28 March 2012 : The Best Young Players in Serie A
Last week the Mirror Football published a list of The Top 30 most valuable young players in world football :
1) Neymar, (20, Santos) €30-55m
2) Mario Gotze (19, Borussia Dortmund) €30-45m
3) Mario Balotelli (21, Manchester City) €30-40m
4) Eden Hazard (21, Lille) €27-35m
5) Jack Wilshere (20, Arsenal) €22-30m
6) Thiago Alcentara (20, Barcelona) €20-30m
7) Yann M'Vila (21, Rennes) €20-25m
8) Phil Jones (20, Manchester United) €18-25m
9) David de Gea (21, Manchester United) €16-20m
10) Alan Dzagoev (21, CSKA Moscow) €16-20m
11) Jack Rodwell (20, Everton) €16-20m
12) Iker Munain (20, Athletic Bilbao) €15-22m
13) Romelu Lukaku (18, Chelsea) €15-20m
14) Jordan Henderson (21, Liverpool) €15-18m
15) Andrew Schurrle (21, Bayer Leverkusen) €14-18m
16) Bojan Kirkic (21, Roma) €13.5-18m
17) James Rodriguez (20, FC Porto) €13-20m
18) Erik Lamela (19, Roma) €13-20m
19) Christian Eriksen (20, Ajax) €13-20m
20) Danny Welbeck (21, Manchester United) €13-18m
21) Kyle Walker (21, Tottenham) €13-18m
22) Xherdan Shaqiri (20, FC Basel) €12.5-18m
23) Douglas Costa (21, Shakhtar Donetsk) €12-16m
24) Wojciech Szczesny (21, Arsenal) €12-15m
25) Aaron Ramsey (21, Arsenal) €11-16m
26) Miralem Pjanic (21, Roma) €10.5-16m
27) Danilo (20, FC Porto) €10-18m
28) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (18, Arsenal) €10-20m
29) Gaston Ramirez (21, Bologna) €19-15m
30) Lucas (19, Sao Paulo) €10-17m
Putting aside exactly in what context these players are 'valuable' overall it is a commendable attempt with a good range of nationalities and leagues represented however the inclusion of several players is questionable to say the least - Rodwell? Lukaku? Henderson?
Serie A was not accurately represented so in order to redress the balance and identify the players who have actually had a significant impact in Serie A this season as opposed to the impostor Bojan below is a list of the best young players in Serie A, aged 21 and under. I have listed the players parent club and valuations are based on either rumoured transfer fees or my own valuation.
1. Stephen El Shaarawy. Milan & Italy. Forward. 19. Value €20 million. Similar to Allesandro Del Piero
2. Gaston Ramirez. Bologna & Uruguay. Midfielder. 21. Value €15 million. Similar to Steven Gerrard
3. Luis Muriel. Udinese & Colombia. Forward. 20. Value €10-15 million. Similar to Alexis Sanchez
4. Victor Ibarbo. Cagliari & Colombia. Forward. 21. Value €10+ million. Similar to Faustino Asprilla & The Incredible Hulk (the super hero not Porto striker)
5. Mattia Destro. Genoa & Italy. Forward. 20. Value €8 million. Similar to Alessandro Matri
6. Fabio Borini. Parma & Italy. Forward. 20. Value €10+ million. Similar to Hernan Crespo