Premier League : Best Young Players to have an impact in the 2021/22 season

From Crystal Palace to Leeds United, these are some of the best young players emerging into the Premier League with clubs outside of the established top six.

These young players are gearing up for big moves to bigger clubs in the future. while some youngsters are trying to impress on loan with hope of breaking into the first team of their parent club.

So let us take a look at the Best Young Players to have an impact in the 2021/22 season:

Armando Broja (Southampton):

Once one of the most well-trodden pathways for loan players, the Chelsea-to-Vitesse partnership has drifted apart in recent seasons. But Armando Broja revived it last season, with a ten goal campaign leading the line for the Eredivisie club, while he also debuted and scored three times for Albania.

Premier League : Style of Play:

Now with Southampton on loan, we are beginning to see Broja's skills translating to Premier League level very effectively. His willingness to stretch defences with runs in behind is a very transferable skill for Premier League strikers, with the transitional style of the league suiting players with pace in behind. But Broja pairs that with a pretty big and strong frame, that looks very adept at playing at this physical level for a 20-year-old.

Broja can hit the channels too. He can drift wide and receive the ball in transition and properly attack the full-back marking him, and looks comfortable attempting to beat his man and delivering balls into the area. The best comparison is probably to Alvaro Morata during his first spell at Juventus, though Broja is a bit bigger and more functional alone up front, while Morata was at his best playing off Carlos Tévez.

Broja combines this all with a versatile range of finishes when he has opportunities to shoot. He can score off the dribble, running in behind, with his head, first time, etc. and in general gets into really good positions to score and has a high xG per shot.

Strength:

• Stretching movements
• Wide range of finishing
• Raw goal outputs

Weakness:

• Playing with back to goal
• Linking play in tight spaces

Charlie Cresswell (Leeds United):

Teenage Leeds United centre-back Charlie Cresswell is son of well-travelled Football League striker Richard Cresswell, and is certainly his father's son. Standing at 6ft 2in, Cresswell has been a dominant presence for Leeds United's youth teams throughout his time at the academy. He has graduated the U16, U18 and now U23 setups with relative ease, making his Premier League debut early in the 2021/22 campaign whilst several first-team defenders were rendered unavailable through injury.

Premier League : Style of Play:

Cresswell is a curious blend of old meets new. He has been described by U23 manager at Leeds Mark Jackson as an 'old school' centre-half who thrives in traditional defensive endeavours: winning aerial battles, physically dominating opponents and leading from the front.

The England U21 international is incredibly vocal, and his presence at the back for the U23 side is notably missed when he is required in the first-team setup. He is a threat in the opposing penalty area from set-pieces and marshals his teammates at defensive set-plays.

In playing out from the back, Cresswell is confident and looks to execute passes through lines with purpose, encouraging others to follow suit. Positionally, he can be caught out when Leeds employ a high line, as his turn of pace is not the sharpest. Similarly, there are occasions where he has been spun by more intelligent centre-forwards, however his handling of Michail Antonio on his Premier League debut is a career highlight so far.

Strength:

• Physicality in duels
• Marking against opponents
• Ball progression

Weakness:

• Defensive positioning
• Erratic into contact at times

Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace):

Crystal Palace are putting Conor Gallagher in a position to succeed. The Chelsea loanee had a decent season on loan at West Brom in 2020/21, but the Baggies were not able to make best use of the attacking quality Gallagher can provide. Now free to hunt for opportunities in the final third, he looks like a prime candidate to return to Stamford Bridge next season as a first team candidate.

Premier League : Style of Play:

Coaches are always looking for goals from midfield. They ease the burden on the strike force, and turn your team into a more dynamic threat. Gallagher delivers that in spades. His powerful running from midfield allows him to both start and finish moves, and Patrick Vieira has given him the license to attack the penalty box whenever he sees an opportunity to score developing. Four goals and two assists in his first ten matches in 2021/22 underlines this; it is already two more goal contributions than he managed in 30 games last season.

