Manchester United defender Phil Jones is the best centre-back under the age of 23 in the top five European leagues, according to new research by International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES).
The study, which only took players born on or after Jan. 1, 1992 who had played over 50 percent of games this season into account, revealed that Jones has scored highly in the Key Performance Indicators for United this season and is head and shoulders above his peers, such as Paris Stain-Germain's Marquinhos or Real Madrid's Raphael Varane.
Two other Premier League players, Michael Keane (Burnley) and Jores Okore (Aston Villa) also made the top 10 while U.S. international John Brooks (Hertha Berlin) came 13th.
In other positions, Layvin Kurzawa (Monaco) finished highest among the full-backs with Arsenal's Calum Chambers in eighth, while Marco Verratti (PSG) topped the defensive midfielder group ahead of Juventus' Paul Pogba.
Attacking midfield saw Isco (Real Madrid) come out on top with Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool) ending up in ninth. Wilfred Zaha (Crystal Palace), Ross Barkley (Everton) and Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) finished in 13th and joint-14th.
In the striking department, Felipe Anderson (Lazio) edged out Neymar (Barcelona), while the Premier League's Young Player of the Year Harry Kane (Tottenham) came sixth and Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) seventh.
Less renowned talents such as Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Ricardo Rodríguez (Wolfsburg), Granit Xhaka (Borussia Monchengladbach), Bernardo Silva (Monaco) and Clinton N'Jie (Lyon) also made the lists.
CIES Football Observatory Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Shooting: ability to take advantage of goal opportunities through accurate shooting
Chance creation: ability to put teammates in a good position to score
Take on: ability to create dangerous situations by successfully challenging opponents
Distribution: ability to keep a hold on the game through efficient passing
Recovery: ability to minimise goal opportunities for opponents through proficient interception work
Rigour: ability to minimise goal opportunities for opponents through robust duelling