10 best value youngsters available in transfer market including Arsenal's Nelson
As we approach the halfway point in the January transfer window, a number of Premier League clubs still have plenty of business to do.
Some big-hitters acted early, with Liverpool swooping for Cody Gakpo, but others may leave things a little longer. Chelsea's move for Joao Felix might not be their last bit of business, while Manchester United and Arsenal could also find themselves dipping back into the market before the end of the month.
It is always a challenge for clubs to find value for money in January, which is why some prefer to do the bulk of their business in the close-season. However, there are a few players who have been identified as potentially smart bets in what could yet become a busy month for clubs around Europe.
New data from the CIES Football Observatory has attempted to identify the best value-for-money recruits by age group. To find its top 10s, it has stuck to those players whose contracts expire in the summer, and looked at the potential upside they could provide to a buying club.
The top-10 list relies on what is known as an "impact score" for the players in question. This is a combination of the sporting level of matches played during the last year, minutes played in official games, as well as playing performances.
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CIES has separated the players by age-group, with the likes of Adrien Rabiot, Youri Tielemans and Marco Asensio among the bigger names to feature. Here, though, Mirror Football has looked at those in the 24-and-under age category.
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Bournemouth's Jaidon Anthony is one of several England-based stars on the list (PA)10. Jaidon Anthony (Bournemouth)
Anthony, who turned 23 in December, could leave Bournemouth on the cheap as he enters the closing months of his contract. The winger was a regular in last season's promotion campaign, and has scored Premier League goals this season against Nottingham Forest and Everton.
9. Timur Suleymanov (Nizhny Novgorod)
Russian forward Suleymanov has been capped by his country at under-21 level, and helped Nizhny Novgorod win promotion to the top-flight in 2021. The 22-year-old from Dagestan has seven Russian Premier League goals this term plus a further two in the cup.
8. Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti (Al-Ittihad)
A 23-year-old right-back, Al-Shanqeeti already has 66 appearances under his belt in the Saudi top flight. The defender made his senior Saudi Arabia debut at the 2021 Arab Cup but missed out on a spot in his country's World Cup squad in 2022.
7. Federico Gattoni (San Lorenzo)
Federico Gattoni has captained San LorenzoCentre-back Gattoni was a regular for San Lorenzo in the 2022 season as they finished in the upper reaches of the Argentine Primera Division table, captaining the side on multiple occasions. He also played three times for the club in qualifiers for the 2021 Copa Libertadores as they lost to Santos in a play-off.
6. Ben Brereton Diaz (Blackburn)
Blackburn and Chile forward Brereton Diaz doesn't turn 24 until April, but already has more than 150 senior appearances under his belt. The former Nottingham Forest man scored a career-high 22 goals in the 2021-22 season and has 10 to his name this term.
5. Reiss Nelson (Arsenal)
Reiss Nelson is in the final few months of his Arsenal deal (PA)Arsenal academy product Nelson is rebuilding his reputation in north London after a couple of loan spells away from the club. It may come too late to extend his career with the Gunners, though, with his contract expiring in the summer.
Nelson returned to the Emirates Stadium after reaching last season's Europa Conference League final with Feyenoord, but struggled for minutes at the start of the season. In October, though, he scored his first Premier League goals in more than two years after coming off the bench to star against Nottingham Forest.
4. Facundo Colidio (Inter Milan)
Colidio joined Inter as a highly-rated teenager back in 2017, but is still waiting for his senior debut for the club. The Argentina under-20 international spent the 2022 season on loan at Tigre in his homeland, notching five goals and six assists.
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3. Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund)
Chelsea are keen on Borussia Dortmund's Youssoufa Moukoko (Martin Meissner/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Borussia Dortmund forward Moukoko could yet extend his deal with the German club. However, with interest from the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona, it's clear there are plenty who would be keen to see him playing elsewhere next term.
The forward made his Dortmund debut one day after turning 16, and brought up 50 games for the club earlier this season. Still just 18, he was part of Germany's squad for the World Cup in Qatar and featured in the defeat to Japan.
2. Omar Marmoush (Wolfsburg)
Egyptian forward Marmoush signed for Wolfsburg in 2017, when he was still in his teens. Now just a few weeks shy of his 24th birthday, he has returned from a loan at Stuttgart to play a bigger role for his parent club.
Comfortable on the left wing or in attack, the youngster has scored against Stuttgart and Borussia Monchengladbach in this season's Bundesliga. He also has two senior international goals for Egypt, and was part of the squad which reached the final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
1. Evan N'Dicka (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Evan N'Dicka played for Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2022 Europa League final (AFP via Getty Images)Number one on the list is another Bundesliga star, and another man to have been linked with the Premier League. French defender N'Dicka has been linked with Arsenal, among other clubs, after thriving in Eintracht Frankfurt colours.
The centre-back began his career with Auxerre, but has racked up more than 100 Bundesliga appearances since joining Frankfurt in his teens. A French under-21 international, he was also part of the starting XI as Oliver Glasner's team beat Rangers to win the 2021-22 Europa League.
Back in December, reports suggested Arsenal had a verbal agreement in place to bring the defender to north London at the end of his deal in Germany. Nothing has been officially announced, though, and other clubs including Roma remain in the hunt.
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