Welcome back to the weekly Wonderkid Power Rankings, our running countdown of the ten best young players in the Premier League based on their form at the very highest level – and plenty of bright talents were off on international duty this past week, showing their compatriots what they’re capable of.
International breaks mean things get a bit weird in the rankings because players who were in the top ten get dropped because they didn’t get a game (in this case Savinho, Tino Livramento and Adam Wharton, none of whom got on the field) and players who normally only sniff around the edges of the rankings get a chance to shine – we’ll come to them in a moment.
One thing we’ll be honest about before we get going – not a single player who was in contention for our list this week scored a goal. None. Not one. Overall, it was a relatively quiet week for the top prospects in the English top flight, but can anyone challenge reigning number one Rico Lewis? Let’s find out…
10. Pape Matar Sarr – Tottenham Hotspur & Senegal (⬇️1)
Ordinarily, Sarr’s rather indifferent performance in Senegal’s 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso in Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying wouldn’t have merited keeping him in the top ten, and he even edges his own team-mate, Destiny Udogie out, perhaps unfairly. Why? Because Sarr turns 22 this weekend, and after a successful Power Rankings career will bow out for the final time. Happy birthday Pape, but we won’t be seeing you again.
9. Jack Hinshelwood – Brighton & Hove Albion & England Under-21 (new entry)
The versatile 19-year-old has gotten his season off to a good start with the Seagulls and earns a nod for a strong showing in England Under-21s’ 4-1 friendly win over Austria on Monday evening. Creative with the ball, crisp with his passing and strong in defence, he wasn’t beaten by his opposite man once all match and did some good work sweeping up long passes down the Austrian left flank.
8. Victor Kristiansen – Leicester City & Denmark (NE)
Another young full-back who has been on the cusp of this countdown in the early stages of the season and who earns his Power Rankings debut after some rock solid displays for Denmark in the Nations League matches against Switzerland and Serbia. He needs to develop a little more consistency with his final ball but his positioning and movement are excellent and picked up an assist when his cross was spectacularly dispatched by Yussuf Poulsen’s bicycle kick.
7. Abdul Fatawu – Leicester City & Ghana (⬇️1)
A second consecutive Leicester City player, but this time one who didn’t have a great week at all – nor did Ghana as a whole, thanks to a dismal defeat to Angola before they failed to get more than a point off lowly Niger. Fatawu himself wasn’t the problem and he moved the ball nicely, but he also wasn’t the solution and couldn’t create meaningful penetration in the final third. With Ghana’s AFCON campaign in tatters early on, they’ll likely need Fatawu to step up a gear to get things back on track.
6. James McAtee – Manchester City & England Under-21 (NE)
We accept that McAtee will probably be in the rankings for one week and then straight back out again given that he seldom gets minutes for Manchester City, but he deserves a shout out for his Under-21s form – he scored one and created another against Austria and his movement and technique made him the best player on the pitch during an otherwise disappointing 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland. He looked a class apart in a very talented group of players. With any luck, he’ll get to prove it in the Premier League in the near future.
5. Facundo Buonanotte – Leicester City & Argentina (⬇️3)
Last week’s runner-up drops down a few spots because he didn’t play this week – having been called up to the senior Argentina squad in the spring, he seems to have been bounced back down to the Under-20s for now, but they didn’t have any fixtures during the break. So instead, the Brighton loanee put his feet up for a bit. Well deserved, on recent form, but while we don’t dump top five players out of the rankings altogether for one missed match, his standing does have to take a temporary hit.
4. Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United & England (-)
Manchester United’s Mainoo only got to play one of Lee Carsley’s first two games as interim England manager and wasn’t at his very best in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland, with or without the ball.
So much of Mainoo’s excellence is pinned on his strong work in one-on-one defensive situations, but this time around he lost three of his five ground duels and picked up a booking – and much of the rest of his excellence rests on his dynamic ball-carrying skill, which wasn’t really put to any use on this occasion. Not a terrible performance, but he’s capable of a great deal more.
3. Yankuba Minteh – Brighton & Hove Albion & Gambia (⬆️ 4)
Although the Gambia didn’t get off to a great start in AFCON qualifying – they lost 2-1 to Tunisia and only managed against a draw against the tiny island nation of Comoros – but Minteh was excellent, and the unexpected equaliser against the Carthage Eagles owed itself to his artistry and daring.
Picking the ball up on the right-hand edge of the area, Minteh twisted, turned and beat three man (one of them sat down on the turf in the process) before a half-tackle put the ball into the path of Ali Sowe to bundle home. Gambia are no footballing powerhouse, but in Minteh they have a thrilling winger they can count on for a little bit of magic for years to come.
2. Jhon Durán – Aston Villa & Colombia (⬆️ 1)
Ever the supersub, the striker was thrown into the fray for the last 20 minutes or so against Peru with his side a goal down and in need of help – and he delivered, losing his marker from a corner, bursting towards the near post and angling a header back across goal to which Luis Díaz applied the final touch.
That earned him a start against Argentina, but despite a surprise 2-1 win for his team Durán cut an isolated figure up front and only got 10 touches in nearly 80 minutes – still, on top of his goal-scoring form in the Premier League (he’s bagged twice in three games despite not starting a match yet) he maintains his lofty ranking.
1. Rico Lewis – Manchester City & England (-)
There’s a debate to be had about whether Lewis was the right answer at left-back and Anthony Gordon might have appreciated somebody getting outside him once in a while, but leaving tactical considerations aside, Lewis’ performance was one of maturity and confidence and he looked every bit the senior international against Finland on Tuesday evening.
His passing was controlled and economical, he ball-carrying decisive and he didn’t give Finland anything to work with, even playing in one of his less favoured positions. The only issue we can see with Lewis right now is that he isn’t great in front of goal, and he fluffed his lines when given a presentable opportunity for the third match on the bounce. Aside from that though, he has been absolutely excellent of late and deserves a second week at the top of our rankings.
