The Wonderkid Power Rankings: Chelsea & Sunderland starlets surge into Top 10placeholder image
The Wonderkid Power Rankings: Chelsea & Sunderland starlets surge into Top 10 | Getty Images
Ranking the best young players in the Premier League right now as Chelsea and Sunderland starlets move into our Top 10.
Between the Premier League and the FA Cup, our journalists had plenty of football to watch before they sat down to compile our latest edition of The Wonderkid Power Rankings – our countdown of the best young players in England based on their form at the highest level.
Last week, West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes was voted to the top of the table for the fourth consecutive week, but can he maintain his grip on the throne after being given a well-deserved rest against Burton Albion – or can one of the chasing pack finally overhaul the on-song midfielder.
We’ve got two players leaving the rankings this week, with Newcastle’s Lewis Miley dropping out due to injury and Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi also sliding away after drawing a blank during a substitute appearances against Everton. Their departures create room for two returning stars of past Top 10s.
10. Noah Sadiki – Sunderland (re-entry)
The Congolese midfielder was the only player to make every single edition of the Wonderkid Power Rankings prior to the Africa Cup of Nations, and while he hasn’t found his very best form since coming back from Morocco he has been sufficiently solid and consistent to force his way back in – Sadiki was typically forceful off the ball against Oxford United in the FA Cup and perhaps even more dynamic than usual in last week’s narrow defeat to Liverpool.
9. Mateus Mané – Wolverhampton Wanderers (⬇️2)
Mané was just as busy as ever in Wolves’ two games this week and showed his usual combination of boldness in possession and work rate out of it, but perhaps also demonstrated a little bit of inexperience in his decision making around the box, shooting too frequently from the wrong areas – between the draw with Nottingham Forest and the mudbath win over Grimsby Town on Sunday, he took seven cracks at goal without scoring and maybe could have stood to be a little more aware of his options in the process.
8. Estêvão Willian – Chelsea (re-entry)
The Brazilian winger dropped out of the Top 10 recently after missing some game time on compassionate leave, but bursts back in after keeping his cool to score from Liam Delap’s pull-back against Hull City – and while he did miss a sitter earlier in the match after taking the ball round the goalkeeper, the hard yards and dangerous dribbling on display during an hour’s work against Leeds in midweek more than made up for it.
7. Álex Jiménez – AFC Bournemouth (⬆️3)
The Spaniard put in a very strong defensive performance against Bournemouth and while he certainly wasn’t perfect – a few missed tackles and a third consecutive yellow card being the lowlights – Jiménez more than made up for the mistakes he did make, locking down Everton’s left flank for long periods and racking up a vastly impressive total of nine turnovers and 10 successful one-on-one duels.
6. Michael Kayode – Brentford (⬇️2)
A bit of a mixed bag for Kayode this week, and the Italian has generally been a little bit less consistent over the last month or so than is typically the case. Against both Arsenal and Macclesfield Town, he was culpable for slip-ups which led to shooting chances, but the mistakes weren’t costly and were ameliorated by a lot of strong defending, including blocking two shots in a hard-fought FA Cup win over their giant-killing opponents. A three-star review for this week’s performances, and dropping a couple of places feels like a fair reflection.
5. Nico O’Reilly – Manchester City (⬆️1)
O’Reilly played in a midfield role for the second game on the bounce against Fulham and scored a lovely goal, playing a one-two with Antoine Semenyo before finishing effortlessly from an angle, a finish which hinted at his early years as an attacking player – but it was, otherwise, a relatively quiet game for the youngster, who didn’t get as far with the ball at his feet as he wanted on a few occasions.
Back at left-back for half an hour of the FA Cup win over Salford, he found himself in another scoring position, but passed up a golden opportunity from a few yards out after Omar Marmoush played him in from the wing. A mixed bag, ultimately, but with a beautiful goal for the highlight reel.
4. Lewis Hall – Newcastle United (⬇️2)
We can’t help but notice that Hall is starting to fall back into same bad old habits at the back, especially in the way he defends against flying wingers who come at him with the ball at their feet, and he had a couple of hairy moments in the 3-1 win over Aston Villa – although they were largely mitigated by his dynamic work in the opposing half, as is often the case.
There were still plenty of good moments at the back, too, with four turnovers forced and a successful interception in there, but perhaps Hall’s all-round game still needs a bit of work and he remains at his best when given license and opportunity to burst forward in support of the attack.
3. Rayan – AFC Bournemouth (⬆️2)
The 19-year-old winger is having a hell of a start to life in the Premier League and bagged his second goal in three games against Everton, thumping a header home at the far post after a perfectly-timed late run and a towering leap. His instincts in the opposing box already look spot on.
It would be nice if the same could be said in his own box, admittedly. Trying to dribble his way out of defence, he only succeeded in letting Jarrad Branthwaite steal the ball from him before clumsily bringing him down for a penalty – but given that he cancelled that out and has now scored or provided a goal in each of his first three matches in England, it’s hard to criticise him too harshly.
2. Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United (⬆️1)
Mainoo’s resurgence continues to gather pace with another strong performance against West Ham – and although he wasn’t able to make much of an impact in the final third or add to the two assists he’d picked up in his previous three games, the 20-year-old provided plenty of evidence that he’s a very effective defensive midfielder when used in the right manner.
Under Ruben Amorim, Mainoo was asked to cover vast swathes of the pitch and simply wasn’t suited to the task. Under Michael Carrick, he’s operating in more compact areas and looks far more comfortable – he recovered possession no fewer than eight times against the Hammers and shut down several attacking moves while progressing the ball sharply once he won it back, winning two fouls and generating plenty of tempo with his darting dribbles. He’s getting back to his best very quickly indeed.
1. Mateus Fernandes – West Ham United (-)
Still, Mainoo was arguably not even the best midfielder on the pitch at the London Stadium – Fernandes makes it five weeks on top, equalling the Wonderkid Power Rankings record, and could scarcely deserve it much more after yet another all-action display.
Fernandes also racked up eight recoveries to go alongside five successful tackles – from five attempts – and while he wasn’t quite as dynamic with his dribbling as Mainoo, he was still the driving force for West Ham’s midfield with impeccable passing and dangerous ball-carrying all on display. There was no end product on this occasion, but Fernandes has developed into a true midfield engine room, as good on the ball as off it and utterly tireless in his work. The Premier League may not have a better young player or a more consistent and underappreciated one.
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