Running the rule over the best and most in-form wonderkids in world football, with Jude Bellingham’s brace keeping him in top spot.

Hello and welcome back to the Wonderkid Power Rankings, tracking the very best talents in the global game and arranging them into a top ten based not just on their potential but their current form – all in the name of having some fun and probably starting a bunch of arguments.

Last week we issued a gentle warning to the out-of-sorts Gavi, telling him that if he didn’t perk up by next week then he’d find himself out of the rankings for the first time since their inception. What we frankly forgot at that time was that there weren’t any La Liga fixtures this weekend, meaning it was quite impossible for him to impress us in any way, shape or form. So the poor lad drops out this week – along with the equally game-starved Pedri – to make way for a returning favourite and a youngster who scored four in the French league. No doubt the Barcelona boys will be back in contention before too long…

1. Jude Bellingham – Borussia Dortmund (non-mover)

A brilliant performance from the extraordinary young Englishman sees him hold on to top spot – two goals, one with the help of a frankly fortunate bit of backspin, a penalty won for his team and a superb display of passing and dribbling helped Dortmund to smash Wolfsburg for six and maintain the pressure on Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga. He hasn’t had a bad game for what feels like an eternity and keeps demonstrating why Real Madrid and Manchester City are vying fiercely for his services next season. Wherever he ends up after the summer, the odds are he’ll keep being unceasingly superb. Some player.

2. Gabriel Martinelli – Arsenal (non-mover)

Technically speaking, setting up an own-goals doesn’t count as an assist, so it’s three games in a row without a goal contribution for the Brazilian, who couldn’t stop scoring a few short weeks ago but had to settle for ricocheting one in off of the unfortunate Fabian Schär at St. James’ Park on Sunday. But it’s still an assist as far as Fantasy Premier League is concerned, his direct running still caused quite a few ructions in the usually solid Newcastle backline, and he’s still playing a major role in keeping Arsenal’s motor running as they stare down the home straight of a title race they will likely lose.

3. Karim Adeyemi – Borussia Dortmund (⬆️ from 7)

The young German winger is enjoying a serious purple patch right now, scoring two against Wolfsburg and setting up another to make it six goal contributions in his last three matches. He also skied the penalty that Bellingham won several yards over the bar, but it would be a little harsh to mark him down too much for missing out on a hat-trick. He’d had a rather iffy season before coming back from a thigh injury to find a scintillating run of form, and is currently playing some of the very best football of his short but exciting career so far.

4. Eduardo Camavinga – Real Madrid (⬇️ from 3)

It’s maybe a little mean-spirited to drop Camavinga down a spot when he’s just won the Copa Del Rey with Real Madrid – already the fourth major trophy for the 20-year-old – but while he was solid enough in the win over Osasuna it wasn’t the kind of performance that could keep him over Adeyemi, for this week at least. He’s been reliable as a stopgap left-back but will no doubt relish the eventual chance to move back into midfield when the time comes, as there’s no question that his best performances have come in the heart of the park.

5. Bukayo Saka – Arsenal (⬇️ from 4)

So good has Saka been this season that it feels strange to consider that he’s now only scored one goal in his last seven games – he’s still causing headaches aplenty down the right-hand side of the Arsenal attack, but has just lost that tiny bit of cutting edge when the Gunners need him firing. That said, every other stat you can look at it still pretty much where it needs to be, so this is more a case of letting other players take a turn at getting the goals than it is a player struggling for form. Still, if Arsenal are to pull a rabbit out of the hat this season, they could do with Saka getting in the goals column once more.

6. Arda Güler – Fenerbahçe (non-mover)

No goals this time around but another 90 minutes, another excellent showing, and another demonstration of why his side really need to stop managing his minutes – ably assisted by everyone else in blue and canary yellow this weekend, with Fener managing only a draw against relegation-threatened Giresunspor. No fault can be attributed to the hyper-talented young Turk, who was at the heart of everything good his side did.

7. Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen (⬆️ from 9)

A rare treat for those of us who love watching the technically-sublime Leverkusen midfielder strut his stuff in the Bundesliga – Wirtz played the full ninety for the second time in a row, for the first time since that awful cruciate ligament injury threatened to derail his career. Once again the full range of his skills was on display despite a 2-1 defeat to 1.FC Köln – the glorious first touch, the eye for a pass, the supreme close control. Leverkusen are still firmly in the hunt for a Conference League slot, and Wirtz has been crucial to so much of their attacking play since his return.

8. Yeremy Pino – Villarreal (⬇️ from 5)

The good news for Pino is that his Villarreal side played their midweek game after we last compiled the Power Rankings, so he gets to keep him place in the top ten unlike Gavi and Pedri. The bad news is that the Spaniard had a relatively quiet night in the 1-1 draw with Valencia, using the ball very nicely and having a few threatening forays into the opposing half, but not troubling the scoresheet – or indeed the goalkeeper, as he didn’t even have a crack at goal. Still a sufficiently respectable performance to merit another week in the top ten, however. We don’t just drop players out of malice. Well, not usually, anyway.

9. Elye Wahi – Montpellier (new entry)

The Chad-born French under-21 international has been quietly compiling a very handy season over in France, coming into his own as his team improved in the second half of the campaign after a bit of a scratchy start – but it stopped being quiet this weekend when he bagged four goals all to himself. Admittedly, Montpellier still lost in an absolutely extraordinary game against Lyon, but Wahi’s haul brings him to 17 goals for the season – to go with five assists – and he deserves his first mention in these articles. A fast, physically gifted left-sided inside forward, he’s an impressively predatory finisher and excellent in quick passing moves, getting both himself and his team-mates into dangerous positions with considerable frequency. One to keep a very close eye on.

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10. Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich (re-entry)

Just to prove that we don’t drop players solely out of spite, Musiala makes his way back into the lower reaches of the top ten off the back of his third successive start – and his first full 90 minutes since Thomas Tuchel took charge of Bayern. He didn’t get on the scoreboard but did cause quite a few issues for the Bremen backline, his usually swift passes and dangerous carries causing plenty of headaches and keeping his side moving forward on their way to a crucial win. Perhaps his best performance for the club since Julian Naglesmann’s surprise departure. He’s still not showing off the kind of form that made him one of the most exciting prospects in the world, but still, there are some baby steps back in the right direction.