76 players updated 

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Transfermarkt has adjusted the market values of 76 players in the latest Championship market value update. Remarkably, the English second-flight is the sixth most valuable league in world football, only behind Europe’s top-five leagues. It’s a division brimming with talent, as teams battle it out for a place in the Premier League. This March, among the biggest winners of the Championship market value update were Sunderland teenager Jobe Bellingham, and Burnley centre-back pairing Maxime Estève and CJ Egan-Riley. Sunderland and Burnley rose the most in squad market value, whilst struggling Luton suffered the biggest downgrade in squad value.

Sunderland’s Jobe Bellingham becomes outright Championship MVP

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, who has a market value of €180 million, isn’t the only emerging star from the family. His younger brother – Sunderland’s 19-year-old midfielder Jobe Bellingham has risen by +€4m in this latest Championship market value update to become the outright most valuable player in the division at a new value of €22m. The young Englishman has four goals and three assists in 34 league games this season from central midfield for the Black Cats. He has been linked with many of Europe’s top clubs. Both Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid were said to be interested in January, with a plethora of Premier League clubs such as Manchester United and Tottenham also said to be admirers.

Bellingham moves ahead of Burnley keeper James Trafford, who is now the second most valuable player in the Championship, having himself risen by +€2m to €20m. The Clarets shot-stopper has conceded just 11 goals in 37 league games this season, keeping 26 clean sheets. There are then five players now with a market value of €18m – Leeds winger Wilfried Gnonto, Burnley centre-half Estève (+€7m), Sunderland playmaker Enzo Le Fée, Sheffield United defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, and Leeds attacker Daniel James (+€2m).

Defensive rock CJ Egan-Riley league’s biggest winner up 833%

The biggest winner of the entire update was another member of Burnley’s formidable defence this season. The 22-year-old Egan-Riley, an academy graduate at Manchester City, was on loan with PSV U21s last season, but this term he has exploded on his potential to become one of the Championship’s best defenders. He has played 33 of Burnley’s 38 Championship games this campaign. The young Englishman is great on the ball, capable of a vast range of passing, and very strong in one-on-one duels. His market value has risen from €1.5m all the way to €14m, meaning a whopping 833% increase for Egan-Riley in this latest update.

The next biggest winners from the March update were Egan-Riley’s aforementioned centre-back partner Estève (+€7m to €18m), Middlesbrough creator Finn Azaz (+€5m to €14m), Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor (+€5m to €9m), and West Brom midfielder Tom Fellows (+€5m to €8m). On the other end of the scale, seven players were downgraded by -€2m: West Brom’s Adam Armstrong (€14m), the Luton trio of Teden Mengi (€8m), Alfie Doughty (€8m), and Elijah Adebayo (€8m), and the Burnley trio of Aaron Ramsey (€10m), Mike Trésor (€8m), and Lyle Foster (€7m).

Sunderland, Burnley & Leeds biggest winners

When it comes to the changes to squad market values, Sunderland received the biggest increase, with the Black Cats’ squad value rising by +€18m to a new figure of €142m. It means they now have the third most valuable squad in the Championship, leap-frogging Sheffield United (€134m). Burnley and Leeds also received sizeable increases of +€17m and +€16m respectively. The Clarets cement their place as the most valuable club in the division at €196m, whilst Leeds’ new squad market value stands at €190m. Only two teams in the league saw their overall squad market value decrease; Luton Town went down by -€2.25m, whilst Millwall’s dropped by a minuscule -€0.3m.

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).