Bundesliga · 2026/27 · after matchday 9

The best young 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 young centre back in the Bundesliga, with a standing of 78 out of 100, ahead of Joane Gadou and Kacper Potulski.

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

Jahmai Simpson-PuseyFC Köln · 21 · England#1

78standing, 1st of 17

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

Joane GadouBorussia Dortmund · 19 · France#2

75standing, 2nd of 17

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

Kacper PotulskiFSV Mainz 05 · 19 · Poland#3

68standing, 3rd of 17

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

The top 10

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

Jahmai Simpson-PuseyFC Köln · 21 · England 781st of 17 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 17 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 17 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 17 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

5 MH

Mattes HansenPaderborn · 22 · Germany 625th of 17 Long-ball accuracy 59%3rdTackles + int. 3.8912thPass completion 90%16th

Duels won60% 23rd of 58

Aerials won per 901.88 37th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 903.89 12th of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.71 47th fewest of 58

Pass completion90% 16th of 58

Accurate passes per 9059.37 16th of 58

Long-ball accuracy59% 3rd 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.Mattes Hansen's page

Castello LukebaRB Leipzig · 23 · France 526th of 17 Pass completion 93%4thAccurate passes 68.695thDribbled past 0.1810th fewest

Duels won56% 38th of 58

Aerials won per 900.53 58th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 903.35 27th of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.18 10th fewest of 58

Pass completion93% 4th of 58

Accurate passes per 9068.69 5th of 58

Long-ball accuracy44% 30th of 58

Tackle success88% 12th of 58

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

Finn JeltschVfB Stuttgart · 20 · Germany 517th of 17 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

Leopold QuerfeldFC Union Berlin · 22 · Austria 478th of 17 Aerials won 4.844thLong-ball accuracy 51%14thTackle success 78%31st

Duels won54% 45th of 58

Aerials won per 904.84 4th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 903.22 33rd of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.54 38th fewest of 58

Pass completion81% 45th of 58

Accurate passes per 9041.37 39th of 58

Long-ball accuracy51% 14th of 58

Tackle success78% 31st of 58

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

Fabio ChiarodiaBorussia Mönchengladbach · 21 · Italy 419th of 17 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

Nnamdi CollinsEintracht Frankfurt · 22 · Germany 3910th of 17 Tackle success 86%15thDribbled past 0.2816th fewestTackles + int. 3.3328th

Duels won47% 52nd of 58

Aerials won per 901.94 36th of 58

Tackles and interceptions per 903.33 28th of 58

Times dribbled past per 900.28 16th fewest of 58

Pass completion83% 40th of 58

Accurate passes per 9045.83 34th of 58

Long-ball accuracy36% 43rd of 58

Tackle success86% 15th of 58

Each dot is one of the 58 centre backs; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Nnamdi Collins'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
5Mattes Hansen	62	60%23rd	1.8837th	3.8912th	0.7147th fewest	90%16th	59.3716th	59%3rd	75%34th
6Castello Lukeba	52	56%38th	0.5358th	3.3527th	0.1810th fewest	93%4th	68.695th	44%30th	88%12th
7Finn Jeltsch	51	57%33rd	2.6222nd	1.8955th	0.4428th fewest	90%15th	52.5724th	45%27th	75%34th
8Leopold Querfeld	47	54%45th	4.844th	3.2233rd	0.5438th fewest	81%45th	41.3739th	51%14th	78%31st
9Fabio Chiarodia	41	65%12th	1.5747th	1.8357th	0.2615th fewest	82%44th	47.8830th	23%55th	80%27th
10Nnamdi Collins	39	47%52nd	1.9436th	3.3328th	0.2816th fewest	83%40th	45.8334th	36%43rd	86%15th

7 more centre backs aged 23 or under are ranked in The Prism

See every one, filter by age, foot and height, and open any player's full profile.

See all 17 in The Prism

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 48 are named in The Prism.

Since last season

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

↑ Kacper Potulski30 last season, 68 now

↓ Nnamdi Collins58 last season, 39 now

↓ Castello Lukeba68 last season, 52 now

↑ Noahkai Banks53 last season, 68 now

How this ranking is made

Centre backs aged 23 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

Full backs Defensive midfielders Central midfielders Attacking midfielders Wingers Strikers Centre backs, under 21 Centre backs, all ages FC Köln young players Borussia Dortmund young players FC Augsburg young players Paderborn young players RB Leipzig young players VfB Stuttgart young players FC Union Berlin young players Borussia Mönchengladbach 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.