My rankings as of now -
1)
Mats Moller Daehli - Big call and i maybe completely wrong, but this Kid is special. Was tough between him/Adnan and Powell. He is a hard trainer too by all accounts and comes across well in his interviews.
2)
Adnan Januzaj - Class act. He has a touch of Berba about him almost though in a different position and floats around with great touch. Has great awareness too and is adding physicality to his game with work rate getting better.
3)
Nick Powell - He is perhaps the closest to the first team being physically developed already. Good all round player and has a touch of swagger about him. Sir Alex called him the Scholes replacement and that is some praise.
4)
Angelo Henriquez - Well, he was starting in the Copa Libertadores at the age of 17. The guy can score goals and that will ensure he has a good career somewhere, if not here. Reminds me of Gonzalo Higuain in his playing style and still needs to adapt to English football, but his movement is top notch.
5)
Michael Keane - Already doing well at Leicester and impressing in his first loan spell. He is a Evans like Ball playing defender. Needs to slightly toughen up, but with the way he has grown he has a decent chance of making it here or atleast coming into rotation 2 seasons from now after a PL loan maybe. A future England International too probably.
6)
Davide Petrucci - He has just too much talent to be ruined by Injuries. Yeah, he lost 2 seasons but he is combative, can work hard and has a good passing game. I am a bit unsure now if he will make it here, which i hope he does but hopefully he goes on to have a very good career somewhere.
7)
Ben Pearson - He runs games consistently for the U17. Is always available for the ball and can make a hollywood ball just as easily as Scholesy at that Level. He needs to grow up and develop physically, but the talent i think is there. Very tough to tell definitively about CM's at this age though, more so than any other position.
8)
Will Keane - Well, he would probably be slightly higher if not for a serious Injury taking away a year from his development at a crucial stage. Before that he was dominating Reserves almost to Rossi Levels, despite being a different sort of player. Hopefully, he comes back firing as Sir Alex had said he would have been in the 1st team squad this season despite the 4 strikers being ahead. Has impressed in 1st team training in the past too and made his PL debut at the age of 18.
9)
Andreas Pereira - This guy was coveted by allegedly all top clubs before he came here and the Youtube Videos were impressive too.
Hasn't quite shown those silky skills yet, but he has just arrived this season and had a few injurires. Quietly though has managed to show his quality in different ways to that video. His passing is quick and assured and he can dictate the tempo in the u18 games. Has a good free kick and can score a few goals for MF too.
10)
James Wilson - The RVP of the U18's. Has been a goal machine this season and perhaps ready for the step up. Looks classy and is quick, with a very good left foot plus the main thing is that he can now lead the line and score goals more regularly.
11)
Tom Lawrence - Made his Wales u21 debut at the age of 18 this week. Is good technically and has good positional awareness too. A SS/AM who is neat on the ball and can play though balls basically. Is stuck in between the u18's and U21's at the moment but should come onto his own in the next season or so.
12)
Jack Barmby - Good English style Winger/Wing forward. Was a scoring machine in the U18's last season but has been stunted by a few niggles and others overtaking this season, but is quick, has good control and can strike/cross a ball for sure.
13)
Marnick Vermijl - A rich man's Ritchie De Laet, if you like. Has been a consistent performer in the u18's this season and still young for a fullback. Will go on to have a decent career somewhere. Fullback after CM, is probably the second toughest place to tell at this level though as they can get found at defensively at the top level.
14)
Tyler Blackett - He went on the tour of Africa last time at the age of 18. He is grown physically and is good on the ball, but lacks a bit of positional awareness at this age. All depends on how he develops that in terms of a career he can have.
15)
Luke Giverin - He has gone under the radar a bit but is pretty good technically and doing very well on loan at Antwerp, running things from Midfield. Has already in a way made his friendly debut at LB, which is where like Cleverley (who played RB) he played in his younger days with us.
16)
Jesse Lingard/ Larnell Cole/ Ryan Tunnicliffe / Tom Thorpe / Scott Wootton - All of them deserve a mention to round this up. Lingard is probably ahead of the rest along with Tunnicliffe as of now.
