Bundesliga · 2026/27 · after matchday 9

The best under-21 centre backs in the Bundesliga so far this season

As of 8 November 2026, The Prism ranks Jahmai Simpson-Pusey (FC Köln, 21) as the best under-21 centre back in the Bundesliga, with a standing of 78 out of 100, ahead of Joane Gadou and Kacper Potulski.

9 rankedagainst all 58284+ league minutes8 measuresUpdated 8 November 2026How we rank

Jahmai Simpson-PuseyFC Köln · 21 · England#1

78standing, 1st of 9

Best at times dribbled past per 90, 0.00, fewest of 58

Joane GadouBorussia Dortmund · 19 · France#2

75standing, 2nd of 9

Best at tackle success, 95%, 5th of 58

Kacper PotulskiFSV Mainz 05 · 19 · Poland#3

68standing, 3rd of 9

Best at tackle success, 95%, 4th of 58

The top 9

Open a row for all 8 measures and where he sits among the 58.

Jahmai Simpson-PuseyFC Köln · 21 · England 781st of 9 Dribbled past 0.00fewestTackle success 100%1stDuels won 65%11th

Duels won65% 11th of 58

Aerials won per 902.22 30th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 902.22 50th of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.00 fewest of 58

Pass completion90% 11th of 58

Accurate passes per 9056.11 19th of 58

Long-ball accuracy50% 15th of 58

Tackle success100% 1st of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Jahmai Simpson-Pusey's page

Joane GadouBorussia Dortmund · 19 · France 752nd of 9 Tackle success 95%5thDribbled past 0.136th fewestPass completion 91%10th

Duels won64% 17th of 58

Aerials won per 901.75 40th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 903.37 25th of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.13 6th fewest of 58

Pass completion91% 10th of 58

Accurate passes per 9063.32 11th of 58

Long-ball accuracy50% 15th of 58

Tackle success95% 5th of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Joane Gadou's page

Kacper PotulskiFSV Mainz 05 · 19 · Poland 683rd of 9 Tackle success 95%4thDribbled past 0.135th fewestAerials won 3.4210th

Duels won57% 35th of 58

Aerials won per 903.42 10th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 903.80 14th of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.13 5th fewest of 58

Pass completion88% 25th of 58

Accurate passes per 9047.66 31st of 58

Long-ball accuracy41% 37th of 58

Tackle success95% 4th of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Kacper Potulski's page

Noahkai BanksFC Augsburg · 19 · Germany 684th of 9 Long-ball accuracy 60%2ndDuels won 67%8thTackle success 89%11th

Duels won67% 8th of 58

Aerials won per 902.25 29th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 903.50 22nd of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.25 14th fewest of 58

Pass completion89% 19th of 58

Accurate passes per 9038.50 44th of 58

Long-ball accuracy60% 2nd of 58

Tackle success89% 11th of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Noahkai Banks's page

Finn JeltschVfB Stuttgart · 20 · Germany 515th of 9 Pass completion 90%15thAerials won 2.6222ndAccurate passes 52.5724th

Duels won57% 33rd of 58

Aerials won per 902.62 22nd of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 901.89 55th of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.44 28th fewest of 58

Pass completion90% 15th of 58

Accurate passes per 9052.57 24th of 58

Long-ball accuracy45% 27th of 58

Tackle success75% 34th of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Finn Jeltsch's page

Fabio ChiarodiaBorussia Mönchengladbach · 21 · Italy 416th of 9 Duels won 65%12thDribbled past 0.2615th fewestTackle success 80%27th

Duels won65% 12th of 58

Aerials won per 901.57 47th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 901.83 57th of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.26 15th fewest of 58

Pass completion82% 44th of 58

Accurate passes per 9047.88 30th of 58

Long-ball accuracy23% 55th of 58

Tackle success80% 27th of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Fabio Chiarodia's page

7 SN

Shafiq NandjaHamburger SV · 19 · Germany 297th of 9 Tackle success 75%34thTackles + int. 3.0037thAerials won 1.7542nd

Duels won46% 54th of 58

Aerials won per 901.75 42nd of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 903.00 37th of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.75 48th fewest of 58

Pass completion76% 54th of 58

Accurate passes per 9030.00 52nd of 58

Long-ball accuracy19% 57th of 58

Tackle success75% 34th of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Shafiq Nandja's page

