Three Barca kids in top five 

Bellingham, Yamal & Co - Which U21 stars have played the most club minutes this season?

©TM/IMAGO

It’s arguably never been as important for European clubs to integrate youngsters into their first-team. There’s few more satisfying feelings for supporters than to watch a young player develop to reach their full potential. Talented starlets also provide a potential lucrative revenue source for clubs aiming to unearth diamonds to sell them on for vast profits.

Due to profit and sustainability regulations, English Premier League clubs now directly benefit from developing and selling academy graduates as they represent pure profit on balance sheets. But top European clubs will always strive to keep their best homegrown talents given the affection they hold amongst supporters. In our recent Transfermarkt study, we revealed that Strasbourg have handed more minutes to U21 players than any other top five league club this season, with Barcelona second and RB Leipzig third. But which U21 stars have played the most minutes for their clubs this season, across all competitions? Let’s find out!

U21 stars with the most club minutes this season?

Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy has enjoyed a renaissance recently with Hansi Flick building his team around several graduates. Pau Cubarsí (3,195’) has played more club minutes than any other U21 player for a top five league club this season, with the Spanish international an integral player. Cubarsi’s club and international colleague Lamine Yamal (3,092’) ranks third with the prodigiously talented winger the most valuable teenager in Transfermarkt history. Jude Bellingham makes it a top three of LaLiga stars with the Real Madrid midfielder contributing 11 goals and 11 assists in 3,155’ minutes for the Champions League holders.

Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde (2,903) also makes the top five with Bayer Leverkusen sensation Florian Wirtz the only non-LaLiga player in the top five. Three Premier League players feature in the top ten – Rico Lewis, Milos Kerkez and Archie Gray. PSG’s João Neves represents Ligue 1 in the top ten, while Juventus’  Kenan Yildiz is the sole representative from Serie A. Naturally, players from clubs in European competition are more likely to feature higher on the list but Arda Güler only ranks 142nd with his lack of gametime at Real Madrid a topical concern.