A study has found that Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is currently the best performing Under 21 star in European football.
The 20-year-old is enjoying a brilliant season for the Gunners, helping them in their push to reach next season’s Champions League.
Saka is the club’s top scorer in all competitions with nine of his ten goals coming in the Premier League.
Bukayo Saka is enjoying the best season of his career with ten goals and five assists
The CIES Football Observatory have published their list of the 100 best performing U21 outfield players from across 32 European leagues this season.
Saka tops the list which has taken into account several criteria such as air and ground defence, ball recovery, distribution, take-ons, chance creation, air attack and shooting.
He has bounced back following the disappointment of his deciding penalty miss in the final of last year’s European Championships for England against Italy.
Saka has played a crucial role in the Gunners push for the Champions League spots
Saka’s Brazilian team-mate Gabriel Martinelli is also featured highly in the list
His performances have led Arsenal to fifth in the league, though they could jump to fourth on Monday should they beat Crystal Palace.
Second on the list is Manchester United’s 20-year-old forward Mason Greenwood.
Greenwood hasn’t played since he was arrested arrested in January on suspicion of rape and assault of an 18-year-old student.
He was further arrested on February 2 on suspicion of sexual assault and threats to kill, but bailed pending further investigation.
The top five is made up Patrick Wimmer of Arminia Bielefeld, RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol and Crystal Palace’s attacking midfielder Michael Olise.
Michael Olise of Crystal Palace makes the top five in the list from the CIES Football Observatory
Jude Bellingham also makes the list but the Borussia Dortmund midfielder is down in 24th
Other Premier League players sitting inside the top 50 include Southampton’s Armando Broja (13th), Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli (14th), Rayan Ait Nouri of Wolves (22nd), Watford’s Joao Pedro (23rd), Valentino Livramento of Southampton (33rd), Leicester’s Luke Thomas (40th) and Billy Gilmour on loan at Norwich from Chelsea (49th).
The only other names playing in England who make the list are Blackburn’s Rede Khadra (76th) and Levi Colwill of Huddersfield (88th).
One name that surprisingly hasn’t made the top ten of the list is Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham.
Despite scoring six goals and providing seven assists in all competitions, the 18-year-old is only 24th in the list.
