Eddie Nketiah

Grassroots club: Hillyfielders
County FA: London FA

Born in Lewisham, south London, there's been one consistent during Eddie's time on a football pitch - he's always been a striker.

Right back to his days with his first grassroots club at Hillyfielders, he led the line as a number nine at U8-U19 level before his goalscoring exploits caught the attention of Chelsea's academy scouts who promptly signed him up.

It was with the Blues where he played alongside so many of his future teammates such as Declan Rice and Mason Mount, but when he was released by Chelsea at the age of 14, he promptly headed to northern side of the capital and Arsenal.

His goalscoring prowess in the Gunners' junior ranks led to his first international call-up for England MU18s for a training camp and games in Qatar, where he found the net on his Young Lions debut against Saudi Arabia before he netted a hat-trick against Qatar.

Nketiah became a regular face and goalscorer for the Young Lions, representing England at MU19, MU20 and MU21 level, eventually setting a new goalscoring record for the MU21s in October 2020 when he surpassed the long-standing record of 13 goals jointly held by Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers. He finished his time with the MU21s with 16 goals in 17 games, which will take some beating.

During this time, he cut his teeth in senior football with a loan spell at Leeds United before returning to Arsenal and becoming a key part of Mikel Arteta's squad in the Premier League.