Hello all, and welcome to the blog. For some, the Summer 2013 transfer window, featuring transfers such as Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a then world record fee and Neymar to Barcelona, feels like yesterday. However, nearly 10 whole years have passed since that window, and being young player themed on this blog, I’m rating transfers from that summer, but with a twist. The 10 most high profile U18 Transfers will be ranked, not the most high profile from all age ranges. So with that said, let’s get into the ranking.
Before we begin, I would like to point out that Junior Malanda takes up 2 spots on this list due to his Wolfsburg transfer and subsequent loaning back to Zulte Waregem. However, due to his tragic passing in 2015 at the age of 20, I won’t be ranking him, as it just doesn’t feel right. His places will be replaced by Nathan Chalobah’s loan to Nottingham Forest and Bruno Fernandes’ loan to Udinese. Again, Rest in Peace, Junior Malanda.
#10: Stefan Simic
Transfer: Genoa -> AC Milan (10m)
Current Club: Hajduk Split
AC Milan Appearances: 1
Net Profit: -10m
Most of the transfers in this list were pretty good, but this was catastrophically bad. Spending 10 million Euros on an 18-year-old Czech Center Back who hadn’t even made his first senior appearance is always a risk, and it certainly didn’t pay off. He had a market value of only 125k at the time as well, and he went on loan to Serie B side Varese a year after his signing.
A year after his loan spell ended and after no appearances, with the senior side or B-team, he went on loan to Belgium. After that season he went on loan to Crotone and played 10 matches during his time there. He stayed with Milan in the first half of 18-19 where he made his one and only appearance, 90 minutes against F91 Dudelange, a team from Luxembourg, and he still conceded 2 in a 5-2 win. In January, he was loaned to Frosinone for the rest of the season before leaving in the summer to Hajduk Split in Croatia on a free.
#9: Nathaniel Chalobah
Transfer: Chelsea -> Nottingham Forest (Loan)
Current Club: West Brom
Nottingham Forest Appearances: 12
Net Profit: 0m
Maybe this one shouldn’t be on the list, but it was either him or Alessandro Capello, so I chose Chalobah. The English CDM born in Sierra Leone was a prodigy from a young age at Stamford Bridge, but instead of nurturing him through the youth teams and occasionally playing him for the senior team, at only 17 he became part of the loan army, being loaned to Watford. This particular move was for 6 months to Nottingham Forest, where he played 12 times, scored twice, and went back to Chelsea in January 2014 for him to be moved to Middlesbrough this time, for the rest of the season. Not really anything to talk about, this move. Moving on.
#8: Tin Jedvaj
Transfer: Dinamo Zagreb -> AS Roma (5m)
Current Club: Al Ain (Loan from Lokomotiv Moscow)
AS Roma Appearances: 2
Net Profit: 2m
When I think of Tin Jedvaj, I don’t think of very much admittedly, but certainly not Roma. However, that was the move that should have kick-started his career. However, as you can see, with only 2 appearances for the club, it didn’t. He played 7 times for the B-Team and twice in Serie A, 97 minutes of senior football in total, before moving to Bayer Leverkusen on loan the following summer, which would be made permanent for 7 million Euros. At least they made a profit.
#7: Angelino
Transfer: Deportivo Coruna -> Man City (4.5m)
Current Club: Hoffenheim (Loan from RB Leipzig)
Man City appearances: 3 (In first spell, 15 total)
Net Profit: 1m (From his first spell, 7m total)
While Angelino is a good player today, we’re ranking the individual moves, not the players. Angelino had 2 separate spells at City, the first one only interrupted by a loan at NYCFC, and he only played 3 times before moving to PSV for 5.5m. City triggered a buyback clause for 12m the following summer after his value more than quintupled. Then, after 12 more appearances in half a season, he went to RB Leipzig on an 18-month loan, and his buy option was triggered by the German side for 18 million euros.
#6: Bruma
Transfer: Sporting -> Galatasaray (13m)
Current Club: Braga (Loan from Fenerbahçe)
Galatasaray Appearances: 85
Net Profit: 2m
Bruma was the biggest wonderkid we’ll be covering today, and the Portuguese’s move to Galatasaray was a puzzling one. Instead of staying at Sporting for a few years, Bruma decided to publicly quit the club. Despite Chelsea’s interest, Galatasaray was the destination for Bruma, and it wasn’t the right choice. Despite 85 appearances, Bruma went out on two loan spells during his time with Galatasaray, to Gaziantepspor and Real Sociedad respectively, before leaving for 15m to RB Leipzig, where he’s had a new team every season.
#5: Bruno Fernandes
Transfer: Novara -> Udinese (2.5m)
Current Club: Manchester Utd
Udinese Appearances: 95
Net Profit: 3.5m
To people who haven’t followed Bruno Fernandes’ career very closely, it may come as a surprise that he played in Italy for 5 years. The Udinese transfer was a critical one, too. Fernandes played for 3 seasons at the club, 95 appearances in total, and scored 11 times with 13 assists, before leaving for Sampdoria in 2017 after a year on loan (who sold him to Sporting the very next day). Very solid transfer.
#4: Benjamin Mendy
Transfer: Le Havre -> Marseille (4m)
Current Club: Man City (Suspended since 2021-22)
Marseille Appearances: 101
Net Profit: 9m
*Ahem*. I know the Elephant in the room, and I’m not commenting on the situation, but technically he does qualify for this list and I do have to rank him. Mendy did well at Marseille, being a centurion, which isn’t too shabby for 4 million, and moved to Monaco for 13 million a few years later. Let’s move on.
#3: Aleksandar Mitrovic
Transfer: Partizan -> Anderlecht (5m)
Current Club: Fulham
Anderlecht Appearances: 90
Net Profit: 13.5m
I know, I know. Mitrovic above the players we’ve already had in this list, that’s madness! However, we are ranking how the players did at their clubs, not overall. Mitrovic played 90 times over 2 years, scoring just under once every 2 games, adding 11 assists. When he did leave the club for Newcastle for 18 million, getting Anderlecht a 13.5 million euro profit.
#2: Anthony Martial
Transfer: Lyon -> Monaco (5m)
Current Club: Manchester Utd
Monaco Appearances: 70
Net Profit: 55m
If the profits weren’t so massive, Anthony Martial would be much lower on this list, but he made the most money after his sale by far on this list, being sold for 60 million euros to Manchester United in 2015. For Monaco though, he played 70 times over 2 seasons and scored 15 goals, not too bad to be fair. However, Monaco making 55 million euros from this transfer is nothing to sneeze at.
#1: Leon Goretzka
Transfer: Bochum -> Schalke (3m)
Current Club: Bayern Munich
Schalke Appearances: 147
Net Profit: -3m
Sure, Schalke are one of only 2 teams to make a loss on their transfers in this list, but Leon Goretzka was more of a club legend for Schalke than anyone else was for their respective clubs, playing 147 times in 5 years for the club. However, the one thing that put his topping of this list in doubt was the free transfer to Bayern in 2018. However, he was too good to ignore.
That’s all, ladies and gentlemen. I’ll be doing some more opinionated posts soon, but I hope you also enjoyed this one. I’m Jim James, until next time.