Rayan, Nico O'Reilly, Kobbie Mainoo & Jaydee Canvot.placeholder image
Rayan, Nico O'Reilly, Kobbie Mainoo & Jaydee Canvot. | Getty Images/Iconic Media Group
Ranking the best young players in the Premier League right now - with prodigies from both halves of Manchester impressing.
Every week, our journalists study the tape and comb through the stats to come up with our Top 10 of the best and most in-form Under-21s in the Premier League right now – the Wonderkid Power Rankings.
Last time out, West Ham’s absurdly consistent Mateus Fernandes took top spot for a record sixth consecutive week – but can he stretch that out to seven straight weeks? Or will the chasing pack finally catch up?
We have one player dropping out of this week’s countdown, Manchester United’s Leny Yoro, who goes from tenth to out of the list after a somewhat indifferent outing at Crystal Palace – creating space for a brand new entry who happened to be playing in the same match. Let’s get going…
10. Michael Kayode – Brentford (⬇️1)
It was a rough week for a few members of our Top 10, and Kayode had the misfortune to score an awkward and frankly rather embarrassing own goal. That might have been sufficient to drop him from the rankings entirely had there been a bit more competition – quite a few of the usual contenders are injured right now – but in fairness, Kayode didn’t play all that badly outside of that particular rick. There was a fair amount of strong defensive work and he was somewhere close to his dynamic best going forward, creating two chances and carrying the ball beautifully into the final third on several occasions.
9. Noah Sadiki – Sunderland (⬇️2)
Another player who didn’t find their best form last weekend – in fact, Sadiki’s performance in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth might have been his weakest in a Sunderland shirt to date. His passing was off, there were a couple of concerning mistakes, and he was beaten in defensive situations more frequently than he came off the winner. A difficult day for a very fine player.
8. Jaydee Canvot – Crystal Palace (new entry)
The 19-year-old has been getting a little run in the starting side between injuries and the departure of Marc Guéhi and has been taking his chance – he was superb in the Conference League against Zrinjski, forcing five turnovers, blocking a shot and using the ball nicely in possession, and then solid against Manchester United, especially in the air. A talented player making his case for more regular football.
7. Mateus Mané – Wolverhampton Wanderers (⬇️1)
It’s been a little while since the England youth international scored or created a goal for Wolves, but he still looks exceptionally threatening in the final third, especially when he gets the opportunity to run at defenders – he drew five fouls against Aston Villa, creating set piece chances from other unpromising positions. He still needs to sharpen up his decision-making around the penalty area, but his work ethic and skill with the ball at his feet remains evident.
6. Álex Jiménez – AFC Bournemouth (⬆️2)
The Spaniard enjoyed a very impressive outing against Sunderland, balancing a lot of good defensive work and some crisp tackling with a genuine threat on the overlap, and he created two presentable chances at the Vitality Stadium this weekend while giving the left side of the Black Cats’ defence a constant headache. He is prone to the occasional mistake when defending against quick ball-carriers, but is otherwise developing into an excellent all-round full-back.
5. Rayan – AFC Bournemouth (-)
It’s a Bournemouth double in mid-table this week – Rayan may not have got himself on the scoresheet on this occasion, but still looked lethal when able to get the ball down and run at defenders, which he did with both abandon and regularity. The Brazilian made 20 carries over the course of the match, creating three half-chances while seeing two shots of his own blocked (one of which was, admittedly, exceptionally ambitious). His crossing was a little off the mark on this occasion, but otherwise he was one of Bournemouth’s most dangerous players.
4. Lewis Hall – Newcastle United (⬇️1)
Hall followed up a quiet second-half substitute appearance against Qarabag with a relatively indifferent run-out against Everton this week, and drops a place as a result – beaten a few times defensively and struggling to time his tackles, Hall was rather more lively at the other end of the pitch but failed to connect with any of his five attempted crosses. He did, at least, force an impressive nine turnovers, but this wasn’t his best game in recent weeks.
3. Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United (⬆️1)
More of the same from Mainoo this week against Crystal Palace – good work off the ball, taking possession back from his opponents on six occasions, some dynamic work with the ball at his feet, and crisp passing which led to a couple of half-chances. This wasn’t a game-wrecking performance, but it was largely without fault and kept United ticking over towards their eventual victory.
2. Mateus Fernandes – West Ham United (⬇️1)
After a month and a half at the top of our table, we’ve finally seen fit to pass the crown on to someone else. Fernandes wasn’t bad in the 5-2 defeat to Liverpool, by any means, but did let opposing midfielders get the better of him in defensive areas slightly more often than is typically the case, and wasn’t able to make any major contributions in the final third. A somewhat mediocre game, perhaps for the first time in months.
1. Nico O’Reilly – Manchester City (⬆️1)
The attacking midfielder turned full-back turned attacking midfielder again takes top spot for the very first time. O’Reilly wasn’t able to score again this week – although he did force a fine point-blank save from Karl Darlow with a header after an impressive late run to the edge of the six-yard box – but he consistently got into good positions, used possession well, and showed off his defensive chops with a number of good contributions when tracking back. His ability to keep hold of first place next may depend on the severity of the injury which forced him off in the second half, but his position is a deserved reward for a fine run of form since being pushed up into a more attacking role. A fine talent who has been growing in stature all season.
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