Facundo Buonanotte has been one of Leicester City’s shining lights this season.
Since joining on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion the attacking midfielder has captured the hearts of Foxes fans around the world.
Buonanotte has three goals and two assists to his name which have all aided Leicester’s quest for survival.
He’s been the best player at the club so far and it’s no surprise to see that supporters are begging for his stay at the King Power Stadium to be extended into a permanent one.
But it appears that the 19-year-old isn’t going to come cheaply.
Facundo Buonanotte’s asking price revealed following excellent start to the season
Unfortunately for the Foxes, any deal is likely to be an expensive one to keep Facundo Buonanotte.
According to data analysts, the CIES Football Observatory, the Brighton loanee ranks 15th in the top 100 most valuable players in the world who are under the age of 21.
They value him at £48.4m. If Leicester were to sign him for that price he would become their record signing by some distance.
Youri Tielemans is currently ranked as the most expensive acquisition in the Foxes’ history after they paid £38.4m to turn his loan move from Monaco into a permanent one in 2019.
Two more Leicester names feature on the list
It’s not just Buonanotte who is deemed to be one of the world’s most valuable youngsters, with two more Leicester representatives featuring on the list.
Abdul Fatawu (19) and Bilal El Khannouss (21) are also among the 100 most valuable U21 players.
Fatawu is 35th and valued at £30.9m and El Khannouss ranks at 55th at £22.2m, which is £2m more than the Foxes paid for him.
It says a lot about the club’s recruitment in recent years that they continue to find young, talented players whose value increases over time before eventually being sold on for profit.
There is no greater example than Riyad Mahrez, who joined for £450k in January 2014 before being sold for £60m to Manchester City in 2018.
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