19-year-old Ghanaian versatile footballer Caleb Yirenkyi is highly rated. The young Ghanaian has been ranked as the best playmaking midfielder in the world among footballers under the age of 20 outside the top 5 leagues. Any player under the age of 20 playing in the Top 5 European leagues was not considered.
Who are the top 5 leagues?
English Premier League
Spanish La Liga
German Bundesliga
Italian Serie A
French Ligue 1
The right-footed midfielder, who can play as a right back, a right wing back, in addition to his numerous midfield roles, got a score of 82.1 out of 100, which is far higher than his FC Nordejaelland teammate Justin Janssen, who got the score of 69.9 in second place.
How CIES described Caleb Yirenkyi
While the playmaking midfielder category regroups the fewest players, the score of the top-ranked footballer, Caleb Yirenkyi (FC Nordsjælland), is very high: 82.1 out of 100.
Already a Ghanaian international, his estimated transfer value for a
big club is up to €25 million. He is ahead of his teammate, Denmark’s Justin Janssen, reflecting Nordsjælland’s taste for technical play and players.
The Top 10 playmaking U20 midfielders of 2025
The top 10 includes highly rated teenagers like Sporting Lisbon’s Eduardo Felicissimo and Matthew Corcoran of Nashville.
*Name, club, nationality and score in order
1. Caleb Yirenkyi (Nordsjaelland, Ghana) scored 82.1
2. Justin Janssen (Nordsjaelland, Denmark) scored 69.9
3. Mathew Corcoran (Nashville, USA) scored 69.3
4. Haine Eames (Central Coast Mariners, Australia) scored 69.0
5. Oleksandr Soroka (Jong Gent, Ukraine) scored 69.0
6. Mateja Prokopijevic (FC Cukaricki, Serbia) scored 68.6
7. Eduardo Felicissimo (Sporting CP, Portugal) scored 68.4
8. Elkin Rivero (Atletico Nacional, Colombia) scored 68.4
9. Alejandro Granados (Club NXT, Spain) scored 68.1
10. Renato Nhaga (Casa Pia, Guinea-Bissau)
Criteria for the rankings
The report is about the players born in 2006 or later who performed best over the 2025 calendar year (up until December 8) – that is, from January 1st 202,5 to December 8.
Eight game areas were used for the rankings:
Air defence, ground defence, build up, orchestration, take on, chance creation, finishing and air attack) during domestic league matches played in 66 championships around the world (not including big-5 leagues.
Yirenkyi is valued at 25 million euros by CIES and is one of the big talents in world football currently. Having been linked with a move to English giants Manchester United and Arsenal in the just-ended January transfer window, Caleb is expected to move to one of the top five leagues’ clubs after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Another African Interest
18-year-old Guinea-Bissauan powerful midfielder Renato Sam-Na Nhaga was ranked the 10th best playmaking midfielder. Nhaga signed his first professional contract for Portuguese side Casa Pia in July 2024 after moving to Lusitania from Bissau in 2022.
Galatasaray, after scouting him for a while, paid 6.5 million euros to Casa Pia in the 2026 January transfer window as he signed four and half year contract with the Turkish giants.
