Raheem Sterling has dominated media headlines on and off for a while now, with the England international heavily linked with a £50m move to Manchester City (via the Daily Star).
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That obviously puts him right up there among the most expensive young players in the world, and he is joined by two Liverpool teammates in a recent study by Soccerex.
The study takes into account a number of factors, including player position, market value perception, age, and contract length.
Below are the top 20 most valuable youngsters in football:
20) Hector Bellerin – Arsenal – €14.829m
The Spaniard had his breakout season at Arsenal in 2014/15, and looks like a really promising attacking right-back.
19) Calum Chambers – Arsenal – €15.058m
Arsenal arguably overpaid for Chambers somewhat when they signed him from Southampton, but English players come with a Premium nowadays.
18) Divock Origi – Liverpool – €15.261m
The Belgian has been on our books since the World Cup, but is yet to make an appearance for us due to his loan spell in France. We will finally get to see what he’s capable of this season, and he looks like a real star of the future.
The way he’s been used for Lille suggests he is more than capable of playing as a lone striker or a winger, meaning he could fulfil two roles in the 4-3-3 we expect Brendan Rodgers to favour next term. He’s rapid, has technical ability and outstanding physicality – so with the right guidance – Origi could develop into a seriously valuable asset for us.
17) Anthony Martial – AS Monaco – €15.848m
The young striker has been making the headlines in Ligue 1, and is definitely one to keep an eye on.
16) John Stones – Everton – €16.850m
Stones has already featured for England, and has been used both as a right-back and a centre-back.
15) Emre Can – Liverpool – €17.026m
The German star has looked like one of our best signings in a while, and was superb in his debut season at Anfield.
He looks likely in 2015/16 to move more permanently into midfield, a position he has looked increasingly comfortable in. There is going to be a gap left in our midfield next season due to Steven Gerrard’s exit, but Can can go a long way towards filling it.
The 21-year-old powerhouse has all the attributes to become anything he wants to be, because he combines strength and desire with unteachable talent.
14) Anderson Talisca – Benfica – €19.091m
The versatile youngster has impressed hugely in Portugal, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him make a big money move – as Portuguese clubs often offload their brightest stars.
13) Aleksandar Mitrovic – Anderlecht – €18.129m
Anderlecht are known for nurturing youth, and 20-year-old striker Mitrovic is testament to that. He made the switch from Partizan Belgrade in 2013, and has been fantastic for the Belgian side ever since.
12) Youri Tielemans – Anderlecht – €19.392m
Another Anderlecht star, Tielemans has been at the club his whole career. At just 18-years-old, he has an incredibly bright future ahead of him.
11) Kurt Zouma – Chelsea – €22.726m
The Chelsea centre-back has been slowly integrated into the side recently, and has been solid when given the chance. It’ll be interesting to see whether Jose Mourinho favours him over Gary Cahill next term.
10) Aymeric Laporte – Athletic Bilbao – €23.956m
The Frenchman is a top quality centre-back, and is arguably one of the most promising young talents in football. Technically he’s perfect, and his physical defensive attributes will improve with age.
9) Luke Shaw – Manchester United – €25.390m
United paid a huge amount for the former Southampton man and it’s great to see that he’s so far been an outrageous flop.
8) Jose Luis Gaya – Valencia – €25.873m
Gaya is one of the most highly rated young left-backs in the game, and it’s difficult to see him remaining at Valencia for too much longer.
7) Mateo Kovacic – Inter Milan – €26.137m
A player that has been heavily linked with us recently (via Sky Sports), Kovacic is already a top quality midfielder for the Italians. We wouldn’t mind if we went back in for him before the end of the summer window.
6) Hakan Calhanoglu – Bayer Leverkusen – €27.431m
Arguably the best free-kick specialist in football, the young midfielder lit up the Bundesliga last season.
5) Jose Gimenez – Atletico Madrid – €30.205m
The highly rated Uruguayan centre-back was on display in the Copa America. His emergence for Atletico last term meant the 2013/14 champions were happy to sell the excellent Miranda to Inter Milan.
4) Domenico Berardi – Sassuolo – €30.521m
Berardi’s career is a modern day fairytale, with the youngster spotted as a teen after being invited to play with his older brother’s university team (via the Daily Mail), and going on to become a professional. He bags goals for fun for the Serie A minnows.
3) Memphis Depay – Manchester United – €33.640m
Manchester United’s big money summer signing, Depay will have to prove himself in the Premier League this upcoming season. Angel di Maria’s 2014/15 failure shows it won’t be easy – especially alongside a donkey like Marouane Fellaini in attacking midfield.
2) Marquinhos – Paris Saint-Germain – €39.768m
The Brazilian defender is one of the most expensive defenders in football (via Eurosport), and the fact that he made the move when he was 19-years-old makes it all the more impressive. Destined for greatness.
1) Raheem Sterling – Liverpool – €49.295m
Sterling has been linked with a massive £50m move to Manchester City (via the Daily Star), and as the most valuable young player in the world, we should make sure we get the highest fee possible.
He has frustrated the majority of fans with his actions, but he is unquestionably a talented footballer. If he doesn’t want to be at the club then so be it, but we shouldn’t be letting him go cheaply – and luckily – we’re unlikely to.