Defence is the last place a club hands the keys to a young player, which makes the ones who already have them easy to rank. Spain won the World Cup in July with a nineteen-year-old centre-back on the pitch for every minute, and without the 21-year-old Real Madrid had paid £50m for. Liverpool have started a 21-year-old ahead of Virgil van Dijk in the Champions League in October. Below are the twelve young defenders, centre-backs and full-backs aged 21 or under, who are being trusted right now, two deep cuts among them, ranked by what they are doing rather than what their cards say. (Figures as of 29 October 2026.)
Barcelona, 19
- 2025-26: 48 games for Barcelona
- World Cup: winner, every minute
- 2026-27: ten starts, an unused substitute twice
- EA FC 27: 86
Real Madrid, 21
- 2025-26: 40 games, two muscle injuries
- World Cup: left out of the squad
- 2026-27: ten starts, one ending in a red card
- EA FC 27: 81
Trust in defence is earned in minutes, not fees. Spain went to the World Cup without a single Real Madrid player for the first time, ESPN noted, and won it with Cubarsí playing every minute.
The Twelve
Pau Cubarsí — Every Minute of a World Cup
FC Barcelona. Nineteen.
Cubarsí started all eight of Spain's World Cup matches, the 120-minute final included, in a defence that conceded once in the tournament, and FIFA named him its best young player. He is back as Barcelona's first-choice centre-back, with two nights as an unused substitute, against Racing Santander on 16 September and Getafe on 10 October, and he is on the Golden Boy shortlist. On 26 October he finished second for the Kopa Trophy, behind Lamine Yamal. He also features in our list of the best young centre-backs.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 86 (DEF 85, PHY 81). Real-level: a World Cup winner who did not miss a minute of it. Tier: Elite Now.
Nico O'Reilly — The Midfielder Who Became a Left-Back
Manchester City. Twenty-one.
O'Reilly came through City's academy as a midfielder, and in 2025-26 he played left-back well enough to be named both the Premier League's and the PFA's young player of the year, with nine goals in 53 games as City won the FA Cup and the League Cup. He started England's World Cup knockout wins in the same position. This season he shares the shirt with Joško Gvardiol: he started the 3-0 win at Anfield on 11 October and the 3-2 win over Ipswich six days later, then was an unused substitute in the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on 24 October, before playing at left-back in the League Cup against Brighton four days later.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 83 (PAC 83, DEF 81). Real-level: a double young player of the year at left-back, still rotating at City. Tier: Elite Now.
The First Deep Cut — Arthur Dias
Athletico Paranaense. Nineteen.
Arthur Dias started as a striker and was nearly released by Athletico Paranaense's youth system before they turned him into a left-footed centre-back. Fifteen months after his senior debut in Brazil's second tier, he has started all 29 of his Série A games this season for a side fourth in the table, and in September Brazil called him up as the only home-based centre-back in the squad. He made his debut against Australia and started against India. He went off at half-time on 12 October with pain, but started and played the full ninety minutes against Palmeiras five days later. He then missed the 1-1 draw at Vitória on 24 October with pain in his right thigh.
Not rated by the game yet: that is how early you are.
Scout Gamer Read — Not in EA FC 27. Real-level: a Série A regular and a senior Brazil international at nineteen. Tier: Raw Gem.
Jérémy Jacquet — Ahead of Van Dijk
Liverpool. Twenty-one.
Liverpool agreed to buy Jacquet from Rennes in February while he was recovering from shoulder surgery, for a fee BBC Sport reported at £55m plus £5m in add-ons. He has started all eight of their Premier League games, and on 14 October he started the 6-3 Champions League win at LASK with Van Dijk on the bench. Two weeks earlier he had made his senior France debut, ninety minutes in a 1-0 win in Belgium.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 77 (DEF 77, PHY 77) — a card that has not caught up with the move. Real-level: an every-week starter at Liverpool at 21. Tier: Elite-in-Waiting.
Luka Vušković — A Club Record Who Had Never Played for Spurs
Brighton. Nineteen.
Brighton paid Tottenham a club-record £46m in July, rising to £50m with add-ons, for a centre-back who never played a senior game for Spurs. He had spent last season on loan at Hamburg, scoring six Bundesliga goals as a centre-back. He has started all eight of Brighton's Premier League games, headed his first goal against Leeds on 5 September, and started three of Croatia's four Nations League games in the international window, coming on at half-time in the other.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 81 (DEF 83, PHY 82). Real-level: ever-present in the Premier League at nineteen. Tier: Elite-in-Waiting.
Givairo Read — The Full-Back Who Leads the Assists
Feyenoord. Twenty.
Read made three assists in a 7-0 win at PEC Zwolle on 13 September, and his four in the month were the most of any Eredivisie player, enough for the league's talent of the month award. He has started all ten of Feyenoord's league games, plus all three Champions League matches, after an injury-wrecked 2025-26. Feyenoord turned down three bids from Nottingham Forest in the summer. He was in our list of the best young full-backs in August; the numbers since have only strengthened the case.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 76 (PAC 79, DEF 71). Real-level: an attacking right-back with five league assists by late October. Tier: Ready Now.
Jon Martín — A Cup, a Cap and a Contract to 2032
Real Sociedad. Twenty.
Martín broke through in 2025-26, 32 games and a Copa del Rey won on penalties against Atlético Madrid, and made his senior Spain debut against Iraq in June. In July Real Sociedad extended his contract to 2032. He is first choice again this season and scored in the 3-2 win over Deportivo on 11 October; the only game he missed was a suspension after a straight red card for handball at Elche.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 78 (DEF 78, PHY 77). Real-level: a capped first-choice centre-back at twenty. Tier: Ready Now.
