Saka, Bellingham and Vinicius Junior top CIES young footballer impact study

England stars Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham lead the way in their age group in a detailed new analysis of the world's best football talents.

Arsenal tyro Saka has made a greater impact over the last 12 months than any other player born in the year 2001 across 59 global leagues.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham came out on top amongst those players born in 2003 when it comes to making a decisive intervention in matches.

Real Madrid's Champions League winner Vinicius Junior ranks top in the 2000-born cohort, which puts Phil Foden ahead of his new Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland.

The study by the CIES Football Observatory, in conjunction with InStat technical performance data, assigns an Impact Score based on the last year to over 20,000 players globally.

It assimilates match ratings, the amount of minutes on the pitch and their performances relative to players with the same role to come up with the figure.

Saka, defined as a 'shooter creator', emerges with a high Impact Score of 92.4, reflecting a year of growth for both club and country.

The 20-year-old rebounded from the disappointment of missing a penalty for England in the Euro 2020 final to enjoy an outstanding campaign in a much-improved Gunners side, scoring 12 goals and supplying seven assists.

He is some way ahead of Jurrien Timber, the Ajax and Holland defender, who has a score of 88.7, with Sporting Lisbon centre-back Goncalo Inacio (88.4) and Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes (88.1) also rating highly.

Leicester City full-back Luke Thomas (86.2) and Everton's Anthony Gordon (85.1) are respectively eighth and 12th in the ranking for those born in 2001.

Bellingham, who has become an integral figure in the Dortmund team and is likely to figure prominently for England going forward, records an Impact Score of 91.5, just ahead of Bayern Munich playmaker Jamal Musiala (90.2) in his age category.

They find themselves some way clear when ranked for consistent impact on games, with Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliot in third on 77.0.

Vinicius, 22, who scored the winning goal as Real Madrid beat Liverpool in last season's Champions League final, records a perfect score of 100 for impact among those born in the year 2000.

That suggests Vinicius, who registered 22 goals and 20 assists for Real last season, impacts every single match he plays in some way.

AC Milan's Sandro Tonali (94.1) and Paris Saint-Germain newcomer Vitinha (93.0) - who signed from Porto over the summer - complete the podium.

But in a ranking that may raise a few eyebrows, Foden finishes fourth on 92.8, three spots ahead of Haaland on 91.3.

It is explained by the Norwegian striker enduring an injury-affected final season at Dortmund, where he scored 29 goals in 30 games, before joining City for £51.2m over the summer.

In a sign Haaland is fully fit and firing, he has started life at the Etihad Stadium by plundering six goals in his first five outings.

Other prodigiously talented players in this age category include Barcelona's Ferran Torres (fifth, 91.8), Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni (sixth, 91.8) and Bayern's Alphonso Davies (eighth, 90.6).

Brazilian winger Antony, who has completed an £85m move to Manchester United, registered a score of 88.0 for impact.

The RB Leipzig centre-back Gvardiol, linked with United earlier in the summer, dominates those born in 2002 with a score of 94.1, some way clear of Bayer Leverkusen's Piero Hincapie in second on 86.8.

High in this list are Real midfielder Eduardo Camavinga (third, 86.7) and Barcelona's Pedri (fourth, 85.3). His team-mate Ansu Fati comes in at No 9.

In the list of the youngest players, those born in 2004 or later, Barcelona's Gavi, 18, has clearly made a phenomenal impact.

His score of 93.2 is head and shoulders ahead of second-placed Gabriel Slonina, the 18-year-old Chelsea keeper currently on loan at Chicago Fire in the MLS, on 73.2.