The presence of young footballers in the elite of football is increasingly normal. The emergence of talents of the magnitude of Lamine Yamal at FC Barcelona, Endrick at Palmeiras (and eventually at Real Madrid), or Archie Gray at Leeds United are proof that youth does not necessarily mean football immaturity.
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Today, at Sambafoot, we will analyze the list of the top 10 U-20 footballers with the most minutes in the world’s top leagues, a list that highlights several of the great promises of world football.
According to the CIES Football Observatory, the trend of having more and more young players in the squads of the world’s top clubs continues to rise in recent years, so it is not surprising that, in their most recent ranking, in which they catalog the U-20 footballers with the most minutes, several stars from both large and small clubs in Europe and the rest of the world stand out.
Most official game minutes (last year), U2⃣0⃣ outfield players in 5⃣5⃣ top divisions 🗺️
🥇 #JoaoNeves 🇵🇹 4,674'
🥈 #JorrelHato 🇳🇱 4,593'
🥉 #ArchieGray 🏴 4,336'#Yoro #Spileers #Yamal #Khalaili #Vasilev #Endrick #ZaireEmery pic.twitter.com/xQ7dTnp8Ty— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) August 5, 2024
According to this source, the U-20 footballer with the most minutes last year was Portuguese midfielder Joao Neves from Benfica and the new signing of PSG for the upcoming season. This midfielder managed to accumulate a whopping 4,674 minutes over the last 365 days with Benfica and aims to continue being just as important at PSG.
The silver medal goes to Jorrel Hato, the central defender from Ajax who accumulated 4,593 minutes with the Dutch team in the last year, while the bronze goes to Tottenham Hotspur’s new signing, Archie Gray, a midfielder trained at Leeds United who totaled 4,336 minutes with the white team, before moving to Spurs for the 2024/25 season.
In this ranking, which also highlights Lamine Yamal, a gem from Barça, and Leny Yoro, the new signing from Manchester United, Endrick could not be missing, the only footballer in the ranking who did not play in Europe last year.
In his last 365 days as a Palmeiras player, Endrick accumulated 3,662 minutes, being the ninth outfield U-20 player with the most minutes worldwide. With Verdao, Endrick played a total of 82 matches with the professional team, scoring 21 goals and providing four assists, gaining more and more importance until the day of his departure.
Now, at Real Madrid, his minutes might be notably reduced, but his projection and talent were proven thanks to the large amount of minutes he enjoyed at Palmeiras.
