Mbappe, Sancho and Alexander-Arnold make best U21 XI across Europe

Here we run through the best WhoScored rated XI of those aged 21 and under in Europe’s top five leagues, with additional information about their Football INDEX share prices. In order to qualify for the XI, players must have made more than 10 appearances and been aged 21 or under on the day their respective league started.

Goalkeeper: Bartlomiej Dragowski (Empoli) - 7.10 rating

Football INDEX share price - £0.36

It’s only been a few days since Empoli were relegated from Serie A and there is already talk of a number of their players earning moves to top-flight clubs in Italy. Goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski was only on loan from Fiorentina but he will certainly have suitors if there is no room for him with the Viola. The 21-year-old made 17 saves against Atalanta in April, which is a record of any goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues since we started receiving OPTA stats in 2009. Furthermore, Dragowski occupies the top three for most saves in a Serie A game this term, making at least 10 saves on three separate occasions.

Left-back: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City) - 7.14 rating

Football INDEX share price - £0.80

Given Benjamin Mendy’s on-going injury woes and a lack of any real alternative at left-back for Manchester City, things could have gone badly for Pep Guardiola’s side, but for Oleksandr Zinchenko’s emergence. Zinchenko finished the campaign as one of City’s best players and fully vindicated his decision to turn down a move to Wolves last summer. The Ukraine international was on the winning side in all 14 of his league appearances for City this season, all the more impressive when you consider he is not a natural left-back.

Centre-back: Gabriel (Lille) - 7.14 rating

Football INDEX share price - N/A

Gabriel was forced to be patient for his first-team opportunities, only breaking into the Lille first-team in February, but the 21-year-old should now be a mainstay in the team for as long as he remains at the club. Lille only lost one of the 11 league matches Gabriel started this season, while the Brazilian also scored his first goal for the club in a shock 5-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain back in April.

Centre-back: Ibrahima Konate (RB Leipzig) - 7.19 rating

Football INDEX share price - £1.02 

Last season it was Dayot Upamecano catching the eye at RB Leipzig and this season it was Ibrahima Konate. The Bundesliga outfit have a good group of young centre-backs at the club, so much so that they could even cash in on Upamecano this summer. Konate started 27 league matches for Leipzig this season and should be a regular for the club next term. The 20-year-old completed more interceptions (58) than any other player eligible for this XI in the Bundesliga this season.

Right-back: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - 7.36 rating

Football INDEX share price - £2.75

We are well stacked at right-back this season, with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold edging Crystal Palace youngster Aaron Wan-Bissaka for a place in this XI. Alexander-Arnold set a Premier League record for the most assists registered by a defender (12) and is now considered one of the best full-backs in Europe. Alexander-Arnold also scored once and averaged 2.1 tackles per league game across his 29 appearances.

Left wing: Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona) - 7.25 rating

Football INDEX share price - £2.58 

It’s been another disruptive campaign for Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona are running out of patience with the France international. Dembele has generally impressed when available but the problem is he only made 20 league starts this season. Dembele played a direct hand in 13 league goals in this time and his WhoScored rating increases to 7.51 in the league when excluding substitute appearances. His goal contributions also earned Barcelona an additional nine points in the league.

Central midfield: Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester) - 7.21 rating

Football INDEX share price - £0.70

It’s been another stellar campaign for Wilfred Ndidi and it would not be a surprise if sooner rather later a big club came calling for the Leicester midfielder. Ndidi completed more tackles and interceptions (226) than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season. The Nigeria international also won possession in the middle third more times than any other player on the continent (190).

Central midfield: Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen) - 7.25 rating

Football INDEX share price - £3.03

Kai Havertz’s breathtaking goalscoring form earns the Bayer Leverkusen starlet a place in our best rated XI. The 19-year-old remarkably scored 17 league goals and provided three assists, finishing the campaign with a run of scoring in four games in a row. Despite Havertz’s role of getting forward and scoring goals, the Germany international also had an impressive pass success rate of 87.2%.

Right wing: Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) - 7.52 rating

Football INDEX share price - £5.27

Jadon Sancho is now considered one of the most sought after prospects in Europe’s top five leagues and he is now considered a £100m-talent off the back of his phenomenal campaign with Borussia Dortmund. Only Eden Hazard (15) assisted more goals than Sancho in Europe’s top five leagues this season (14), while the 19-year-old also chipped in with 12 goals. He also won more WhoScored Man of the Match awards than any other player in the Bundesliga this season (seven).

Striker: Allan Saint-Maximin (Nice) - 7.21 rating

Football INDEX share price - £0.86

Allan Saint-Maximin doubled his goal tally in the league (six) from 2017/18 (three) and also registered three assists this season. The versatile Nice forward also won five WhoScored Man of the Match awards and only Celta Vigo winger Sofiane Boufal (144) completed more dribbles than Saint-Maximin (143) in Europe’s top five leagues.

Striker: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - 8.00 rating

Football INDEX share price - £5.35 

Kylian Mbappe finished 2018/19 as the highest WhoScored rated player aged 21 and under in Europe’s top five leagues after enjoying an extraordinary campaign with Paris Saint-Germain. Only Lionel Messi (36) scored more goals than Mbappe (33) in Europe’s top five leagues this season and the France international is the first player aged 21 and under to score 30+ goals in one of Europe’s major leagues since the Brazilian Ronaldo achieved the feat for Barcelona in 1997.