As clubs continue to scour the globe in search of the next footballing superstar by targeting promising young talents, we pose the question – who are the youngest recruiters within Europe’s top five leagues?
Football clubs’ transfer strategies constantly chop and change, especially in the modern era where money isn’t an object to the majority of those at the top, but one thing that has remained consistent is the focus on youth development.
Whether that be through developing their academy system or by signing the best young stars on the planet, scouts are constantly on the hunt for the next Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Kylian Mbappe.
A prime example of this is Borussia Dortmund, who have unearthed some of the world’s best young talents in recent years in Real Madrid‘s Jude Bellingham and Manchester City‘s Erling Haaland.
But which clubs are the youngest recruiters across Europe’s top five leagues? Read on as we at SportsLens unveil the top 10, based on the average age of players at the time of recruitment to the first team over the last 10 transfer windows (since July 2019), courtesy of the CIES Football Observatory.
The Youngest Recruiters Across Europe’s Top 5 Leagues
10. Bologna (Serie A)
Coming in at 10th place is Serie A side Bologna, whose recruitments across the last five years boast an average age of 23.24 at the time of signing, a 2.72 drop from the average of 25.96 in the five years prior between July 2014 and June 2019.
Currently occupying fourth place in the Italian top flight table, Thiago Motta’s side are primed for Champions League qualification for just the second time in their history, with the last being in 1964/65.
With an average squad age of 24.9, they have the third youngest set of players among Serie A clubs and are clearly a side on the up based on their current league position, coupled with an exciting young manager.
They possess impressive young talents such as Joshua Zirkzee (22), Riccardo Calafiori (21), and Giovanni Fabbian (21) among their ranks, who have all been linked with moves to elite European sides in recent months.
Recent acquisitions that were under the age of 23 at the time of signing include Santiago Castro, Dan Ndoye, Fabbian, Calafiori, Oussama El Azzouzi, Victor Kristiansen, Zirkzee, Arthur Theate, Lewis Ferguson, Joaquin Sosa, and Matteo Angeli.
9. Chelsea (Premier League)
Big spending Premier League strugglers Chelsea are in ninth place on our list, signing players with an average age of 23.24 across the last five years. Like Bologna, they have ensured a drop in the average age from the five years before, down 1.37 from 24.59.
Despite spending hundreds of millions on lowering this number, in an attempt to land the next global superstar no doubt, they haven’t been able to improve their position in the league table.
A third-place finish in 2021/22 was followed by a shocking 12th-place finish in 2022/23, coinciding with Todd Boehly’s arrival as co-owner and chairman, and they look set to either match that or slightly better it this term based on their current position in 12th place.
With that being said though, the Blues do have the youngest squad on average throughout the entire Premier League at an age of 23.7. This includes the likes of Enzo Fernandez (23), Cole Palmer (21), and Levi Colwill (21), who have all shown huge promise at Stamford Bridge, irrespective of the club’s struggles as of late.
8. Strasbourg (Ligue 1)
French outfit Strasbourg are next up, whose average age of signings at the time of recruitment since July 2019 is 23.19. Once again, this is a drop from the average age of players signed during the penultimate five-year period, 2.83 lower from 26.02.
Now managed by ex-Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira, Le Racing have had a topsy-turvy few years in Ligue 1, finishing 10th, 15th, 6th, and 15th across the last four seasons and currently occupy 12th place.
Amid their inconsistent finishes in the league, Strasbourg have continued to rely on signing up and coming young talents both permanently and on loan, and currently possess the second youngest squad in the league, with an average age of 24.
Some of the more notable youngsters that have signed with the team in recent years include Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, now of Wolves, as well as Andrey Santos and Angelo, both on loan from Chelsea this season.
7. Stade de Reims (Ligue 1)
Another Ligue 1 side in Stade de Reims comes in at seventh place, registering an average age at recruitment of 23.09 over the last five years. They have also experienced a drop in this average in comparison with the previous five years, down 1.77 from 24.86.
Like Strasbourg, Reims have had incredibly inconsistent seasons in the French top flight, with 6th, 14th, 12th, and 11th place finishes in the last four seasons, while they currently find themselves in 9th place with seven league games remaining in 2023/24.
The 6th place finish in 2019/20 secured the club European qualification for the first time since the 1962/63 European Cup, as they took part in the 2020/21 edition of the Europa League, in which they were eliminated during the qualifying stage.
Meanwhile, off the field, the club has remained committed to signing talented, promising youngsters, even more so under their current coach, Will Still, who is only 31 years old himself.
Wout Faes of Leicester City, Jens Cajuste of Napoli, and Folarin Balogun of Monaco, along with Amir Richardson and Mohamed Daramy, who are still with the club, are some of the more successful young signings the club has made across the five-year period.
7. RB Leipzig (Bundesliga)
The inclusion of Bundesliga side RB Leipzig won’t be a surprise to many, as they hold the seventh-lowest average age in terms of new signings across the last 10 transfer windows, alongside Reims with 23.09.
Unlike any other side in our top 10 however, their average age at recruitment has actually increased by 1.23 in comparison to the five years prior, as their average previously sat at an impressive 21.86.
A regular feature in the Champions League, the Red Bull strategy has long been to sign promising youngsters from all around the globe before selling them on for a huge chunk of profit.
