League One has been known to develop and produce some outstanding players for the higher divisions of English football. Several players currently playing for the biggest teams in England’s top flight have had their fair share of time playing for clubs in League One when they were younger. With the League One season up and running, it is time to look at which U23 players have started this season well.

The below visualisation shows the expected goal contributions of players (midfielders and attackers) aged 23 or under at the start of the season. Players who have played 300 minutes or more have been considered for this.

Ruel Sotiriou, who played an essential part in Leyton Orient’s promotion to League One this year, has scored the most goals (five) among players in this age category from an xG of 4.97, which is more than anybody else.

Albie Morgan, the 23-year-old central midfielder from Blackpool, has the highest xA (2.27), but Morgan has only one assist to his name so far. Kwame Poku, the 22-year-old right-sided attacker from Peterborough United, has been another bright spark this season in League One. He has two goals and two assists to his name, with an xG and xA of 3.0 and 1.79, respectively.

Hector Kyprianou, who has the joint-second most goals (three) among this age group of players, has been another vital player in Peterborough United’s season so far.

Many other players, too, including Portsmouth’s Paddy Lane, Oxford United’s Tyler Goodrham, and Wycombe’s 19-year-old Dale Taylor, have all had excellent starts to the season and will look to kick on from here.