Fabio Carvalho, Jason Knight and Djed Spence: Young stars of the EFL
George Elek and Ali Maxwell from the Not The Top 20 Podcast have linked up with Sky Sports to pick out the stars aged 21 and under across the EFL. Watch 'EFL 21 under 21' on Sky Sports Football at 6pm on Friday.
Saturday 5 February 2022 11:35, UK
The EFL is a hotbed of young talent, and George Elek and Ali Maxwell from the Not The Top 20 Podcast have linked up with Sky Sports to pick out the stars aged 21 and under across the Championship, League One and League Two.
You can head to the link to see all 21 players, or scroll down to see five stars we've picked out below...
Fabio Carvalho - Fulham
Ali Maxwell: "He's had an interesting journey up until this point, but what an amazing time to be talking about him - the Championship wonderkid wanted by all of the world's top clubs, who is absolutely tearing it up for the league leaders.
"He saw a taste of Premier League action right at the end of last season after Fulham's relegation was confirmed, and he showed flashes of quality. We weren't sure that necessarily meant he would be a starter right from the off this season, but Marco Silva could not ignore him, and he has shown exactly why.
EFL 21 Under 21
George Elek: "I was sceptical at the start of the season about a player who has played Premier League minutes and got a Premier League goal. I thought maybe his reputation was all talk. But I have been proven wrong very quickly. I think he is the one in this list who is going to make it to the very top.
"There isn't a weakness to his game. He can operate as a 10 and out wide. He can play across the front three, and there is also his pace, his ball-carrying ability, his vision and his amazing knack of getting the ball into goal-scoring areas.
"He has got technical ability and he'll score goals and create as well, but he also has an amazing shot on him. His finishing ability is very good, and with his pace he seems to have an extra gear to get away from defenders. He's at a level now where I expect to see him crank through those gears in the coming weeks.
"He is going to be one of those graduates from the EFL where we were lucky to cover him for a season at least."
Keane Lewis-Potter - Hull City
AM: "Keane Lewis-Potter is every EFL supporter's dream, I would say. Born in Hull, grew up supporting Hull and now scores goals for Hull, which we have seen over the course of the last two years or so. First, in Hull's relegation season, Lewis-Potter - in limited minutes - still stood out for his eye for goal. Then, in promotion from League One last season, he scored 13 league goals. He has been a very badly kept secret and has been attracting interest from the top level of English football for some time now and, because of his skillset, it is not hard to understand why.
GE: "There have been comparisons made, understandably, with Jarrod Bowen. I think it is interesting to use that Bowen comparison when you look at Lewis-Potter because there is one key - and that is the fact that they both score goals from wide areas. Lewis-Potter can play on the left-hand side coming onto his stronger right foot; he can play on the right, he can play through the middle and he has even played left wing-back at times.
"He is probably the player in the Championship who can punish any space left in front better than anybody else. He is the man you want to be running on to a ball forward, with his touch, composure and the finishing ability to go with it. It is so impressive and that's where him and Bowen are alike. What I think he has got that Bowen doesn't have - or doesn't really need to have because he is such a direct goal threat - is what he can do creatively. His delivery into the box with his right foot is always very impressive. He is someone whose crossing and long-range passing is very good. He can play that creator role rather than the goalscorer role as well.
"On the ball, too, he can be someone who can carry the ball and the passing ability to create in intricate areas up the pitch, too. Therefore you've got someone who can be that direct goalscorer but who can also be the guy to stand up a defender and go past him. This is a side to his game that we probably don't see enough. I think people who maybe haven't seen Keane Lewis-Potter that often would expect to see more of that because he is a wide player. Generally, that isn't necessarily his game, but he can do it and when he does go - it's a when, not an if - to the Premier League, it will be interesting to see how he develops, if he becomes - as Bowen is, that goalscoring wide forward - or if he drops a little bit deeper and they use his goalscoring ability more as well. He's not too bad in the air as well."
Jason Knight - Derby County
GE: "He has endeared himself to Derby fans with his energetic, all-action displays, with Wayne Rooney even giving him the captain's armband as a teenager a couple of times after he first took over as manager."
