One per club: Premier League players destined to break into the starting XI this season

Jason Soutar
Premier League trio Armando Broja, Djed Spence and Cameron Archer

We have picked one player per club who is likely to break into the starting XI at some point this season. They must have less than 20 Premier League appearances for their current team.

 

Arsenal – Marquinhos
The Gunners did not sign another winger after Marquinhos joined early in the summer window and following the departure of Nico Pepe on loan to Nice, the Brazilian teenager will play near enough every minute in the Europa League group stage and may be called upon in the first team if Gabriel Martinelli or Bukayo Saka get injured. Furthermore, he is very likely to get some Premier League minutes during this hectic schedule before the World Cup kicks off.

Another player who may be called upon plenty this season is Albert Sambi Lokonga, especially given Thomas Partey’s torrid injury record.

 

Aston Villa – Cameron Archer
Archer is a good young player, but don’t ask Steven Gerrard any questions about him.

Some Villa fans are wondering why he wasn’t sent out on loan with his first-team minutes at a premium. With Gerrard’s side struggling for form, his inevitable impact could be similar to the one Joe Gelhardt had for Leeds United last season.

 

Bournemouth – Jaidon Anthony
Anthony was the hero for the Cherries in their comeback win at Nottingham Forest the other week, netting the winner in the 87th minute. He has since been rewarded with a five-minute cameo at Newcastle United and a full game on the bench against Brentford on Saturday.

He is bound to become a consistent starter at some point this season with Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie ahead of him in the pecking order.

 

Brentford – Mikkel Damsgaard
Signed for £13.5million in the summer, head coach Thomas Frank described Damsgaard as “another classic Brentford signing”. Basically because he is Danish.

The 22-year-old was handed his first Premier League start this weekend and played a little over an hour in his side’s draw at Bournemouth. More starts are expected to follow.

 

Brighton – Levi Colwill
The Seagulls were adamant that Colwill would join on loan with Marc Cucurella signing for Chelsea, so it is clear that they really wanted the young defender this season.

The 19-year-old was superb on loan with Huddersfield Town in 2021/22 as the Terriers exceeded expectations to reach the playoff final and one injury will be enough to see him become a starter. He should make it difficult for Roberto De Zerbi to drop him from then on out.

 

Chelsea – Armando Broja
Our resident Chelsea fan said it himself: ‘Broja is in a uniquely favourable position to usurp Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang‘ and become the Blues’ first-choice striker. Have a read after finishing this.

 

Crystal Palace – Malcolm Ebiowei
Ebiowei was brought in this summer following the expiry of his Derby County contract, with the Eagles beating Manchester United to his signature.

He is an extremely talented young winger who is bound to prove himself as a solid Premier League player in the coming years.

 

Everton – N/A
The team is pretty settled and I would have to rely on injuries to select anyone here. Ruben Vinagre will be a regular should Vitaliy Mykolenko be sidelined, and James Garner will probably play if any of the midfield three are ruled out. If there is an incredible Everton youngster punching above his weight in Premier League 2, don’t let me know; I don’t want to look like a plonker.

 

Fulham – Manor Solomon
When Solomon was signed I claimed he was one to look out for. Unfortunately, he has undergone knee surgery and is ruled out until after the World Cup. Not to fear, though, the Israeli winger will be back stronger in 2023 to prove me right.

 

Leeds United – Cody Drameh
Summer signing Rasmus Kristensen has not been entirely convincing for the Yorkshire club and given Drameh’s terrific loan spell with Cardiff City last term, he could well break into the Whites’ first team.

Luke Ayling is obviously still at the club but past his best and there are a couple of great young players there too. You have Lewis Bate, Sam Greenwood and the aforementioned Gelhardt, but I went for Drameh due to his ability to play on the right or left, on top of his first-team readiness.

 

Leicester – Daniel Iversen
I’m not too sure what Iversen is doing in training to have not been selected over Danny Ward yet. Surely his time will come. His time will probably be January, a week before Leicester sign a new goalkeeper.

