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The Wonderkid Power Rankings: Bournemouth, Brighton & Palace stars shake up new-look top ten

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Our weekly countdown of the best young players in the Premier League sees Bournemouth, Brighton & Crystal Palace players impress.

There are some weeks when we put or regular ranking of the best young players in the Premier League together and are blown away by a slew of brilliant goals and sublime individual performances. Then there are some weeks when most of the brightest talents in the top flight struggle.

This was one of the latter. Not a single player in last week’s Top 10 scored this time around – except in their own net – and to make matters worse, the injuries are really starting to pile up as well. Lewis Hall, a former number one, is the latest to make way from our countdown due to an injury which will likely keep him out for the rest of the season.

Also leaving the rankings this week, perhaps predictably, is Nico O’Reilly, who continued his tradition of flashing in the FA Cup only to be benched immediately thereafter – but losing Hall and O’Reilly does at least make way for a returning starlet and a brand new entry. Let’s get down to it…

10. Tyrique George – Chelsea (new entry)

One positive of the growing list of injury victims (and the increased pressure of the packed schedule) is that previously unheralded prospects sometimes get a chance to shine, and 19-year-old winger George has been taking his unexpected opportunity with both hands – a cut-back for Enzo Fernández against FC København earned him assists in consecutive matches, and the England Under-19 international has now provided four goals in seven senior appearances since the turn of the year. Not bad, especially considering how many youngsters George has to be better than just to get to the front of the queue for the odd appearance.

9. Savinho – Manchester City (⬇️1)

This is the second straight week in which Savinho has failed to find any form of end product in the final third and while his sparkly dribbling was occasionally in evidence against Nottingham Forest, it didn’t lead to much – he drew a couple of fouls but whenever he beat a man nothing came from it, and he failed to complete any of his six attempted crosses. Flashes of his talent and class aren’t really cutting it now, especially when we know how dangerous he can be on his day.

8. Ethan Nwaneri – Arsenal (⬇️1)

Things really aren’t quite right in the final third for Arsenal at the moment, and that point was underlined by a deeply frustrating day for the hyper-talented Nwaneri, who managed zero shots, zero successful dribbles and zero completed crosses against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Sometimes, it’s just that sort of day, especially when you’re still learning your trade – and the 17-year-old was accordingly hauled off just before the hour mark.

7. Jack Hinshelwood – Brighton & Hove Albion (re-entry)

It’s been a while since Hinshelwood last earned a place in our Top 10, not because he’s been poor but simply because he’s been a little inconsistent and in and out of Fabian Hürzeler’s team with form and fitness issues – but since scoring against Southampton a fortnight ago, he’s been much improved and deserves a return. Very good against Newcastle in the FA Cup last week, he was excellent on the ball and did some good work sweeping up long passes in the win over Fulham, even if his limitations as a defender when one-on-one against ball-carriers did crop up a couple of times.

6. Mateus Fernandes – Southampton (-)

We might be a little generous in keeping Fernandes in place after the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool, but with so little pressure being applied by players who had been lower in our estimation it seems reasonable not to punish the Portuguese midfielder for a defiant and scrappy (but ultimately largely ineffectual) display against the champions elect. A fine all-round midfielder on his day, but he was simply overwhelmed against a world class team for large periods of this weekend’s game.

5. Adam Wharton – Crystal Palace (⬆️5)

Finally, a player who did show some real touches of quality this week – Wharton is back from injury, back in the starting line-up, and starting to remind us why the hype train he generated last season gathered so much steam.

It wasn’t a perfect display against Ipswich Town, and he’s certainly capable of tidier work off the ball, but his immaculate and inventive passing was on full display right from the start, when he drove through a hole in the middle of the pitch and played Eddie Nketiah through with a lusciously-timed through ball. That was one of many presentable chances that he provided and although they were all spurned, the vision and creativity behind them was evident.

4. Yankuba Minteh – Brighton & Hove Albion (⬆️1)

The Gambian winger didn’t add to his recent rash of goals or assists this week against Fulham, although he did force Bernd Leno into a sharp save at the near post when he worked his way superbly into shooting range – where he really stood out was with his work off the ball.

A few weeks ago, we gently criticised his work as an occasional wing-back (a role occupied by Hinshelwood this week) as he wasn’t making tackles or forcing turnovers, but he’s really bucked that trend in the last couple of weeks and he recovered possession four times with interceptions and tackles and tracked back to good effect throughout even though he was nominally playing a more attacking role. He’s certainly starting to prove our concerns to be largely unfounded.

3. Lucas Bergvall – Tottenham Hotspur (⬇️1)

You know it’s been a weak week in the world of the Power Rankings where you only drop one place after scoring an own goal and getting benched for the next game – although in truth, that entirely accurate description would rather oversell Swedish midfielder Bergvall’s struggles this past week.

Yes, the own goal was awful, an ugly hack at a loose ball from a corner which he sliced over his own keeper’s head and into the goal against AZ in the Europa League. And granted, he wasn’t as impactful off the ball as he has been of late for the rest of that game, or in the second half against Bournemouth – but his tidy passing and capacity to keep possession ticking over immaculately were still very much in evidence. Were it not for one awful moment in the Netherlands, we wouldn’t have much negative to say.

2. Milos Kerkez – Bournemouth (⬆️1)

This week’s race for number one was a close battle between two team-mates, but we reckon Kerkez fell just short despite a sublime cross for Marcus Tavernier’s opener and plenty of solid work in defence.

The Hungarian made three tackles and the stats say he came out on top in six of his seven ground duels, which is a pretty rock solid day’s work – after a slightly lean patch of form, Kerkez is coming back into his own and demonstrating precisely why so many top teams are alleged to be interested in signing him. A fine weekend’s work, but not quite enough…

1. Dean Huijsen – Bournemouth (-)

…To pip his team-mate Huijsen to top spot. The Spanish age-group international has been the dominant force in these rankings since the turn of the year and we couldn’t find enough good reasons to dislodge him from first place after yet another strong display against Spurs, one of several teams said to want to sign him this summer.

Bournemouth may have conceded twice but that was nothing to do with Huijsen – either side of Son Heung-Min’s penalty and Pape Matar Sarr’s fortuitous cross, the Amsterdam-born defender racked up a massive 16 clearances to go with a blocked shot and five total tackles and interceptions. His positioning, reading of the game and ability to deal with balls over the top have made him one of 2025’s standouts so far, regardless of age, and he’s worth another week on the throne.