The Youngest Premier League Scorer and Every Age Record
Max Dowman is the youngest Premier League goalscorer at 16 years and 73 days. The full set of age records, and why Arsenal now hold both ends of the list.
Max Dowman is the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, aged 16 years and 73 days when he scored for Arsenal against Everton on 14 March 2026.
The youngest player to appear in the competition at all is also an Arsenal player: Ethan Nwaneri, who came on against Brentford on 18 September 2022 at 15 years and 181 days.
Every Premier League age record
| Record | Player | Age | Match | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngest player | Ethan Nwaneri | 15y 181d | Arsenal v Brentford | 18 Sep 2022 |
| Youngest goalscorer | Max Dowman | 16y 73d | Arsenal v Everton | 14 Mar 2026 |
| Youngest hat-trick | Michael Owen | 18y 62d | Sheffield Wednesday 3-3 Liverpool | 14 Feb 1998 |
| Oldest goalscorer | Teddy Sheringham | 40y 268d | West Ham v Portsmouth | 26 Dec 2006 |
| Oldest hat-trick | Teddy Sheringham | 37y 146d | Portsmouth 4-0 Bolton | 26 Aug 2003 |
| Oldest player | John Burridge | 43y 162d | Man City v QPR | 14 May 1995 |
Arsenal hold both ends of the youth record
This is not a coincidence, and it is worth saying plainly: one club produced the youngest debutant and the youngest scorer in the competition’s history, four years apart, and both players remain at the club.
Nwaneri’s debut in 2022 was widely treated as a curiosity — a fifteen-year-old sent on for the last few minutes of a game already won. Dowman’s goal in March 2026 was a different kind of event. Scoring requires being on the pitch in a moment that matters, which is a much harder thing for a manager to justify.
The two records sit 431 days apart in age. That gap is the distance between “he was on the pitch” and “he changed the game.”
Why the youngest-player record keeps moving
The Premier League’s age records have not fallen evenly. The oldest-player record has stood since 1995. The youngest-player record has been broken repeatedly.
Three things drive that. Academy structures now identify and coach players seriously from primary-school age, so a sixteen-year-old arrives with a decade of organised training rather than three or four years of it. Squad registration rules let clubs name academy players on the bench without using up a senior slot, which lowers the cost of the gesture. And the commercial value of a home-grown breakthrough has risen sharply — a club that develops its own star saves a nine-figure transfer fee.
There is a less flattering reason too. A teenage debut is cheap publicity. Most of the players who set these records do not go on to define a career at the level, and it is worth remembering that Michael Owen — whose youngest-hat-trick record from 1998 still stands — was already a full England international at eighteen. Precocity and a career are different things.
The other end of the scale
John Burridge was 43 years and 162 days old when he played in goal for Manchester City against QPR in May 1995. That record has survived thirty-one seasons, which tells you something about how the physical demands of the competition have changed.
Teddy Sheringham owns the two oldest-scorer marks, and the second is the more impressive: a hat-trick at 37 years and 146 days, for Portsmouth against Bolton in 2003. He then scored his last Premier League goal three years later, aged 40 years and 268 days.
Goalkeepers dominate longevity records for obvious reasons. Sheringham is the exception that makes the outfield numbers interesting.
How the records are measured
All of these are calculated to the day from date of birth to date of match, using the competition’s own registration data. That makes them unusually clean — unlike career assist and goal totals from earlier eras, an age record has no definitional ambiguity. Either the player was 16 years and 73 days old, or he was not.
The one thing to watch is that some lists quote “youngest player” figures that include the old First Division or the FA Cup. Premier League records begin in August 1992 and cover league fixtures only.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history?
Max Dowman, who scored for Arsenal against Everton on 14 March 2026 at 16 years and 73 days old.
Who is the youngest player to appear in the Premier League?
Ethan Nwaneri, aged 15 years and 181 days when he came on for Arsenal against Brentford on 18 September 2022.
Who is the oldest player in Premier League history?
John Burridge, who kept goal for Manchester City against Queens Park Rangers on 14 May 1995 at 43 years and 162 days.
Who scored the youngest Premier League hat-trick?
Michael Owen, at 18 years and 62 days, in Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Sheffield Wednesday on 14 February 1998.
Who is the oldest Premier League goalscorer?
Teddy Sheringham, aged 40 years and 268 days, for West Ham United against Portsmouth on 26 December 2006.
Do these records include cup competitions?
No. Premier League age records cover league matches from the competition’s formation in 1992 onwards. Figures that include FA Cup or First Division appearances are measuring something different.
