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After Harvey Barnes made his first Premier League start for Leicester City on Saturday, it is time to consider who might be the next academy startlet to graduate to the senior squad.

By making his full league debut at Wolves, Barnes became the second youngster to breakthrough in the past year, with Hamza Choudhury also now a fully-fledged member of the City first team.

Manager Claude Puel, famed for blooding youngsters in France, has retained a reputation for showing faith in youth, with 37 per cent of City’s minutes played by those aged 22 and under.

Puel is also a regular at Holmes Park, the Under-23s’ home ground, the Frenchman keeping a keen eye on the next generation.

So who could be the next player to make their first-team bow? We take a look at five candidates.

Josh Knight

The only one of the five to have made their first-team debut already – playing the final few minutes of a Carabao Cup win at Sheffield United last season – Josh Knight has been the top performer for City’s Under-23s this season.

Winning the Premier League 2 player of the month for December was reward for Knight’s consistency across the campaign.

The tough-tackling 21-year-old has been used at centre-back, right-back and defensive midfield this term, impressing in each role.

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City via Getty Images)

Rarely caught out of position but possessing the pace to recover should anything go wrong, Knight is one of the key players behind City’s defensive mean streak, but his talents don’t end there.

The Fleckney-born defender is also a threat from set-pieces, while his 50-yard dribbles through the centre of the pitch routinely get City on the front foot.

Darnell Johnson

With Choudhury now a first-team regular, Darnell Johnson has taken on the captain’s armband for City’s Under-23s and is skippering them to another title challenge.

A European Under-19 champion with England in 2017, local lad Johnson has plenty of experience for a 20-year-old and has plenty of professional support to call upon too; City icon Emile Heskey is his godfather.

Like Knight, he is versatile, and can operate at right-back as well as his preferred position at centre-back.

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

Also like Knight, Johnson has been a key part of City’s good defence over the past two seasons. He is calm on the ball and strong, and when at right-back, he gets forward well, occasionally showing off his quick feet.

City had hoped to get him some Football League experience on loan in the second half of the season.

Sam Hughes

If not for an injury setback, Sam Hughes may have made his breakthrough already.

The 21-year-old centre-back was on the first-team bench twice at the end of the last campaign but a back injury sustained over the summer has decimated his season.

Hughes has only managed one appearance this term and is not expected to be fit again until next month, but remains one of the club’s brightest prospects.

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

Signed from Chester in the summer of 2017, Hughes was one of the big reasons City’s Under-23s went from relegation battlers to title contenders overnight.

His experience against senior pros in non-league – Hughes captained Chester aged 19 – saw him make light work of attackers his own age, while his prowess from set-pieces was reminiscent of the days of Matt Elliott as he finished top scorer.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

Could Choudhury’s old midfield partner join him in the first team?

A consistent performer, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has become Steve Beaglehole’s Mr. Reliable in the centre of the park. The 20-year-old, raised in Shepshed, is composed on the ball and while his main role is to keep things tidy, he is not afraid to dribble forward.

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City via Getty Images)

City’s joy from set-pieces can be also attributed to Dewsbury-Hall’s delivery, while his left foot packs a fierce strike too.

With City requiring midfielders that possess energy, defensive know-how and decent ball retention, Dewsbury-Hall could be a worth a gamble in the near future.

Layton Ndukwu

Layton Ndukwu is one of City’s brightest attacking starlets, although he is another whose season has been wrecked by injury.

The 20-year-old scored three goals in the first four games of the campaign – his performance in the 4-1 win over Blackburn remains one of the best individual display of the season – to earn a player of the month nomination, but he has been sidelined with a back problem since.

City will hope to have him back soon, so he can start pulling the strings once again.

(Image: David Rogers/Getty Images)

Despite his languid style, Ndukwu is an intelligent player and is excellent at creating space for himself and sliding through passes.

He is adept with both feet and, playing out wide or as a no.10, is not frightened of a spectacular effort from distance.

He has already caught Puel’s eye and featured on a few occasions in pre-season.

Honourable mentions

Elliott Moore – The centre-back continues to learn his trade at City’s sister club OH Leuven, where he is the standout performer, captaining the side and scoring regularly from set-plays.

Daniel Iversen – The Danish goalkeeper is earning rave reviews for his showings at League Two outfit Oldham, keeping 11 clean sheets in 32 outings, although first-team chances at City look limited with Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Ward at the club.

George Thomas – Slowly improving at League One side Scunthorpe, the Wales international is featuring more frequently and starting to regularly register assists from the no.10 position.

Admiral Muskwe – After an injury nightmare, striker Muskwe is back among the goals and is showing off his fine link-up play too. He makes a difference every time he features.

Alex Pascanu – Another from City’s group of exciting, young defenders, Pascanu has been solid alongside Knight and Johnson, while he earned a maiden call-up for the senior Romania squad last November.