Premier League market values: Haaland knocks Mbappé off his throne

Foden breaks €100m mark 

The market value update in the Premier League, in which all players were reassessed ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, provides a novelty. For the first time in the history of Transfermarkt market values, which have been determined since 2004, the English top flight has the most valuable footballer in the world in its ranks: Erling Haaland has replaced Kylian Mbappé. Almost as impressive as Manchester City’s 22-year-old star striker, things are also going well for Arsenal, who register the biggest increase in squad value, while there are 14 devaluations at struggling Liverpool.

Haaland, who joined Man City from Borussia Dortmund for €60 million via an exit clause in the summer, has seen his market value rise from €150m to €170m after a rousing start, overtaking PSG’s Mbappé (€160m) as the most valuable player on the planet. Since 2004, that title had been held by Ronaldinho (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Neymar (PSG) and Mbappé (PSG). Now, Haaland, the Premier League’s MVP, joins the group.

Premier League update: Haaland and Foden are the most valuable players

“Should Haaland stay clear of injuries and be able to maintain his form at least to some extent, he will go even higher in the future,” Daniel Busch, Area Manager Transfermarkt UK, said. “A rumoured €200 million exit clause, which reportedly can be triggered by foreign clubs in the summer of 2024, already seems too low from Man City’s point of view.” There is also a €20m upgrade for Phil Foden, who links up well with Haaland and, with a market value of €110m now, is not only the most valuable English footballer, but also the second most valuable player in the league.

The third place also goes to another Englishman in 21-year-old Bukayo Saka. Arsenal’s homegrown youngster makes a €20m jump to €90m, as does his attacking partner Gabriel Martinelli (+€20m to €60m). The Gunners have also completed a trio of biggest market value winners as Gabriel Jesus (+€10m to €75m) also joins in the success, who at age 25 is already the veteran in head coach Mikel Arteta’s young attack. The league leaders gain €83.5m in squad value, rising to €749m and thus surpassing north London rivals Tottenham (-€7.5m to €677.8m).

“While young stars Saka and Martinelli performed with tremendous consistency and increased their productivity once again, Jesus is finally getting regular starts in the Premier League,” Busch said. “Arguably the best pressing striker in the league repays the trust with strong performances and 11 goal contributions in 12 league games.”

Sancho biggest market value loser – Devaluations for 14 Liverpool players

In terms of goal involvements, Jadon Sancho continues to fall short of expectations in his second season at Manchester United. As a result, the 22-year-old winger, who had a peak value of €130m in his Borussia Dortmund days, drops for the fifth time since his transfer back to England. The devaluation from €75m to €60m makes him the biggest market value loser in the league.

“While the arrival of Antony from Ajax was supposed to take the pressure off Sancho in creating chances, he has instead tumbled down the pecking order, where he now sits behind club favourite Marcus Rashford (-€5m to €55m) and academy forward Anthony Elanga,” Stefan Bienkowski, Content Manager for Transfermarkt UK, said. “The England international is still struggling to come to terms with the fact that he won’t hog as much of the ball as he once did in the Bundesliga, nor does he have full-backs like Achraf Hakimi or Raphaël Guerreiro bombing past him to create space and players to pass to. The talent that worked so well in Germany is still struggling to figure out how to work well in the Premier League.”

Sancho is one of twelve Man Utd players who could not maintain their market value. Overall, Erik ten Hag’s team is down €41.7m to €750.6m in terms of squad value. The devaluation at Liverpool (€867m) is even bigger, with a drop of €58m. The most notable players to see their market values drop are Mohamed Salah (-€10m to €80m), Andrew Robertson (-€10m to €55m), Fabinho (-€5m to €55m), Virgil van Dijk (-€5m to €50m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (-€10m to €70m).

James level with Alexander-Arnold – Brighton players on the up

“Still without an assist in the Premier League and also continuing to struggle defensively in an out-of-form Liverpool side, partly due to Jürgen Klopp’s risky system, Alexander-Arnold’s market value continues to plummet,” Busch said. “The England right-back is now on a par with Chelsea’s Reece James, who can improve to €70m and stands a good chance of overtaking TAA soon after returning from a knee injury.”

Brighton’s players may not rise to these market value tiers just yet, but the update saw four of the Seagulls’ top performers break the €30m mark: winger Leandro Trossard (+€5m to €30m), midfielder Alexis Mac Allister (+€7m to €32m), goalkeeper Robert Sánchez (+€7m to €32m) and 20-year-old midfield talent Moisés Caicedo (+€13m to €38m).

“Despite the departures of Marc Cucurella, Yves Bissouma (-€3m to €32m) and head coach Graham Potter, Brighton continue to play attractive football and finally got back on track in terms of results with a 4-1 win over Potter’s new club Chelsea,” Busch said. “While Spanish national team goalkeeper Sánchez was already loosely linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer – there was talk of a transfer fee of over £50m – other top performers such as Mac Allister, Trossard and Caicedo are also being linked with top clubs. The latter in particular has enormous potential and could rise further after a successful World Cup with Ecuador and a good start to 2023.”

How Transfermarkt market values work

The Transfermarkt market values are calculated, taking into account various pricing models. A major factor is the Transfermarkt community, whose members discuss and evaluate player market values in detail. In general, the Transfermarkt market values are not to be equated with transfer fees. 

The goal is not to predict a price but an expected value of a player in a free market. Both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant in determining market values. Examples of this are listed below. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (you can find the detailed market value definition here).

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