Wonderkid Watch: Hot prospects Bouaddi and Ahanor deliver midweek masterclasses

A jam-packed midweek slate of fixtures delivered drama in abundance, with two of the Premier League’s hottest prospects shining at home and abroad.

The opening matchday of this season’s Champions League collided with the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday and Wednesday, before another set of European games yesterday evening.

Those continental and domestic cup match-ups offered plenty of opportunities for young talents to make an impression – and it’s fair to say Ayyoub Bouaddi and Honest Ahanor did just that in their respective encounters.

Bouaddi shone in Manchester City’s 2-0 win at FC Porto’s Estádio do Dragão, while Ahanor enjoyed a debut to remember as Crystal Palace romped to a 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough.

Those performances won’t surprise anyone who has followed their fledgling careers closely, though, with both starlets featuring in the LiveScore Wonderkid Watch rankings for last season.

We’ll also be monitoring them throughout 2026/27, as our index tracks all the Premier League’s top youngsters across the campaign…

What is LiveScore Wonderkid Watch?

Wonderkid Watch is LiveScore’s brand-new statistical rankings matrix, which aims to follow the progress of Premier League youngsters under the age of 20 – or under 21 for goalkeepers.

It crunches data for over 40 different metrics per position, then combines those numbers with a selection of other criteria – minutes played, key outputs and specialist qualities – to create two scores out of ten for each player.

The first is an Overall Score, which allows eligible players to be ranked regardless of position. Then, there is a Positional Index Score, so we can determine the best performer in specific positions at any one time.

That’s a brief overview, but if you want more detail then make sure to check out our explainer article here, which breaks down the nuances of how the rankings are calculated.

Now, you may be wondering how we know who performed well in 2025/26 if LiveScore Wonderkid Watch has only just launched.

The answer is that we ran the calculations for last season across Europe’s top five leagues, to illustrate how the rankings system works.

You can find more on that in the aforementioned explainer article, but let’s take a look at the two players who stood out this week.

Bouaddi received an Overall Score of 7.52 and a Positional Index Score of 7.69 as a central midfielder, following a sublime season with Lille.

That earned him a ‘Possession Dictator’ specialist profile and placed him 22nd in the final rankings.

Ahanor was somewhat lower in 60th, with an Overall Score of 6.30 and a Positional Index Score of 6.74.

The centre-back’s specialist profile was ‘Stopper’, which certainly reflects elements of his performance against Middlesbrough earlier this week.

Dream debut for Ahanor

Ahanor’s summer switch to Crystal Palace was an unorthodox one – joining the Eagles on loan for 2026/27 while also agreeing a £40million move from parent club Atalanta to Chelsea for the following summer.

But the 18-year-old looked at home in his new surroundings when taking to the Selhurst Park pitch for the first time on Tuesday.

He played the full 90 minutes as Pierre Sage’s outfit swatted aside Championship team Middlesbrough 3-0, thanks to a brace from Jørgen Strand Larsen and a goal from Daichi Kamada.

The result saw Palace through to the Carabao Cup fourth round and earned Ahanor his first clean sheet in SE25.

That was no less than he deserved for a stellar performance on the left of the South Londoners’ back three.

Ahanor completed the most clearances of any player on the pitch with nine – three more than second-place Takehiro Tomiyasu.

He also registered the most headed clearances (5) and was joint top for defensive third regains with Óscar Mingueza (6).

The Italy international won both his aerial duels, too, while completing a credible 88.24% of his passes across the match.

Crystal Palace supporters will understandably be salivating at the prospect of seeing their new addition in Premier League action after such a strong debut showing, potentially against Ipswich Town this weekend.

Meanwhile, those of a Chelsea persuasion can enjoy witnessing the development of a player who could grow into a truly elite defender.

Brilliant Bouaddi offers glimpse of qualities

Bouaddi also made a big-money move to the Premier League this summer, swapping Lille for Manchester City in an £86 million transfer.

Such a large fee clearly leads to high expectations, especially after the 18-year-old played a starring role in Morocco’s journey to the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals.

However, Bouaddi has been eased into life at the Etihad Stadium, making cameo appearances off the bench in the Premier League wins over Crystal Palace (4-1) and Coventry City (1-0).

Tuesday’s Champions League clash with FC Porto offered the Citizens’ faithful a first proper look at their new midfielder – and they weren’t disappointed.

City’s No.32 controlled proceedings throughout their 2-0 victory against the Dragões, evading opposition players with the ball at his feet and playing neat passes to help his side retain possession.

That was ultimately key to their triumph, with the visitors registering 64.3% possession and limiting Porto to an xG of 0.28 without a single shot on target.

Bouaddi’s passing accuracy was a sky-high 98.18%, on a night when he only misplaced one of his 55 passes.

He also attempted more take-ons than any other player (4), though his influence wasn’t limited to on-the-ball actions.

The eight-cap international proved adept at regaining possession, too – winning the ball back in the middle third five times, which was the joint-highest figure alongside Marc Guéhi.

This wasn’t necessarily a complete performance from Bouaddi, who didn’t impact the game as much in attacking areas when compared with his influence from deeper positions.

But it was undoubtedly a positive start from a player who is only at the beginning of his journey with Manchester City.

There will surely be plenty more to come from the former Lille man, throughout the current season and beyond.

Keep up with the fortunes of Bouaddi and Ahanor by following LiveScore Wonderkid Watch during 2026/27!