AM: "He has been a real leader, despite his youthful age. The first thing you notice about Knight as a player is energy and tenacity. He is a versatile player, but one for whom a pressing style works very well. He is so mobile and so hard-working that he will be snapping at heels wherever he plays. He sees himself as a box-to-box No 8 type, but because his skillset translates to a number of different areas of the pitch, Wayne Rooney has used him all over. He could become a mainstay of the Republic of Ireland national team; he has already got nine caps, one goal and three assists.
"Wayne Rooney loves him. He's so vocal and such a leader at such a young age. Rooney has called him a manager's dream and that's a pretty good reference for a young player. Jason Knight has already instilled himself into the hearts of Derby County fans with his displays and Ireland fans, in his nine caps so far. It will be fascinating to see where he goes from here."
Brennan Johnson - Nottingham Forest
GE: "Johnson is one of many Forest players who stepped up under manager Steve Cooper. And as if Forest fans didn't love him enough already, scoring home and away against arch-rivals Derby County has certainly helped!
"His meteoric rise probably took a few people by surprise when, 18 months ago, he went on loan to Lincoln. But it's hard to think about a more successful loan spell for all parties. He scored 11 goals and helped them to the play-off final, where they fell just short. And he has continued his progress at Forest as well.
AM: "He was an absolute start of League One last season. He scored all those goals, but he also won seven penalties, which is testament to the fact that with his skill and his ball-carrying ability at such speed League One defenders simply couldn't handle him.
"His sheer speed running in behind is sensational, but it's not just running onto through balls where he thrives, he can carry it with the best of them. It's his composure and his quality with the final ball as well, or the shot to finish, sometimes having run 40, 50 or 60 yards. He looks like someone who relishes the big occasion, born and raised in Nottingham, there is no bigger game than against Derby, and he has scored in both fixtures this season.
"He also has a duel threat as a goalscorer but also as a creator. There is very little obvious weakness to his game, and given he's only been playing senior football for 18 months or so, that gives us great hope for what he could be in the future. He is clearly a wise head on young shoulders, he's had to deal with great Premier League interest in January, but he's just focused on doing the job at Forest. And what a job he's doing."
Djed Spence - Nottingham Forest (on loan from Middlesbrough)
AM: "Djed Spence, the right wing-back on loan at Nottingham Forest from Middlesbrough - two Championship sides - and another, Fulham, is where he spent the first part of his career. But after his two-year scholarship, it was Middlesbrough who picked him up aged 17. After a quiet first 18 months, he was chucked in at the deep end by Jonathan Woodgate for a Championship game 18 months or so ago. Now we sit here and he has got 85 Championship games under his belt, having burst through at Middlesbrough, but then he did fall out of favour a little under Neil Warnock before Chris Wilder took charge at Boro. It is at Nottingham Forest, under Steve Cooper, that he has unleashed his swashbuckling best."
GE: "Forest fans are delighted that they have been able to keep him for the second half of the campaign due to Isaiah Jones' good form at Boro. It has been amazing to watch his development over the past season and, when you have a right-back like him, who can stand up a defender and use his pace to go round him on the outside, who can cut inside, who has the vision and ability to find a team-mate as well, it is an incredibly attractive proposition. We have seen the rise of the flying wing-back in the past five or 10 years and when you consider where these players normally play for the top six clubs in the Premier League, where their role is primarily as an attacker, it seems inconceivable that Djed Spence won't end up playing in that role. People might point to the fact he has only got one assist this season, but I think that is more to do with the inability of his team-mates to put the ball in the back of the net, rather than his own poor service. But he can do it himself as well.
"It is going to be interesting to see what happens next with him because Forest will be desperate to keep him. I think there's very little chance of that. The performance he put in against Arsenal in the FA Cup meant that suddenly his talent was noticed on a national level. He has been linked with Spurs and linked with Arsenal themselves as well. I think Middlesbrough are aware that they going to be looking at a payday rather than anything else from him and that probably happen in the summer. But Forest fans will be hoping that if they can get promoted with him in the side that would give them a chance of securing his signature in the summer."
