Nico O'Reilly, Kobbie Mainoo, Mateus Fernandes & Michael Kayodeplaceholder image
Nico O'Reilly, Kobbie Mainoo, Mateus Fernandes & Michael Kayode | Getty Images/Iconic Media
Ranking the 10 best young players in the Premier League right now - with Manchester City and West Ham stars on the rise.
Every week – well, almost every week, we’ll get to that – our journalists gather round the table to compare and contrast the Premier League’s most talented young players and to put together our Top 10 based on their form at the very highest level: The Wonderkid Power Rankings.
As regular readers will have noted, however, it’s been four long weeks since our last update. That was partly planned, as we decided it would be unfair to compile a Top 10 during either the international break or the FA Cup quarter-final weekend which followed it, but our planned return to regular programming last Tuesday was delayed when our chief curator of the rankings was unexpectedly unavailable. He’s back now – well, he’s writing this in the third person, for starters – and so are the Wonderkid Power Rankings in turn. We hope you didn’t miss us too much.
Anyway, before our unexpectedly long absence, we installed Nico O’Reilly as our number one for a second time following his heroics in the EFL Cup final win over Arsenal. Will he hold on nearly a month later? Let’s dive in and find out…
10. Álex Jiménez – AFC Bournemouth (⬇️3)
The Spanish full-back has been pretty solid since the international break, putting in good defensive displays against both Arsenal and Newcastle even if he was beaten one-on-one slightly more often that he might have liked – he also committed five fouls across the two matches. He also struggled to make an impact in the final third, as he did so often earlier in the spring. But he keeps his Top 10 berth because he ultimately did more than enough to keep winning possession back for his side (15 turnovers in two matches is highly impressive) and kept himself clear of any major mistakes.
9. Yankuba Minteh – Brighton & Hove Albion (⬇️3)
Whenever a forward goes a couple of games without a goal or assist, the temptation to drop him out of the rankings arises, and Minteh wasn’t anywhere near his best against Burnley after the break – but he was lively against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend and put in a huge shift tracking back and breaking up the attacks Spurs’ wing-backs were trying to spark, especially in the second half, and was on such fine form in March that it feels harsh to drop him too far down the list.
8. Lewis Hall – Newcastle United (⬇️6)
We have less compunction about taking Hall down quite a few pegs after a pretty poor run of form, which started with the pasting he and his club took in the Camp Nou and hasn’t really gotten much better since. Taken off at half-time against Bournemouth on Saturday, Hall has been struggling to find any rhythm both at the back and going forward. Not a spell which will have done his hopes of a place in England’s World Cup squad much good.
7. Abdukodir Khusanov – Manchester City (⬆️1)
The Uzbek has been on rock solid form over the past month or two, and hasn’t shown any signs of regression since returning from national duty. He does still have the odd shaky moment in him, but the odd lapse in concentration aside he’s been composed on the ball, intelligent with his passing, and has turned far more attacks away than he’s allowed past him. City shipped just one goal in a run of four matches against Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, and Khusanov played a pretty large part in keeping those sheets so clean.
6. Eli Junior Kroupi – AFC Bournemouth (re-entry)
Kroupi became the first teenager in 25 years to score 10 Premier League goals in his debut season when he bagged against Spurs a week ago – his second in consecutive games - and while there are still questions about his impact in the build-up, the sheer efficiency of his finishing is worth getting excited about – small wonder that Manchester United are being heavily linked with a summer bid. The 18-year-old, the youngest player in our Top 10, has plenty of work to do in some areas, but his predatory instincts make him look like an immensely exciting prospect.
5. Michael Kayode – Brentford (⬆️4)
The Italian had a bit of a wobble in February and March, form-wise, but he seems to have gotten the mistakes out of his system since. He picked up an assist in the 2-2 draw with Everton and was rock solid at the back in the admittedly rather dreary 0-0 against Fulham over the weekend. His ability to carry the ball forward to create attacking opportunities is up there with the best full-backs in the division, and with his defensive solidity back in place after an error-strewn spring, he’s creeping back up our charts.
4. Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United (⬇️1)
The vagaries of the schedule mean that Mainoo has only played one game since the end of the international break, and he put in an archetypally Mainoo-esque performance in Manchester United’s slightly fortuitous 1-0 win over Chelsea: Hassling opposing midfielder, forcing turnovers, and keeping possession moving economically and intelligently. He didn’t make the highlight reel on this occasion, but he kept things suitably tight.
3. Jaydee Canvot – Crystal Palace (⬆️1)
We continue to be immensely impressed by Canvot, who has been a revelation since stepping into Marc Guéhi’s boots after the January transfer window. The 19-year-old was arguably the best player on the pitch against West Ham on Monday night, popping up absolutely everywhere, making no fewer than 11 clearances and twice making tackles when he was the last line of defence. An immensely impressive talent who has been astonishingly consistent since coming into the starting line-up.
2. Mateus Fernandes – West Ham United (⬆️2)
Fernandes has been our number one for more weeks than any other player this season, and his impressive consistency in the heart of West Ham’s midfield has meant that he finally seem to be attracting the attention of some of England’s biggest clubs – something which maybe should have been the case last summer, when he was by far Southampton’s best player in a dismal campaign. Since scoring against Leeds in the FA Cup, he’s continued doing what he does best, forcing an amazing volume of turnovers (10 against Palace), making his tackles and surging forward to spark counter-attacks. A brilliant box-to-box player who will surely get a big move this summer if West Ham go down.
1. Nico O’Reilly – Manchester City (-)
Pep Guardiola said after a potentially season-defining victory over Arsenal that O’Reilly should be named Young Player of the Year, and we’re certainly happy to name him our number one yet again. He has three goals and an assist across the last four (massive) games, was outstanding when redeployed back into the left-back slot at the Etihad on Sunday, and while his ball across the box for Erling Haaland’s winner didn’t go down as an ‘official’ assist, it may as well have been. A growing force in defence, a remarkably mature presence in midfield and incredibly dangerous in the opposing area, O’Reilly has few weaknesses and is on remarkable form. A worthy and undeniable number one for our return.
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