NXGN 2026: Lola Brown, Laila Harbert and 10 English wonderkids that Lionesses fans NEED to know

Since the turn of the year, Manchester United fans have been offered a few glimpses at the exciting talent coming through the club's famed youth set-up. Layla Drury, a regular in the Wales youth national teams who has just accepted a call-up to England's U19s, scored on her debut in the FA Cup victory over Burnley in January. Then, just last month, Jessica Anderson, a scorer in pre-season against Real Betis, was given her first competitive run out in the Champions League knockout tie against Atletico Madrid.

Anderson has been a constant in England's youth teams over the last couple of years, and she has spent a lot of the current season training with United's first team, showing head coach Marc Skinner what she can do. Long seen as a midfielder, she's been pushed further forward more recently, and it was out wide that she made her Red Devils debut, showing great footwork and an infectious work rate that has always been evident, regardless of her position on the pitch, but also rather impressive physicality for a 17-year-old.

The development Anderson has enjoyed this season has not gone unnoticed by England, either, with her bumped up into the U20s in recent camps.

It's hard not to get excited about watching Lola Brown play football. A direct, positive and skilful winger - all qualities which stood out in England's run to the U17 Euros final in 2024, a tournament in which she was named to the Best XI - Brown enjoyed some bright cameos with Chelsea last season and showed just why head coach Sonia Bompastor believes she is one of the best young talents coming through in England. That Bompastor praised Brown for having the right mentality to succeed said a lot about her personality, too.

Now on loan in the second-tier with Crystal Palace, Brown will hope regular exposure to senior football can aid her physical development, a step which will help her bring her dynamic wing play and surprisingly efficient end product to the women's game more effectively.

It feels like Laila Harbert has all the tools to be a success at the elite level. Technically superb and with an ever-growing understanding of the game, the defensive midfielder is developing physically as she accrues different experiences, too, having spent time in the English second-tier with Watford and Southampton before a temporary move to the United States with the Portland Thorns, where she learned plenty from U.S. women's national team stars Sam Coffey and Olivia Moultrie.

A natural leader who has worn the armband at England youth level, Harbert is now on loan with Everton, looking to continue her progress towards the long-term vision of breaking into the Arsenal first team. She's had involvements before, making the matchday squad for Champions League fixtures and playing in a friendly in Australia, and a looming changing of the guard for the Gunners could pave the way for more opportunities.

While plenty of top American talent continues to make an immediate jump into the NWSL rather than taking the traditional route through the college system, the latter path still has plenty of value and continues to attract great players - and not just from within the United States. Arsenal academy product and England youth team star Omotara Junaid is one of those from abroad who has chosen the route recently, starting her time at Florida State University last year.

A versatile box-to-box midfielder who can also play out wide, either in an attacking role or as a full-back, Junaid - who is also eligible to represent Nigeria - excelled in the Gunners' youth set-up, earning opportunities with the first team in pre-season friendlies and even captained the U21s at just 16 years old. It'll be fascinating how exposure to a totally different style, and experience off the pitch, impacts her promising development.

Last season was something of a mini-breakout for Nelly Las. Amid injuries, the versatile wide player was granted opportunities aplenty from the bench by former Leicester boss Amandine Miquel, plus a couple of starts, and took full advantage of her minutes by showcasing her potential in some all-action performances. The highlight, undoubtedly, came in the form of a goal against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

While keen not to overlook the "good quality on the ball" Las has, Miquel noted that "her physical quality of speed and being able to repeat those high-speed actions a lot in a short number of time is definitely something making a big difference in the game now". Opportunities have not been as plentiful this term, leading to a loan move to Ipswich in January, but that should not be a long-term concern for a player whose impact at England level has also been considerable, with her named to the U17 Euros Team of the Tournament when the Young Lionesses reached the final in 2024.

The Lionesses have long had a problem at left-back as there simply have not been many English players playing the position naturally or regularly over the years. Rachel Maltby's emergence, then, is a real blessing. Though operating in the slightly nuanced role of left wing-back, no Englishwoman has played more minutes in the position in the Women's Super League this season than the 19-year-old, who is still learning the ropes but is doing so very well.

Boasting a good final product, owing to her previous experiences as a more attacking player, and wonderful athleticism, Maltby's tactical intelligence is only improving as she accumulates more game time at the highest level. A stand-out in England's run to the U17 Women's World Cup semi-finals in 2024, she'll hope to have a similar impact at the U20 edition later this year.

There is arguably no more intriguing young player coming through the England set-up right now than Erica Parkinson. Born in Singapore to an English father and a Japanese mother, Parkinson has been thriving in Portugal with Valadares Gaia, so much so that she was named Liga BPI's Best Young Player at the end of last season. This season, she's already on track to surpass the return of four goals and three assists that helped her achieve that award, too.

A creative and elusive midfield playmaker, Parkinson is mesmerising to watch. She glides around the pitch in a captivating manner, carving out chances at will while never shying away from an opportunity to shoot. That's not to say she is a luxury player, though. The 17-year-old works hard off the ball, too, and has even managed to stand out as the best player on the pitch when representing England's U23s, despite being so much younger than most. Eligible for four different national teams, Parkinson is committed to representing England, much to the Lionesses' delight.

Given she was previously the head of Lyon’s academy, it’s no surprise that Bompastor has shown little reluctance in giving chances to Chelsea’s young talents. But that she has seen it fit to introduce Chloe Sarwie into the first-team picture this season, at just 16 years old, is also testament to the quality and maturity the young full-back is already showing, traits which have also earned her opportunities with England's U23s at the same early age.

Most impressive is that Sarwie hasn't really looked out of place in either setting. She's well-equipped defensively and an excellent dribbler, making her a real threat going forward. Another promising young left-back in a country long devoid of them, how her development goes over the next few years will be interesting. One would expect Sarwie to have a loan spell away from Chelsea soon, but she also plays in a position where opportunities have arisen, and continue to present themselves, with the Blues.

No player on this list has had more recent bad luck in the game than Zara Shaw. Back in 2023, aged 16, she was making in-roads on the Liverpool first team, grabbing plenty of attention in pre-season having just starred at the U17 Euros. Then, an ACL injury came along and stopped her in her tracks. Shaw would get back on the pitch before the end of the 2023-24 season, then stand out at the U17 World Cup later that year, only to be dealt another ACL injury before the end of the 2024-25 season.

It's been a real shame because we are talking about one of the brightest talents coming through the England youth set-up. Often a centre-back for her country but used regularly as a midfielder by the Reds, Shaw has a wonderful understanding of the game that allows her to be so adaptable, while her technical qualities are fantastic. Capable of dealing physically with the senior game already, the hope will be that such bad fortune only proves to be a minor speed bump on the road to becoming a leading figure for England and Liverpool in the years to come.

Cecily Wellesley-Smith has had a different route through to the senior women's game than others of her age, as she was playing first-team football in the English third-tier at 16. A product of Oxford United's regional talent centre, the centre-back impressed so much after breaking into the senior side that she would be on the books at Arsenal soon enough.

A leading talent in England's youth teams, making the Team of the Tournament at the U17 Euros in 2024, Arsenal have set about trying to give Wellesley-Smith more experience at a higher level in recent times, after she initially spent time back with Oxford. Minutes were tough to come by at Leicester in the first half of this season, but that is already different since the turn of the year, with the teenager getting more opportunities since joining Swedish side Rosengard on a temporary basis instead.

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