Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham the standout in U21 Team of the Month
Real Madrid’s star signing leads the way in August’s U21 Team of the Month from Europe’s top five leagues after an exceptional start to his La Liga career. In order to qualify, players must have been no older than 21 at the start of August and have made at least three league appearances across the month.
Filip Jörgensen (Villarreal) – 6.78
Villarreal’s 21-year-old goalkeeper made an impression in his three La Liga outings in August, with an especially impressive display against Barcelona, where he made seven saves and earned a WhoScored rating of 7.29, despite his team suffering defeat.
Santos, who joined Lille from Portuguese side Estoril Praia in the summer, has looked at home in the French top-flight, and started each of his side’s three matches throughout August. The Portuguese full-back made 1.6 tackles and 1.6 key passes per game, while maintaining a pass success rate of 86%.
Soungoutou Magassa (AS Monaco) – 7.12
The second of four Ligue 1 talents to make it into August’s U21 TOTM is Monaco defender Soungoutou Magassa, a product of the Principality club’s youth academy. The 19-year-old, who made his first league start for the club in the opening day victory at Clermont Foot, has impressed with his accuracy of passing (a pass success rate of 87.1% throughout the month), and defensive solidity; contributing with 12 tackles, eight interceptions and six clearances.
Abakar Sylla (Strasbourg) – 7.05
Completing the Ligue 1 defensive partnership is Strasbourg’s Abakar Sylla, who arrived from Belgian side Club Brugge for a reported fee of more than €20 million. The 20-year-old Ivorian made 13 tackles – only one player made more in Ligue 1 – and five interceptions, while winning 19 of his ground duels.
Destiny Udogie (Tottenham Hotspur) – 7.07
20-year-old left-back Destiny Udogie has been something of a revelation for Tottenham under new boss Ange Postecoglou, having spent last season back on loan with Italian side Udinese. The Italian looks to have cemented his spot in Postecoglou’s preferred Spurs XI with three impressive performances throughout August – the finest of which came at Bournemouth, where Udogie provided the assist for Dejan Kulusevski’s goal and made four clearances to earn a WhoScored rating of 7.53.
Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham Hotspur) – 7.28
The second representative of Postecoglou’s new-look Tottenham side, Pape Matar Sarr, only started two of his side’s three matches in August, but netted the crucial opener in a 2-0 home win against Manchester United. Sarr also provided an assist at Bournemouth, three key passes, two clearances and made four tackles across his two starts, while recording a pass success rate of 91.6%.
Pablo Barrios (Atletico Madrid) – 7.18
Barrios, who made his senior bow for Atletico last term, has featured from the bench in two of Los Cocheronos’ La Liga matches so far. Across August, the 20-year-old midfielder made eight tackles, 10 interceptions and four clearances, while also completing seven dribbles. Barrios’ only start of the month came in a rampant display at Rayo Vallecano, where he landed a strong WhoScored rating of 7.98.
Arsenal’s number 7 picked up where he left off last season with crucial goals at home to Nottingham Forest and Fulham in August. Saka also completed seven dribbles across the month’s three fixtures, while also making 10 tackles and interceptions combined.
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) – 8.53
With a WhoScored rating of 8.53, Jude Bellingham is the U21 Player of the Month in Europe’s top five leagues. The English midfielder’s tremendous start to life in the Spanish capital saw him score in each of his first three games for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, while his two goals and one assist at Almeria landed him a WhoScored rating of 9.10. Bellingham also made six key passes and completed six dribbles, in a month where he has also ranked as the highest-rated player in La Liga.
Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao) – 7.17
Athletic Bilbao’s most promising young talent recorded two assists and completed two dribbles in a 2-0 win at Osasuna that saw him earn a WhoScored rating of 8.00 – his strongest performance throughout August. Across the month, the 21-year-old completed seven dribbles and made four key passes.
Arnaud Kalimuendo (Rennes) – 6.99
Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo opened his account for the season on the opening day of the Ligue 1 campaign, at home to Metz. His strike to open the scoring that afternoon was his only goal of the month, but the 21-year-old also contributed five key passes across August’s three matches.
