Four Englishmen make up top ten European U21 player form rankings

Things are tightening up at the top of the European U21 player form rankings as four England youth internationals make up the latest top ten.

10. Youri Tielemans (Leicester) - Weighted rating 7.28

Dropping eight places following a shock defeat to Newcastle on Friday night, Tielemans was subdued by his recent standards and received a booking for a challenge on Ki Sung-yueng that could, on another day, have seen the Belgian sent off before half-time.

9. Ismael Bennacer (Empoli) - Weighted rating 7.35

With Empoli not in action until Monday night against Atalanta, Bennacer’s rating is unchanged for now though he has fallen three places ahead of kick-off.

8. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - Weighted rating 7.35

Down four spots despite an assured performance in a crucial win over Chelsea, Alexander-Arnold is the first of four Englishmen in the top ten this week having completed four tackles and two dribbles at the weekend.

7. Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace) - Weighted rating 7.38

The final player in this week’s top ten to have descended down the leaderboard, albeit by only two places, Wan-Bissaka’s rating is actually up very marginally from last weekend following an impressive display against Manchester City. The youngster made five tackles and a further five interceptions in a busy afternoon’s work.

6. Ibrahim Sangare (Toulouse) - Weighted rating 7.38

Back in form following somewhat of a slump having suffered a three-month injury, Sangare is at his ball-winning best once more. The midfielder made three interceptions and three tackles at Montpellier, taking his tally for the latter over the last six games to a whopping 29.

5. Dwight McNeil (Burnley) - Weighted rating 7.41

A constant thorn in Cardiff’s right side at the weekend, McNeil played a pivotal role in both of Chris Wood’s goals in a 2-0 win, registering the assist for the first with one of four key passes, following goals in back-to-back matches at the end of March.

4. Ibrahima Konate (RB Leipzig) - Weighted rating 7.42

Up five places as Leipzig rediscovered their defensive resolve at the weekend, Konate made six interceptions as the Champions League hopefuls kept a fifth clean sheet in six league matches, this time against Wolfsburg.

3. Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) - Weighted rating 7.48

Having plummeted down the rankings to eighth following Dortmund’s Klassiker humiliation Sancho is back up to third after yet another decisive contribution for the title chasers. The teenager scored both of BVB’s goals in a 2-1 win over Mainz and, in the process, became only the fourth player to register double figures for both goals (10) and assists (13) in Europe’s top five leagues.

2. Merih Demiral (Sassuolo) - Weighted rating 7.56

Turkish international centre-back has already proven to be an astute January acquisition by Sassuolo, earning a man of the match rating in a goalless draw with Parma. The 21-year-old won seven aerial duels, made three interceptions and completed 95 of 102 passes.

1. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - Weighted rating 7.57

Having been streaks ahead in the rankings a matter of weeks ago Mbappe is now clinging onto top spot by the narrowest of margins. The striker had two goals disallowed but failed to register on the scoresheet for the second game running as Ligue’s leaders were thrashed 5-1 by second placed Lille.

QUALIFYING RULES
 
Only ratings taken from each player’s last six league matches are considered, weighted chronologically, with the most recent match carrying greater importance and so on. To qualify each player must have featured in their side’s last league game and started at least six of the last eight available.