Three young Nigerian internationals have made the list of 100 Most Valuable U21 Players in Europe.
Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi
Nigerian internationals, Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho have been listed among the 100 most valuable U21 players in Europe’s top five leagues.
The rating was released by
CIES Football Observatory which ranked the players based on increases in their transfer value. The list is led by Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe valued at a whopping (€182.8m).
Nigeria and Leicester City midfielder, Ndidi is ranked 11th in the list - the highest in Africa - after seeing his value surge by 33% to €64.8m. Alex Iwobi of Arsenal is ranked 34th and valued at €31.5m. Iwobi from Nigeria is the only Arsenal player on the list.
Wilfred Ndidi
Kelechi Iheanacho, also from Nigeria whose value declined 13% to €19.4m is ranked 56th.
Other players of Nigerian descent on the list are second placed Dele Alli (€180.2m); Tammy Abraham (25th, €39.7m); Ademola Lookman (71st, €14.7m); Jordon Ibe (86th, €1.7m) and Dominic Solanke (55th, €19.7m). Solanke’s value rose 149% in three months!
Premier League players continue to dominate the top 10 with Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus, Manchester United forward Anthony Martial and Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez all present.
Real Madrid winger and Champions League final goalscorer Marco Asensio comes in at 14th.