Since the start of 2020, I have been monitoring the progress of young players in Europe’s top five leagues. The coronavirus pandemic has provided an opportunity to sum up some of the very first findings.
Part 1: The Most Influential Under-23s
I have also been keeping tabs on teenagers, i.e. under-20 players (born in 2000 or later), who appear in games, i.e. start or come on as substitutes.
So far in 2020, a total of 124 different players aged 20 or under have made a cumulative number of 452 appearances in Europe’s top five leagues.
Let’s look at starts, first.
As you can see below, the highest number of under-20 starters, i.e. players who have started at least one league match so far in 2020, can be found in Ligue 1.
The Ligue 1 teenagers have already made 85 starts this year – in comparison to just 23 starts made by their La Liga peers.
Bafodé Diakité, Max Aarons and Alphonso Davies are the only teenagers in Europe’s top five leagues to have started every single league game their clubs have played so far in 2020.
Let’s now take a look at all apps, i.e. starts and substitute appearances put together.
Here, Ligue 1 are top and – when it comes to the actual number of appearances – comfortably top again.
Takefusa Kubo, Dušan Vlahović, Giovanni Reyna, Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho have also appeared in every single league match their clubs have played so far in 2020.
Who are then the youngest teenagers to have appeared on the pitch in Europe’s top five leagues so far in 2020?
In fact, the Premier League are the only competition out of the five in which a player born in 2002 or later has not yet started a match. Mason Greenwood – born in October 2001 – is the youngest one there, with two starts made.
Finally, let’s look at the youngest teenagers who have influenced games, i.e. have scored or assisted at least one goal in Europe’s top five leagues so far in 2020.
Dejan Kulusevski – born in April 2000 – is the youngest player to have scored a goal in Serie A so far this year.
In the picture: Toulouse defender Bafodé Diakité has started every Ligue 1 match his club have played so far in 2020 (found here)
BREAKTHROUGH 