Nico O'Reilly, Archie Gray, El Hadji Malick Diouf & Alejandro Garnachoplaceholder image
Nico O'Reilly, Archie Gray, El Hadji Malick Diouf & Alejandro Garnacho | Getty Images/Iconic Media
Ranking the best young players in the Premier League right now - with three new entries in this week’s Top 10.
Every week, our journalists comb through the stats, watch the tape, and compile our list of the 10 best young players in the Premier League right now based on their form at the very highest level – The Wonderkid Power Rankings.
Last week, Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly took top spot from Mateus Fernandes, snapping the West Ham midfielder’s record-breaking six-week streak at the top of our standings, but will there be another change at the top this time around?
We’ve got no fewer than three members of last week’s Top 10 making way this time out. Brentford’s Michael Kayode has been error prone of late and falls away after conceding a second penalty in the space of a month against West Ham in the FA Cup, Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki had a weak week for the second time in a row, and Wolves’ Mateus Mané takes a break after a rather anonymous pair of games against Liverpool. That creates room for three new entries, two of which are making their first appearances of the season. Let’s crack on…
10. Alejandro Garnacho – Chelsea (re-entry)
Garnacho’s first season in blue hasn’t gone entirely according to plan but there have been a few patches of impressive form, and he’s taken his latest chance as a starter well – this week, he teed up João Pedro’s hat-trick goal against Aston Villa having already played a key role in the Brazilian’s second, and then followed that up with a well-taken goal against Wrexham in the entertaining fifth-round tie at the Racecourse Ground. Now, can Garnacho find some consistency, or will this little run be another flash in the pan?
9. Archie Gray – Tottenham Hotspur (new entry)
The versatile teenager has finally found himself getting a proper run in the first-team amid all of Spurs’ injuries, and has now provided assists in back-to-back games against Fulham and Crystal Palace – the latter of which was produced by an excellent piece of play, with Gray somehow squirming between Adam Wharton and Chris Richards to square it perfectly for Dominic Solanke. Sadly, that good work has been in vain, but you can’t place the blame for Spurs’ continued collapse at Gray’s feet.
8. El Hadji Malick Diouf – West Ham United (new entry)
The Senegalese full-back probably should have made the rankings already at some point over the last couple of weeks, if we’re being honest, but we now correct that oversight after a solid outing against Fulham in midweek which followed fine showings against Liverpool and Bournemouth. This is now the 21-year-old’s best run of form since signing from Slavia Prague last summer and while his all-round game has some holes, his work on the outside is excellent and he seems to be improving his one-on-one defending.
7. Rayan – AFC Bournemouth (⬇️2)
After an explosive start to life in the Premier League, the Brazilian has calmed down a little bit of late and was effectively frozen out of Bournemouth’s 0-0 draw with Brentford for lengthy periods. There were some nice touches and carries when he did get on the ball, but in a game in which space was at a premium, he failed to create opportunities for himself.
6. Jaydee Canvot – Crystal Palace (⬆️2)
French teenager Canvot has been a minor revelation since forcing his way into the first team at Selhurst Park and put in another fine performance against Spurs last week, with his work on the ball standing out in particular. His crisp passing and vision suggest an impressive career could lie ahead, while his defensive work has largely been impeccable, especially in the air.
5. Lewis Hall – Newcastle United (⬇️1)
A mixed week for Hall, who was solid if unspectacular in the midweek win over Manchester United before having an up-and-down time of it against Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday. His passing was out of kilter and he was beaten three times on the run, but also forced a massive 11 turnovers, the product of a game in which he was tested repeatedly and passed more often than not. Just about.
4. Álex Jiménez – AFC Bournemouth (⬆️3)
The Spaniard has been on fine form of late and put in one of his best performances yet for the Cherries against Brentford, coming out on top almost every single time when defending and creating a couple of very presentable chances when venturing forward on the overlap. An impressive all-round game from a wing-back with few holes in his play to pick at.
3. Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United (-)
Mainoo wasn’t especially impactful against Newcastle, in truth, and could easily have dropped a couple of places this week, but ultimately holds on to third place with none of those behind him doing quite enough to merit such a significant promotion. Mainoo’s work off the ball was solid, winning the ball back five times, and his passing was economical enough, but he didn’t get as involved as frequently as Michael Carrick might have liked.
2. Nico O’Reilly – Manchester City (⬇️1)
Having earned top spot for the first time last week, O’Reilly promptly followed his success up with a week he’ll probably want to forget. After missing the midweek match against Nottingham Forest through a minor injury, the 20-year had an indifferent game in the win over Newcastle which included missing a header from point-blank range following a corner. Certainly nothing disastrous enough to send him tumbling down our leaderboard, but this wasn’t the stuff that first place is made of.
1. Mateus Fernandes – West Ham United (⬆️1)
Had you told us that we’d be promoting Fernandes back to number one after an atypically weak showing against Fulham in midweek, when he was unusually ineffective on and off the ball, we probably wouldn’t have believed you. But an outstanding game on Monday night against Brentford, paired with O’Reilly’s rough weekend, puts the Portuguese midfielder back on top – not only was he strong defensively, winning five of his seven one-on-ones and letting precious little past him, but he created four opportunities (some of them very presentable) going forward and ran large parts of the game for his side. Over the past few months, there simply hasn’t been a better Under-21 in the league.
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