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Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli celebrate scoring a goal

The best U23 players in Europe in 2022-23: Goals, Assists, Chances, Dribbles…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has finally hung up his boots, Cristiano Ronaldo is playing out in Saudi Arabia, while Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema might soon be joining him. As one great generation gradually fades away, who is emerging to take their place?

There are some outstanding young players breaking through in Europe and we can’t wait to see how they’ll all develop in the coming years. But which have been the most eye-catching in 2022-23?

We’ve done a quick stock take of the best players aged under 23 in Europe’s five major leagues – the Premier League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and La Liga – to see which have stood out in different areas.

Minutes

1. Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia) – 3420
2. Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) – 3330
3. Anthony Rouault (Toulouse) – 3316
4. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – 3195
5. Moises Caicedo (Brighton) – 3141
6. Valentin Gendrey (Lecce) – 3103
7. Folarin Balogun (Reims) – 3013
8. Castello Lukeba (Lyon) – 2986
9. Micky van de Ven (Wolfsburg) – 2970
10. Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest) – 2941

Goals

1. Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – 36
2. Folarin Balogun (Reims) – 21
3. Elye Wahi (Montpellier) – 19
4. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) – 15
5. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – 14
6. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) – 12
7. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli) – 12
8. Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal) – 12
9. Thijs Dallinga (Toulouse) – 12
10. Gabri Veiga (Celta Vigo) – 11

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Assists

1. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – 11
2. Michael Olise (Crystal Palace) – 11
3. Jamal Musiala (Napoli) – 10
4. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli) – 10
5. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) – 9
6. Bradley Barcola (Lyon) – 8
7. Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig) – 8
8. Erling Haaland (Man City) – 8
9. Patrick Wimmer (Wolfsburg) – 8
10. Rodrygo (Real Madrid) – 8

Dribbles Completed

1. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) – 112
2. Jeremy Doku (Rennes) – 96
3. Lee Kang-In (Mallorca) – 90
4. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) – 86
5. Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen) – 85
6. Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao) – 84
7. Rodrygo (Real Madrid) – 81
8. Rayan Cherki (Lyon) – 79
9. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) – 77
10. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli) – 75

Chances Created

1. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – 75
2. Michael Olise (Crystal Palace) – 72
3. Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig) – 71
4. Rayan Cherki (Lyon) – 67
5. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) – 64
6. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) – 59
7. Lee Kang-In (Mallorca) – 54
8. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli) – 54
9. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) – 52
10. Lazar Samardzic (Udinese) – 48


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TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every club in Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, La Liga in 22-23?