Premier League market values – Phil Foden hits €150m – 12 downgrades for Chelsea

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12 downgrades at Chelsea 

This Monday May 27, the most valuable football league in the world, the Premier League, received 530 new market values, increasing its total value by €10.30 million to a new total of €11.08 billion. Seven Arsenal players, Manchester City star Phil Foden, and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer were among the biggest winners in this latest update, whilst Crystal Palace increased the most in market value as a club. At the other end of the scale West Ham lost the most market value, whilst there was also 12 downgrades for Chelsea players and seven for Manchester United stars. 

Palmer received the biggest upgrade in this update, rising by €25m to take his market value from €55m to €80m, which now makes the 22 year old the ninth most valuable player in the entire Premier League, and Chelsea’s most valuable asset. This market value update bodes well for Gareth Southgate’s England heading into Euro 2024 – nine of the 15 most upgraded players in the division are English and are all included in Southgate’s provisional squad. Among those is 19 year old Kobbie Mainoo, who rises from €35m to €50m, after a superb debut season at Old Trafford. 

Phil Foden hits €150m & becomes fourth most valuable player in the world

After a real breakthrough season, in which Foden hit his best ever goals tally of 19 in the Premier League, and played a crucial role in Man City lifting a fourth consecutive title, the 23 year old receives a huge +€20m upgrade, to take his market value to €150m and put him among the world’s elite. Now only club teammate Erling Haaland (€180m), international teammate Jude Bellingham (€180m), and Kylian Mbappé (€180m) are worth more than Foden. He is the joint most valuable winger in the world, alongside Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior (€150m). Foden’s Man City teammate Rodri also was upgraded from €110m to €120m.

Prior to the update Foden and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka couldn’t be separated and were both valued at €130m. Whilst Foden’s market value shot up by +€20m, it was a +€10m rise for the Gunners ‘starboy’, with Saka now worth €140m, which in itself is a real achievement. It keeps the 23 year old as Arsenal’s most valuable player, whilst placing him at sixth in the overall world rankings, and as the third most valuable asset in the Premier League. Saka scored 16 Premier League goals this campaign, also providing a further nine assists. 

Saka wasn’t the only riser in market value at the Emirates, with seven other players receiving upgrades this May after Arsenal amassed 89 points and came so close to wrestling the title from Man City. The biggest of which went to Arsenal skipper Martin Ødegaard – the Norwegian has dazzled in recent months with his extremely quick feet and ability to scan what’s around him and make decisions in milliseconds. No player has completed as many passes into the opposition box than Ødegaard in Europe’s top five leagues this season. The 25 year old moves from €95m to €110m in this latest update.

Other Gunners to receive an upgrade were Declan Rice (+€10m to €120m) Kai Havertz (+€10m to €70m) Gabriel (+€5m to €70m) Takehiro Tomiyasu (+€5m to €35m) and Jakub Kiwior (+€5m to €30m). However there were also some downgrades – the biggest of which went to Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli, who saw his market value plummet from €80m to €70m – the joint biggest drop in value from the update. Martinelli has endured a difficult season, disrupted by injuries. He only managed six Premier League goals this term, and eventually lost his place in Arsenal’s starting eleven to Leandro Trossard during the run-in.

Premier League market value update: 12 downgrades at Chelsea

Chelsea’s turbulent life under owner Todd Boehly continued with the surprise departure of manager Mauricio Pochettino. In the last two seasons Chelsea have spent over €1b on new signings – by far the most in the world during that period, and there are many drops in values for the Blues’ stars in this latest update. Despite the huge upgrade for Palmer, as many as 12 Chelsea players saw their market value plummet this month, with the biggest downgrades going to Reece James (-€10m to €40m) and Raheem Sterling (-€10m to €35m).

Wesley Fofana, who hasn’t played a single minute this season due to an ACL injury also sees his value drop by -€7m to €25m, whilst there were -€5m downgrades for both midfielders Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo who both dropped to €75m. That pair were signed for a combined €237m in transfer fees. In total Chelsea as a club dropped by -€16.30m in market value – only Brighton (-€17m) and West Ham (-€18.20m) dropped by more.

Crystal Palace with league’s biggest rise in market value

One of the success stories of the second half of the season in the Premier League was Crystal Palace under Oliver Glasner. The Austrian arrived in February with the club still in a relegation scrap, but won seven of his 13 Premier League games in charge, taking 24 points from a possible 39 – only Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool took more points in that period. This form has seen several rises in value for Palace players, and in total the club’s market value has risen by €37m – the most in the entire division.

Since the arrival of Glasner as manager, striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has looked like a new man. Often previously accused of being wasteful in front of goal, Mateta has suddenly been hitting the back of the net at ‘Haaland rates’ in the last two months. With nine goals in six games, the Frenchman has become a prized asset for Crystal Palace and sees his market value double from €10m to €20m. There was also a +€10m rise in value for midfielder Adam Wharton who now boasts a market value of €30m, with both Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise rising to €55m.

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).