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In this article, we will be taking a look at the best young soccer players (U21) in Europe’s top 5 leagues. We will be considering advanced stats, club prestige, and overall impact to determine where these young stars rank.
Glossary to the advanced statistics used in this article can be found here.
10. Callum Hudson-Odoi
Chelsea - Left Winger
The Chelsea phenom has been a big part of the London Blues’ top four finish. Hudson-Odoi is part of the next generation of emerging English talents, displaying his prowess by scoring 1 goal and providing 5 assists in 7 starts. His biggest impact on the field, however, is through his dribbling and the space he creates for his teammates. His 63.5% successful dribbling rate is comparable to elite attackers like Angel Di Maria and Marcus Rashford. Hudson-Odoi should be a vital piece to Chelsea’s squad next season along with Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
9. Bukayo Saka
Arsenal - Left Back/Left Winger
An exciting 17-year old English prospect, Saka has enjoyed a stellar season starting in the second division of English soccer and making his way into Arsenal’s senior team. Playing the majority of the season as a wing-back, Saka has not failed to impress, finishing 2nd in the Assists, Assist/90 minutes, and Goals + Assists at the Premier League - 2 level. Tag on the 1 goal and 5 assists he had in the remainder of the season, and you have a stellar breakthrough season to remember.
He might even be a shoe in for the best young left-back this season.
8. Giovanni Reyna
Dortmund - Attacking Midfielder
Possibly the next biggest thing for the United States of America, Gio, as he is affectionately known, has burst onto the scene at Dortmund, playing dynamic, fluid soccer. A 0.25 G+A ratio puts him among the elite in terms of goals contributions per 90 minutes. Although an exciting prospect, Reyna would be an outside pick for the award this year, but as a 17-year old he has at least two more seasons to make his case.
This is great news for the U.S. national team as they seem to be putting together a solid squad.
7. Phil Foden
Manchester City - Attacking Midfielder
Playing behind the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, no one expected Foden to have the caliber of season he has managed to put together. Scoring his first senior hat-trick and bagging a goal against Premier League champions Liverpool has truly put Foden on the radar for best young player. Along with his ability to put the ball in the back of the net, Foden displays impressive passing ability with an outstanding pass completion rate of 84.8% over the course of the season. Foden is also a master manipulator of the ball with a dribble success rate of 77.4% for the season, putting him among the best dribblers in the English top flight.
All these attributes highlight why the legendary Pep Guardiola has entrusted Foden with a regular spot in his first team.
6. Sandro Tonali
SC Brescia - Defensive Midfielder
A promising Brescia newly promoted to the Serie-A failed to interest many fans, finishing 19th. However, their 19-year old midfield maestro created a buzz like no other talent in the Italian top flight. Tonali ranked in the top 10 for five different categories: Assists (9th), Key Passes (10th), Progressive Passes (7th), Corner Kicks (4th), and Crosses (6th). This exhilarating display of passing ability and creative genius puts Tonali among the best young players this season, and the best central-midfielder of them all.
5. Ansu Fati
FC Barcelona - Left Winger
Touted as the heir to the great Lionel Messi, Fati has been placed under an immense amount of pressure to perform due to Barcelona’s goalscoring woes in the absence of Suarez and the lackluster performances of big name signing Antoine Griezmann. You would think this would make a young 17-year old buckle, but it hasn’t seemed to bother this kid. Fati has contributed 7 goals and 1 assist in just 9 starts for the Blaugrana, leading to a top 10 finish in goals/shot (5th) and a goals to expected goals of +3.4 (8th). This is made all the more impressive by the fact that Fati has not attempted a single penalty in the domestic league, meaning that all his goals came from open play: talk about talent.
4. Alphonso Davies
Bayern Munich - Left Back
Canadian refugee to global superstar. Alphonso Davies’ meteoric rise to success has come in his scintillating breakthrough season at double-winners Bayern Munich. Davies’ has played an integral role in the Bavarian outfit’s incredible form this season, providing 3 goals and setting up 5 more. Davies’ prolific performances are highlighted by his 0.36 G + A/90 as compared to his expected G + A ratio of 0.23, far exceeding expectations. Add this to a 36.51km/h top speed, and you have a recipe for possibly the best full back of this generation. Davies should be one of the top picks for this year’s award, but maybe not so much for his performances on TikTok.
Forget about Saka, this guy is the real deal.
3. Mason Greenwood
Manchester United - Right Winger/Striker
Left foot. Right Foot. Header. Whatever you need 18-year old Mason Greenwood can provide. At such a young age, he has drawn comparisons to the game’s greatest including George Best and Wayne Rooney. These comparisons do not come from nothing. Greenwood puts the ball into the net so efficiently that he leads the league in goals/shot taken and places top 5 in 4 other scoring categories: goals/90 minutes (3rd), goals to expected goals ratio at +6.3 (3rd), non-penalty goals/90 minutes (2nd), and shots on target percentage (3rd). Greenwood has been a vital part in Manchester United’s red hot performance after the break alongside Martial and Rashford, which makes them one of Europe’s most lethal front threes. The manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has such faith in the young talent that even when he does not start, the manager is always looking to bring him on explaining why Greenwood ranks 5th in games played as a substitute.
Greenwood’s stellar season has me scrambling to do him justice, and he might just be the sleeper pick to take home the trophy. Oh, he also has 11 goals and an assist in just 12 starts.
2. Erling Braut Haland
Dortmund - Striker
Man or machine? Haaland seems to be programmed to sleep, eat, score, and score some more! The Norweigein Nightmare has an outrageous G + A ratio of 1.27, a feat even Cristiano Ronaldo did not reach this season. He did this by scoring 29 Goals and providing 6 assists in 29 games for RB Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund. Playing less than half the season in the Bundesliga, Haland managed to finish 6th among the all scorers and 2nd in goals/90 minutes, while winning the 2019 Austrian Footballer of the Year. He has racked so many insane statistics that I could not possibly list them all here, but check out one of his games, and you will see exactly why he is the favorite for the Golden Boy this year.
1. Jadon Sancho
Dortmund - Right Winger
Sancho is the most exciting talent to come out of the English football system since Wayne Rooney. Sancho has enjoyed the best season of his career alongside another young star on this list, Erling Haland. Sancho is the only player, alongside Leo Messi, to rack up 15+ Goals (17) and 15+ assists (16) in a single season, and the fifth since 2006. Add to that his 67 key passes (7th), 124 shot creating actions (4th), 100 successful dribbles (1st), 0.33 goals/shot (2nd), and you have a lethal blend of goalscoring and playmaking. The 20-year old’s supreme all around skill makes him a prospect to be wary of.
Sancho is my pick for this year’s award.
Data courtesy of FBReference and SPORTbible