Sancho drops as Liverpool star rises in U21 form rankings

Another gameweek over, which means it is time to run through the top performing U21 players in Europe’s top five leagues. 

10. Youri Tielemans (Leicester) - 7.22 weighted rating 

Youri Tielemans may now be 22 years of age, but having started the game week at 21, the Belgian is a qualifier for the final time this season. That being said, it’s a sour ending for Tielemans, who drops to 10th in the young player rankings with a weighted rating of 7.22. A fairly underwhelming display at Manchester City on Monday night saw him fall down the top 10. 

9. Jean-Philippe Mateta (Mainz) - 7.33 weighted rating 

Capitalising on Tielemans’ drop down the U21 form rankings if Mainz’s Jean-Philippe Mateta. The French striker’s rating may have fallen to 7.33, but he has risen one spot into ninth after finding the net for the 13th time in their entertaining 3-3 draw with RB Leipzig on Friday night. 

8. William Saliba (Saint-Etienne) - 7.35 weighted rating 

A new qualifier comes into eighth in the U21 rankings with William Saliba surging into the top 10. The teenage centre-back, who recently penned a new deal to ward off interest from abroad, has become a mainstay in Les Verts’ backline and has chipped in with a number of mature displays. As such, his weighted rating of 7.35 is enough to keep compatriot Mateta towards the bottom of the standings. 

7. Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace) - 7.47 weighted rating 

Aaron Wan-Bissaka may be one of the most exciting youngsters the Premier League has to offer, but his weighted rating of 7.47 not only fell, but saw him drop down the standings into seventh. An underwhelming performance at Cardiff after a man of the match display against Everton the previous week contributed to this fall. 

6. Bartlomiej Dragowski (Empoli) - 7.49 weighted rating 

Pushing his way above Wan-Bissaka into sixth is young Empoli goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski, who churned out another stunning goalkeeping display at the weekend to help his side to a 1-0 win at Fiorentina’s expense. After his heroics in the 0-0 draw at Atalanta, making 17 saves, the Pole was on hand to make 10 saves in Empoli’s win to return a weighted rating of 7.49. 

5. Ismael Bennacer (Empoli) - 7.50 weighted rating 

Empoli teammate Ismael Bennacer pips Dragowski to fifth with a weighted rating of 7.50. The former Arsenal man landed a WhoScored rating of 7.87 in the 1-0 win over Fiorentina as Empoli continue to battle against the drop. With a key run of games between now and the end of the season, they’ll need the likes of Dragowski and Bennacer to continue to impress if they are to stay up. 

4. Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) - 7.57 weighted rating 

Dropping down into fourth is Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho. BVB’s title push is all but over as they failed to win their third game from their last five, faltering to a 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen. As Dortmund’s form drops, so too does Sancho’s weighted rating. While still an impressive 7.57, that’s fallen from 7.67 last week. 

3. Jeff Reine-Adelaide (Angers) - 7.63 weighted rating 

Moving up the form standings is Angers’ Jeff Reine-Adelaide, who earned his second WhoScored man of the match award his last five league outings in a hard-fought 1-0 win at Bordeaux last time out. The Frenchman’s weighted rating now stands at a notable 7.63 as Reine-Adelaide continues to thrive in Ligue 1. 

2. Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen) - 7.78 weighted rating 

Pushing up to second in the U21 player form rankings, Kai Havertz notched his 15th league goal of the season in Bayer Leverkusen’s resounding 6-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. With five goals in his last five league outings, Havertz continues to prove just why he is one of the brightest young talents in Germany with his weighted rating a fine 7.78. 

1. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - 7.84 weighted rating 

Was he lucky to stay on the pitch on Saturday? Yes. Did he make Newcastle pay? Absolutely. Trent Alexander-Arnold was fortunate that Christian Atsu netted after the right-back used his arm to block Salomon Rondon’s goal bound effort on the line in Liverpool’s 3-2 win at Newcastle and he made the Magpies pay as he registered his 10th and 11th Premier League assists of the season. He is gearing up for Liverpool’s Champions League tie with Barcelona in style having now registered seven assists in his last seven competitive appearances to land a weighted rating of 7.84.