Top 5 Premier League English Wonderkids

There is no doubting that England's future looks bright. As a lot of the countries in Europe are producing what seem to be future stars of the world stage, England are right up there with the best of them. Here is the Top 5 English Wonderkids from us, all debatable (which as an Englishman I'm overjoyed about) and all playing at the highest of standards.

#5 Tariq Lamptey, 20 

Lamptey creeps in at #5 on the list. The promising Brighton youngster has featured heavily this season for the seaside club. Not only looking good going forward, but fully capable defensively. For me, Lamptey needs to leave Brighton to fully reach his potential, but for the time being the game time he is getting is only going to see him develop more and more. 

#4 Mason Greewood, 19

Superbly talented and has showcased his finishing ability on both feet. Definitely one for the future of Manchester United and England, and hopefully we get to see him more direct and down the middle. That being said, he seems to be the number one option at right wing for United and the game time he is getting at a top end Premier League side is seeing him blossom in to a quality player. 

#3 Bukayo Saka, 19

Arteta seems to be putting more trust in Saka than some of the more experienced players at Arsenal. He has turned from a one dimensional winger with bags of pace to a creator and scorer from multiple wide positions. Really excited to see more of Saka in an England shirt, what I have seen of him this season makes it obvious that he can cut it at the highest of standards. Very close between Saka and Greenwood for #3, but the Arsenal man has shown more consistency than Manchester United's young forward, and pips him to the #3 spot. 

#2 Declan Rice, 22

Declan Rice has been one of the first names on the team sheet for the Hammers this season. With West Ham flying high in the league, Rice has managed to not only play majority of games, but also has stood out as a brilliant ball playing defensive midfielder. Although he isn't quite as exciting as some others in our Top 5, Rice has looked right at home in what has been a quality Premier League midfield this season. Really looking forward to seeing him play more for England, and hopefully we will see him come in to his own and start to create more chances and score his share of goals. When you look at defensive minded midfielders in the league, Rice for me is right up there with the best. 

#1 Phil Foden, 20

Where do we start with Phil Foden. Probably the best young player England has produced in recent history. He has got it all... The killer pass, deadly finishing, immaculate first touch and the aggression and determination to win the ball back high up the field. For me, he would be in Manchester City's strongest XI and England's best XI. The numerous positions we have seen him play not only along the front line but also as a deeper midfielder, has made the #1 spot really easy. Can't praise Foden enough and Pep will be surely overwhelmed with how good he is actually turning out to be. Superstar in the making. 

So that's the Top 5 Premier League English Wonderkids. We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions, so feel free to comment on the Talk FC Blog or via social media @_TalkFC!

5 Elite Leagues. 5 Elite Goalscorers.

In this short article we take a look at what we believe to be the best top flight divisions in Europe. We delve a little deeper to check out the top scorers in each of the 5 leagues and their performances. Remember to leave your opinion and follow @_TALKFC on Twitter. 

Premier League (ENG) - Mohamed Salah, Liverpool (17 goals, 23 apps)

The Egyptian needs no introduction. An impressive 17 goals in 23 apps makes him the leading goalscorer in the Premier League so far this season. With Liverpool struggling to gain any momentum as of late, Salah remains the biggest goal threat for the champions. However, as the premier league continues to flourish, teams like Manchester City (battling for the league title), Everton and Manchester United (challenging for the top 4) are surely going to have players whose goal scoring contribution will be enough to compete with Mo Salah come the end of the season. 

 

Ligue 1 (FRA) - Kylian Mbappe, PSG (16 goals, 21 apps)

In Paris, the story is the same. Mbappe is continuing on the path to becoming the most exciting player in world football. Since joining PSG after his season-long loan at the club, he has scored an impressive 92 goals, in 114 appearances. Ligue 1 looks set to be tight at the top, with 4 teams battling it out and not a lot separating them. Memphis Depay has had another good season for Lyon, scoring 13 goals in the league. But with Pochettino coming in to PSG, we feel Mbappe will continue to keep scoring goals and come the end of the season, have a wealth of Europe's elite clubs determined to secure his signature.

