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
Part 2: The Most Influential Teenagers
Part 3: Nationalities of Most Influential Under-23s
Part 4: Nationalities of Most Influential Teenagers
In part five, I have looked at positions on the pitch of the most influential teenagers, i.e. under-20 players (born in 2000 or later) who appear in games, i.e. start or come on as substitutes*.
Positions have been divided into the following categories: [1] goalkeepers; [2] centre backs; [3] full-backs; [4] central midfielders; [5] attacking midfielders; [6] wingers; [7] forwards.
As for players appearing in more than one position on the pitch, their main position has been established.
(For example: if a player’s main position is a forward but he is used as a winger, he has still been classified as a forward. Alphonso Davies has thus been put into the winger rather than full-back bracket.)
Let’s look at starts, first.
Forwards are leading the way with 23 players aged 20 or under playing in this position on the pitch having started at least one game in one of Europe’s top five league competitions since the start of this calendar year.
Central midfielders come second, although it is worth pointing out that nearly half of them (8 out of 18) have started matches in Ligue 1.
Centre backs (but again, 7 out of 12 coming from the French top division) and wingers find themselves joint third.
There are also seven full-backs, six attacking midfielders and no goalkeepers at all.
When it comes to the total number of starts made by under-20 players across Europe’s top five leagues so far in 2020, forwards are also top with 63 outings from the first minute of a game.
Centre backs – with 35 out of 55 starts having come in Ligue 1, none in La Liga and solely one in the Premier League – have edged central midfielders – with 29 out of their 57 starts having been registered in Ligue 1 and just two in La Liga – into second place.
Wingers are fourth on 39 starts (none in Serie A), ahead of full-backs (on 27, with 75% of them having come in the Premier League) and attacking midfielders (with 11 out of 24 starts stemming from La Liga players).
Let’s move onto appearances.
As far as under-20 players who appear in matches, i.e. start and/or come on as substitutes, across Europe’s top five league competitions this calendar year are concerned, forwards are still in pole position.
As many as 45 different forwards have made at least one appearance.
Central midfielders sit second (on 25), ahead of wingers (20), attacking midfielders (16), centre backs (15), full-backs (9) and, one more time, goalkeepers (0).
Once starts and substitute appearances are put together, attack prevails.
Forwards have made a total of 172 appearances in Europe’s top five leagues so far in 2020.
Central midfielders and wingers have produced 81 each while attacking midfielders have appeared on the pitch on 65 occasions, with centre backs on 63.
Full-backs have only made 33 appearances.
* all data concerns the period from 1 January to 28 May 2020
In the picture: Ahmed Kutucu has made nine substitute appearances for Schalke already this year, although he has not yet started a Bundesliga game in 2020 (found here)
BREAKTHROUGH 