Before Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri it was Fulham’s Harvey Elliott, and before Elliott it was Fulham’s Matthew Briggs. For 12 years Briggs held the mantle of youngest Premier League debutant, feeling both the joy of the accomplishment but also its considerable weight.
“I’m proud to have had that title and I wouldn’t take it back for the world,” says the 31-year-old. “But there is a part of me that wishes I’d just progressed slowly up the ranks.”