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 OReilly 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, th
