In a new series of articles focusing on each of the top five leagues in Europe, we take a look at the best young performers of last season. With only players who started the previous campaign aged 21 years old or under up for consideration, we use WhoScored.com’s match rankings as the starting point and moulded them into the most suitable formation available in order to create a balanced starting XI. First up is the Premier League:
Goalkeeper
Wojciech Szczesny, Arsenal. Age 21. 15 appearances. WhoScored.com Rating 6.62
The young Pole grabbed his first start in December and over the next couple of months, began to establish himself as the Gunners’ new number one. Szczesny picked up 6 clean sheets over his 15 games, making an average of 2.86 saves per match. Growing in confidence as the campaign progressed, he looks to have solved Arsene Wenger’s problematic goalkeeping position and seems set to be their long-term number one.
Full-Backs
Rafael, Man United. Age 21. 16 appearances. WhoScored.com Rating 7.02
Ciaran Clark, Aston Villa. Age 21. 19 appearances. WhoScored.com Rating 6.71
Man United’s Rafael takes the right-back slot, with Ciaran Clark of Aston Villa filling in at left-back. Both players bring different aspects of their game to the role and offer a nice balance on the flanks- Rafael has more of an attacking edge to his play, while Clark’s superior physical game is more solid at the back having played at centre-back for much of his early career. The versatile defender is also a threat from set-pieces.
Rafael’s ability to beat an opponent is highlighted by his 0.9 successful dribbles to Clark’s 0.3, and he also averaged 0.8 crosses, with Clark a minimal 0.1. Rafael’s quality in possession sees an 80% pass accuracy and 1 key pass per game, compared to Clark’s 77% and 0.3 respectively.
Clark’s threat from set-pieces helped him make 0.6 shots per game scoring 3 goals in the process, while Rafael had 0.4 shots per game but failed to find the net. Defensively, Rafael averaged more tackles - 3.6 to Clark’s 2.8 - but the Villa man impressed elsewhere, with 2.3 interceptions and 4.4 clearances per game; Rafael made 2 and 2.3 respectively, a clear indication of Clark’s defensive superiority. The Villa man also managed 0.5 blocked shots per game, while Rafael failed to make any.
Centre-Halves
Chris Smalling, Man United. Age 21. 16 appearances. WhoScored.com Rating 6.83
Phil Jones, Blackburn Rovers. Age 19. 26 appearances. Who Scored.com Rating 6.71
Alex Ferguson’s recent transfer policy of targeting young, English players with plenty potential is vindicated here. Smalling, having joined United from Fulham last summer, went on to exceed expectations with some sterling performances in the heart of defence as cover for the injured Rio Ferdinand. Jones’ performances for Blackburn, both in central defence and the centre of midfield, subsequently earned him a move to Old Trafford this summer, with the pair seen as the long-term successors to Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
The pair’s stats already suggest they should complement each other’s game naturally; Smalling is far superior in the air (75% to 50%) and more assured in distribution, with a 77% pass accuracy compared to Jones’ 62%. Jones proved the better of the two in challenges, though- he made 2.9 tackles and 2.9 interceptions to Smalling’s 1.4 and 1.3, though Smalling has better timing in the challenge, making 0.8 fouls per game to Jones’ 1.
Smalling’s reading of the game meant he made 6.5 clearances, with Jones on 4.6 and
both players were identical for blocked shots, with 0.6 per game. As goal threats, Smalling averaged 0.4 and Jones 0.5 shots but neither scored nor assisted last season.
Double Pivot
James McCarthy, Wigan. Age 20. 24 appearances. WhoScored.com Rating 6.80.
Jordan Henderson, Sunderland. Age 21. 37 appearances. WhoScored.com Rating 6.96
As a youngster at Hamilton, McCarthy caught the eye of many Premier League sides and a move to Wigan has afforded him the first-team experience he may not have gained at a bigger club. Consistently impressive in both possession and in the challenge, it won’t be long before a side snaps him up much further up the table. Henderson’s season saw him emerge as a key creative presence in the Sunderland team and his displays for the Black Cats have subsequently seen him move to Liverpool for £20m this summer.
McCarthy’s 2.7 tackles and 2.3 interceptions saw him break up play time and again, and he takes on the role of the enforcer in our central midfield. Henderson, on 1.7 tackles and 1.7 interceptions, still shows an energy to battle in the challenge. McCarthy’s tough tackling approach sees him make almost double the number of fouls as Henderson, with 1.3 to 0.7 per game.
A look at the pair’s distribution shows McCarthy has a fantastic 84% pass accuracy, with Henderson not too far behind on 81%. Both have a variety to their passing, with McCarthy making 2.2 long balls and Henderson 3.5 long balls per game. Henderson’s role as our deep-lying creator is highlighted by his eye for a killer pass, with a fantastic average of 2.2 key passes per game, with McCarthy’s safer approach leading to just 0.8 key passes. Again, this represents a better balance in our double pivot’s partnership.
As attacking threats, McCarthy managed 0.7 shots per game and scored 3 goals in his 24 appearances, proving to be a better finisher than Henderson. The new Liverpool man also scored 3 goals, but with 0.9 shots per game over 37 appearances, took 33 shots to McCarthy’s 17. Both are comfortable taking on an opponent, too- McCarthy made 0.7 successful dribbles per game, edging ahead of Henderson on 0.6.
Attacking Midfield Three
Theo Walcott, Arsenal. Age 22. 28 appearances.WhoScored.com Rating 6.88
Jack Wilshere, Arsenal. Age 19. 35 appearances. WhoScored.com Rating 6.95
Gareth Bale, Tottenham. Age 21. 30 appearances. WhoScored.com Rating 7.19
North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs supply all three of our attacking midfield trio. Jack Wilshere, so often used in defensive central midfield last season, plays just behind the front man, while Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott offer blistering speed and trickery out wide.
Wilshere’s ability to take a man on and find space in his deep-lying position last season is shown by his 1.7 successful dribbles- an exceptional figure for a central midfielder, and greater than Walcott’s 1.2, though Bale’s brilliance on the flank saw him make 2.1 on average.
Wilshere also made the most key passes of the three, with 1.7 per game just ahead of Bale (1.6) and more than double Walcott’s 0.8, and Wilshere also has the best pass accuracy, with 86%. Walcott impresses on 83%, with Bale back on 74%. Bale averaged 2 successful crosses per game, offering fantastic delivery from out wide, though Walcott’s more advanced role on the Arsenal right saw him make only 0.4.
When it comes to goal threat, Walcott’s more attacking role means he made 2 shots per game, with Bale on 1.6 and he edges it here for goals, with 9 compared to 7 from Bale. Walcott also grabbed the most assists, picking up 7, with Wilshere making 3 and Bale, surprisingly, only managing 1 assist. The stats show there is plenty of variety amongst the midfield trio, with skill, creativity and goal threat shared amongst them.
Forward
Andy Carroll, Liverpool. Age 22. 19 appearances. WhoScored.com Rating 7.23
Carroll earns his place as our lone front in the 4-2-3-1 with his barnstorming performances for Newcastle last season prior to his January switch to Anfield. His 19 appearances saw Carroll average 3.2 shots per game, finding the net 11 times. The big hit man also averaged 1.2 key passes, picking up 3 assists. With just 0.5 successful dribbles per game, it’s clear his game is not about agility on the ground- instead; Carroll’s brilliant 62% aerial duel success rate shows just where his strengths are.
