The Wonderkid Power Rankings: will Arsenal and Man City starlets join Jude Bellingham in top ten?

Welcome back once more to the Wonderkid Power Rankings, our weekly stab at ordering the ten brightest young talents in world football based not just on their skills but their current form, as well. Last week, several of Europe’s biggest leagues hadn’t gotten underway, and so quite a few big names hadn’t had their chance to shine. Many of them make their return today – even if there are still some names more notable by their absence. It’s been a while since Gavi looked like his best self, isn’t it?

But there have been plenty of brilliant young players making a case for a spot in the rankings this week, and quite a few serious talents who narrowly missed out – and one who is spending the first couple of weeks of the season absolutely nailing himself to the top spot. Let’s see how the kids got on, then…

1. Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid (non-mover)

Another two goals, another player of the match performance, another demonstration of the simple fact that Bellingham isn’t just one of the very best young players in the world – but one of the very best, full stop.

The first of the two he bagged against Almería might have been a little bit lucky, the ball dropping at his feet six yards out after a couple of pinball deflections, but his second demonstrated his ever-improving goalscoring instincts as he ghosted through the defence to head in from Toni Kroos’ delicious cross. He also assisted Vinícius Jr for the third and dribbled mazily down the opposition right in service of what turned out to be a disallowed Dani Carvajal goal. A stunning all-round performance from a persistently astonishing player.

2. Pedri – Barcelona (⬆️ from 5)

Barcelona left it late to earn a deserved 2-0 win over Cadíz on Sunday and it was largely thanks to the effervescent Pedri that they picked up their first three points of the season, and it was his goal that finally broke the deadlock, a sharp angled run breaking the defensive line and allowing him to slide home for the opener.

He was one of the liveliest players on the pitch throughout and his sharp movement around the edge of the area created a ton of headaches for the visitors’ defence – currently the young Spaniard looks like the brightest spark in a team that’s finding its feet again after reclaiming the league title last year.

3. Bukayo Saka – Arenal (⬇️ from 2)

Plenty of energy from Saka against Crystal Palace last night, but for once in his young life no end product – although he still performed his usual trick of giving the opposing left-back regular palpitations with his switches of pace and lethally good ball control.

No goals means a slight tick down the top ten rankings, but nobody at Selhurst Park would deny they were watching one of the world’s premier talents – and Palace fans probably still breathed a fairly big sigh of relief when he was taken off late on as the Gunners looked to hold onto their slender lead.

4. Vitor Roque - Athletico Paranaense (non-mover)

The Barcelona-bound Brazilian scored again last night, cracking in the opening goal in a 1-1 draw against Goiás – and ‘cracking it in’ is probably underselling it slightly.

Blasting down the left flank with the ball at his feet, Roque was allowed the space to sprint to the corner of the area and curl it with power into the top right corner. A gorgeous goal from a player who looks like he could be the closest thing we’ve had to Ronaldo since… well, Ronaldo himself, really. A frightening talent with all the physical and technical attributes to become one of the best strikers in the global game. The newly-refurbished Nou Camp will be a fitting home for him.

5. Eduardo Camavinga – Real Madrid (⬇️ from 3)

The supremely-talented Frenchman was given a bit of a breather against Almería this weekend, starting from the bench and coming on for the last twenty minutes.

He gave us another of his typically efficient, unfussy performances in that time but didn’t really have much opportunity to showcase his full range of skills – this was just a tidy display that helped his team keep ticking along towards a relatively comfortable victory. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to complain about either. Some weeks, that’s all you can ask for.

6. Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen (new entry)

The Bundesliga is back with a bang and while most of the headlines might have focused on Harry Kane’s first goal for Bayern Munich, we were rather more excited by another chance to watch Wirtz, one of the most aesthetically-pleasing players on the planet, in action again.

And we were duly rewarded by a glorious looping effort from just inside the area which kissed the underside of the crossbar on its way in – even if replays did disappointingly reveal that he’d actually miskicked it off his own standing foot. Some players are so elegant that even their mishits look good. He did also miss a glaring one-on-one chance while Leverkusen were 2-1 up against RB Leipzig, but he made good in the end as Xabi Alonso’s side ran out 3-2 winners on the day. Football is just better with Wirtz in it.

7. Joško Gvardiol – Manchester City (new entry)

It’s always a good sign when you start games right away at the Etihad Stadium (remember how long it took Nathan Aké to get a game?) and Gvardiol has made a very promising start to life at Manchester City with a redoubtable display against Newcastle United on Saturday evening.

It wasn’t the most venturesome performance the young Croatian has put in – he’s often seen dribbling miles downfield with the ball, not that Pep Guardiola is likely to stand for such things – but it was composed, calm and fundamentally solid. The 21-year-old hasn’t looked phased in the least by the demands of the Premier League, or those of playing for one of the most demanding managers on the planet.

8. Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich (new entry)

Musiala had a pretty difficult time after Thomas Tuchel took over last year and largely found himself relegated to cameo appearances from the bench – often impressing, but only occasionally getting the starts that his obvious talent demanded.

He was back in the starting line-up on Friday night, however, lining up in the number ten role behind Kane and putting in a fine shift linking midfield up with the forwards. No goals or assists but a controlled and technically impressive display from a player who is still refinding his feet under a new coach. There were no signs that a challenging few months in the spring has knocked him out of his stride.

9. Gift Orban – KAA Gent (new entry)

New season, same Orban – the explosive Nigerian striker hasn’t let up the pace since the second he arrived in Europe last January and has now scored six goals in his first six games of the season after bagging against Sint-Truiden on Saturday, a typically predatory close-range finish after he lost his man in the box, a happy knack of his.

Nor was he the only youngster making waves in Belgium this weekend. We don’t normally go in for honourable mentions in the Wonderkid Power Rankings, but Antonio Nusa, a hugely-hyped 18-year-old Norwegian prospect, scored one and set up another for Club Brugge. There’s some serious talent bubbling up to the surface just over the Channel.

10. Ruben van Bommel – AZ Alkmaar (⬇️ from 8)

When we put Van Bommel (son of Barcelona and Bayern midfielder Mark) in our top ten last week, we didn’t expect him to hang about when some of the big boys from the Bundesliga and elsewhere got their seasons up and running – but then he went and scored one of the best goals of the entire week.

The opponent may have been a minnow (Andorran outfit Santa Coloma in Europa Conference League qualifying) but it would have been a worldie against anyone – a dinked, flat chip shot from twenty yards and from just outside the edge of the area which sailed over the goalkeeper and under the bar, a goal which made it two in two in his fledgling Alkmaar career. He did draw a blank in his 45 minutes against RKC Waalwijk, mind you, but that goal was so good he richly deserves to keep his slot in the top ten this week.