Saka overtakes Foden 

©TM/IMAGO

This Tuesday December 16, the most valuable football league in the world, the Premier League, received 529 new market values, decreasing its total value by the small sum of -€11.5 million, but still staying at a grand total of €11.75 billion. Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Arsenal teenager Ethan Nwaneri were the biggest beneficiaries, whilst second-placed Chelsea received the biggest increase in squad market value. At the other end of the scale Manchester City lost the most in market value as a club, with Manchester United and West Ham also receiving significant overall squad value downgrades. 

Palmer lays claim to the single biggest upgrade in this update, rising by +€40m to reflect his superb start to the season, taking his market value from €90m to €130m, and making the Chelsea playmaker the joint eighth most valuable player in the world. There were also significant upgrades for Rogers (+€18m to €40m), Nwaneri (+€18m to €30m), Southampton’s Tyler Dibling (+€17m to €22m), Nicolas Jackson (€15m to €55m), and Ryan Gravenberch (+€15m to €55m).

Bukayo Saka received a +€10m upgrade to take his new market value to €150m, and make the Arsenal winger the fifth most valuable player in world football, overtaking Man City’s Phil Foden in the process, who fell by -€10m to a new value of €140m. The biggest player downgrades came for Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku (-€15m to €50m) and West Ham midfielder Lucas Paquetá (-€15m to €40m).

Cole Palmer becomes Chelsea’s second most valuable player of all time

The most substantial story of the update, without doubt, is the remarkable +€40m rise of Palmer. The 22 year old has been a revelation since joining Chelsea from Man City in the summer of 2023, and has continued his incredible form this season. Palmer has 11 goals and six assists in 16 Premier League games this season – only Mohamed Salah has more direct goal contributions in the division (22). Man City will surely be regretting letting Palmer leave the club for just €47m. 

Palmer was also second on the goalscoring charts last season, only behind Erling Haaland with 22 Premier League goals in his first campaign at Chelsea. The 22 year old’s remarkable rise is reflected in his market value, as he now becomes the joint-second most valuable player in the world aged 22 or under. Palmer is also the current most valuable player at Chelsea and the second most valuable player the Blues have ever had, only behind Eden Hazard who was worth €150m in 2018. Palmer’s rise also helped Chelsea lay claim to the biggest increase in squad market value this December, rising by +€51.3m to take the Blue’s new squad value to €1.01b.

Foden, Silva & De Bruyne among many downgrades at Manchester City

Manchester City’s unusually poor start to the season has been reflected in the latest Premier League market value update. In total, 12 players were downgraded, and the total squad value dropped by -€71m. Pep Guardiola’s team have won just one of their last 11 games, losing eight in the process, with many of Man City’s star players failing to perform. The biggest downgrades came for Foden (-€10m to €140m), Bernardo Silva (-€10m to €60m), Jack Grealish (-€10m to €45m), and Kevin De Bruyne (-€10m to €35m). Whilst the the trio of Silva, Grealish and De Bruyne saw their market value fall due to their age as well as their form, 24-year-old Foden has failed to replicate last season’s quality, with zero goals in 11 Premier League games this term, and has lost value primarily for that reason.

Only three teams in the Premier League have had an older average age than City’s 27 this season, and other ageing stars such as 30-year-old John Stones (-€6m to €32m), 29-year-old Manuel Akanji (-€5m to €40m), and 29-year-old Nathan Aké (-€5m to €35m), fell in value. Jérémy Doku and Rúben Dias also both fell by -€5m. Man City’s total squad value falls from €1.26b to €1.19b, but the Sky Blues remain the second most valuable squad in the world, only behind Real Madrid (€1.36b). Manchester United and West Ham also suffered significant blows to their squad market values, falling by -€59.5m and -€42.2m respectively.

Morgan Rogers joint-second biggest winner

Another player who has shone this season has been Aston Villa’s Rogers. Signed for just €9.4m last January, the 22-year-old has become a key player for Unai Emery’s team this season, playing 91% of Villa’s Premier League minutes, and providing six goal contributions in 16 games. His club form also earned Rogers an England call-up, as he made his Three Lions debut against Greece last month. Only Palmer received a bigger upgrade than Rogers – the Villa playmaker rises from €22m to €40m, and becomes the third most valuable player at the club only behind Ollie Watkins (€55m), and Amadou Onana (€55m).

Teenagers Nwaneri and Dibling rewarded for impact this season

Two teenage stars were among the top four biggest upgrades this December. Arsenal’s Nwaneri rose from €12m to €30m, after making 13 appearances and scoring four goals for the Gunners this season at just 17 years of age. Nwaneri blew away the record for the youngest ever Premier League player when he came on in Arsenal’s 3-0 win at Brentford two seasons ago, aged just 15 years, five months and 28 days, and this season he has shown his enormous potential. Expect Nwaneri to become an important player in the future for the north London club.

Another teenager who has burst on the scene this season has been Southampton’s Dibling. Despite the Saints having a torrid start to life back in the Premier League, rooted to the bottom of the table, their one shining light has been 18-year-old Dibling. He has played 15 of the Saints’ 16 Premier League games, and despite only scoring one goal in the English top-flight, Dibling has tormented even the meanest Premier League defences, and has already been linked with many of England’s biggest clubs.

Liverpool rewarded for strong season with nine upgrades

League leaders Liverpool saw their squad value increase by +€36m to a new total of €967m, which still sees the Reds fourth in the list of most valuable Premier League squads behind Man City (€1.19b), Arsenal (€1.17b), and Chelsea (€1.01b). As previously mentioned, Gravenberch rose by +€15m, whilst fellow reds midfielder Curtis Jones went up by +€10m to a new value of €45m. Other Liverpool players upgraded include Luis Díaz (+€5m to €85m), Alexis Mac Allister (+€5m to €80m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (+€5m to €75m), Cody Gakpo (€5m to €60m), and Ibrahima Konaté (+€5m to €50m). The only other Premier League squad values to rise by a higher total than Liverpool’s were Chelsea (+€51.3m), Ipswich (+€40.4m), and Bournemouth (+€36.5m).

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).