FIFA U20 World Cup: Who are the most valuable teenagers in the world?

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 14 May 2023 07:42 BST
• 3 min read

The FIFA Under-20 World Cup gets underway in Argentina on 20 May, and while the competition with showcases some of the brightest talents that the world has to offer, there will be many notable players unavailable.

Among those who will miss out are stars from Manchester United and Chelsea.

Alejandro Garnacho of Man Utd is arguably the most high-profile star who will miss the competition, while Chelsea have blocked Lewis Hall and Malo Gusto from the tournament, which falls outside FIFA’s international windows, giving the opportunity for clubs to deny their players the opportunity to feature.

Another high-profile Englishman to miss out is Juventus’ Samuel Iling-Junior.

France, meanwhile, will be stripped of many of their best players, with Warren Zaire-Emery, Elye Wahi, Malo Gusto, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Mathys Tel – nearly €100 million worth of talent.

The most valuable teenage footballers in the world

Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund stands clear along with Barcelona star Gavi as the most valuable teenager in the world at present.

Bellingham, who looks primed to move to Real Madrid in the summer, is valued by FootballTransfers’ algorithm at €100m, while Gavi at €96.3m

Beyond this pair, there is a large gap back to Benfica’s Antonio Tavares, who has seen his valuation quickly rise since the start of the year. In January, the centre-back was worth slightly under €10m but he is now rated closer to €40m.

Another Dortmund player in the form of striker Youssoufa Moukoko appears in the top five at €31.7m.

Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) explained

Our Player Valuation Model calculates an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) for more than 240.000 players in the world.

Read more here.

Our Player Valuation Model calculates an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) for more than 240.000 players in the world. It uses information on the player's skill, potential, performance, contract duration, position and other statistics to estimate an accurate ETV.

Read more here.

First of a trio of Frenchmen is tireless Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Lucas Gourna-Douath, with Chelsea’s Malo Gusto and Real Sociedad’s Mohamed-Ali Cho also making the top 10.

Two Italians appear in the form of Leeds’ forward Wilfried Gnonto and Giorgio Scalvini with the top 10 rounded out by Santos prodigy Angelo Gabriel.