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We rank the ten best young players in the Premier League, with Milos Kerkez our reigning champion.
Every week, we at 3 Added Minutes check the stats and watch the tape before ranking the best young players in the Premier League to find out who comes out on top – but before we get cracking with this week’s Top 10, we have to start with a small confession.
For the first time since we started our weekly countdown, we’re taking a short mid-season hiatus. We’d love to say we’re doing it to protest the lack of a proper winter break for the players, or out of respect for the birth of the Wee Baby Jesus, but honestly, our chief curator is away for a few weeks to gorge himself on turkey.
So, this is our last Wonderkid Power Rankings for a few weeks – we’ll be back in January, and we apologise for taking away your pub debate fuel. But who will get to enjoy an unusually long run as our not-remotely-official best young player in the Premier League?
Milos Kerkez took the throne for the very first time last week, but he has some pretty fierce competition after some sterling performances from a few members of the chasing pack. Meanwhile, we say a no-doubt temporary farewell to two players – Yasin Ayari and Savinho, neither of whom did enough over the past week to keep their place in the Top 10. Anyway, less preamble, more ranking…
10. Levi Colwill – Chelsea (re-entry)
Colwill has drifted in and out of the Top 10 over the last few weeks thanks to some decent but hardly inspiring form, and he comes back in less because he was particularly impressive against Brentford and more because he was better than the players who dropped out. He was typically aware and impressive when sweeping up crosses and handling balls in behind the line and was tidy in possession, but didn’t make any especially telling contributions to Chelsea’s 2-1 win. A solid game, and enough to earn his spot on the ladder back.
9. Archie Gray – Tottenham Hotspur (new entry)
Anyone who watched Gray play for Leeds United last year knew that he’d make an impression in the Premier League before too long – but few would have expected it to be as a centre-back. Press-ganged into service at centre-half due to injuries, Gray has been a quiet revelation for the last few weeks despite Spurs’ wonky form, and this week was surprisingly solid against Rangers in the Europa League before putting in a polished performance against Southampton where his use of the ball stood out. He’s got plenty to learn, but seems to be a remarkably quick study.
8. Facundo Buonanotte – Leiecester City (⬇️2)
It wasn’t the best weekend for Buonanotte or for his team – the Argentine only played for half an hour of his side’s 4-0 thrashing at St. James’ Park and didn’t make much of an impact, on or off the ball. A flimsy, frustrated performance which mirrored that of the team around him. He’s been a difference-maker on quite a few occasions this season, but for once he couldn’t help but be pulled along by the tide.
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7. Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United (⬆️2)
Mainoo is being eased back into action after a two-month lay-off and as such was rested in Europe and was meant to be on the bench for the Manchester Derby – but an early injury to the perennially unfortunate Mason Mount meant that the young England international played most of the game. Typically solid and clean in possession, Mainoo also made five tackles as he put in a strong defensive shift to help keep Manchester City at bay before Amad Diallo’s late heroics.
6. Rico Lewis - Manchester City (⬇️3)
A helpless spectator to another grim defeat for Guardiola’s ailing side thanks to a one-game suspension, Lewis did at least get on the pitch in the Champions League against Juventus. He was typically tidy in Turin, barely misplacing a pass and keeping possession ticking over as he always does, but couldn’t make a real impact in attack or defence in a game in which someone had to step up. Lewis has arguably been City’s best player in this long and scarcely believable run of bad form, but he still hasn’t been at his own best for the last few weeks.
5. Rasmus Højlund – Manchester United (⬆️2)
A Mancunian theme in mid-table feels pretty appropriate given the two teams’ current form and league positions – and it’s the Danish striker who tops our post-derby trio even though his primary contribution to the occasion was winding up Kyle Walker.
His poem on Instagram deserves a place in the top five in its own right, but he also bagged a brace against Viktoria Plzen in midweek which means he’s scored five in his last five as it stands, although four of them have been in the Europa League. The first of his decisive goals on Thursday was a tap-in, but the second was excellent, levering his marker out of the way before firing home on the turn from a set play.
4. Malo Gusto – Chelsea (⬆️1)
It took a long time for Gusto to get a foothold in our Top 10 for much the same reasons that Colwill has bounced in and out a bit recently – he wasn’t bad, but nor was he consistently great for much of the early part of the season. He’s finally starting to clicking into a higher gear, however, and was very decent indeed against Brentford.
He put a few very dangerous-looking balls into the box, his passing and movement down the flank caused a ton of headaches for Thomas Frank’s side and he did his defensive work well too, forcing three turnovers and blocking a goalbound shot. Another good outing on the heels of an absolutely brilliant performance against Southampton.
3. Milos Kerkez – Bournemouth (⬇️2)
The Hungarian’s stay in top spot has turned out to be a brief one, but it’s not a reflection of any failure on his part – it’s just that this week’s top two was absolutely superb, where Kerkez was merely good in the 1-1 draw with West Ham United.
He did a lot of good work handling long balls down the left and mopping up at the far post when defending, didn’t let much past him or give the ball away, and he chipped in with a few incisive passes to get attacks going, but equally didn’t make any tackles or force any turnovers nor create any meaningful chances. A solid game on the back of some consistently impressive form – enough for a richly-deserved spot in our top three, but not enough to be number one, sadly.
2. Jhon Durán – Aston Villa (⬆️2)
The young Colombian striker dominated the Wonderkid Power Rankings for much of the early part of the campaign, then fell off a cliff for a month or so – and is now very much back in business, with goals against RB Leipzig and Nottingham Forest making it three in three while he even seems to have usurped Ollie Watkins’ spot in the line-up, at least for now.
His goal against Forest was very decent, a well-timed glancing header from 10 yards, but it was his Champions League goal which really stood out – a vicious, dipping effort from miles outside the area which caught the Leipzig goalkeeper completely off guard and snuck in beneath the bar. A glorious goal from a man right back in form.
1. Lewis Hall – Newcastle United (⬆️1)
Hall was knocked off of his perch for just one week in the end – a couple of comparatively tame outings saw his stock tumble just enough for Kerkez to pounce, but Hall clearly took that to heart, and ended up offering us one of his best displays yet against Leicester.
Officially he only ended up with one assist – his header across goal for Bruno Guimarães to dispatch at the back stick – but the Fantasy Premier League credited him with another one for the deflected cross which teed up Newcastle’s third. He was brilliant at the back, too, winning every single one-one-duel he got involved and making every tackle he attempted. A superb performance which makes him our worthy Christmas Number One… now let’s see how long he can hang out to it for in the New Year. Happy holidays, everyone, and we’ll be back soon.
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