 

Liverpool – Calvin Ramsay
Trent Alexander-Arnold can’t defend, guys. Ramsay is bound to come in and show him how it’s done before breaking FIFA rules to take his place in England’s World Cup squad. Or something.

 

Manchester City – Sergio Gomez
Pep Guardiola decided not to loan out Gomez after signing him from Anderlecht and the Citizens have been screaming out for a new left-back, with Joao Cancelo filling in and doing an alright job in the meantime.

The Spanish defender came off the bench to play over 50 minutes against Manchester United on Sunday as his side pulled the Red Devils’ pants down to their ankles. Gomez makes a different impact to that of Cancelo as he is left-footed. He came on to assist one of Erling Haaland’s three goals and the thought of him running down the line to find the Norway striker in the box will have him licking his lips. If robots are capable of licking their lips, that is.

 

Manchester United – Casemiro
It is pretty baffling as to why Casemiro has been sitting on the bench every week since leaving Real Madrid, with Scott McTominay starting ahead of him. Erik ten Hag obviously thought if it’s not broke, why try to fix it? As a result, the Brazilian defensive midfielder had to sit and watch his side be dismantled next to his old friend Cristiano Ronaldo.

If there is one saving grace from United’s loss at the Etihad, it is that Casemiro is very likely to waltz straight into the starting XI, right where he belongs.

 

Newcastle – Elliot Anderson
Anderson is one Newcastle youngster who has been mentioned for over a year now. The talented 19-year-old made his Premier League debut in January 2021, coming on for Miguel Almiron with three minutes left of the Geordie’s 3-0 loss at Arsenal. Since then, opportunities have been scarce, but his game time is gradually increasing under Eddie Howe.

After getting over half an hour at Fulham on Saturday, it would be nice to see Anderson named in the Magpies’ starting XI in the top flight before the World Cup.

 

Nottingham Forest – Loic Bade
What a perfect opportunity for me to push my (probably confusing to you) Loic Bade agenda. This guy is the real deal. Watch this space.

It’s only a matter of time until the young French centre-back breaks into the Forest starting XI. If Steve Cooper doesn’t get his act together soon we may miss out on seeing him and William Saiba form the greatest defensive partnership of all time for France in Qatar this winter.

 

Southampton – Samuel Edozie
Another summer signing here. Edozie joined the Saints from Manchester City and is a very promising young winger.

Instead of ripping things up for the under-23s, the 19-year-old is picking up minutes in the top flight. He has come off the bench in every possible game since signing and could potentially replace Stuart Armstrong, Sekou Mara or Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the team at some point this season.

Apparently his brother, Fandab, is quite good as well. One to watch.

 

Tottenham – Djed Spence
Spence can’t get a ruddy kick under Antonio Conte – who apparently wasn’t too arsed about signing the young right-wing-back.

He has played one minute across all competitions so far, but should be given a chance following Emerson Royal’s red card in Saturday’s north London derby. But keeping him out in the cold in favour of Lucas Moura or Ivan Perisic in his position is probably more likely.

Hopefully Conte sees the light soon. Spence is better than Emerson and probably better than Matt Doherty as well. He has to start soon. He just has to.

 

West Ham – Emerson Palmieri
I reckon it is about time Aaron Cresswell passed the torch down to Emerson, who signed from Chelsea in the summer transfer window. Emerson probably won’t hold said torch for too long but it is still time.

Cresswell is an expert at taking set-pieces but is probably past his best, with all due respect.

Fellow summer signing Flynn Downes is also a decent shout here with Tomas Soucek out of form.

 

Wolves – Boubacar Traore
This one was relatively hard to call given the fact Wolves have just sacked Bruno Lage. We have no idea who will come in, meaning it is hard to gauge which fringe player has a chance of becoming a regular starter.

Here’s hoping for a complete sh*thouse to come in who starts Diego Costa week in, week out, but Traore is the safe call here.

Traore turned 21 last month and is on loan for the season, though Wolves have the option to buy him. The Mali midfielder has come off the bench twice so far this term and has currently made more appearances in 22/23 for a club he doesn’t play for anymore.

F365 Features Armando Broja

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