225 players updated 

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As many as 225 players have just had their values changed in the latest Transfermarkt Premier League intermediate market value update this March. The division’s total value rose by +€154 million to a new grand total of €12.58 billion – making the English top-flight by far the most valuable league in world football. Among the biggest winners were teenagers Mateus Mané and Junior Kroupi, Brentford striker Igor Thiago, and Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai. In terms of squad value, Bournemouth, Sunderland and Manchester United were among the biggest winners, whilst by far the biggest downgrade came for struggling Tottenham.

Dominik Szoboszlai hits €100m

Liverpool’s season is showing signs of turning a corner and this in no small part down to the top form of midfielder Szoboszlai. At times, the Hungarian has had to fill in at an inverted right-back role due to injury issues, but even then, he has had a huge effect on games. He has scored four free-kicks across the season and his technique and ball-striking has helped fill the void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold. This March, his value rises by +€15m to the milestone of €100m, making the 25 year old the seventh most valuable player in the entire Premier League.

Ben Littlemore is Transfermarkt’s Premier League market value coordinator and explains more about the upgrade: “Liverpool’s title defence has certainly not gone to plan this season, but among the big name stars not performing or living up to their expectations, the most consistent player for the Reds has been midfielder Szoboszlai. He has shown great versatility, and has so many strong attributes with and without the ball. It really feels as though he is at home now in the Premier League and still only 25 years old, he has time on his side.” Szoboszlai is now the second-joint most valuable Liverpool player alongside Alexander Isak, and the fifth most valuable centre-midfielder in world football.

Downgrades for Bukayo Saka & Cole Palmer

At the other end of the scale, there were drops for the highly-valued England duo of Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer. The Arsenal star saw his market value fall by -€10m to €120m, whilst the Chelsea playmaker got a -€10m downgrade to a new value of €110m. Saka has just five non-penalty goals and five assists in the Premier League this season. Palmer has just four non-penalty goals and one assist. Both players have also had injury issues throughout the campaign. “Despite still putting in strong performances, we felt Saka needed a downgrade,” revealed Littlemore. “He is still Arsenal’s most threatening attacker and is creating chances, but his numbers have dropped right off and his finishing has certainly declined.

“When it comes to Palmer, his performances have also worsened. He still shows glimpses of his undoubted quality, but he is having nowhere near as big of an affect on games as he once was. Nevertheless, both players remain among the most valuable in the division even with their downgrades.” In terms of the biggest losses in market value from the update, Liverpool’s Isak (-€20m to €100m) comes out on top after his leg break and poor form prior to that. Martin Ødegaard (new value: €65m), Rodri (€65m), Cristian Romero (€50m), Xavi Simons (€50m), Anthony Elanga (€40m) and Dejan Kulusevski (€35m) all also dropped by -€10m.

Igor Thiago & Mateus Mané among biggest winners

The biggest winner from the entire update was Wolves’ teenage talent Mané. The 18-year-old’s emergence has been a shining light in a miserable campaign for the bottom-placed club. Prior to the update, Mané had a market value of just €250k – that figure has now risen by +€19.75m to €20m. “Teams are looking more and more at younger players in the transfer market,” explains Littlemore. “So players like Mané, who are making an impact in the Premier League at such a young age, are highly sought-after. His great form began just after our last update, so he needed a big upgrade to take into account what he has done since then. There has already been reported interest from top clubs.”

The next biggest upgrade came for Bournemouth youngster Kroupi, who has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water and sees his value rise by +€18m to €40m. There are then four players who have seen their value increased by +€15m. Included in this quartet, were Szoboszlai, as mentioned, and Brentford striker Thiago, who rises to €50m after his impressive campaign in which he is the second top scorer in the Premier League. “If Thiago’s incredible season continues and he goes to the World Cup with Brazil, that figure is likely to go a lot higher by the summer,” added Littlemore. Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki (€65m) and Bournemouth’s Rayan (€40m) were also in this group.

Manchester United stars on the rise

One club that saw a number of players benefit from this latest update were Manchester United. The Red Devils are unbeaten in their last 10 games, and have been on fire since Michael Carrick took over from Ruben Amorim in January. In total, their squad value increased by +€35m. The biggest increases came for Bryan Mbeumo (+€5m to €80m), Benjamin Sesko (+€5m to €65m), Kobbie Mainoo (+€10m to €50m), Lisandro Martínez (+€5m to €40m), Patrick Dorgu (+€5m to €35m), and Senne Lammens (+€5m to €30m).

“Man United seem to have finally got their act together and look to be heading in the right direction,” said Littlemore. “The club’s summer recruitment is looking impressive and their attack looks far more dynamic. They are flying high in the league and look nailed on to secure Champions League football. Mbeumo has been one of the most consistent attacking players in the league, Sesko is showing huge potential, whilst Mainoo is making it look crazy he was ever left out of the team.” Man United have the sixth most valuable squad in the league at €754m.

Tottenham suffer biggest downgrades

When it comes to squad value downgrades, it’s no great surprise that struggling Tottenham come out worst off. Spurs find themselves in a relegation battle and haven’t won a Premier League game since late December. Their squad value fell by a total of -€73m, but their squad remains the fifth most valuable in the league at €803m. The second biggest drop actually came for league leaders Arsenal, who saw their value drop by -€37m. At the other end of the scale, the biggest rise came for Bournemouth, who went up by +€60m.

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).