Raheem Sterling: Liverpool winger 'is most valuable young player'

Raheem Sterling has made 129 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 23 goals, and has 16 England caps

Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling is the most valuable young player in Europe, a new study claims.

Sterling, the subject of a failed £40m bid from Manchester City, has been given a weighted value of £35m by the Soccerex 20 Football Value Index.

Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw is ranked ninth, Everton's John Stones 16th and Arsenal's Calum Chambers 19th.

The study analyses players of all nationalities aged under 21 and playing in Europe.

It determines their value based on their age, position, club, contract length, market value perception, international caps, minutes played, goals, injuries and technical quality.

"Combining all the factors, we came up with Sterling as the most valuable," the study's author Esteve Calzada said.

Paris St-Germain's Brazilian defender Marquinhos is ranked second at £27.8m with Manchester United new boy Memphis Depay - signed for £31m - third at £23.8m.

Calzada says the Football Association rule that Premier League clubs must have eight home-grown players in their squads makes English players more expensive.

England's total of four representatives on the list is more than any other nation, while nine of the top 20 will be playing in the Premier League next season.

"That shows the strength of the competition," Calzada added.

"We are used to seeing high-value domestic-only transfers in the UK. This is just another way to prove that."