164 players updated 

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The Scottish Premiership has now had its latest full market value update at Transfermarkt and as a result more than half of the players in the Scottish top-flight have now seen their market values either increase or decrease. Although there was no change at the top, with Celtic pair Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kyogo Furuhashi remaining the division’s most valuable players, a number of new contenders have emerged that could replace them before the end of the season at a number of different clubs. 

The biggest winners from the market value update were undoubtedly Celtic, who saw their squad gain an overall market value of €8.8 million. However, they weren’t the only club to see a number of players skyrocket in value. Aberdeen were close behind their Glasgow rivals with their overall squad market value rising by €3.03m, while Motherwell saw their squad increase its overall market value by €2.9m. In stark contrast, Hearts (-€500k), Kilmarnock (-€600k) and Rangers (-€1.1m) all saw their squads lose market value, but no club suffered from the updated market values more than Hibs, whose squad is now €1.4m less valuable than it was before the update. And when we take a look at which players have risen and fallen in market value, those numbers should make plenty of sense. 

Celtic go from strength to strengh under Rodgers

To no great surprise, Brendan Rodgers’s high-flying Celtic side have matched impressive performances in the Scottish top-flight and Champions League with improved performance from a number of their players. “Celtic returned to their tried and tested policy of signing young players and developing them under Rodgers this season and it has seen a number of key figures in the team improve,” said Stefan Bienkowski, Lead Content Manager for Transfermarkt UK. “It’s the Glasgow club’s ability to scout impressive new players every season that keeps them ahead of their cross-city rivals Rangers on and off the pitch.” The updated figures now mean that Celtic can lay claim to nine of the top 10 most valuable players in the Scottish Premiership and 13 of the top 20. 

Indeed, Celtic saw a number of market value rises for key players, such as Alistair Johnston (+€500k to €9m), Daizen Maeda (+€500k to €8m), Paulo Bernardo (+€500k to €4.5m), Liam Scales (+€500k to €4m), Auston Trusty (+€1m to €8m) and Reo Hatate (+€1m to €11m). But the stand-out performer for Celtic so far this season and the player with the biggest jump in market value across the entire division has undoubtedly been Nicolas Kühn. “Few players have dumbfounded expectations in Scottish football quite like Kühn at Celtic this season,” noted Bienkowski. “Not only has the wing shone in the Premiership, but he’s also fuelled Celtic’s impressive performances in Europe too. So much so that speculation over a possible call up for the Germany squad aren’t nearly as far-fetched as they once seemed when he was playing in Austria.” As such, Kühn has seen his market value shoot up from €3m to €10m, which constitutes a remarkable 233% rise for the 24-year-old star and now makes him the fifth most valuable player in the Scottish top-flight. 

Mixed results for Rangers after poor start to season

Unfortunately for Rangers, it’s a slightly different story when it comes to changes in market value. The Ibrox giants saw no less than eight first team players lose market value in this update, with Cyriel Dessers, Danilo, Kieran Dowell, Tom Lawrence, Robin Pröpper and Ridvan Yilmaz all losing €500k in market value. However the player that lost more market value than any other in this current update was none other than right-back James Tavernier, who saw his market value fall by €3m from €6m to €3m. “Tavernier has been an excellent player for Rangers and in many ways withstood the test of time,” said Bienkowski. “But his output in terms of goals and assists have nosedived this season and at 33 years of age it now seems clear that his market value should represent a player that may struggle for a starting spot in Rangers’ first team next season.” 

However, it wasn’t all bad news for the Glasgow club. Connor Barron saw his market value increase by €500k to €2.5m and Hamza Igamane saw his increase by +€700k to €2.5m. When we couple that with the fact that John Souttar, Jefté, Mohamed Diomandé and Vaclav Cerny all saw an increase of €1m in their market values, it certainly points to some good news for Rangers. “There’s no doubt that Rangers are in the midst of a tricky transition period and are likely to have a new manager before the end of the season,” noted Bienkowski. “But amidst the ageing stars of yesteryear, there are a number of exciting young prospects that should form the foundations for a strong team that could challenge Celtic in the seasons to come.” 

Aberdeen thrive under Thelin, Miller hits new heights at Motherwell

Outside of the Glasgow giants, there have been a number of players that have made headlines in the Scottish Premiership. At Aberdeen, new manager Jimmy Thelin has taken the Dons to second place with just one defeat in their first 14 league games. This has resulted in a number of their top performers gaining market value in this update, such as Jamie McGrath (+€200k to €1.2m), Leighton Clarkson (+€200k to €1.2m), Ante Palaversa (+€250k to €600k), Shayden Morris (+€250k to €600k), Dimitar Mitov (+€300k to €800k), Jack MacKenzie (+€350k to €600k), Gavin Molloy (+€375k to €500k), Ester Sokler (+€400k to €1m), and Slobodan Rubezic (+€500k to €1.5m). But the biggest update at Pittodrie came to Topi Keskinen, whose market value rose by €550k to an impressive €1.7m. These updates now mean that six of the top 10 most valuable players outside of Celtic and Rangers play for Aberdeen. 

Although the Dons will have plenty to celebrate, the single most impressive increase in market value outside of Celtic and Rangers came at Motherwell, where star midfielder Lennon Miller continues to shine. The 18-year-old talent already has two goals and four assists to his name for the Steelman and gained the second largest market value increase of the update after his value rose from €1.6m to €4m – constituting an incredible 150% rise in market value for the young Scotland star. “It’s not often that we increase the market value of a player from outside Celtic or Rangers to this degree,” added Bienkowski. “But Miller is the real deal and it seems like only a matter of time before Motherwell sell the young central midfielder for a transfer fee that far surpasses their current record of €3m for David Turnbull in 2020. As such, we’ve adjusted our market values accordingly to fall in line with what Miller is clearly worth in today’s market.”