The Best English Wonderkids in every position

This is the next generation of English football. Want to imagine what the England national team could look like in 10 years? This will give you a pretty good idea.

I’m going to list the best English wonderkids by position, and then at the end I’ll put together a dream XI made up of the highest-rated talents.

We’ll start with goalkeepers. Each position group is ranked from best to worst, with the top-rated player named first. Next to each name is a number, which FM Scout uses to rate wonderkids.

Here’s what those ratings mean:

• 81+ = all-time elite player
• 78–80 = great Premier League-level player
• 75–77 = solid Premier League backup
• 72–74 = top Championship-level player

Now, let’s get into it….

Goalkeeper

• 81 – Ben Vickery, Man City
• 78 – Freddy Bernal, Chelsea
• 78 – Jack Porter, Arsenal
• 76 – Dylan Moody, Southampton
• 76 – James Beadle, Brighton

England’s goalkeeper crop looks solid rather than spectacular right now. Ben Vickery is clearly the standout but after that the ratings drop off quickly, so it feels like a position that’s steady but not overflowing with elite wonderkid potential yet.

Centre back

• 81 – Ayden Heaven, Man Utd
• 81 – Jayden Ngwashi, Man Utd
• 80 – Max Alleyne, Man City
• 79 – Tyler Tingey, Spurs
• 79 – Alfie Dorrington, Spurs
• 79 – Benjamin Arthur, Brentford
• 78 – Josh Stephenson, Brentford
• 78 – Ashley Phillips, Spurs
• 77 – Jun’ai Byfield, Spurs
• 76 – Leke Drake, Man City
• 74 – Freddie Simmonds, Brighton

Centre-back feels a bit more mixed. There are some decent options but nobody really jumps off the page as a generational prospect yet. It’s more “good depth” than “future world-class” at this stage. So the English centre back dilemma will continue!

LB

• 88 – Myles Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal
• 86 – Lewis Hall, Newcastle
• 84 – Nico O’Reilly, Man City
• 82 – Harry Amass, Man Utd
• 82 – Jayden Meghoma, Brentford
• 81 – Lucien Mahovo, Norwich City
• 78 – Christian McFarlane, Man City
• 77 – Ishé Samuels-Smith, Chelsea

RB

• 84 – Rico Lewis, Man City
• 83 – Josh Acheampong, Chelsea
• 80 – Bade Aluko, Leicester City
• 80 – Leo Shahar, Newcastle
• 80 – Lewi Richards, Chelsea
• 75 – Ryan Andrews, Young Boys

Full-back is easily one of England’s strongest wonderkid areas. Myles Lewis-Skelly already looks ridiculous for his age and players like Rico Lewis and Lewis Hall show there’s real quality and depth on both sides, especially in top Premier League academies.

CDM

• 83 – Jack Hinshelwood, Brighton
• 81 – George Abbott, Tottenham
• 80 – Jacob Wright, Norwich City
• 79 – Landon Emenalo, Chelsea
• 78 – Henry Cartwright, Leicester City
• 75 – Sam Alabi, Newcastle

CM

• 88 – Archie Gray, Tottenham
• 87 – Kobbie Mainoo, Man Utd
• 84 – Lewis Miley, Newcastle
• 84 – Trey Nyoni, Liverpool
• 84 – Chris Rigg, Sunderland
• 83 – Louis Page, Leicester City
• 83 – Jamal Jimoh-Aloba, Aston Villa
• 80 – Callum Olusesi, Tottenham
• 81 – Kiano Dyer, Chelsea
• 81 – Jayce Fitzgerald, Man Utd
• 79 – Jobe Bellingham, Dortmund
• 79 – Tyrese Hall, Tottenham
• 79 – Reggie Walsh, Chelsea
• 79 – Seth Ridgeon, Fulham
• 78 – Charlie Holland, Chelsea
• 76 – Moses Sesay, Southampton

Defensive + central midfield is absolutely stacked. Archie Gray and Kobbie Mainoo are already operating at elite wonderkid levels and the depth behind them suggests England are going to be set in midfield for years, it’s one of the clearest strengths of this group. That’s without even considering their current crop like Jude Bellingham etc

LW

• 88 – Rio Ngumoha, Liverpool
• 88 – Mikey Moore, Tottenham
• 88 – Jay Robinson, Southampton
• 85 – Jeremy Monga, Leicester City
• 84 – Jamie Gittens, Chelsea
• 84 – Tyler Silsby, Brighton
• 82 – Trevan Sanusi, Newcastle
• 81 – Will Alves, Leicester City
• 80 – Tommy Watson, Brighton
• 75 – Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, Chelsea
• 71 – Justin Clarke, Everton

RW

• 91 – Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal
• 87 – Tyler Dibling, Everton
• 87 – Shea Lacey, Man Utd
• 83 – Sam Amo-Ameyaw, RC Strasbourg
• 81 – Kadan Young, Aston Villa
• 80 – Romain Esse, Crystal Palace
• 79 – Bendito Mantato, Man Utd
• 78 – Zebedee Lawson, Rangers
• 77 – Mathis Eboué, Chelsea
• 74 – Jake Evans, Leicester City

This might be the most exciting area of all. Ethan Nwaneri topping the list is huge, and there’s a ridiculous amount of creativity and flair behind him with players like Ngumoha, Moore, and Lacey, England’s next generation of attackers looks frightening.

CAMs

• 91 – Luca Williams-Barnett, Tottenham
• 86 – Amir Ibragimov, Man Utd
• 84 – Omari Kellyman, Chelsea
• 83 – Harry Howell, Brighton
• 82 – Igor Tyjon, Blackburn Rovers
• 81 – Divine Mukasa, Man City
• 80 – Leo Castledine, Chelsea
• 79 – Romelle Donovan, Brentford
• 78 – Archie Stevens, Arsenal
• 75 – Tyrique George, Chelsea

ST

• 88 – Harry Gray, Leeds United
• 86 – Alejandro Gomes Rodríguez, Lyon
• 83 – Will Lankshear, Tottenham
• 82 – Josh Sonni-Lambie, Liverpool
• 80 – Shumaira Mheuka, Chelsea
• 79 – Chizzy Ezenwata, Chelsea
• 78 – Harvey Higgins, Blackburn Rovers

Striker is interesting because it’s top-heavy. Luca Williams-Barnett looks like a genuine star and Harry Gray is incredibly exciting but after that the ratings drop quite fast, so it feels like England have a potential headline number nine… but less depth compared to the wide and attacking midfield talent.

DREAM XI OF ENGLISH WONDERKIDS

• GK – Ben Vickery
• CB – Ayden Heaven
• CB – Josh Acheampong
• LB – Lewis Hall
• RB – Rico Lewis
• CDM – Myles Lewis-Skelly
• CM – Archie Gray
• CM – Kobbie Mainoo
• LW – Rio Ngumoha
• RW – Ethan Nwaneri
• ST – Luca Williams-Barnett

Subs

• Freddy Bernal
• Jayden Ngwashi
• Mikey Moore
• Harry Gray
• Lewis Hall
• Nico O’Reilly
• Jay Robinson
• Shea Lacey
• Amir Ibragimov
• Omari Kellyman