The Wonderkid Power Rankings: Brighton and Leicester City starlets among Premier League's best youngsters

The new Premier League season is finally underway – and that means that our weekly Wonderkid Power Rankings are back!

Every week, we at 3 Added Minutes pore over the stats and watch the tape to put together our top ten of the best young talents in the top flight based on their form at the very highest level. The only requirements for entry are that the players in question are on the pitch, playing well and no more than 21 years old.

Last season, these rankings were dominated by Chelsea’s Cole Palmer – but he’s 22 these days, as are several other stars of top tens past like Jarrad Branthwaite, and that means plenty of space for new faces in our first countdown of the season. Who will take top spot? Read on to find out…

10. Rico Lewis – Manchester City

The easy way in which Lewis carries and controls the ball is evident every time he plays, and while this wasn’t his most imposing performance in terms of end result – he ended up losing possession 16 times, which isn’t brilliant, and his passing wasn’t as crisp and precise as it can be – he still looked absolutely at home filling in for Rodri in the heart of Manchester City’s midfield.

There was a healthy amount of decent defensive work in there too, and while he’s certainly capable of better both as a creator and destroyer, this was still a solid and smooth performance which won’t do his chances of staying in the starting side too much harm.

9. Alex Scott – Bournemouth

The standout youngster in the Championship back in the 2022/23 season, Scott was signed last summer but struggled with injury and didn’t really get a chance to shine. Now that he’s had a summer to get healthy and up to speed, however, he’s in the starting line-up and starting to look like he may well be worth the £25m spent to sign him from Bristol City.

Playing in a midfield double pivot, Scott was superb in one-on-one situations both with and without the ball, making eight tackles, drawing five fouls and using the ball nicely throughout. He was only given a little over an hour by Andoni Iraola, perhaps with a view to keeping his minutes carefully managed, but made a very strong impression indeed.

8. Tino Livramento – Newcastle United

As expected, the 21-year-old full-back kept Kieran Trippier out of the starting line-up for Newcastle United’s first game of the season, and he ended up passing the test of playing for a side forced down to ten men with flying colours.

Livramento is more than capable of creating chances in the final third but with a numerical disadvantage this was very much a rearguard action, and he stood up well on the ground, making a couple of key tackles and tracking back to make some vital clearances as well. He was only beaten on the run once all match, a testament to how solid he looked under what could have been very difficult circumstances.

7. Adam Wharton – Crystal Palace

There were quite a few youngsters who had games that could perhaps be described as solid rather than spectacular, and in deciding how to order them we’ve largely used last season’s form as a tiebreaker rather than trying to draw lines after one game – and Wharton was exceptional after joining Crystal Palace in January last year, which gives him a slight edge over players like Livramento and Scott.

Wharton will have better matches – he tried a lot of crosses, direct passes and long shots which didn’t come off – but he was just as solid at the back, difficult to run past and as willing to take chances getting the ball forward as he was in Palace’s wonderful run at the end of the season under Oliver Glasner. A good rather than great game, but there was nothing to suggest he’ll be slowing down any time soon.

6. Roméo Lavia – Chelsea

Another very talented young midfielder whose 2023/24 season was raddled by injury. Lavia reportedly cost Chelsea £58m last summer but barely saw the field – mercifully, he was fit to start against the champions on Sunday and he looked a cut above the even more expensive players alongside him.

Tidy and intelligent with the ball, he completed 97% of his passes, made three tackles and picked up as many interceptions as he stood up well against Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, and even created a huge chance for Nicolas Jackson when he nodded the ball over the Manchester City defence and into the path of the Senegalese striker. Taken off a little over an hour into the game, he was probably the hosts’ best player on the day.

5. Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United

Another of last season’s star performers, Mainoo picked up where he left off with another commanding performance for a side who will need his defensive grit and attacking drive if they want to avoid a repeat of last season’s deeply disappointing league campaign.

Mainoo picked up eight turnovers out of possession and was responsible for several surging runs on it, dribbling the ball better than most experienced wingers can manage. There were no meaningful involvements in the final third on this occasion, but a lot of what Manchester United did well went through him. A team who sometimes struggle to link defence and attack effectively will have to lean heavily on his determination and dynamism over the course of the campaign.

4. Savinho – Manchester City

The young Brazilian, essentially signed by City from themselves when he arrived from fellow City Group side Troyes this summer, looked like a real handful in the first half against Chelsea and it’s a serious shame that he was forced off at the halfway mark thanks to an injury.

His first touch was excellent, his ball-carrying quite brilliant and he while he didn’t manage to create a clear-cut chance, none of Chelsea’s defenders were able to get the ball off of him – quite literally, as he wasn’t tackled once. He also worked hard off the ball and made a couple of tackles to help Pep Guardiola’s side to keep possession and pressure up. It’s fair to assume the Catalan head coach will have been pleased with what he saw.

3. Jhon Durán – Aston Villa

What’s the single best way to get yourself a good position in these rankings? Get on the scoresheet. Durán started on the bench but made his mark after coming on to replace the disappointing Ollie Watkins with half an hour to play, scoring what proved to be the decisive goal against West Ham.

It was a cracking striker’s goal, too – a fine run which threw the defence for a loop and a convincing left-footed finish which saw the ball fly past Alphonse Aréola almost before he knew it was there. The “staying here” celebrations might have been a bit confusing given that he came close to signing for West Ham earlier in the window, but now that he knows he isn’t going anywhere he seems to have decided to knuckle down and do his job. This was a damned good start, at least.

2. Yankuba Minteh – Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton always have another startlingly good youngster up their sleeve and it’s summer signing Yankuba Minteh who’s grabbing the early headlines. Highly impressive for Feyenoord last year, excellent in pre-season and imperious against Everton, he’s probably making Newcastle regret agreeing to sell him already. The Magpies’ loss seems to be the Seagulls’ gain.

Even though he only got to play 45 minutes thanks to a suspected concussion, the young winger had plenty of time to leave a lasting impression, especially with the brilliant cross which gave Kaoru Mitoma a tap-in to open the scoring at Goodison Park. Dangerous, confident with the ball and apparently always looking for a killer pass, Minteh may well end up being one of the best bits of business done all summer at this rate.

1. Abdul Fatawu – Leicester City

One of the best players in the Leicester City side that won the Championship last season, the Ghanaian winger was signed permanently from Sporting over the summer and based on the evidence of Monday night’s match against Tottenham Hotspur, he could be a massively important player for Steve Cooper’s side once more.

Fatawu ran Destiny Udogie ragged at times, especially in the second half when the Foxes got a bit of wind in their sails and started to apply some serious pressure on the home side – and it was his pinpoint cross which found the seemingly immortal Jamie Vardy’s head for Leicester’s equaliser. He wasn’t just Leicester’s most consistent threat in the final third, either. His tracking back and persistent pressing forced six turnovers, a huge number for a winger, and he was always finding ways to make sure he stayed involved. A hugely impressive performance from a wonderfully talented and hard-working young player.