Ex-Chelsea keeper joins Bellingham, Yamal in European team of the season so far | OneFootball

Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal provide the star power but Europe’s team of the season so far contains some other less familiar names.

There’s a centre-back pairing with Manchester City connections and a Man Utd and Spurs target at left-back in the best XI from Europe’s top five leagues based on Gradient Sport’s grades.

What are these grades, you ask? Gradient’s grades, on a scale of 0-100, evaluate player performance based on the execution of the skills most important to their position.

Based on their overall grade, here is the best XI from the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1.

GK: Filip Jorgensen (Strasbourg) – 90.0 Shortly before it emerged just how badly Chelsea needed a goalkeeper who wasn’t Robert Sanchez, Jorgensen was dumped at Strasbourg. The Denmark stopper is now the highest-graded in Europe, ahead of another ex-Chelsea man in Djordje Petrovic.

RB: Vanderson (Monaco) – 86.7 Vanderson, a modern-day Nicolas Gaitan so often is he linked with Manchester United, is back in the Brazil squad after a fine start to the season with Monaco. Among Ligue 1 defenders, the 25-year-old, comfortable as a wing-back and a traditional full-back, is second and fourth for crossing and ball-carrying respectively, and first for blocking.

CB: Marc Guehi (Manchester City) – 86.9 Guehi is graded as the top defender in Europe so far this season, and the 15th highest-graded player of all 1958 in Europe’s top five leagues. Which should give him options when the exodus begins. Guehi is partnered in central defence by another with City connections…

CB: Manuel Akanji (Inter Milan) – 86.2 Akanki is the top-graded defender in Serie A, with the highest passing grade of the lot. The 31-year-old also has the third-highest grades for both aerial and 50/50 duels.

LB: Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest) – 86.4 James Collins reckons Williams is now good enough to start for Liverpool and it’s hard to argue. Off the back of a summer in which links with Spurs and Man Utd prompted Forest to offer the 25-year-old a new contract, Williams is in the top 10 among Premier League defenders for passing, crossing and one-v-one defending.

CM: Cristian Casseres Jr (Toulouse) – 92.9 Another with a new contract freshly signed, Casseres Jr is the highest-graded player in Europe’s top-five leagues. The Venezuela international already has four assists in five games for Toulouse, grading high among Ligue 1 midfielders for 50/50 duels (third), ball-carrying (fifth) and passing (ninth).

CM: Bryan Cristante (Roma) – 89.2 The 31-year-old defensive midfielder is the highest-graded player in Serie A, graded among the top 10 midfielders in Italy for 50/50 duels (fourth), positioning (fifth), carry defending (sixth) and ball control (eighth).

AM: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) – 89.1 The England star is La Liga’s highest-graded midfielder on the back of three goals and two assists in his first seven domestic games under Jose Mourinho. Typically for Bellingham, he’s graded first for tackle resistance, second for duels and third for shooting.

RW: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) – 90.3 Seven goals and four assists in his first seven games is a ridiculous but not surprising return amid a Ballon d’Or push. Of course Yamal is graded top for dribbling – the 19-year-olds 86.3 is the highest in Europe – but among La Liga forwards and wingers, he’s also top for 50/50 duels, second for shooting and fifth for passing.

LW: Marco Grull (Werder Bremen) – 88.3 The Austrian winger has started the season on fire, with two goals and three assists in four Bundesliga games for Bremen. The 28-year-old is graded in the top five in the Bundesliga for passing, crossing and ball carrying, all of which has been enough to rank him seventh of 682 forward players in Europe.