7 hours ago
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Three over €100m
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“Wonderkids” - a term used for generational talents, but is arguably attributed to far too many players. There are few things more pleasing for supporters to watch an academy graduate progressing into a first-team regular. For many clubs, developing youngsters with the aim of selling them on for substantial profits is a fundamental part of their business model - RB Leipzig, Benfica and Rennes are several who excel in this department. Meanwhile, leading European clubs aim to snap up the best young talent, often for astronomical transfer fees.
This summer, Yan Diomande is expected to depart Leipzig for PSG for a fee in excess of €100m in one of the biggest deals of the summer. Across history, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Wayne Rooney have justified their wonderkid reputations as they delivered greatness after being billed as future superstars. Using Transfermarkt’s famed market values, we’ve provided a list of the most valuable U21 stars in the world - the top 100 can be viewed on the link before - as we closely examine the top 20.
The top 20 most valuable U21 stars
With a market value of €200m, Lamine Yamal is the joint most-valuable player in the world, alongside Erling Haaland. Therefore, Yamal is naturally the most valuable wonderkid with the Barcelona star famously subject of a world-record €250m bid from PSG. The French giants have three players in the top three most valuable U21 starlets in João Neves (€140m) and Désiré Doué (€120m). As the graphic below illustrates, the aforementioned Diomande and Real Madrid’s Arda Güler complete the top five.
Chelsea starlet Estêvão is the most valuable U21 star in the Premier League with his valuation of €80m while two Bournemouth players feature in the top 20 in Junior Kroupi and Rayan. Nico Paz is the most valuable U21 talent in Serie A with a valuation of €80m and he’s on the verge of completing his permanent move to Como. There will be a market value update at the end of the World Cup with several U21 stars in line for an upgrade and any changes will be reflected in the link below.
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