Juventus’s superb French midfield maestro tops the list.
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The rankings here are courtesy of WhoScored, a football statistics aggregator who rate a player’s performances judged by their overall contribution to a match.
Our criteria for ‘youngster’ is aged 21 or under, so the likes of Neymar and James Rodriguez narrowly miss out!
In at 10, is Liverpool’s prodigal English winger…
10) Raheem Sterling – Liverpool – 7.31 rating
The 19-year-old flyer stars in a three-pronged Liverpool attack with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, and provides the side with genuine width and directness down the right. He’s improving every week, and has scored five and assisted three goals this term. He’s also the favourite to replace the injured Theo Walcott at next summer’s World Cup.
9) Rafinha – Celta Vigo (On loan from Barcelona) – 7.41 rating
Rafinha, the younger brother of Thiago Alcantra, has been so good on loan at Celta that Barcelona want him back next season. The 21-year-old has scored and assisted four apiece, and has the typically expected technical ability of a product of La Masia academy.
8) Coutinho – Liverpool – 7.44 rating
On his day, Coutinho is pretty much unplayable, as he showed earlier this season during the 5-1 demolition of Arsenal, when he completely outshone Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere with his clever dribbles and wonderful through-balls. Once he sorts out his finishing, he’ll be one of the best players in the league.
7) Son Heung-Min – Bayer Leverkusen – 7.46 rating
The South Korean attacker arrived from HSV in the summer, and has settled well wide on the left for Sammi Hyypia’s side who are currently second in the Bundesliga.
6) Lavyin Kurzawa – As Monaco – 7.54 rating
Kurzawa provides his side with consistent attacking impetus up the left, and he looks like the ready made replacement for Patrice Evra in the national side. Already, he’s bagged five goals for Monaco this term.
5) Isco – Real Madrid – 7.54 rating
Impressively, in just 17 starts, Isco has scored seven goals for Real Madrid this season in La Liga, and been an equally effective creative influence. His touch is superb, as his ability to find the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale with slick passes.
4) David Alaba – Bayern Munich – 7.62 rating
Despite not yet turning 22, many are touting Bayern’s brilliant Austrian as the world’s best left-back already. His engine is terrific, but he’s also more than happy to slow down tempo and help his side retain possession with passes in to the midfield.
3) Mario Gotze – Bayern Munich – 7.65 rating
Gotze’s widely regarded as one of the world’s most talented young stars, but he’s only been given 12 Bundesliga starts for Pep Guardiola’s sensational team. In that short amount of time though, he’s still bagged six and assisted five.
2) Julian Draxler – Schalke – 7.66 rating
Draxler’s main strength (and the reason WhoScored rate his performances so highly) is his superb dribbling. The German wonderkid’s close control and skill enables him to complete nearly four dribbles per match, and he’s comfortable playing in any of the attacking midfield positions. No wonder Arsenal are so desperate to sign him.
1) Paul Pogba – Juventus – 7.71 rating
The French powerhouse is still only 20-years-old, but he’s a fixture in Juventus’s brilliant midfield alongside Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo. Pogba is as effective going forward as he is combative at the back, and he’s bagged six and assisted five in Serie A so far.
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