Man Utd's Anthony Martial is the most-used U21 forward in Europe

By Peter Smith

Image: Anthony Martial has made 21 Premier League appearances this season

Manchester United's Anthony Martial is the most-used forward aged under 21 in Europe's top five leagues.

The 20-year-old - who made three appearances for Monaco at the start of the season before becoming the most-expensive teenager in history with his transfer to Old Trafford - has played 2,016 minutes of league football in 2015/16.

U21 players

Players must be born on or after January 1, 1995 to be included

That means he has played 89.6 per cent of possible minutes - the highest percentage among forwards under the age of 21 in either the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Serie A or Ligue 1, according to the CIES Football Observatory.

Hector Bellerin, meanwhile, has played 92.3 per cent of Premier League minutes for Arsenal this season. No other young full-back can come close to that, with Watford's Nathan Ake, who is on loan from Chelsea, second on the list with 55.7 per cent.

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Image: Arsenal's Hector Bellerin has played 24 times in the Premier League in 2015/16

However, overall, the Premier League provided the fewest number of players in the top 10 tables per position, with players in France's Ligue 1 the most numerous.

Forwards - Minutes played %

Player Team % of total minutes played
Anthony Martial Monaco/Man Utd 89.6
Isaac Success Granada 81.8
Timo Werner Stuttgart 77.8
Corentin Jean Troyes 77
Kingsley Coman Bayern/Juventus 63.3
Antonio Sanabria Gijon 56.4
Balde Keita Lazio 50.1
Enzo Crivelli Bordeaux 48.1
Santi Mina Valencia 44.5
Adalberto Penaranda Granada 41.9

Attacking midfielders - % minutes played

Player Team % of total minutes played
Maximilian Meyer Schalke 78.8
Leroy Sane Schalke 77.8
Alen Halilovic Gijon 76.9
Marco Asensio Espanyol 76.6
Dele Alli Tottenham 74.8
Georges-Kevin Nkoudou Marseille 63.6
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic Lazio 62.7
Daniel Ceballos Betis 54.3
Marcus Coco Guingamp 50
Thomas Lemar Monaco 46.1

Defensive midfielders - % minutes played

Player Club % of total minuted played
Leon Goretzka Schalke 82.5
Amadou Diawara Bologna 81.2
Julian Weigl Dortmund 81
Vincent Koziello Nice 80.7
Marc Stendera Frankfurt 78.4
Seko Fofana Bastia 75.9
Mahmoud Dahoud Monchengladbach 61.1
Danilo Barbosa Valencia 52.1
David Ivan Sampdoria 44.5
Alberto Grassi Napoli/Atalanta 43.7

Full backs - % of minutes played

Player Team % of total minutes played
Hector Bellerin Arsenal 92.3
Nathan Ake Watford 55.7
Jose Gaya Valencia 55.5
Rami Bensebaini Montpellier 55.3
Brendan Galloway Everton 52.3
Ruben Duarte Espanyol 45.8
Matt Targett Southampton 36.5
Yanni Regasel Frankfurt/Hertha 33.1
Pedro Pereira Sampdoria 28.5
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson Man Utd 22.6

Centre-backs - % of minutes played

Player Team % of total minutes played
Niklas Sule Hoffeniheim 100
Jonathan Tah Leverkusen 95.5
Alessio Romagnoli Milan 89.9
Andreas Christensen Monchengladbach 85.7
Jose Gimenez Atletico Madrid 79.2
Timo Baumgartl Stuttgart 67.6
Jorge Mere Gijon 50.6
Issa Diop Toulouse 42.2
Benjamin Pavard Lille 23.7
Nico Elvedi Monchengladbach 21.6

Goalkeepers - % of minutes played

Player Team % of total minutes played
Gianluigi Donnarumma Milan 68
Paul Bernardoni Bordeaux/Troyes 65.4
Pierluigi Gollini Verona 51.1
Mouez Hassen Nice 45.9
Alban Lafont Toulouse 45.4
Jerome Prior Bordeaux 15.1
Mike Maignan Lille 12.3
Ruben Blanco Celta Vigo 11.1
Paul Andre Guerin Ajaccio 5.9
Fabrizio Alastra Palermo 2.3
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