Teenage goalkeeper Jack Porter became the youngest player to start a match for Arsenal when he made his senior debut in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
At 16 years and 72 days old, Porter replaced Cesc Fabregas — who played in this competition aged 16 years and 177 days in 2003 — as the youngest player to line up for the Gunners when they beat Bolton 5-1 in the third round.
Seen by many as an inconvenience in an already congested calendar, the EFL Cup remains essential when it comes to blooding emerging Premier League talent.
From future England stars Wayne Rooney, John Terry and David Beckham all making their first-team debuts in the competition, to ‘Klopp’s Kids’ — a group of young Liverpool players who guided the Reds to the 2024 trophy — it has often provided a platform for youngsters to impress.
This season, an 18-year-old winger who has been compared to Kylian Mbappe, an exciting Swedish prospect, and a 16-year-old defender are among those to be handed their chance in the EFL Cup.
BBC Sport takes a look at the latest crop of young talent to be handed their first-team debuts in the competition.