Dani Olmo, Christopher Nkunku, Ademola Lookman, Dominik Szoboszlai, Justin Kluivert, Josko Gvardiol, Mohamed Simakan, Brian Brobbey, Lois Openda, Benjamin Sesko, Xavi Simons, and Fabio Carvalho are all among the under-23 talents that have landed at the Red Bull Arena in recent seasons.
Many of these, such as Nkunku and Gvardiol, have gone on to make big money moves to the Premier League, while the likes of Openda, Sesko, and the on-loan Simons have been tipped to go on to have long, successful careers at the top level of the game.
5. Brighton (Premier League)
Fifth place in our list of the youngest recruiters across Europe’s top five leagues is another Premier League club in Brighton, who have a knack for identifying hidden gems and post an average age at recruitment of 23.04.
This average has been shortened by an impressive 3.37, down from 26.41 over the last five years in comparison with the previous five, which coincides with the club’s rise in England as well as their first ever qualification for a European competition.
Since 2019, Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo, and Marc Cucurella, all under 23 at the time of signing, have since been sold for major profits to other Premier League sides, while academy graduates Ben White and Robert Sanchez have also left for large fees.
There looks to be more from what that came from too, as Evan Ferguson, Julio Enciso, Simon Adingra, Billy Gilmour, Valentin Barco, Joao Pedro, and Carlos Baleba all look to be stars for the future, with many already being touted for big money moves to some of Europe’s elite.
Rather surprisingly though, Roberto De Zerbi’s side registers only the eighth lowest average squad age throughout the English top flight with 25.6, as they currently occupy ninth place heading into the final stages of the season.
Enjoy Evan’s hat-trick in all its glory! ⚽️⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/sqaTqlmlAd
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) September 2, 2023
4. Stuttgart (Bundesliga)
The first of two Bundesliga clubs that feature in our top five, coming in at fourth place, is Stuttgart. Die Roten‘s average age at recruitment over the last 10 transfer windows comes close to breaking the 23 mark, but not quite at 23.03.
This is the lowest decrease in average from the previous five-year spell on the list thus far, as they have dropped down 1.15 years from 24.18.
Stuttgart were promoted from the second tier of German football in 2019/20 and have since remained in the top flight with 9th, 15th, and 16th place finishes, narrowly avoiding relegation last term, but now find themselves four points clear of Borussia Dortmund in third place and are set to qualify for the Champions League.
It’ll be the first time that the club has qualified for Europe’s premier competition since the 2009/10 season, thanks to a squad that is currently the youngest in the Bundesliga on average, aged 24.6.
Several youngsters have joined the club over the last five years and have gone on to play for sides playing in European competitions and in the Premier League, including Gregor Kobel, Naouirou Ahamada, and Konstantinos Mavropanos.
3. Wolfsburg (Bundesliga)
Kicking off the top three is another Bundesliga side, Wolfsburg. Struggling near the bottom of the German top flight table this term, Die Wölfe are the first side to break the 23 mark on the list, with the average age of their signings since July 2019 coming to 22.92, a 1.93 decrease from 24.85 across the five years prior.
Wolfsburg are second to Stuttgart in terms of overall average squad age, with their 28 players coming to an average of 24.9, which is a slight increase from the 24.5 in 2022/23.
Xaver Schlager, Ridle Baku, Maxence Lacroix, Felix Nmecha, Lukas Nmecha, Micky van de Ven, Jonas Wind, Patrick Wimmer, and Tiago Tomas are all some of their successful under-23 signings across the last five years, with many moving on to play at a higher level after being sold on for a profit.
2. Liverpool (Premier League)
In second place, and leading the way in terms of Premier League sides, are English top-flight title challengers Liverpool. The Reds have posted an average age within our criteria of 22.84 over the last five years and are perhaps the most consistent club in signing youngsters over a 10-year period, given that this is just a 0.81 decrease from the 23.65 average recorded during the previous five years.
Jurgen Klopp, who departs at the end of the season, has been famed for developing young talents at Anfield, which has been particularly evident this season through the opportunities handed to academy youngsters amid their squad being ravaged by injuries for large parts of the campaign.
Across the last five seasons, all of Diogo Jota, Harvey Elliott, Ibrahima Konate, Fabio Carvalho, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai have been signed as under-23 players, with the majority going on to become regular features within the Reds’ first team.
Of course, this is all within an incredibly successful spell for the Merseyside club, as during this time they have won the Premier League, Club World Cup, Super Cup, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup, as they continue to emphasise the importance of youth development.
1. Athletic Club (La Liga)
And finally, at the top of the list is La Liga outfit Athletic Club (21.90). The Basque-based side is unique in that they have made very few signings across the five-year period, which is due to its cantera policy to only sign players native to or trained in the greater Basque Country.
They have made just one signing that has involved a transfer fee within the five-year timeframe, when 25-year-old Alex Berenguer joined from Serie A side Torino back in 2020/21.
Since then, they have only signed Ander Herrera, Gorka Guruzeta, Inigo Ruiz, Alex Petxa, and Javier Marton, which were all completed on free transfers.
These signings, along with the players that have been promoted directly from their youth academy during this time, have contributed to an impressive 4.11 decrease in the average age of their signings from the five years prior, which was set at 26.01.
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