Combined XI: The best teenagers from Europe’s top five leagues this season

Europe’s top five leagues are full of promising young footballers, many of whom are already playing regularly.

Indeed, there are plenty of youngsters proving age is but a number across Spain, Italy, France, Germany and England.

After exploring the Premier League’s best players aged 23 and under, it’s time to go even younger and look at the teenagers making their mark across the continent.

So here’s our combined XI of the best teenagers from Europe’s top five leagues this season.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Goalkeeper: Alban Lafont

Age: 19
Club: Fiorentina

There wasn’t much competition from other teenage goalkeepers, but the fact Alban Lafont is starting regularly for a Serie A side is enough for him to receive recognition. So far this season, Milan starlet Gianluigi Donnarumma, 19, pales in comparison to Lafont, who has conceded six goals in eight league games and kept three clean sheets; Donnarumma has conceded 14 in 10 and is yet to keep a clean sheet.

Key stat: No goalkeeper who has made eight or more Serie A appearances this season has conceded fewer goals than Lafont (6, level with Samir Handanovic).

Right: Back: Pedro Porro

Age: 19
Club: Girona

Able to play anywhere on the right, Pedro Porro – who reportedly rejected Barcelona and Real Madrid earlier in his youth – has made eight appearances as a right wing-back in Girona’s 3-5-2 formation this season. From there, he has created seven chances and provided two assists. He has also contributed defensively, making 1.58 tackles and 2.24 interceptions per 90 minutes.

Key stat: Porro has won 6.18 duels per 90 minutes in La Liga this season, which is better than Sergio Ramos (5.2).

Centre-back: Malang Sarr

Age: 19
Club: Nice

There have been a number of impressive young centre-backs in France so far this term but Nice’s Malang Sarr just about has them all beaten. He has won 6.54 duels per 90 minutes, better than any other teenage defender in France this season, and provides Nice with a good basis to build from the back, completing 46.63 passes per 90 minutes.

Honourable mention: Bordeaux’s Joules Kounde has made more clearances and won more aerial duels than Sarr, but he has already made three defensive errors this season, one of which led to a goal.

Centre-back: Dan-Axel Zagadou

Age: 19
Club: Borussia Dortmund

The first of three Dortmund players in our line-up, Dan-Axel Zagadou mostly played as a left-back last season but has predominantly featured in the middle this year. His ability on the ball has helped unbeaten Dortmund make a flying start to their Bundesliga campaign, topping the table with six wins out of nine.

Key stat: Borussia Monchengladbach’s Tony Jantschke (3.97) is the only Bundesliga defender to have made more interceptions per 90 minutes than Zagadou this season (2.8).

Left-back: Achraf Hakimi 

Age: 19
Club: Borussia Dortmund (on loan from Real Madrid)

Usually a right-back, Hakimi has been playing on the left since joining Dortmund on loan from Real Madrid, but that hasn’t prevented him from being one of the team’s key creative players. He has been directly involved in four goals in five Bundesliga appearances, scoring once and providing three assists. The Morocco international also produced three assists in one game against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Honourable mention: Stanley N’Soki is beginning to make his mark at Paris Saint-Germain, making five league appearances at left-back for the French champions this season.

Central midfield: Fran Beltran

Age: 19
Club: Celta Vigo

A summer arrival from Rayo Vallecano, Fran Beltran has been superb in midfield for Celta Vigo. Per 90 minutes, he has completed 48.94 passes and won 1.57 tackles per 90 mins, keeping things ticking over in the middle of the park. At just 19, there is still plenty of room for development; the Spain Under-19 international will be eyeing a senior call-up in the future.

Honourable mention: West Ham’s Declan Rice almost made the cut. He has made the same number of tackles per 90 minutes as Beltran but has completed fewer passes and could yet improve his work on the ball.

Central midfield: Matteo Guendouzi

Age: 19
Club: Arsenal

Many onlookers didn’t quite know what to make of Matteo Guendouzi during his Arsenal debut against Manchester City. He gave the ball away a few times but gradually grew into the game, and his confidence has blossomed ever since. The Frenchman has certainly been through the motions, scoring his first goal for the club in the Europa League and receiving his first red card in the EFL Cup. It’s clear, however, that Arsenal have quite a midfielder on their hands.

Key stat: Guendouzi has won 8.05 duels per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, more than the likes of Jorginho, Fernandinho and N’Golo Kante.

Right-wing: Reiss Nelson

Age: 18
Club: Hoffenheim (on loan from Arsenal)

In just 253 minutes of Bundesliga football, Reiss Nelson has scored four goals and provided an assist. Those are astonishing numbers for a young player who has mainly been used as a substitute at Hoffenheim since arriving on loan from Arsenal. If he keeps it up, Nelson should become a regular starter for Hoffenheim – and potentially Arsenal in the future – in no time at all.

Key stat: Nelson has averaged 1.42 goals per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga this season.

Central attacking midfield: Kai Havertz

Age: 19
Club: Bayer Leverkusen

With three goals and two assists, Kai Havertz has been directly involved in five goals in nine league appearances so far this term. Having already made his first appearance for the senior German national team, Havertz is a name we’re likely to see plenty of in the coming years. Whether Leverkusen will be able to keep hold of him is up for debate.

Key stat: Havertz has managed more shots on target (9) than any other Bundesliga midfielder this season.

Left wing: Jadon Sancho

Age: 18
Club: Borussia Dortmund

Much has been said about the lack of opportunities given to English teenagers, but Sancho is proving that Germany might be the place to go for youngsters hoping to break into the Three Lions picture. In nine Bundesliga appearances this season, he has scored four goals and provided six assists, and that form earned him his first England cap last month. There are surely many more to come.

Key stat: No player has provided more assists than Sancho (6) in the Bundesliga this season.

Striker: Kylian Mbappe

Age: 19
Club: Paris Saint-Germain

What more can be said about Kylian Mbappe? At 19, he is a two-time Ligue 1 winner, a World Cup champion and so much more. Winning the Ballon d’Or is inevitable if he carries on at his current rate of development. He has already hit ten league goals this season, including four in a single match against Lyon, and last month he became the first teenager ever to be included in the FIFPro World XI.

Key stat: Mbappe became only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final back in July.

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