- We look at Premier League players, under 21 years of age, who have scored the most goals this season in all competitions.
This season, several Premier League players who are 21 years of age or younger are making an impression, and an emerging crop of goal scorers is excelling for elite teams.
Long-term success can only be achieved by spotting rising potential, and Brighton has done a better job of it recently than most teams. Three of its players are on this list.
We look at players, who are 21 years of age or younger, who have scored the most goals this season in all competitions.
Ansu Fati – 4 (Brighton)
Ansu Fati celebrates scoring. Photo/Eurosport
After acquiring Ansu Fati from Barcelona on loan last summer, Brighton pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the summer. Fati was so well-liked at Barcelona that, once Lionel Messi left, he took over the number ten shirt. However, the winger has struggled with health in recent seasons.
In an attempt to regain his health and form, Fati was moved on loan to the Premier League, where he has started well for Brighton. Under Roberto De Zerbi, the Spain international looks to be enjoying his football and has four goals and an assist from only five starts across all competitions.
Jhon Duran – 4 (Aston Villa)
Aston Villa reached an agreement to acquire Jhon Duran during the January transfer window, having been persuaded by the Colombian’s goalscoring record with Major League Soccer team Chicago Fire.
The youngster has played in the Premier League for just 195 minutes overall and has yet to start a match. Duran has four goals this season across all competitions, demonstrating flashes of the potential that convinced Villa to bring him to English football.
The 19-year-old scored goals in Europa Conference League matches against Hibernian and Legia Warsaw in addition to scoring goals off the bench in Premier League victories over Everton and Crystal Palace. Five Premier League games have passed since Duran last appeared, and there have been rumors of a falling out between him and Unai Emery.
Simon Adingra – 4 (Brighton)
Adingra celebrates. Photo/Brighton
Simon Adingra is another young player that Brighton has produced; the Seagulls bought the winger from Nordsjaelland in 2022 and sent him on loan for the 2018–19 season.
Before coming back to Brighton last summer, the 21-year-old had an outstanding season at Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium, where he scored 11 goals and provided nine assists.
Adingra has made nine starts across all competitions this season, and he already has four goals and three assists, demonstrating true promise. Since then, he has earned three caps for the Ivory Coast national team, having received his first call-up in March.
Evan Ferguson – 5 (Brighton)
Evan Ferguson. Photo/thesun
With five goals this season across all competitions, Evan Ferguson brings the total number of Brighton players on this feature to three. Wayne Rooney was the previous teenager to score ten Premier League goals in a calendar year, but Ferguson is the first in eighteen years.
Earlier in the season, against Newcastle, the 18-year-old celebrated his first Premier League hat-trick, solidifying his place among the best players in the division.
Despite rumors of interest from Premier League opponents, Brighton acted swiftly to ensure Ferguson’s future, as the Ireland international inked a new long-term deal this month.
Rasmus Hojlund – 5 (Manchester United)
Rasmus Hojlund. Photo/Manchester Evening News
Rasmus Hojlund was the target of Manchester United’s pursuit of a center-forward last summer when the Red Devils agreed to pay £72 million to recruit the Atalanta striker.
Although he has yet to score a league goal for the team, Hojlund has shown a great deal of promise since joining the Premier League. Despite this, the Danish international has been outstanding in Europe, sharing the lead in goals scored in the Champions League this year with five goals from Hojlund.
Hojlund increased his tally to five goals in four European games this season with a brace against his old team, FC Copenhagen, last week. In the Champions League group stages, he has scored a goal almost every 68 minutes.
Cole Palmer – 6 (Chelsea)
Cole Palmer celebrates after scoring against City Photo/Independent.ie
Cole Palmer, who made the decision to depart from Manchester City in pursuit of playing in the first team last summer, has been rewarded with an important spot in the Chelsea team.
Palmer scored goals for treble-winning Manchester City in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup to open the season. In the last moments of the transfer window, he completed an unexpected £42.5 million move to Chelsea.
Given Palmer’s lack of City jersey appearances, eyebrows were raised at that cost, but he has drawn attention with a string of strong displays in west London.
Palmer earned Chelsea a point over his old team on the weekend with his fourth league goal of the year, all from the penalty spot. In an exciting 4–4 tie at Stamford Bridge, the 21-year-old hammered home a stoppage-time spot-kick past Ederson.
Cole Palmer’s impressive start at Chelsea has secured him a spot in the England team for the first time, as the Three Lions wrap up their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign this month.
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