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With the transfer window shut, and the season heading into its final stretch, Transfermarkt has updated the market values of 136 Eredivisie players. While PSV Eindhoven duo Ismael Saibari (€32m) and Joey Veerman (€27m) remain the two most valuable players in the Dutch first division, they are now joined in the top three by their teammate Ricardo Pepi. Alongside Mika Godts (Ajax) and Kees Smit (AZ Alkmaar), the US men’s national team striker saw his market value rise to €25m, and the three now join Feyenoord’s Givairo Read in third place.
While US men’s national team striker Pepi saw his value increase, his actual evaluation sparked significant internal debate. “Pepi has not been able to play in all matches this season due to injuries and fitness issues,” Transfermarkt Area Manager Jesper Siereveld said. “This makes it challenging to accurately assess his value, especially since he has been scoring consistently since late November. