back of the net eventually led to a trio of loan spells.
A recent stint in Cyprus will hopefully revive the fortunes of a player once viewed in the Midlands as a ‘wonderkid’ with the world at his feet.
Jose Baxter – 16 years and 191 days
Attacking midfielder Baxter was burdened with hype when he became – at the time – the second youngest ever starter in the Premier League in 2008.
Regrettably, only another six Everton outings arrived, with two spells at Oldham and a three-year stint at Sheffield United making up most of his career.
In giving the England Under 17 international an early taste of top-flight action David Moyes was staying true to type after also taking the water-wings off Wayne Rooney and James Vaughan.
Two swam, one nearly sank until he found his level in League One.
Aaron Lennon – 16 years and 129 days
Everything about Lennon was speedy, from his rapid acceleration through the Leeds ranks to his searing pace down the right flank.
In 2003 he was unleashed from the bench against Spurs at Elland Road having already become the youngest player ever to secure a boot sponsorship deal, with Adidas at the age of just 14.
Soon after, the flying winger became the youngest player in Premier League history to assist a goal.
Surprisingly for a speed merchant it is Lennon who has produced longevity, whereas the others on this list perhaps have not. Now 34 and at Burnley, he has made 393 top-flight appearances and counting.
Might he achieve an unprecedented double and make our oldest Premier League players top ten? Don’t rule him out.
Izzy Brown – 16 years and 117 days
Some controversy accompanied Brown’s move to Chelsea from West Brom in 2013 with the Midlands club furious at losing their brightest prospect for a nominal fee that was eventually decided by tribunal.
So maddened was the Baggies chairman that he threatened to scrap his development academy as lax rules meant the big boys could simply muscle in and cherry-pick the best.
In the event Brown, a lightning-fast winger, failed to fulfil the promise that saw him ever-so-briefly propelled into West Brom’s first team at the tail-end of 2012/13.
Instead, he became one of a large number of players repeatedly loaned out by the Blues, to this club and that. Now at Preston and still only 24, there is time yet for the player to shine.
Matthew Briggs – 16 years and 68 days
The swift elevation of the 6ft left-back highlights the inherent danger in bringing through a young talent too early.
In 2007, Briggs came on as a substitute for Fulham against Middlesbrough before returning to school the following day to take a GCSE exam.
By his own admission, in due course some arrogance set in and when no further appearances were forthcoming, a touch of resentment too. In total, the defender played 13 times for the Cottagers across seven years.
After briefly drifting out of the game and working on building sites, he now plies his trade for Gosport Borough in the Southern League.
Harvey Elliott – 16 years and 30 days
A solid football prediction is that Elliott makes it to the very top after already showing enough in a handful of games for Liverpool to suggest he is a rare talent.
Sadly, a dislocated ankle sustained against Leeds in the autumn of 2021 has curtailed his sharp trajectory, for now at least.
Should he fully recover however, the future is exceedingly bright for the quick-footed winger who is just as comfortable scheming from midfield.
Fulham certainly were aware of what they possessed when they fast-tracked the teen into their first team squad for an end-of-season trip to Wolves, and with the Cottagers already relegated, manager Scott Parker decided to look to the following campaign.
Instead, Liverpool swooped that summer, stealing a march for one of England’s most exciting prospects.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 11th December 2021
