Greenwood, Elliot and Lamptey; Assessing the Youngsters
Written by Daniel (@comps__)
Lighting up any league in football at a young age is tricky. However lighting up the professional leagues in football is even harder. It is a feat that has been achieved by only the best players. Ronaldo signed for Manchester United when he was 18, one of the best players to grace the game, Michael Owen won the prestigious Ballon d’Or at just 21 years of age, and Wayne Rooney burst onto the scene for Everton at 16 years old.
Could any of these youngsters live up to the hype of Michael Owen, Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney?
Mason Greenwood
19 years old Mason Greenwood is one of the most well known youngsters on the planet, as he scored 19 goals and assisted 5 in the 2019/20 campaign. The Premier League top goalscorer named him as one of the players who could surpass his number of goals. The Manchester United striker registered 1.36 shots on target per game last season with a 0.50 shots on target to goal ratio. His main position being right winger with a tendency to be substituted on up front. One thing the starlet could improve to his game is his aerial duels, the forward won 30% of his duels last season. In comparison, the attacker that he replaced, Romelu Lukaku had a 55% aerial duel success rate in his last season at Manchester United.
Harvey Elliott
17 years old The record holder for the youngest player to feature in a Premier League game at just 16 years and 30 days old, Harvey Elliott is currently shining in the Championship for Blackburn on loan from Liverpool. The youngster is yet to have a Premier League appearance for the current English Champions, however Liverpool veteran James Milner revealed that Jurgen Klopp has big plans for the right winger in an interview with assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders. The youngster has currently registered 4 goals and 6 assists so far in the Championship, with a npGA p90' (non penalty Goals and Assists per 90 minutes) of 0.62.
Tariq Lamptey
20 years old Tariq Lamptey has currently played 11 games out of 11 starts in the Premier League this season, as he registered a goal vs Tottenham Hotspur in a 2–1 loss where Gareth Bale stole the show in the final minutes. He also recorded an assist. The young english right back moved from Chelsea to Brighton in 2019 and he has never looked back since! He has only won 30% of his aerial challenges, however being just 5 feet and 5 inches, you can’t feel like that’s a bad stat. He has won 2 penalties this season, both ended up in the net. He is no stranger to defending either as the youngster has 15 blocks and 83 recoveries so far this season.
