Does spending £60m on a young player pay off in the Premier League?

Liverpool paid £60m for the 20-year-old defender Jérémy Jacquet. Previous deals in the league suggest it is a risk

By WhoScored

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s Premier League teams get younger and transfer fees get bigger, we are seeing players with little experience commanding huge prices. Jérémy Jacquet’s £60m move to Liverpool makes him the fourth most expensive player aged 20 or younger in Premier League history. Spending so much money for a defender with just 36 appearances in France’s top flight looks like a risk, but how have players Jacquet’s age fared after big moves?

Few clubs beat Real Madrid in a transfer battle for a young player, but Manchester United did just that in the summer of 2024, when they signed 18-year-old Leny Yoro. Born in Paris in 2005, Yoro joined Lille’s academy in 2017 and made his Ligue 1 debut as a 16-year-old, becoming their second youngest ever player. He established himself as a regular in the 2023-24 season and, after just 46 league appearances, moved to Manchester United for £52.2m, making him one of the most expensive teenagers in history.