Following England’s Under-20 World Cup success, there is plenty to be hopeful of in the future of English football.

A 1-0 victory over Venezuela in the final ensured that England claimed their biggest international title since Bobby Moore lifted the FIFA World Cup at Wembley back in 1966.

However, despite the recent success and excitement surrounding this, there is some concern around the quality of game time that these players will go on to experience.

According to stats from Opta, in Europe’s top five leagues last season, English players under the age of 21 made just 288 appearances – less than a third of France’s 961, and below Spain (499), Germany (410) and Italy (291).

This is further highlighted through the 13 England players who featured in the final – with seven of these not managing any form of Premier League action throughout last season’s campaign and the six that did only managing 1,094 minutes of game time in the top-flight.

These young players will be hoping that this moment is not as good as it gets for them and The FA will be doing all it can to encourage the best way forward for their development.

With this in mind, here are five young English players who will be hopeful of top-flight action in the near future and whose progress should be carefully followed over the summer…

Freddie Woodman

Freddie Woodman became an instant hero after saving a second-half penalty in the Under-20’s World Cup final.

The young shot-stopper – also Gareth Southgate’s godson – had a tremendous campaign and picked up the Golden Glove award, an accolade that is awarded to the best goalkeeper in the tournament, after conceding just three goals in seven games.

Despite his heroics in South Korea, the young English keeper’s future at his current side Newcastle United is unclear and the 20-year old spent most of last season on loan at Scottish side Kilmarnock.

Woodman has never featured for The Magpies so far in his career and whilst manager Rafa Benitez will be considering his options for his number one spot after promotion to the Premier League, it is unlikely that Woodman would be able to secure this spot.

At this stage, the English youngster will get a chance to impress when the sides return for pre-season, but another temporary loan move away from St James’ Park is the most probable outcome.

Josh Onomah

During the 2016-17 Premier League season, Josh Onomah managed to get 17 minutes of top-flight football under his belt at White Hart Lane, as well as featuring twice for Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League group stages.

During these brief spells, boss Mauricio Pochettino has largely used the midfielder on the right side of a front four, but at the World Cup in South Korea, the 20-year-old held a deeper midfield role and showcased a greater physicality alongside his already impressive technical ability.

The problem for Onomah is twofold. Not only does he have stiff competition from other emerging youngsters like Harry Winks and Kyle Walker-Peters, but Spurs also have a number of world-class options already available across their midfield.

The youngster will certainly give Pochettino plenty to think about this summer, but if he cannot guarantee himself regular first-team football, perhaps a temporary move away from the club would be good, with Brighton and Hove Albion, Huddersfield Town and Celtic all said to be interested in taking him on loan.

Tammy Abraham

Whilst Chelsea youngster Tammy Abraham didn’t form part of the Under-20’s World Cup squad, he is undoubtedly playing a key part in the England squad at the Under-21 European Championships in Poland currently.

The striker was one of the 37 Chelsea players out on loan last season and exploded on to the scene in his debut season of senior football by bagging 26 goals on loan at Bristol City.

At just 19-years-old, the young English forward has an extremely bright career ahead of him, but his future at Chelsea remains undecided.

Manager Antonio Conte will need to reassess his striking options next season with the possible departure of Diego Costa and Michy Batshuayi underperforming, but it remains to be seen if he will be ready to make the step up to the first-team.

If the Italian decides that he isn’t, Swansea City look favourites to take the striker on loan, but the youngster will first want to focus on his summer plans with England before he makes a final decision.

Dominic Solanke

Dominic Solanke is another one of Chelsea’s players who has been out on loan last season, but the 19-year-old has become frustrated with his lack of first-team opportunities at Stamford Bridge.

In fact, the youngster has become so irritated with the set up at the club that he has decided to reject a new contract and sign a deal to join up with Liverpool on July 1.

This is understandable, as, after coming through the academy and spending ten years with the club, he has only gained one first-team appearance after playing 17 minutes against Maribor in the Champions League.

Chelsea’s loss will definitely be Liverpool’s gain and it will be interesting to see whether he features more regularly in and around the first-team under Jurgen Klopp in 2017-18.

There is no doubting the youngsters’ talent and he was recently awarded with the Golden Ball at the Under-20’s World Cup after scoring four goals in the competition; with previous winners including Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Luis Figo, Paul Pogba and Sergio Aguero.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Another player with a very bright future is Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Again, another integral part of the squad to play in England’s Under-20’s World Cup success in South Korea, the forward was the scorer of the winning goal in the final that ensured he and his team lifted the trophy.

Calvert-Lewin has already made quite the impression on boss Ronald Koeman and featured for the Dutchman on 11 occasions last season, which included finding the back of the net against relegated Hull City.

The 20-year-old, who had been playing in the Conference North with Stalybridge Celtic, on loan from Sheffield United, in 2014-15, switched The Blades for The Toffees in a £1.5m deal last August.

The striker has recently signed a new five-year contract with the side from Goodison Park and will now be hoping to that his good run of form can help him accumulate even more game time next season.

Given that Koeman is already giving the young England international minutes in the top-flight, he should definitely be one to watch come the start of the new season.