Jaydee Canvot — A European Final at Nineteen
Crystal Palace. Twenty.
Canvot joined Palace from Toulouse in September 2025, became a starter after Marc Guéhi left in January, and in May, aged nineteen, started the Conference League final in which Palace beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 for their first European trophy. He has started all seven of his Premier League appearances this season in a back three.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 76 (DEF 76, PHY 76). Real-level: a European trophy and a Premier League place at twenty. Tier: Ready Now.
Jacobo Ramón — Real Madrid's Buy-Back Option
Como. Twenty-one.
Real Madrid sold Ramón to Como for €2.5m in 2025 and kept half of his rights. In his first season he started for a side that qualified for the Champions League, and he started every Serie A and Champions League game of this season until mid-October. He then began on the bench at Fiorentina on 18 October, coming on in the 14th minute for an injured team-mate, and against Sassuolo on 24 October, before starting and scoring in a 3-1 win at Torino on 27 October. In between, he scored in the 4-1 Champions League win over Manchester United on 21 October. Madrid will have to decide whether to bring him back; Como have made him a regular in the meantime.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 76 (DEF 78, PHY 73). Real-level: an ever-present centre-back in the Champions League at 21. Tier: Ready Now.
Ismaëlo Ganiou — Man of the Match Against PSG
RC Lens. Twenty-one.
Ganiou won the Coupe de France with Lens in May, the club's first, and opened this season by being named man of the match by Foot Mercato as Lens beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to win the Trophée des Champions, defending with ten men for part of the game. He plays in the middle of Lens's back three and scored in a 5-2 win over Auxerre before an injury cost him part of September. On 23 October Lens announced that he had had minor surgery on his left knee and would be out for several weeks.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 77 (DEF 77, PHY 80). Real-level: two trophies with Lens before his 22nd birthday. Tier: Ready Now.
Mamadou Sarr — An Africa Cup of Nations Final in Koulibaly's Place
Real Sociedad, on loan from Chelsea. Twenty-one.
Sarr started the Africa Cup of Nations final for Senegal in January in place of the suspended Kalidou Koulibaly, weeks after switching his international allegiance from France. Chelsea loaned him to Real Sociedad for this season, and he has started all five of his La Liga appearances, usually alongside Jon Martín.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 77 (DEF 78, PHY 75). Real-level: a continental final and a La Liga place at 21. Tier: Ready Now.
The Second Deep Cut — Tiago Gabriel
Lecce. Twenty-one.
Tiago Gabriel arrived at Lecce from Estrela da Amadora in January 2025 and started 36 Serie A games in his first full season. AC Milan chased him all summer; Lecce kept him and extended his contract to 2030. He has two goals this season, one of them a header off the bench at Venezia, and missed one game in September with a neck problem. He limped off against Juventus on 25 October and was a doubt for the trip to Frosinone four days later.
Scout Gamer Read — EA FC 27: 69 (PHY 78, DEF 69) — the game rates the frame, not the season. Real-level: 36 Serie A starts in his first full season and Milan's interest. Tier: Watchlist.
Left Out on 16 October
When we drew up the twelve on 16 October, four well-known young defenders were left out, each for a reason the cards do not show. Here is where each of them stands now:
| Player | Club | Position | FC 27 | League Starts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Pau Cubarsí | Barcelona | CB | 86 | 7 |
| 02 | Nico O'Reilly | Manchester City | LB | 83 | 4 |
| 03 | Arthur Dias | Athletico Paranaense | CB | Not rated | 29 |
| 04 | Jérémy Jacquet | Liverpool | CB | 77 | 8 |
| 05 | Luka Vušković | Brighton | CB | 81 | 8 |
| 06 | Givairo Read | Feyenoord | RB | 76 | 10 |
| 07 | Jon Martín | Real Sociedad | CB | 78 | 8 |
| 08 | Jaydee Canvot | Crystal Palace | CB | 76 | 7 |
| 09 | Jacobo Ramón | Como | CB | 76 | 7 |
| 10 | Ismaëlo Ganiou | RC Lens | CB | 77 | 5 |
| 11 | Mamadou Sarr | Real Sociedad | CB | 77 | 5 |
| 12 | Tiago Gabriel | Lecce | CB | 69 | 6 |
Quick Reference
Who is the best young defender in the world right now?
Pau Cubarsí: a World Cup winner with Spain who played every minute of the tournament at 19, and FIFA's young player of the tournament.
Who are the best young centre-backs in the Premier League?
Of the players on this list, Jérémy Jacquet at Liverpool, Luka Vušković at Brighton and Jaydee Canvot at Crystal Palace have started every Premier League game they have played this season, as of 29 October 2026.
Why is Dean Huijsen not on this list?
He started Real Madrid's first seven games, was sent off at Atlético Madrid on 20 September and did not start again until 18 October, against Sevilla, after being left out of Spain's World Cup squad in the summer. He has started both games since Sevilla, against RB Leipzig in the Champions League and in the 2-1 Clásico win at Barcelona on 25 October.
Who is Arthur Dias?
A 19-year-old left-footed centre-back at Athletico Paranaense, converted from a striker, who made his Brazil debut against Australia on 29 September 2026.
“Defending is the last place a club hands a young player the keys. These twelve have them already.”
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