With the 2024/25 Premier League season rapidly drawing to a close, attention is slowly turning towards the summer transfer window.
All 20 clubs are finalising their shopping lists as they attempt to improve their squads ahead of the following campaign.
However, while many managers and coaches will understandably turn to the global transfer market to fill the holes they have found in their ranks, up-and-coming players within the club should also be considered.
In recent years, promoting youngsters and giving opportunities to promising talents has improved.
More and more managers and coaches are now seeing the benefits of looking down the age groups, with this season seeing several stake claims to figure in their teams’ tactics for a long time to come.
With that in mind, this tactical analysis will examine three players currently aged 21 or younger who have demonstrated the quality needed to make a name for themselves in the Premier League.
The scout report will indicate what each U21 player has brought to their team’s overall play and why each should be kept firmly in their manager’s or coach’s minds when the 2025/26 campaign gets underway.
Nico O’Reilly Scout Report At Manchester City
This analysis will first examine Nico O’Reilly, who has been with Manchester City since the age of eight and has emerged as one of the academy’s brightest prospects.
While he signed his first professional deal back in 2022 (alongside Rico Lewis), he has had to be patient and wait for his moment.
When it did arrive, he certainly grasped it with both hands, and it now looks certain that he will be a key player for Pep Guardiola’s side as they attempt to replace those moving on and recover from what has been a largely disheartening campaign.
With O’Reilly predominantly featuring inside the central third as he came through the age groups, it perhaps comes as no surprise that he has a natural desire to support attacks when he can and to offer himself as a passing option whenever one has been required.
However, Guardiola does not see him best fitting into his plans in midfield; instead, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach has mainly started him at left-back.
This, though, has not hindered his ability to impact games.
Instead, his tendency to get up the field has given Man City plenty of width whenever they have been in possession.
Manchester City seemed to build their game plan around this during the weekend’s goalless Manchester derby draw at Old Trafford.
At the same time, Manchester United tends to set up in a compact structure whenever they come under pressure, leaving the wings open for their opponents to exploit.
As a result, it was common to see O’Reilly and Matheus Nunes (another midfielder that Guardiola has converted into a full-back) pushing alongside the home team’s backline and giving their hosts problems inside their own third.
On this occasion, the combined efforts of Mateo Kovačić and İlkay Gündoğan to find O’Reilly might not have led to anything, with the latter’s cross lacking power and being easily cleared by Noussair Mazraoui.
However, the intent was there, and the fact that O’Reilly has picked up two assists, seven shot assists, and an 86.1% passing accuracy this season (as well as scoring two goals of his own) shows the danger he poses when allowed to access these areas of the field.
Guardiola may see him as a full-back rather than a midfielder because of his natural speed and ability to turn on the spot.
This means he can react to danger whenever it arises and work hard to keep his team as solid as possible.
This was highlighted clearly when Newcastle United visited the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City, at times, left too much space open, allowing Eddie Howe’s team to shift the ball towards the wings as they always like to do.
This situation was when the issues that could have caused became apparent, with Jacob Murphy (who is ordinarily the wing outlet for his side) feeding the ball out to Tino Livramento and giving the former Southampton player a chance to deliver it into the middle for a teammate to get on the end of.
However, O’Reilly quickly recognises this and rectifies his position to prevent it from happening, moving back towards the wing and engaging Livramento in a 1-v-1 duel.
On this occasion, he was successful, and Manchester City went from being under pressure to being able to attempt a counterattack.
O’Reilly has won 63.2% of his defensive battles and has made 23 interceptions (an average of 3.05 per game) so far, highlighting how much he has contributed to that.
This is not to say that he is perfect, though.
There are a few things that he needs to work on if he is to realise his true potential.
One of these is his tendency to give away needless fouls at times when he comes out of line and gets too tight to players in his attempt to win the ball.
This was one example of that occurring, with Leicester City attempting to find a way out of their half through James Justin but ending up penned in too close to the sideline.
At this moment in time, Manchester City are in control due to the lack of options that the former Luton Town full-back has available to him.
They only need to stay in his vicinity to prevent Leicester from getting up the field.
Jack Grealish recognises this and tells O’Reilly not to commit a foul here.
However, the latter player’s inexperience perhaps shows here, as his enthusiasm got the better of him, and he bundled Justin to the ground.
