Last updated on January 16th, 2023
Premier League teams are filled with young players who made their professional debuts at an early age and are now guaranteed starters. You may sometimes see them playing next to veterans who made their professional debuts before the youngsters were even born.
Moreover, this often allows very young and gifted academy players to get valuable Premier League experience while also setting ridiculous records.
Here’s all you need to know about these records and their setters, as well as if there is a restriction on a player’s maximum or minimum age before he can play in the Premier League.
Contents
Is There a Minimum Age To Play in the Premier League?
We all agree that the Premier League is the world’s best and most prestigious football league. This may lead you to believe that Premier League players are subject to age restrictions; however, there are none!
No specific section in the published Premier League Handbook for the 2022-2023 season applies a clear minimum age requirement to play in the league.
This is because all the clubs already have to strictly follow FIFA guidelines on the transfer and signing of young players. The guideline prevents clubs from having an independent contractual agreement with players under 18 years old.
However, the league allows clubs to supplement their main 25-man squad with academy players, who are often under 21 years old. Clubs often use this technicality to play talented academy players in their under-18 and under-20 age groups.
This also applies to the World Cup, where there is no minimum or maximum age.
Who Are the Youngest Players To Have Played in the Premier League?
As most clubs wish to give their talented young players a taste of league action, the list of the Premier League’s youngest players often changes. However, as of the time of writing, these are the youngest players to have appeared in a Premier League match:
#1 Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal
Ethan Nwaneri is an Arsenal under-18 attacking midfielder who shattered the Premier League’s youngest-ever player record on September 18, 2022. The England youth international set the record at 15 years and 181 days.
Nwaneri was added to the squad due to a spate of injuries to first-team players like Mohamed Elneny. With Arsenal having wrapped up their tricky match at Brentford and leading 3-O, Nwaneri was brought on as a 90th-minute substitute, replacing Fabio Vieira.
His introduction smashed the previous record set by the next name on our list and made him the youngest player to play in a Big Five European League official match.
Nwaneri’s little cameo appearance, where he barely touched the ball, forever wrote his name in the history books for his club and the league. While setting the league record, he replaced Cesc Fabregas as the youngest player to play for Arsenal’s senior team.
Here is a clip of the record-breaking moment from Ethan Nwaneri:
#2 Harvey Elliott, Fulham
Harvey Elliott broke a record by 38 days when he came on for Fulham at the Molineux Stadium against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the 4th of May, 2019.
Elliott’s added time introduction while Fulham trailed 1-0 broke the record for the youngest player at the time. He was just 16 years and 30 days old that day but was brought on to try to help an already relegated Fulham salvage a draw.
An offensive player with the versatility to play across all the top positions behind a striker, Harvey Elliott was rapidly recognized as a top prospect. Elliott was soon bought by Liverpool and has established himself as one of their top attacking young talents.
He has penned a long-term contract with Liverpool and scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool in a 9-0 thrashing of AFC Bournemouth on August 27, 2022.
#3 Matthew Briggs, Fulham
Matthew Briggs established a remarkable record when he came on as a substitute in Fulham’s match against Middlesbrough on 13th May 2007. Briggs’s 77th-minute introduction set the record for the Premier League’s youngest player, and he would hold on to it for 12 years.
At the very young age of 16 years and 68 days, Briggs, who was then a spectacular left-back, replaced Moritz Volz. He would go on to have a less-than-stellar career, barely living up to the potential he displayed at such a young age.
The pressure and the attention of being such a promising talent overwhelmed him. After his debut, he played 13 matches for Fulham before beginning a series of loans to clubs like Leyton Orient, Bristol City, Watford, etc.
He was finally released and joined Millwall on a free transfer in 2014. Briggs continued his journeyman hops, moving from one team and league to the next, eventually switching positions and settling as a centre back.
You can find out how a centre back differs from a fullback here.
He currently plays for Gosport Borough in the seventh tier of English football.
Here are some highlights of Matthew Briggs:
Is There an Age Limit for Players in the Premier League?
There is no stated restriction from FIFA or the English FA placing an age limit on the players teams can field for a league match. English clubs are free to field players of any age; so long as they have met all the league’s required transfer and fitness standards.
Some Premier League clubs have often fielded players well into their late 30s and 40s without anyone commenting on their age.
Who Are the Oldest Players To Have Played in the Premier League?
The older we get, the less effort our body can put out, as there is more strain on the joints and knees due to years of exertion. However, certain players have unlocked the longevity gene and kept playing competitively for a long time. Below is a list of the notable few:
John Burridge
John Burridge, or “Budgie,” as he was famously called, is the only player to have reached the magical 43 years while still playing. His oldest player record, set in May 1995, is still standing; no one seems likely to meet or surpass it.
He set an all-time Premier League record as the oldest player ever when he tended the goalpost for Manchester City one final time in a thrilling 3-2 loss against QPR, aged 43 years and 162 days.
He was a prolific goalkeeper who had already reached the age of 40 when the Premier League was formed. Before retiring in 1997, he had played over three decades of football and 771 league games for 29 clubs.
Here is a clip of John making his Newcastle debut against Reading:
Alec Chamberlain
Alec Chamberlain was a prolific goalkeeper whose list of clubs he signed for included renowned teams like Liverpool, Everton, and Chelsea, even though he never featured in a game for those teams.
After hopping around, he joined Watford and helped Watford secure their promotion to the Premier League. He joined the club at 32 when most players nowadays are retiring from active play, and ended up spending 11 years with them.
His time at Watford was primarily spent in the Championship, but when the club returned to the Premier League in 2006-07, Chamberlain had his opportunity to make history.
A substitute appearance in the 2007 final game against Newcastle made him, at 42 years and ten months, the second oldest player in Premier League history.
Here is Alec Chamberlain pulling off an astonishing one-handed save:
You can find out how goalkeepers manage to retire later in this article here.
Steve Ogrizovic
Steve Ogrizovic, also famously known as “Oggy,” was a legendary player for Coventry City. He played in an incredible 601 games for the team in all competitions. That number of appearances is still a club record today.
Before he joined Coventry City in 1984, he played for Liverpool, Chesterfield, and Shrewsbury Town for a short time each. He would remain with the team for the next 16 years, even after losing his spot to Magnus Hedman.
He played his record-setting final game for Coventry City against Sheffield Wednesday at the end of the 2000-01 season, aged 42 years, seven months, and 24 days.
Steve Ogrizovic retired after the game and, to date, is fondly remembered by Coventry City fans as one of the best goalkeepers to have ever played for the club.
Here’s a clip of some of his best moments and saves for Coventry City:
Final Words
There is no definite rule by the Premier League that places a limit on the minimum or maximum age for players. Certain conditions naturally prevent the inclusion of old or very young players in Premier League teams.
For the minimum age, the restriction on professionally signing underage players removes the option of regularly playing junior players. Moreover, the need for a whole competitive team often makes creating space for very old players in the squad harder.
Young players help with the Premier League’s homegrown player rule, which you can learn more about in this article here.
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