161 players updated 

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The Jupiler Pro League remains an interesting market for Europe’s top leagues, and on Wednesday Transfermarkt updated the market values of 161 players in Belgium’s top division. The most valuable player remains Club Brugge’s Andreas Skov Olsen, with a market value of €18m. But while Olsen remains unchanged, there is movement behind the Danish winger, as his teammate Raphael Onyedika is the biggest winner of the market value update. 

“Onyedika has developed from a no.6 to a real playmaker,” Transfermarkt Area Manager Belgium Bart Tamsyn said. “Dortmund head coach Nuri Sahin made a big point of targeting Onyedika in their Champions League game, and despite this, he was unstoppable. While former coach Ronny Deila sometimes overlooked him a bit, current coach Nicky Hayen has allowed him to unleash his full potential. Brugge even turned down a €20m offer from Galatasaray last summer, and he is now a regular member of Nigeria’s national team.” Considering that, the +€6m upgrade to now €16m for Onyedika was more than justified.  

As a result of his upgrade, Onyedika moved ahead of the previously second most valuable player, Kévin Denkey, from city rivals Cercle. Denkey’s market value dropped by €2m to €14m. “Denkey fits in the same bracket as Anders Dreyer, Kasper Dolberg (both Anderlecht), Jean Butez (Royal Antwerp), and Arnaud Bodart (Standard Liège),” Tamsyn said. “All five were available on the market this summer, but their clubs couldn’t sell them. We, therefore, concluded that their market value was too high, and that’s why we decided to downgrade all four by €2m—in Dreyer’s case, €3m. On top of that, Denkey’s poor form to start the season has been cited as one of the reasons Cercle have struggled this season.” Denkey has scored just three goals in 13 games this season, as Cercle are sitting deep in the relegation zone. 

Brugge and Genk with biggest upgrades – Top talent Vuskovic on the up

Among the players with significant upgrades is also 17-year-old KVC Westerlo defender Luka Vuskovic. On loan from Tottenham, Vuskovic saw his market value adjusted by €1m to now €8m. “Vuskovic immediately became a key player in Westerlo’s defense, and the only time he was taken off early this season was due to an injury,” Tamsyn said about the young Tottenham defender. “On top of that, Vuskovic has already scored twice and provided two assists.” 

Belgium’s biggest market value winners play for Club Brugge and KRC Genk. Onyedika’s teammates Maxim De Cuyper and Joel Ordóñez are up by €3m each to €12m and €9m respectively. At Genk, goalkeeper Mike Penders, who was signed by Chelsea for €20m and then loaned back, saw his market value increase by €4m to now €4m. Sixteen-year-old top talent Konstantinos Karetsas and his 22-year-old teammate Jarne Steuckers saw their market values increase to €7m—for both an upgrade by €3m. 

Brugge and Genk are also the two clubs with the most considerable squad value increase. With a rise of €14.45m, Brugge have solidified their top position in the Jupiler Pro League with an overall squad value of €151.7m. The only team with an even more significant squad value increase is KRC Genk, with a rise of €21.7m to €95.3m, the third-highest squad value in the league. Of the 16 teams in the Jupiler Pro League, only RSC Anderlecht (-€6.6m) saw their squad value decrease. “Seven of the ten most valuable players left the league in the last transfer window,” Tamsyn said. “That means some players previously not in the spotlight now had a chance to be more recognized.”

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).