It is not the only time that he has been in these situations and has either fouled his opponent or made a poor pass.
This is certainly something that he needs to keep addressing if he is to become the player that so many feel he is capable of being.
Jack Hinshelwood Scout Report At Brighton
Whilst O’Reilly has emerged into the senior game this season, others currently 21 or younger have been long established in their club’s senior setups.
One of those is 19-year-old Jack Hinshelwood, who received his first Brighton and Hove Albion first-team appearance back in 2023.
However, that lasted just a minute, and he spent much of last season coming off the bench (starting just eight of the 16 games he featured in).
This time, he has been a much more regular starter, being named in the lineup in 17 of his 19 appearances.
Hinshelwood is primarily a holding midfielder, so he has been seen in front of the back line in Fabian Hürzeler’s system and has been tasked with guarding those behind him.
He has really taken to this, and his ability to read play allows him to react early and position himself in ways that cause opposing attacks to break down prematurely.
This is a perfect example of that, with Aston Villa in the process of launching a counterattack through Amadou Onana.
At this moment, the former Everton midfielder has options ahead of him.
Brighton’s high back line has enabled opponents to sit on the shoulder, giving Unai Emery’s side a way to exploit the open territory behind it.
However, thinking this way does not factor in the presence of Hinshelwood, who has noticed the problem and is moving to make an interception at the appropriate moment.
As a result of his slight positional adjustment here, he successfully intercepts the ball before it can test those behind him (something that he has done 82 times already this season, averaging 3.66 per outing).
When watching Brighton last season, under Roberto De Zerbi‘s leadership, there was a lot to like about the way they constructed attacks and tried to control games.
However, their defensive play was constantly questioned, and Hürzeler has attempted to remedy that since arriving in East Sussex last summer.
Having a player like Hinshelwood patrolling these areas of the field has certainly made that possible, and it is one of the main reasons that he has been such a mainstay on the team throughout the season.
Other attributes, though, have made Hinshelwood such a good fit for that role, including his composure whenever the ball is in his vicinity.
In this case, Brighton sought to penetrate Chelsea’s rearguard through a long pass by Georginio Rutter sent towards Kaoru Mitoma.
Their attack was cancelled out initially due to Malo Gusto’s well-timed interception and Trevoh Chalobah’s clearance.
At this point, the ball has entered Hinshelwood’s airspace, with the midfielder having moved up the pitch to offer support.
It is clear that Chelsea has players around him, and it would have been easy for Hinshelwood to simply clear the ball away and ensure he wasn’t caught in possession, but he instead kept calm and once again assessed his surroundings to make the best decision for his team.
His head pass into Carlos Baleba’s path was clean and accurate, ensuring that Brighton retained control and had a chance to launch another attack.
Therefore, again, having Hinshelwood on the field has greatly benefited Brighton this season.
The fact that he has won 52.9% of his aerial duels means that there is plenty to like about what he offers his team, both with and without the ball.
This is not to say that Hinshelwood is only an effective player once Brighton come under pressure or needs to win possession back, though.
He also has a lot to offer when they are moving up the field.
His high accuracy for passes to the final third, which currently stands at 73.4%, indicates the quality he brings with the ball at his feet.
As can be seen, Brighton are looking to find a way through Fulham’s defence this time around, and there are not that many gaps available.
Hinshelwood, therefore, needs to decide where to shift the ball, too.
He opts not to cross the ball into the middle (as he has done on plenty of occasions this season already) but to send it back towards the wing and towards Yankuba Minteh.
It might not have led to anything this time, with Minteh’s attempted first-time pass back to Hinshelwood being successfully cut out by Calvin Bassey.
He may have only scored two goals this season (largely due to his primary role in the side), but the fact that he has recorded an 88% overall passing accuracy shows again how he is a player Brighton can rely on when attacking as well as defending.
He will be a key name in their ranks for many seasons to come.
Romain Esse Scout Report At Crystal Palace
Not every young prospect in the Premier League has come through one of their academies, though.
That does not mean they have less knowledge of what is needed to thrive at this level.
That is certainly true of the final player in this scout report, 19-year-old Romain Esse, who joined Crystal Palace from Millwall in January.
In his few appearances since, he has shown why they saw him as a perfect latest purchase from the lower divisions (following in the footsteps of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise, and Adam Wharton).
