537 players updated 

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The Süper Lig becomes the latest European league updated by Transfermarkt. On Friday, 537 players in Turkey’s top division received new market values. But the headlines will be all about Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen. Exiled by Napoli after his failed transfer to Chelsea, Osimhen arrived on loan at the Istanbul club this summer and, with a market value of €100m, instantly became the most valuable player in Süper Lig history. Given the background of his transfer and the status of the Süper Lig, Osimhen received a significant downgrade in this update. 

“Osimhen is an exception in Turkish football,” Türkiye Area Manager Gökhan Yagmur said. “The striker only arrived under exceptional circumstances. Similar to Zaniolo back in the day. He wanted to leave Napoli, but the Italians expected €130m. But when top clubs like PSG and Chelsea were unable to meet Napoli’s demands, and Osimhen refused a transfer to Saudi Arabia, Gala made the most of the situation.” Galatasaray was willing to take on his salary, and Napoli agreed that Osimhen could be bought out of his loan deal for €75m. 

The €75m exit clause is the benchmark for Osimhen’s new market value. “If a club wants to buy Osimhen they have to pay €75m,” Yagmur said. “With that in mind, whether Osimhen is playing well or not is almost secondary. Hence, a downgrade was unavoidable for now. But if he stays at Galatasaray beyond the January window, then we will have to reevaluate the situation.” As suggested, the €75m market value still makes Osimhen, by a significant margin, the most valuable player in Turkey. The gap to second-placed Fenerbahce stars Sofyan Amrabat (unchanged) and Youssef En-Nesyri (+€2m) is €53m. 

Süper Lig update: Top talents Kılıçsoy and Elias Jelert upgraded 

One player with a significant upgrade is 19-year-old Besiktas forward Semih Kılıçsoy. “Although he doesn’t always start, Kılıçsoy often comes from the bench and always looks good,” Yagmur said. “But the real reason for his market value update is that he has had several offers this summer. Despite offers in the region of €18m, Besiktas refused to sell him.” With that interest in mind, Kılıçsoy saw his market value increase by 25% from €12m to now €15m. 

Another talented player to watch is 21-year-old Danish wing-back Elias Jelert. “The biggest factor in his upgrade is the transfer fee,” Yagmur said about Jelert, who saw his market value increase by 45.5% from €5.5m to €8m. Jelert has featured in just 340 minutes across nine games in all competitions for Galatasaray this season. A factor that might have slowed down his market value a bit. “The fact that he isn’t always a starter has slowed down his market value development. But he is still young, and if he can perform under pressure, Jelert’s market value could improve in the future.”

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).