The Wonderkid Power Rankings: Chelsea & Newcastle starlets join list as Aston Villa man storms to top spot

With the international break and its oddities in the rear view mirror, it’s time to return to some semblance of order in our weekly countdown of the ten best young players in the Premier League based on their recent form for club and country – but in this case, putting things back into their proper order means making a whole heap of changes.

For starters, we have a brand new number one, but we also say goodbye to three of last week’s top ten. One, Pape Matar Sarr, drops out simply because he’s turned 22 and has therefore aged out of contention. Another, James McAtee, was brilliant for England Under-21s but doesn’t get the weekly gametime to earn his keep now we’re refocussing on the domestic game. A third, Facundo Buonanotte, drops out after being dropped by Leicester City.

That means a berth for an old favourite who missed out when he didn’t get a game during the international weekend and spots for two players who have been on the fringes of our countdown for the last few weeks and now earn deserved spots based on sheer consistency over the course of the early part of the season. So how are things shaping up? Let’s take a look…

10. Abdul Fatawu – Leicester City (⬇️3)

The Ghanaian winger was the first number one of the new season but can perhaps count himself a little lucky to cling on to his top ten slot after getting just 18 minutes in the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace this weekend – 18 minutes in which he didn’t really manage to get involved or make a big difference. He did have an enjoyably optimistic crack from the halfway line, at least, so gets enough bonus points for sheer chutzpah to survive for one more week.

9. Victor Kristiansen – Leicester City (⬇️1)

The Foxes have a genuinely exciting contingent of young players and while Kristiansen hasn’t really flashed in the way that his colleagues Fatawu and Buonanotte have, he has been rock steady. A well-balanced wing-back, he was decent in defence, didn’t let anything too egregious get past him and offered plenty going forward. His crossing, in particular, is impressively accurate.

8. Adam Wharton – Crystal Palace (re-entry)

Wharton has had a decent but not brilliant start to the new season and dropped out of our top ten last week when he didn’t get any England action under his belt, senior or Under-21s – but he forces his way back in off the back of a display of superb direct passing in which he completed eight out of nine attempted long balls, which isn’t shabby at all. He was unusually slack defensively, however, and let three dribblers past him which isn’t up to his normal high standards at all.

7. Jack Hinshelwood – Brighton & Hove Albion (⬆️2)

Hinshelwood really doesn’t seem to get half as much fuss made of him as he deserves. At just 19 years of age he’s a regular in the Brighton & Hove Albion team and puts in sterling performances pretty much every week, offering plenty of threat going forward and making plenty of tackles when the ball comes back the other way. He did better in defence in the dreary 0-0 draw against Ipswich Town but still got up in support of the attack well and let very little get past him. A fine young player who should have more noise made about him.

6. Levi Colwill – Chelsea (new entry)

One of the oddities of the early season is that the Wonderkid Power Rankings often end up rewarding players who flash rather than those who just play consistently well, but class does win out in the end, and so Chelsea defender Colwill makes a belated but thoroughly deserved debut after another very decent display against Bournemouth. He wasn’t perfect and there were a couple of fouls and a booking in there, but he was excellent in the air and swept up a lot of long balls and crosses before they found their mark. He hasn’t a performance you’d hang your hat on this season but has shown consistent quality that’s a cut above most of his peers.

5. Lewis Hall – Newcastle United (NE)

It’s time for a confession – sometimes, looking back over a player’s recent form, we realise they should have been in before and give them a bit of a bump up the top ten the following week to reflect that. Such is the case with Hall who has been in fine form for Newcastle United this season and shone against Austria’s Under-21s last week without getting his due recognition.

He bagged two assists in that game and while he couldn’t match that feat in the eventual 2-1 win over Wolves, Hall was still heavily involved (103 touches is Manchester City numbers, quite frankly) and helped his team to control possession with a confidence and maturity that belied his years. He could stand to be a little stronger in one-on-one situations and did let a Wolves winger slip by a few times, but his reliability on the ball made the comeback quite a bit easier.

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

After an impressive international break with the Gambia, the young winger wasn’t quite so sharp against Ipswich and struggled with his dribbling at times, beating the full-back just once out of the six times he attempted to run with the ball, which meant he wasn’t able to make his usual impact in the final third as he wasn’t getting as much space.

But his passing and final ball still looked pretty good and he served up a couple of presentable if not exactly gilt-edged chances – although we’ll be honest and say that he may have slipped further down the top ten if we didn’t have so many new entries to squeeze in. Minteh was also a little ill-disciplined off the ball, committing a few fouls and getting his name taken by the referee. The flashes of excellence were there but this wasn’t his best performance.

3. Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United (⬆️1)

Mainoo, on the other hand, had a rather better day as Manchester United beat Southampton 3-0. The team as a whole may not yet be completely convincing, but there weren’t too many bones to pick with the 19-year-old’s performance and his ability to win the ball and get it downfield quickly was on full display.

He was responsible for six turnovers, a couple of neat dribbles and some very sharp long passes and also teed up Joshua Zirkzee for the second of the goals that the Dutchman really should have scored, but didn’t. Mainoo didn’t get every last thing right but the mistakes were in the minority and as is often the case, he was among the best players on the pitch.

2. Rico Lewis – Manchester City (⬇️1)

Sometimes, you don’t do a single thing wrong and get punished anyway. That’s doubly true for Lewis this week – not only was he hauled off at half-time against Brentford regardless of a faultless performance, but he also loses top spot in the Wonderkid Power Rankings. It’s a cruel world, professional football.

When we say that he was faultless in the first 45 minutes of Manchester City’s 2-1 win, we mean it too – he completed 100% of his passes, made every tackle possible (including two as the last man) and didn’t lose possession a single time in any way. Quite why Pep Guardiola took him off, we don’t know. And as for why we knocked the unfortunate Lewis down to second place…

1. Jhon Durán – Aston Villa (⬆️1)

Well, did you see that goal? Already the young Colombian’s third of the season despite the fact that he’s meant to be little more than a back-up to Ollie Watkins, Durán’s screaming strike was the kind that gets neutrals out of their seats with hands covering mouths. Including ours. A sublime strike which had power, swerve, and an immense amount of daring behind it.

He’s scoring at a ridiculous rate considering the number of minutes he’s been given and has already become the only player in Premier League history to score three match-winning goals as a substitute. We’re only four matches into the season. Unai Emery has to find a way to start him, because right now only Erling Haaland can be confidently said to be more in-form striker. And as Haaland is over the age of 21, that’s enough for us to make Durán the best youngster in the Premier League right now.