Under Oliver Glasner tactics, Crystal Palace have become known for their reliance on a 3-4-2-1 system, and any player who joins the club needs to adapt to that structure in one way or another.
As a winger by trade, Esse’s natural attributes are making pacy runs up the pitch and creating options outside back lines, but he has also shown an ability to cut inside when needed.
Glasner has largely depended on Esse, who is deployed in one of the inside forward roles behind main striker Jean-Philippe Mateta and assists in progressing the ball into his path.
This was one such occasion when that side of his game was apparent, with Esse receiving a pass from Caleb Kporha and instantly turning to find Mateta’s run behind the Doncaster Rovers lines.
It might not have resulted in a goal here, with Doncaster’s on-loan Chelsea goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe getting down well to deny Kporha from close range, but what really caught the eye here was the speed and decisiveness of the move.
Esse never hesitated and instead knew throughout what his job was here.
With him already having an 81.3% passing accuracy during his short time at Selhurst Park, this is something that Crystal Palace fans can expect to see plenty of as he continues to grow and learn his way around their style of play.
In addition to making intelligent passing decisions, Esse also has the goal threat that Crystal Palace require from those in the inside forward roles.
This is something that Eze, Olise and summer signing Ismaïla Sarr have continually shown whenever they have been on the pitch.
The fact that Esse scored with his first touch in the Premier League (adding to the four he picked up for Millwall during the first half of the Championship season) and has so far averaged 3.25 touches inside the opponents’ penalty area per game for his new side indicates that he too shares that instinct.
Whilst the goal itself was well-taken, what really stood out was his movement during the build-up to it.
As can be seen, Eze had gathered the ball on the near side of the field and was looking for a way to transfer it into the middle, with Brentford attempting to get players back and make that as difficult as possible for the former QPR player.
The visitors, though, have made one small error here.
Vitaly Janelt has positioned himself too far out of line, leaving a gap open behind him for Esse to run through.
The former Millwall player did not hesitate to take advantage of that and, as a result, got himself into a position to arch around and run back towards the goal, where he then managed to turn home right wing-back Daniel Muñoz’s attempted shot from the back post.
While it is Esse’s only goal for Crystal Palace to date, it highlights the attacking intent he brings to their play.
Should he continue to operate in this manner, there is no doubt that he will add to that tally, and it could be that he will be given even more playing time next season to do so as a result of sustained interest in Eze’s services from other teams in the Premier League.
In addition to being an attacking threat, Esse has shown himself to be an astute defender, which is another critical attribute for any Crystal Palace player.
In this case, he has noticed that Doncaster have made their way up the far side of the wing and are looking to get into a position from which they can fashion a shot on goal.
Jordan Gibson’s initial attempt to cross the ball into the goal area was successfully snuffed out by the combined efforts of Chris Richards and the aforementioned Muñoz.
However, the ball has now been passed back to left-back James Maxwell, and Crystal Palace must react again to ensure he doesn’t find a teammate in the middle.
Muñoz has identified the danger and is adjusting his own position to close the ball down once again, but it is the arrival of Esse that really turns the tide in Crystal Palace’s favour here.
This is because he not only wins the ball from Maxwell but then shows composure and intelligence to feed the ball back to Maxence Lacroix rather than simply hacking it away to safety.
That last aspect is critical, as it shows that Esse not only has the ability to defend against opposing attacks (he has won 75% of his defensive duels and made 1.08 interceptions per game for his new team so far) but also can play with the same control that the Selhurst Park faithful have come to expect from those in the central third.
All in all, there is a lot to like about him and plenty of reasons that he could be one to keep an eye on next season.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this tactical analysis has taken a closer look at the next generation of talent making their names at different Premier League sides, highlighting the reasons that three of them have had promising seasons and why they can be backed to kick on even more when the next one gets underway.
Nico O’Reilly, Jack Hinshelwood, and Romain Esse emerging onto the scene in different ways show that there is talent to behold whichever direction clubs opt to take.
They are evidence of the quality that clubs can produce or nurture, so they can forego the need to spend big on a major name.
They are by no means the only players in this age group currently finding their feet in the senior game, and plenty could have been included in this analysis.
It is undoubtedly an exciting time to be a follower of the Premier League, where it is never clear where the next success story or world-beating talent will come from.