Elias BaumEintracht Frankfurt · 21 · Germany 278th of 9 Tackles + int. 5.722ndTackle success 87%14thDuels won 57%36th

Duels won57% 36th of 58

Aerials won per 901.32 50th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 905.72 2nd of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.59 43rd fewest of 58

Pass completion75% 55th of 58

Accurate passes per 9026.38 55th of 58

Long-ball accuracy36% 43rd of 58

Tackle success87% 14th of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Elias Baum's page

Hennes BehrensFC Augsburg · 21 · Germany 269th of 9 Tackles + int. 5.781stDuels won 61%21stLong-ball accuracy 45%26th

Duels won61% 21st of 58

Aerials won per 901.00 54th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 905.78 1st of 58

Times dribbled past per 902.44 58th fewest of 58

Pass completion77% 53rd of 58

Accurate passes per 9027.33 54th of 58

Long-ball accuracy45% 26th of 58

Tackle success59% 54th of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Hennes Behrens's page

Each figure with his place among the 58 centre backs. Fewest is best for times dribbled past per 90.
Player	Standing	Duels won	Aerials won	Tackles + int.	Dribbled past	Pass completion	Accurate passes	Long-ball accuracy	Tackle success
1Jahmai Simpson-Pusey	78	65%11th	2.2230th	2.2250th	0.00fewest	90%11th	56.1119th	50%15th	100%1st
2Joane Gadou	75	64%17th	1.7540th	3.3725th	0.136th fewest	91%10th	63.3211th	50%15th	95%5th
3Kacper Potulski	68	57%35th	3.4210th	3.8014th	0.135th fewest	88%25th	47.6631st	41%37th	95%4th
4Noahkai Banks	68	67%8th	2.2529th	3.5022nd	0.2514th fewest	89%19th	38.5044th	60%2nd	89%11th
5Finn Jeltsch	51	57%33rd	2.6222nd	1.8955th	0.4428th fewest	90%15th	52.5724th	45%27th	75%34th
6Fabio Chiarodia	41	65%12th	1.5747th	1.8357th	0.2615th fewest	82%44th	47.8830th	23%55th	80%27th
7Shafiq Nandja	29	46%54th	1.7542nd	3.0037th	0.7548th fewest	76%54th	30.0052nd	19%57th	75%34th
8Elias Baum	27	57%36th	1.3250th	5.722nd	0.5943rd fewest	75%55th	26.3855th	36%43rd	87%14th
9Hennes Behrens	26	61%21st	1.0054th	5.781st	2.4458th fewest	77%53rd	27.3354th	45%26th	59%54th

Where all 58 sit

Every centre back in the Bundesliga with 284 minutes or more, on The Prism standing. Blue is this ranking's top 10; the other 49 are named in The Prism.

Since last season

The same players' standings last season, among their league's centre backs then.

↓ Hennes Behrens78 last season, 26 now

↑ Kacper Potulski30 last season, 68 now

↑ Noahkai Banks53 last season, 68 now

↑ Finn Jeltsch37 last season, 51 now

How this ranking is made

Centre backs aged 21 or under in the Bundesliga 2026/27 with at least 284 league minutes, ranked on duels won, aerials won per 90, tackles and interceptions per 90, times dribbled past per 90, pass completion, accurate passes per 90, long-ball accuracy and tackle success. Each measure is a percentile against every centre back in the league with the same minutes, so a young player is judged by the standard of the whole position, not only of his age group. 9 matchdays have been played, so the minutes bar is 284. It rises as the season goes on, until it reaches 450, about five full matches.

What each measure counts for, out of 100:

Duels won20Aerials won per 9020Tackles and interceptions per 9010Times dribbled past per 9010Pass completion15Accurate passes per 9010Long-ball accuracy10Tackle success5

How The Prism ranks players, in full

More rankings

Central midfielders Attacking midfielders Centre backs, under 23 Centre backs, all ages FC Köln young players Borussia Dortmund young players FC Augsburg young players VfB Stuttgart young players Borussia Mönchengladbach young players Hamburger SV young players Eintracht Frankfurt young players

Ask The Prism about any of them

Every player in this ranking has a full profile in The Prism, and it answers questions from live data.

Which centre back plays most like Jahmai Simpson-Pusey?Ask

Start freeFree to start, no card needed.