No English youngsters in list of Europe’s top 20 Under-21s
This time last year Jude Bellingham was top of this list but he’s an old man now; Lamine Yamal has climbed from 15th to top spot and he’s still only 17, FFS.
Here, according to WhoScored ratings, are the top 20 players aged under 21 to have played at least half of their team’s games in Europe’s top five leagues…
20) Tom Rothe (Union Berlin)
Their starting left-back throughout their promotion season at the age of 18/19 and now their starting left wing-back in the Bundesliga at 19 as they begin their campaign with three home wins that featured a famous win over Borussia Dortmund.
19) Abdukodir Khusanov (Lens)
He already has 16 caps for Uzbekistan as a centre-back.
18) Diego Moreira (Strasbourg)
Sold by Chelsea for relative pennies this summer but has played as a striker and left-winger for the French club before finally settling at left-back, from where he has claimed a goal and an assist.
17) Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich)
Joao Palhinha, Konrad Laimer and Leon Goretzka are all struggling for minutes at Bayern while the homegrown 20-year-old is a mainstay of the Bavarian midfield. And against the Netherlands this week, he made his first start for Germany and emerged with a 1-0 win.
16) Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG)
He’s 18 and he has already played 82 senior games for PSG. A genuinely ludicrous footballer with the physicality and touch to become a France legend.
15) Savinho (Manchester City)
Cost basically sod all this summer as his soul belonged to Manchester City anyway, and has already contributed three Premier League assists. Is also a regular starter for Brazil, claiming assists in wins over Chile and Peru.
He made our Premier League new signings of the season XI.
14) Dario Essugo (Las Palmas)
On loan from Sporting, there are few busier jobs in football than being a defensive midfielder for Las Palmas. It’s little wonder that Everton are said to be interested.
13) Samuel Mbangula (Juventus)
Belgian Under-21 international winger parachuted into the first-team squad this season, he claimed three assists in his first two Serie A games.
12) Ange-Yoan Bonny (Parma)
Two Serie A goals this season for the French youth international striker have attracted the interest of Napoli.
11) Santiago Castro (Bologna)
Argentine striker whose three Serie A goals have attracted interest from Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton and others.
10) Kenan Yildiz (Juventus)
The Turkish winger started the season like a train with two assists in two games but there’s probably too much pressure on those kids at Juventus.
9) Facundo Buonanotte (Leicester City)
Dubbed the Midlands Messi by the Daily Telegraph, the tricky Argentine has already contributed two Premier League goals and assists as the Foxes fight for their survival.
READ: Man Utd narrowly avoid bottom spot in all-important Premier League mood rankings
8) Carlos Baleba (Brighton)
After a season of rotation under Roberto de Zerbi, the Cameroonian midfielder is now a Brighton fixture under Fabian Hürzeler. With his physicality allied with drive, you can absolutely see why his boyhood hero was Paul Pogba.
7) Nathan Zeze (Nantes)
He’s 19 and has a regular gig in central defence at a decent Ligue Un club; of course Liverpool and Aston Villa are interested.
6) Nico Paz (Como)
“Nico has a lot of quality and understands the game perfectly. He has an incredible mindset, and he’s with a coach who is my friend (Cesc Fàbregas) and will help him grow a lot” – Lionel Messi after Paz’s Argentina debut. And as he’s at Como with Cesc Fabregas, he is inevitably linked with Arsenal.
5) Eliesse Ben Seghir (Monaco)
The Ligue Un leaders have built around some excellent young players and the Moroccan international winger has hit new heights this season with two goals and two assists as the principality side has remained unbeaten.
4) Lamine Camara (Monaco)
This fella’s been pretty good too. A summer arrival from Metz, Camara already has 23 caps for Senegal at the age of 20.
3) Joao Neves (PSG)
The £50m summer arrival from Benfica has claimed a ludicrous five assists in his first seven Ligue Un games. But that still doesn’t get him in the starting line-up for Portugal.
2) Andrey Santos (Strasbourg)
Yet to actually play for Chelsea, a disastrous loan spell at Nottingham Forest has been followed by a fruitful one with Strasbourg, where he has scored three goals already this season.
1) Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
He is 17. He has four goals and five assists this season. He is ridiculous. Oh and he already has 17 caps for Spain. No wonder they are World Cup favourites…