Gallagher is a relentless worker on both sides of the ball. He is extremely aggressive defensively – perhaps too aggressive – with high pressure numbers paired with a low tackle success rate. These two stats tend to pair themselves regularly, but there is always room for improvement in terms of body shape and positioning when pressing incessantly.

Playing for a team like Palace, Gallagher only has a limited number of touches per game, but he is very effective. Barring an erratic first touch, he is very direct and clear-minded: his intent is to get the ball forward in any way possible, mixing a bit of ball-carrying and short passing in transitional opportunities to wreak havoc. His skillset is more limited when the game slows down and the defensive lines are compacted.

Strength:

• Directness in attack and transition
• Attacking contributions
• Relentless energy and effort

Weakness:

• Defensive efficiency
• Consistency of first touch

Joe Gelhardt (Leeds United):

Joe Gelhardt is a product of Wigan Athletic's youth system, making over 20 first-team appearances for the Latics before his 18th birthday. Due to Wigan's financial crisis in the summer of 2020, Gelhardt was sold for a reported £1 million to newly-promoted Premier League side Leeds United and immediately placed in the U23 side.

After a 12-month bedding in process including close to 20 goals at PL2 level, Gelhardt began to infiltrate Leeds' first-team – as well as the England U21 setup – following injuries to Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo.

Premier League : Style of Play:

Gelhardt is a stocky, but technical centre-forward, capable of worming his way out of tight spaces, shaking off challenges and unleashing powerful strikes. The ex-Wigan man stands at roughly 5ft 10in, but competes well physically, especially on the floor. His straight-line speed is adequate, but it is his relentless off-ball work-rate – something which has been developed during his time at Leeds – that makes him a pliable centre-forward in modern football.

He is a gifted technician, who likes to drop deep to receive possession, before driving at defensive structures. Gelhardt is adept at winning fouls, leveraging his frame against agemates to win decisions.

Recently called up to England's U21 side, he can be a touch predictable on his left foot, strongly preferring to shoot with it as opposed to the right. There are no issues with Gelhardt's shot power but his placement is much less certain, which has led to several of his penalties at youth level being saved.

Strength:

• Dribbling in tight spaces
• Explosive ball-striking ability
• Pressing and energetic impact

Weakness:

• Left-footed dominant
• Presence in the air

Christos Tzolis (Norwich City):

Born in the coastal city of Thessaloniki, Christos Tzolis has enjoyed a rapid rise for boyhood club PAOK. The teenager was rewarded for his prolific form at youth level with a first team call up and has not looked back since.

In his first full season, Tzolis contributed to more goals (17 goals, 10 assists) than any other first team player and earned a call-up to the Greek national team. He has since moved to Norwich City after their promotion to the Premier League, where he has struggled to establish himself as a starter.

Premier League : Style of Play:

Tzolis averages 1.1 successful dribbles per 90 which shows his reluctance to beat defenders, instead relying on movement from teammates to vacate space where he can then do damage.

The teenager is a high-volume shooter and currently averages 2.7 per 90 – more than any other teammate with Andrija Živković his closest challenger on 1.7 per 90. His first-time finishing is extremely decisive, thanks largely to his clean ball-striking ability and trust in his own technique to find corners.

Tzolis struggles to generate power and accuracy on his weaker side – much more reliant on his right foot – which makes him predictable at times.

His role is very specialized (low touch, inside forward) which means accommodating him into a 'top side' might be difficult. The Greek forward is inconsistent in his fundamentals, first touch can be loose and his passing too.

Strength:

• Proactive attacker
• Accomplished finisher
• Intelligent penalty box movement

Weakness:

• Weaker side notably ineffective
• Poor fit for possession-based teams
• Lacks refinement in defensive ability

This completes our list of best young players to have an impact in the 2021/22 season in the Premier League. For more lists like this one, follow Sportz Point.