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The Jupiler Pro League has a new most valuable player in its history. As part of the market value update for the Belgian top flight, in which 143 players were updated, 18-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas saw his valuation jump to €35 million. With that new market value, the Genk wonderkid sets a new record in the Jupiler Pro League. Meanwhile, among clubs, Club Brugge, with a squad value of €232.3m, has set a new benchmark since market values were introduced in Belgium in 2004.

“Karetsas is the kind of player who makes you fall in love with football,” Transfermarkt Area Manager Belgium, Bart Tamsyn, said. “He has flair, technique, and vision. Normally, players from Belgium don’t go to clubs considered potential Champions League winners, but rather to ambitious mid-table teams in the top five leagues. Karetsas seems to be the exception to the rule and is set to make that move, including the hefty price tag.” With that in mind, the team in Belgium had no problem elevating Karetsas’ market value by 25% from €28m to €35m. Karetsas breaks Ardon Jashari’s record. Jashari saw his market value skyrocket to €32m before leaving the league for AC Milan.

In his stead, another star has risen at Club Brugge. “No one has talked about Jashari for months because Aleksandar Stanković has seamlessly taken over the Swiss midfielder’s position,” Tamsyn said. “He, too, has proven that he can deliver in big games. With the arrival of head coach Ivan Leko, we are also seeing him make more infiltrations into the box in addition to his feared long-range shot. He has scored four goals and provided two assists in the second round of the Jupiler Pro League.” As a result, Stanković saw his market value increase by 66.7% from €15m to €25m. Signed for €9.5m from Inter Milan last summer, there are already speculations that the Serbian could be on his way back to Italy soon. Inter, in fact, have a buyback clause for €23.5m that could soon turn out to be a bargain. Among Brugge players, only Joel Ordóñez (+€5m to €32m) has a higher market value.

Jupiler Pro League market values: De Cat continues to rise – David up by €4m

At RSC Anderlecht, Nathan De Cat continues his impressive development. “Anderlecht is currently carried by Thorgan Hazard and Nathan De Cat,” Tamsyn said. “The latter has also shown in recent matches that he is more than a box-to-box player and has the vision and technique to be used as a playmaker. In Anderlecht’s last five matches, he scored two goals and provided four assists. There are still some questions about his physical readiness.” Only 17, those limitations might still be part of his natural development. “Ideally, a top club will buy him this summer and keep him at Anderlecht for another year to allow him to develop further,” Tamsyn said about the teenager whose market value increased by €8m from €17m to €25m.

While there were many upgrades at Club Brugge, leading to a new squad value record, league champions and league leaders Union Saint-Gilloise also saw many players upgraded. Among the most notable upgrades were the Canadian men’s national team striker Promise David. “He was one of Union SG’s key players in the second half,” Tamsyn said. “He seemed on his way to leading them to a second consecutive title, with a top scorer title as the icing on the cake, until he got injured.” Despite that injury, Tamsyn believes David will be a top asset for the club to sell this upcoming summer. “He will probably make it to the World Cup and, provided he performs well there and considering that he will be 25 by then, it will be the ideal moment for a top transfer and for Union SG to capitalise,” Tamsyn said about the striker whose market value is up by €4m to €17m.

Other standouts at Union SG include Anan Khalaili. “Khalaili is one of Union’s driving forces and always leads the way in battle,” Tamsyn said. “He has grown enormously, especially physically, since his arrival in Brussels, so it is no surprise that he is being linked with clubs such as Newcastle United and Benfica. Only his statistics, with five goals and one assist in 39 matches, look a little disappointing, but considering that he is only 21 years old, he still has time to make the necessary progress in that area,” Tamsyn said about the midfielder whose market value rose by €6m to €18m.

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 ).