Premier League market values: 15 downgrades at Man Utd - Rodri and Rice reach new benchmark

The Premier League is the next of the top five leagues to get new market values before Christmas, and the world’s most expensive football market has two midfielders, who already broke the €100 million mark in the last update, making further progress – worldwide, there are now only six players with a higher market value than the pair. While the biggest losers of the update, Manchester United, drop clearly behind Liverpool, while rivals Manchester City boast the biggest plus of the update and reach their highest squad value since April 2020. With only a marginal loss, the most valuable league continues to maintain a total value of €11 billion.

No less than 13 Premier League players have seen their market value rise by €10m or more – and they again include Manchester City’s Rodri and Arsenal’s Declan Rice, who made another step forward and continue to prove just how valuable defensive midfielders are in football today. The extremely reliable duo now rank among the ten most valuable players in the world and are key to the title challenges of their respective teams.

Rodri is arguably the most important player for the treble winners this season, who lost all of the three Premier League games the now most valuable Spaniard in history missed due to suspensions, while Rice made another step forward at Arsenal and continues to reliably fulfil his leadership role in a young team. Following upgrades to €100m each in the October update, they both add another €10m and increase their market values to €110m.

Market values: Man United biggest losers - Haaland remains at the top

Their continuous rise results in a change in the top five of the Premier League market value rankings, where Man City striker Erling Haaland continues to tower over Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and teammate Phil Foden, who maintains his value and is now level with Rodri and Rice. The highest-ranked Manchester United players, Marcus Rashford (-€5m to €70m) and Bruno Fernandes (-€5m to €70m), finish just outside the top 20.

Stats

M. Rashford Left Winger

Manchester United

Season 23/24–
Premier League

Games

16

Goals

2

Assists

2

After they were the only side to lose value in the last update already, the Red Devils suffer another devaluation of €79m and drop just below the €800m mark and below rivals Liverpool. Far away from a title challenge, manager Erik ten Hag’s squad sees the values of no less than 15 players decrease, with the biggest downgrades going to winger Antony (-€15m to €35m) and former Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount (-€15m to €45m). Jadon Sancho drops by another €7m to now €25m, while Casemiro (-€10m to €30m) and Raphaël Varane (-€10m to €25m) are downgraded due to their age, high salaries and, in the latter’s case, a lack of game time.

Sancho & Antony in top 5 The biggest market value drops in 2023 Click here for overview Wingers Antony and Sancho cost the Old Trafford club a combined €180m, and the pair are now worth only a third of it. While the Brazilian continues to struggle on and off the pitch and is without a goal or assist this season, Sancho isn’t training with the first team at all and only played 76 Premier League minutes in the current term. The former England international is heavily linked with a move away in the upcoming January transfer window.

Premier League market values: Álvarez and Martinelli approach benchmark

The top group around Haaland and Saka might soon be joined by other rising stars. City forward Julián Álvarez, who has almost played as many Premier League minutes this season as in the entirety of last campaign, is also approaching this level. The Argentine World Cup winner rises by €10m to €90m and helps the Citizens to improve their squad value. After a league-high increase of €29m, Man City’s squad now boasts a total value of €1.29b, the highest since the global market value cut following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. As a result, the Abu Dhabi-owned club cement their spot at the top of the Premier League’s worldwide squad value rankings ahead of league rivals Arsenal.

Another young South American forward who could challenge for a spot in the €100m market value club soon is Gunners winger Gabriel Martinelli (+€5m to €85m). Also established in the Brazilian national team now, the 22-year-old continues to develop well and is a key player in Arsenal’s attack despite a drop in output compared to last Premier League season. Should he increase his numbers again, Martinelli’s market value will follow suit soon.

Player Comparison

Julián Álvarez

Gabriel Martinelli

Manchester City

Arsenal FC

€90.00m

Market Value

€85.00m

23

Age

22

Second Striker

Position

Left Winger

Jun 30, 2028

Contract until

Jun 30, 2027

Full Player Comparison

At the third serious title challengers, Liverpool summer signing Dominik Szoboszlai immediately hit the ground running and has started every Premier League game since he joined the club early in July. Arguably the face of the Reds’ successful midfield makeover, the Hungary international more than justified the €70m paid for him and rises by another €5m to €75m, making him the joint most valuable player at Anfield, alongside Colombia winger Luis Díaz, who remains unchanged in this market value update.

Chelsea second biggest losers - Luton with biggest plus percentage-wise

Chelsea, the second biggest losers of the update (-€16m to €983m) continue to struggle and, despite being a side in transition, need results in the second half of the season. Boasting the youngest squad in the Premier League with an average age of just 23.3, the downgrades are not as harsh this time. Of the eight players who suffered a drop of €5m or more, Wesley Fofana (-€8m to €32m), Christopher Nkunku (-€5m to €75m) and Reece James (-€5m to €50m) were mainly downgraded due to injuries. On the other hand, young England internationals Levi Colwill (+€13m to €55m) and Cole Palmer (+€13m to €45m) are among the biggest winners of the update after playing regularly in Europe’s best league and following their Three Lions debuts, making up for most of the loss.

Market Value

C. Palmer Attacking Midfield

€45.00m

Despite sitting in the relegation zone, Luton surprised viewers on several occasions and will continue to fight for their unlikely chance of survival. The Hatters are the biggest winners of the Premier League market value update percentage-wise, rising by 18% to take their squad value above the €100m mark for the first time in their history. Striker Carlton Morris (+€3m to €13m), reinvigorated midfielder Ross Barkley (+€2.5m to €7m) and left-back Alfie Doughty (+€2.3m to €4.5m) all played key roles in the Kenilworth Road’s side new total valuation of €103m.

Market Value

C. Morris Centre-Forward

€13.00m

With a plus of €7m to €748m, Tottenham are rewarded for a very solid first half of the season under new head coach Ange Postecoglou despite dropping out of the top four recently. One of the best keepers in the Premier League this term, Guglielmo Vicario is the biggest winner at the club and increases his market value by €10m to €30m. In the uncapped Italy international, Spurs seem to have finally found a long-term successor to Hugo Lloris.

Man City’s Lewis biggest market value winner - Tonali drops the most

Further significant upgrades include Nottingham Forest centre-back Murillo (+€13m to €22m), who immediately adapted to the Premier League following his €12m summer transfer from Corinthians in August, and the biggest winner of the update, who, like Colwill and Palmer, recently made his England debut at age 18. Man City’s Rico Lewis is one of the most promising talents in the country and, while often on the bench in the league, started five of the Citizens’ six Champions League games to date. The now 19-year-old rises by €18m to €38m.

The biggest loser of the Premier League update, Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali, drops by a staggering €20m to €40m following a ten-month suspension because of gambling breaches. Just like Brentford striker Ivan Toney, he has the chance to quickly improve his market value again once he returns to the pitch.

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).