The Wonderkid Power Rankings: Chelsea and Spurs starlets burst into the top ten

Welcome back to the weekly Wonderkid Power Rankings, where 3 Added Minutes comb through all the latest highlight reels and data to bring you our best stab at a list of the ten best young players in world football right now.

And there’s quite a lot of movement this week, with several of last week’s top ten suffering a rather slow match or two or simply finding themselves stuck on the sidelines – all of which means that we get two new entries this week, including one from Ange Postecoglou’s impressive Spurs side, and a return for one of the few Chelsea players who’s consistently earning credit in a tough start to the season.

As for top spot, can Gavi keep his superb recent form up and finally knock Jude Bellingham off of his perch? Did Bellingham’s surprise benching against Las Palmas last week knock the wind out of his sails and finally see him lose the number one slot? Read on to find out…

10. Levi Colwill – Chelsea (re-entry)

Chelsea have struggled desperately for goals in recent games, so much so that even renowned football banter merchants Dominos Pizza got in on the act with a sign outside their game against Fulham announcing how many argubably insanely expensive and underwhelming pizzas they’d shifted since they lost bagged in the Premier League, but the defence has been impressive and the 20-year-old Colwill has been a big part of the reason that they’ve only shipped two goals in their last five matches.

He topped off another composed performance on Monday night with an excellent assist for Mykhaylo Mudryk, getting a shift on down the flank to beat his man before dropping an inch-perfect cross into the Ukrainian’s feet. There seemed to be quite a bit of internal debate about whether to keep Colwill on the books over the summer, and on current form they’ll be very glad that they did.

9. Assane Diao – Real Betis (new entry)

The 18-year-old forward, born in Senegal but now a Spanish Under-19 international, made his senior debut against Granada on Thursday and marked it with one of the best debut goals since we were invited to remember Wayne Rooney’s name back in 2002 – picking up on a loose pass from a defender, he took it to about 20 yards out before lashing the ball with astonishing ferocity into the near post. With his allegedly weaker left foot, as well.

He then added a second goal when he inevitably got the nod to start again against Valencia over the weekend, coolly finishing from close range for his side’s third of the day. Two games, two goals, one absolute screamer and a mounting pile of evidence that he might be something rather special.

8. Pape Matar Sarr – Tottenham Hotspur (new entry)

Sarr has been quietly revelatory since unexpectedly getting the starting gig at Spurs, and the Senegalese midfielder had another impressive game against Liverpool, completing 91% of his passes and winning five duels, two tackles and a earning an interception – a lot of turnovers for one young man in one big game.

He’s been excellent throughout the season at disrupting play both in the centre of the field and down the right flank, and has the ball-carrying and shooting skills to present a respectable threat going forward as well. A versatile, well-rounded and energetic presence in a very strong Tottenham team.

7. Mathys Tel – Bayern Munich (⬇️ from 5)

Last week we praised Tel for the extraordinary amount of success he was having in front of goal given his very limited minutes – this time he was given 45 of them to impress against RB Leipzig and racked up a combined expected goals and assists of 0.03 without registering either. Ah well.

It was still a lively showing with plenty of dangerous runs and flashes of the exceptional quality that had seen him rack up five goals in barely two games’ worth of pitch-time, but the headlines were written by Harry Kane and Leroy Sané on this occasion.

6. Xavi Simons – RB Leipzig (⬇️ from 4)

An early season flier in front of goal, Simons was becalmed by the Bayern defence in Saturday’s 2-2 draw but found a way to contribute a surprising amount on the defensive side of the ball, winning eight ground duels and chipping in with a couple of important tackles.

By his high standards, though, losing possession a fairly meaty 17 times has to see this marked down as one of his less impressive performances, although there were still moments of excellence on the dribble and a couple of nice passes in there as well.

5. Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen (⬇️ from 3)

Another huge talent in the Bundesliga who wasn’t at their very best, not that you can say that Wirtz did much wrong in the 64 minutes he played during Leverkusen’s routine 3-0 win over Mainz. He racked up an 84% pass completion rate, was successful with four of his five dribbles and generally kept play ticking over nicely, even if he didn’t contribute as much around the opposing area as he normally does.

Leverkusen now find themselves a point clear at the top of the early table in Germany and Wirtz, alongside the hugely impressive Victor Boniface up front, has been a huge part of the reason why Xabi Alonso’s side are doing so well in the early season.

4. Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich (⬆️ from 10)

A fourth high-flying Bundesliga starlet on the bounce now, Musiala played a crucial role in Bayern’s comeback against Leipzig, surging through midfield late in the game to slide Sané in for the equalising goal. It was a highlight reel moment in a very good display, albeit one that probably should have stood alongside a goal as well, with Musiala missing a great opportunity from the edge of the area in the third minute.

He got over that early misstep pretty well, however, and his running, movement and impressive use of the ball gave the Leipzig defence plenty to ponder throughout the game. A brilliant player getting back up to speed nicely after injury.

3. Alejandro Baldé – Barcelona (⬆️ from7)

Baldé didn’t put a foot wrong during Barcelona’s narrow 1-0 win over Sevilla, and while he didn’t create too much in the final third – it was, rather cathartically, a Sergio Ramos own goal that gave Barça the three points – his defending was on point throughout and his endless running down the left flank gave Barcelona a passing option throughout the match.

And his use of the ball was excellent throughout, keeping play moving and bringing his team-mates into the game exceptionally well – another demonstration of the 19-year-old’s excellent understanding of the game.

2. Gavi – Barcelona (non-mover)

No goals or assists this time for one of Barcelona’s most important players, but he was once again integral to just about everything his team did both in and out of possession, with 85% pass completion, four out of four long passes made, a crucial block on a Sevilla shot and plenty of hard work in the defensive third.

Barcelona are the last unbeaten team in La Liga and Gavi’s non-stop impression of the Duracell bunny, haring around the field plugging gaps, providing options and getting plays going, has become a massive part of both their defensive solidity and their attacking prowess. You’d say he was playing at the peak of his powers if his age didn’t promise even more to come.

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

Being left on the bench against Las Palmas in midweek – presumably to give him some hard-earned rest – made it look as though Bellingham would finally leave the door open for someone else to top the rankings this week. But no – he was back in the line-up for the 3-0 win over recent table-toppers Girona and put in probably his best performance of the season, which is really saying something.

His fine finish for Real’s third goal, keeping control of a bouncing ball to guide it into the side netting after drifting into space in the box, was pretty good in itself, but the real standout moment was his assist for Joselu, a stunning outside-of-the-boot cross that will pop up on Twitter accounts called things like Classic Football Filth in 20 years’ time. Oh, and he only misplaced one pass in the entire match, and turned the ball over five times. An unbelievable performance from one of the best players on the planet right now.