The early rounds of the Carabao Cup tend to be used by Premier League clubs to give their up-and-coming youngsters a chance to impress at senior level.
And, as expected, the third round of the 2024/25 iteration of the competition was no different.
Here’s the five most impressive performances by young players in the third round.
There were some pretty damn good goals scored in the Carabao Cup third round, and Carlos Baleba arguably scored the pick of the bunch.
And as you can tell by the picture above, his celebration wasn’t half-bad either.
The midfielder’s thunderous 30-yard effort set Brighton on their way to a thrilling 3-2 win over Wolves in the third round, with his seven ball recoveries and seven duels won also proving to be very valuable in the game too.
Ethan Nwaneri
The star of the Carabao Cup third round overall, Ethan Nwaneri proved that he is the real deal during Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Bolton.
In his first ever competitive start for Arsenal, the 17-year-old became the youngest player since Jack Wilshere to score for the club, and then quickly followed that up by becoming the youngest player in two decades to net a brace.
He’s going to be a top, top player.
Another one of Arsenal young guns who shined on Wednesday evening, Josh Nichols caught the eye from right-back.
The 18-year-old was a constant threat in the final third with his overlapping runs on the right flank, and also put a decent shift in defensively too – winning 100% of his duels.
Kaden Braithwaite
It took Kaden Braithwaite just one training session with the senior team to convince Pep Guardiola that he should start a game for Manchester City.
And, in that game, he didn’t disappoint.
The 16-year-old (yes, 16) showed class and confidence both in and out of possession in the win over Watford, completing 95% of his 65 pass attempts and winning 100% of his tackles. Expect him to get a game in the Premier League sooner rather than later.
Cesare Casadei
If you watched Chelsea’s thumping win over Barrow on Tuesday evening, you’ll now know exactly why Cesare Casadei wasn’t shipped out on loan again during the summer transfer window.
Simply put, he’s proved he’s good enough to be a part of the senior squad and, at just 21-years-old, proved that he has the potential to develop into a regular starter in years to come.
