The teenagers with the most minutes played in Europe’s top leagues in 21/22

Minutes played might just be the most underrated stat in football analysis.

In modern football analysis, there are all kinds of advanced metrics which can provide insights on how a player plays, how effective they are in what they do, how reliant their team is upon them for ball progression and creativity or goals and much more. However, there is one simple stat which is often forgotten but should always be taken into account. That’s the simple total of minutes played.  

How much a player has played is important for several reasons - firstly, we can get a sense of how much that individual is trusted by their manager and how important they are for their team as a whole. Secondly, almost all of the other stats which are used in football analysis are useless without the context of how many minutes played those particular stats were accrued in.  

When it comes to younger players, looking at those players who have played a high proportion of the available minutes at a young age can help us identify which players might be primed to explode at a top level, even more so than looking at something like the amount of goal-contributions a player has accumulated, since those stats can be so variable over a particular season. With that in mind, Stats24 has the list of the top ten teenagers when it comes to minutes played in Europe’s top leagues in 21/22. Some of these players are already on the edge of superstardom and full-internationals already, whilst some of the others may make that next step up in 22/23. 

 

Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) - 3188 minutes played 

It should come as no surprise to see Bellingham top of this list. The Dortmund star is already a full England international and he was relied upon to start every single Bundesliga game he was available for, missing one through suspension and one with an injury. He scored six goals and made 13 assists in those minutes.  

The 18-year-old is also a perfect example of the point of this piece, as he played 2943 minutes for Birmingham City as a 16-year-old, prompting Dortmund to swoop early to pick up a player of prodigious talent.  

 

Gavi (Barcelona) - 3005 minutes played 

The player with the second highest amount of minutes on this list is also the youngest. Barcelona’s Gavi has had a remarkable debut season at 17-years-old.  

The midfielder played 3005 minutes across all competitions, scoring twice and assisting six goals. He has also broken into the Spanish national team, scoring his first goal at international level in the recent match against the Czech Republic. Under Xavi’s management, the young Spaniard is clearly seen as a key part of Barcelona’s midfield going forwards so he could be set for a huge season in 22/23.  

 

Aaron Hickey (Bologna) - 2979 minutes played 

The former Hearts fullback has kicked on in his second season in Serie A. The 19-year-old contributed five goals and an assist in his 2979 minutes played and his versatility appears to be a key reason why he has played so often. Whilst he was the first-choice at left wing-back for the majority of the season, he also played on the right, thanks to relative two-footedness making him comfortable there. Notably, Steve Clarke found a place for him in his Scotland team on the right, with both Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson as options on the left.  

 

Destiny Udogie (Udinese) - 2748 minutes played 

Another fullback, Udogie is a 19-year-old Italy Under-21 international of Nigerian descent. He played on loan at Udinese in 21/22 but is actually owned by fellow Serie A side, Hellas Verona. He contributed five goals and three assists in his 2748 minutes played.  

 

Lucas Gourna-Douath (St Etienne) - 2487 minutes played 

Gourna-Douath had a strong individual season in a team which struggled, as St Etienne were relegated to Ligue 2 via the relegation/promotion play-off. He primarily played in defensive midfield, although also had some minutes as a centre back.  

After two seasons of playing over 1000 minutes in the top-flight as a teenager, it will be interesting to see whether any other Ligue 1 side will pluck him from St Etienne, as this suggests his potential ability level is much higher than playing in the French second-tier.  

 

Tino Livramento (Southampton) - 2472 minutes played  

The Chelsea academy product stands out as not only is he the teenager who played the most in the Premier League in 21/22 but also he played more minutes in his debut season than any teenager has done in the last three seasons.  

He quickly established himself as the first choice right-back, with Kyle Walker-Peters shifted to the left side of defence. His ball carrying ability is his stand out attribute and he contributed a goal and two assists in his debut season, which was sadly ended early with a serious knee injury. He will hope to make a quick recovery to his previous levels.  

 

Malo Gusto (Lyon) - 2280 minutes played 

Gusto has come through the ranks at Lyon to become an established fixture in the first-team at the age of 19. The right back managed just over 500 minutes in 20/21 and made a major leap forwards in 21/22, playing 55% of the total available minutes in the league and assisting four goals.  

 

Castello Lukeba (Lyon) 2272 minutes played 

Another to have come through the ranks at Lyon, Lukeba is perhaps more interesting as the only centre back in this list. The position tends to be taken by more experienced players but the 19-year-old was trusted to start regularly. In fact, after a slow start to the season, he started 23 of the last 24 games in Ligue 1 and his value on Transfermarkt has soared to €20million.  

 
Mohamed Ali-Cho (Angers) - 2258 minutes played 

Ali-Cho is a product of both PSG and Everton’s youth teams but moved to Angers in France to make his first-team breakout. The teenager played just under 400 minutes in Ligue 1 in 20/21 but that toal was multiplied by almost six times in 21/22. As a forward, he would likely have hoped for more goal contributions than four goals and one assist in his 2258 minutes but time is on his side for end-product levels to increase.  

 

Yunus Musah (Valencia) - 2235 minutes played 

The US international made 29 appearances in Valencia’s midfield this season. However, his total minutes was actually a little decreased this season and he would hope to force his way into a more regular run of starts next season as whilst his total minutes accrued was high, there were only two spells where he was a consistent starter.