The 20 Premier League clubs ranked by the average age of their squads
Pundits often say if you’re good enough you’re old enough – but which Premier League teams have the youngest squads on average?
Manchester United and Chelsea have blooded a whole host of young players this season, but Premier League champions Liverpool have a few players approaching their peak years.
Analytics site smarterscout have looked at the average age of every Premier League squad, weighted by playing time in 2019-20.
20. Crystal Palace – 29.8
Roy Hodgson is the oldest manager to ever take charge of a Premier League game and the 72-year-old hasn’t built a team for the long-term future.
Key players like
30y 101d – Crystal Palace have today named their oldest ever starting XI in the Premier League; none of the last 17 teams to name a side with an average age of 30+ in the competition has won (D3 L14). Experience. #EVECRY
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 8, 2020
19. Watford – 29.4
18. Burnley – 28.4
Dwight McNeil is the only player under the age of 26 to make five or more Premier League appearances for Sean Dyche’s side this season.
17. West Ham United – 28.1
16. Manchester City – 27.7
15. Sheffield United – 27.4
14. Liverpool – 27.2
Liverpool cruised to the Premier League title in 2019-20 and Jurgen Klopp seems to have found the right blend between youth and experience.
Senior players like Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Adam Lallana and Virgil van Dijk lead from the front and set the right standard in every training season.
But Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold help provide a youthful exuberance and they can ensure that the Reds dominate for years to come.
✅ #UCL winner
✅ #SuperCup winner
👏 Just 21-years-oldHappy birthday to Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold 🥳
🎈 @trentaa98 | @LFC pic.twitter.com/FzpWeaALUg
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 7, 2019
13. Wolves – 27.2
12. Tottenham – 27.0
11. Brighton – 27.0
10. Newcastle United – 26.9
A lot of people might have expected Steve Bruce to go for experience this season, but he has brought in younger signings Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maximin while bringing through Matty Longstaff.
9. Norwich City – 26.5
8. Leicester City – 26.5
7. Arsenal – 26.4
Arsenal have endured a difficult campaign so far, but manager Mikel Arteta is clearly making plans for the future.
The emergence of Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah has been a real positive for the Gunners this season and they have lowered the average age of the squad.
Ten-man Arsenal level thanks to an ❄️cool finish from Gabriel Martinelli!
The Brazilian runs the length of the field and slots home his 10th goal of the season 🔥🔥🔥
Watch out for the Kylian Mbappe celebration 👀 pic.twitter.com/WaTjb4Qaet
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 21, 2020
6. Southampton – 26.2
5. Aston Villa – 26.0
4. Everton – 26.0
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have been two of Everton’s standout performances this season while Leighton Baines has been reduced to a bit-part role.
3. Bournemouth – 25.9
2. Chelsea – 25.8
1. Manchester United – 25.2
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has really put his faith in youth this season and the manager is bringing-through a new generation at Old Trafford.
The likes of Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young and Alexis Sanchez have been replaced by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood.
Eight of their 11 most regular starters in the Premier League this season are between the ages of 22 and 26, with Harry Maguire, Fred and David de Gea the only exceptions.
Average age of Premier League squads weighted by playing time, 2019-20:
MAU 25.2
CHE 25.8
BOU 25.9
EVE 26.0
ASV 26.0
SOU 26.2
ARS 26.4
LEC 26.5
NOC 26.5
NEU 26.9
BHA 27.0
WOW 27.2
LIV 27.2
MAC 27.7
WHU 28.1
BUR 28.4
SHU 27.4
TOH 27.0
WAT 29.4
CRP 29.8Changing of the guard 🔜?
— smarterscout (@smarterscout) June 25, 2020
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