Mastantuono 8th, Gittens 3rd - The most valuable U21 players to move clubs this summer

The summer transfer window continues to burn through money like it’s going out of fashion, with the Premier League alone spending no less than €2.06 billion on new players. That unquestionably outweighs the rest of Europe’s top leagues, with the second highest spending league being Serie A’s paltry sum of €751 million spent in stark comparison. However, there’s little doubt that clubs are enjoying their summer spending sprees and for the most part those fortunes are going towards ready-made stars. 

Indeed, seven of the top 10 transfers that have been made this summer are for players aged 25 or over, as clubs look to sign up players that can make an instant impact in their team. Whether that be Luis Díaz’s €70m move to Bayern, Manchester United paying just under €150m for Matheus Cunha (26) and Bryan Mbeumo (25) or Arsenal turning to 27-year-old Viktor Gyökeres to bolster their attacking line up, experience seems to be the main metric clubs are turning to when they judge the value of their new signings. 

The top 20 most valuable U21 players to move clubs this summer

However, that’s not to say that plenty of young talents haven’t swapped clubs this summer. When we take a look at the top 20 most valuable players aged 21 or younger that have moved clubs in this transfer window, we get a table like the one below. And, as we can see, there are a number of big names that will undoubtedly go on to become world class talents in the years to come. Many of which have decided to make the move to the English top-flight at the earliest, possible opportunity. 

Impressively, Chelsea can lay claim to no less than four of the top 20 signings of the most valuable players aged 21 or younger to move clubs this summer. The club signed Mamadou Sarr from sister club Strasbourg for €14m, Dário Essugo from Sporting for €23m, Estêvão from Palmeiras for €34m and, most notably, Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund for a remarkable fee of €64.3m - which is the tenth highest fee paid for a player of any age range this summer. Of course, Chelsea aren’t the only English club hoovering up young prospects this summer. Of the 16 remaining U21 stars, a further five have opted for a move to the Premier League, in the form of Habib Diarra’s €31.5m move to Sunderland, Cristhian Mosquera’s €15m move to Arsenal, Tottenhamncompleting a €45m move for Mathys Tel, Rayan Cherki’s €36.5m move to Man City and Liverpool picking up Milos Kerkez for €46.9m. 

However, that’s not to say that Europe’s biggest clubs outside of the Premier League haven’t been busy too. In Germany, Bayern Munich signed Hoffenheim midfield prospect Tom Bischoff on a free transfer, Borussia Dortmund signed Championship star Jobe Bellingham for €30.5m and RB Leipzig made their loan deal for Arthur Vermeeren permanent for €20m. Elsewhere, Villarreal signed young winger Alberto Moleiro for €16m, Jesús Rodríguez moved to Como for €22.5m, Roma picked up Evan Ferguson and Wesley, while Ange-Yoan Bonny moved to Inter Milan for €23m. And, intriguingly, Jhon Durán returned to European football to join Fenerbahce on loan. 

Despite so many impressive talents making moves, the club that will perhaps garner the most attention are once again Real Madrid. The Spanish giants have spent €107.5m on two very impressive talents in the form of Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen and River Plate winger Franco Mastantuono, who make the move to LaLiga with all the potential in the world. But, as ever, it remains to be seen which of these 20 stars will look back on their summer moves as pivotal moments in their development or potential pitfalls in the transfer market.