Two members of West Ham United's squad have been rated alongside stars of world football by the CIES Football Observatory.
Looking at the best players under the age of 25 in a varying set of categories, the CIES Football Observatory have named two Hammers in categories for ‘defensive infiltrator’ and the other for ‘filter man playmaker.’
On the list of best defensive infiltrators over the last 12 months under the age of 25 across the planet is young Hammers right-back Ben Johnson, who is currently sideline with a hamstring injury. The list places Johnson fifth in the world for his age, with CIES’ ranking giving Johnson a score of 86.5.
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Top of the list is Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies with a score of 90.9, while Premier League rivals Diogo Dalot (Manchester United) and Pervis Estupinan (Brighton and Hove Albion) both ranking above Johnson.
Johnson does rank above Wolverhampton Wanderers summer signing Matheus Nunes, who turned down the chance to sign for the Hammers in the summer, as well as Tottenham Hotspur’s Emerson Royal.
CIES’ top ten ‘defensive infiltrators’ over the past 12 months under 25
1. Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) 90.9
2. Diogo Dalot (Manchester United) 89.9
3. Pervis Estupinan (Brighton and Hove Albion) 88.0
4. David Raum (RB Leipzig) 86.6
5. Ben Johnson (West Ham United) 86.5
6. Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers) 85.7
7. Emerson Royal (Tottenham Hotspur) 85.5
8. Renan Lodi (Nottingham Forest) 84.8
9. Nordi Mukiele (Paris Saint-Germain) 84.8
10. Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain) 82.7
Johnson is joined on CIES’ latest list by club teammate and West Ham captain Declan Rice, who ranks high on the ‘filter man playmaker’ list.
On that list, Declan Rice is third on the planet with a score of 90.9, Barcelona and Spain star Pedri also on the list but below him in seventh. Only Paris Saint-Germain’s Vitinha and Juventus’ Manuel Locatelli rank above Rice in that list, with Premier League rivals Tyler Adams (Leeds United) and Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) also in the top ten.
CIES’ top ten ‘filter man playmaker’ over the past 12 months under 25
1. Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain) 92.5
2. Manuel Locatelli (Juventus) 91.3
3. Declan Rice (West Ham United) 90.9
4. Maxime Lopez (Sassuolo) 86.0
5. Tyler Adams (Leeds United) 84.3
6. Nicolas Seiwald (RB Salzburg) 83.8
7. Pedri (Barcelona) 83.5
8. Fran Beltran (Celta Vigo) 83.3
9. Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) 82.1
10. Erick Sanchez (Club Pachuca) 81.3
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