Arsenal midfielder Ethan Nwaneri has become the youngest player to make an appearance in the Premier League. He came on as a substitute during his side’s 3-0 win over Brentford aged 15 years and 181 days on Sunday. Here’s a look at the other youngest players to feature in England’s top-flight since 1992.
Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
- 16 years, 30 days
The midfielder came off the bench during Fulham’s 1-0 loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers in May 2019. He made one other brief appearance for the Cottagers that season before moving to Liverpool, where he has played 14 times in the top-flight.
Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
- 16 years, 65 days
The left-back became the Premier League’s youngest ever player when he replaced Moritz Voltz in Fulham’s 3-1 defeat at Middlesbrough in May 2007. He made 29 appearances for the Cottagers. Since leaving permanently in 2015 he has played for a number of clubs in the English lower leagues and Denmark and currently plays for Gosport Borough. A former England Under-21 international, he now represents Guyana.
Isaiah Brown (West Bromwich Albion) - 16 years, 117 days
The midfielder, now 19, made his top-flight debut for Albion as a late substitute in their 3-2 loss at home to Wigan in May 2013. He joined Chelsea that summer but only made one substitute appearance for the Blues’ first team. After a host of loan spells away from Stamford Bridge, he joined Preston in 2021 but was released this year following an injury-hit campaign and is currently without a club.
Aaron Lennon (Leeds)
- 16 years, 129 days
At the time, the winger became the youngest Premier League player when he came off the bench for Leeds at Tottenham in a 2-1 loss in August 2003. A move to Spurs happened two years later and he went on to win 21 England caps. After 10 years at White Hart Lane, Lennon joined Everton in 2015. He has since had two spells with Burnley either side of a year playing in Turkey, but is currently a free agent.
Jose Baxter (Everton)
- 16 years, 191 days
A 3-2 home defeat to Blackburn in 2008 saw Baxter make his Everton debut as a 78th-minute substitute. He made 13 substitute appearances and two starts before leaving for Oldham in 2012. In July 2015 he was suspended by the Football Association for failing an out-of-competition drugs test while at Sheffield United, who then suspended him in 2016 for an unspecified reason. He rejoined Everton and then Oldham, before signing for Plymouth in 2019. He retired aged 29 in 2021, after a year playing in America. (PA Media/DPA)
