Ninad Barbadikar
The top teenage dribblers across the Top Five Leagues
This is the next generation of exciting dribblers who will entertain crowds for years to come with their dazzling skills.
1. Vinicius Jr. – Real Madrid
Leading the way unsurprisingly is Los Blancos star Vinicius Jr who has had a stellar season with Real Madrid, clinching the UEFA Champions League against Liverpool in the final, with Vinicius scoring the all-important goal to help Real Madrid to their 14th European title.
The Brazilian ended the season with 21 goals and 16 assists in the league and Europe. Along the way, he has excited Madrid fans week in week out with his exciting dribbling on the ball and combined that with lethal end product. The Brazilian has averaged 7.5 dribbles per match and has been successful with 45% of his dribbles during the season in La Liga.
2. Patrick Wimmer – Ariminia Bielefeld (now Wolfsburg)
Second behind Vinicius is the exciting Austrian winger Patrick Wimmer, who most recently switched to Wolfsburg from Arminia Bielefeld after one season with them in the Bundesliga.
Wimmer is considered to be a level above his team-mates at Arminia and a move to Wolfsburg is a promising next step for the youngster, who will also have the opportunity to learn from a great veteran in Max Kruse who left Union Berlin for Wolfsburg in January.
Much like Kruse, Wimmer has a habit of doing something special for his team and is blessed with great skill on and off the ball. He averaged 6.3 dribbles per90 in the Bundesliga last season and was successful with more than half of them during the season (52.8%). Wimmer ended the season with three goals and six assists.
3. Alphonso Davies – Bayern Munich
Even in an injury-hit season, Alphonso Davies made his mark when he was on the pitch. He made only 31 appearances across all competition, starting 22 games in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich.
In that time, the Canadian played matches not just at fullback but also slightly further up the pitch in Julian Nagelsmann’s first season as Bayern head coach. Combining his tenacity off the ball, Davies is a very exciting watch on it, he averaged 6.2 dribbles per90 last season in the Bundesliga and was successful with 59% of those dribbles.
Davies ended the season with six assists to his name in all competitions.
4. Francisco Trincao – Wolves (on loan)
Portuguese youngster Francisco Trincao spent the 21/22 season on loan at Wolves from Barcelona, hoping to gain first-team action under Bruno Lage. By the end of his loan spell, he managed 28 appearances for Wolves, making 16 starts in the league scoring twice and assisting just once.
He was nonetheless a hard-worker in Lage’s system and brought a great deal of individual quality to the table as well. As a left-footed right sided winger, Trincao’s ability to go past markers with the ball at his feet was a great watch at times during the season and he provided a different kind of threat as opposed to the direct nature of Adama Traore.
Trincao attempted 6.28 dribbles per90 and was successful with 48% of his dribbles during the season in the Premier League.
5. Nico Williams – Athletic Club Bilbao
A revelation in La liga this season has been the rise of Nico Williams at Athletic Club. The 19-year-old has had a breakthrough season in Spain making 34 appearances for Bilbao as they finished just outside the European places. A bright spark on the field and an exciting player to watch, Williams is blessed with quick feet, ability to carry and progress the ball and also beat opponents at will. He’s averaged 5.6 dribbles per90 this season in La liga and has been successful with with 48% of his attempts during the season.