1. Bundesliga (GER) - Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich (24 goals, 19 apps)

Bayern Munich's clinical Number 9 is leading the way in Germany. With Erling Haaland having some trouble with injuries, he hasn't been able to chip in with as many goals as previous seasons, leaving the battle for Bundesliga’s top scorer a one horse race. That being said, Eintracht Frankfurt's Andre SIlva has been netting in the league, scoring a career best 17 goals this season. Bayern are flying in the League at this vital stage of the campaign and once again, Lewandowski looks like scoring multiple goals in every game he plays. With players like Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane, Munich are always going to create chances. What sets Robert Lewandowski apart, is that he makes all of those chances look incredibly easy, allowing him to continue to dominate the numbers for being Europe's best centre forward.   

Serie A (ITA) - Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus (16 goals, 18 apps)

The self proclaimed GOAT continues to score outrageous goals for both club and country. CR7 is battling with Juventus to secure a record breaking 37th Serie A title (a record held by themselves). The Turin giants are however running slightly off the pace, 7 points behind AC Milan with a game in hand and 5 points behind Inter, having played the same amount of games. With that being the situation it begs the question, where would Juventus be without Ronaldo’s goals this season? The answer is obvious, and that’s not in contention for the league… If Ronaldo can continue to score at the rate he is doing and Juventus win the league, the Portugese legend will be a saviour at Juventus forever (more than he already is). Romelu Lukaku deserves a mention, after really struggling in Manchester he has found some great form in Inter Milan's pursuit for the title, netting an impressive 14 goals this season. 

LaLiga (ESP) - Luis Suarez, Atletico Madrid (16 goals, 18 apps) 

When Suarez joined Atletico Madrid, we weren’t sure whether he would be able to keep up the scoring record he has carried with him throughout his career. Whether that be because he was past his best or just lacking too much pace to cut it at the very top, we just weren't convinced. However, with LaLiga being slightly different this year, in terms of Barcelona and Real Madrid both struggling in transitional periods, Atletico are flying high at the top of the league. It looks like the Uruguayan has seamlessly bought in to Simeone and Atletico’s philosophy. Which when you think about it, makes complete sense.  At 34 years old, Suarez is proving that he can still bag himself goals at the highest of levels and his renowned tenacity and hunger to rattle any opposition is obviously far from gone away. Going to be an interesting title race in Spain this year, Atletico will be relying on Suarez to keep leading the line to secure their 11th La Liga title. 

So there we have it, 5 Elite Leagues and their 5 Elite Goalscorers. Do you think this will be the same come the end of the season? We would love to hear from you and remember to follow us on Social Media @_TheNorthStand.

Written by: James Elliott

Date: February 2021

Cavani... Of course.

When Manchester United brought in Cavani, it had many of us wondering. Was he going to be a Zlatan like impact, or a Falcao style flop? Up until now, although he is in some form, this question isn't necessarily completely answered.

 

There is no doubting that the seasoned target man still has plenty to give any team he puts the shirt on for. He is tenacious, gets into all the right areas and amongst many other traits works tirelessly to firstly bag goals and if unable to, bring others in to do so accordingly. Putting aside all of his qualities, he comes to a team where he potentially wasn't "needed".

 

Cavani joined Antony Martial and Mason Greenwood as an out and out "Number 9". The way things are going it begs the question... Who will Manchester United count on to be their talisman? 

 

Maybe all 3... However, it's rare a team will play 3 (out and out) strikers.

 

Mason Greenwood, 19 - Strong, quick, good with both feet and naturally a number 9 some might say. At this rate, we will probably never know. But for sure, he is the best right sided forward player at United at this moment.

 

Anthony Martial, 25 – Again, strong and quick. But he doesn't press and even Bruno can't assist him at the minute. Obviously, quality in front of goal at times and scored some great goals, but these flashes of brilliance are becoming less and less frequent.

 

Edinson Cavani, 33 – Presses hard, movement is always on point and has an unmatched desire to score. He is however at the later stages of his career, which will no doubt result in him losing pace and along with that, his threat. With the players in and around the team in attacking positions (Rashford, Martial, Greenwood) and the players who are waiting in the wings to come through (Diallo, Pellestri), maybe Cavani’s presence could result in their performance/development being hindered.

 

To summarise, the long-term plans can’t be based around Cavani. But right now, he is undoubtedly the current best out and out striker at the club…. and potentially the league.

 

We would love to hear your opinion, and remember to follow us on Twitter @_TheNorthStand!

 

Written by: James Elliott

Date: February 2021

 

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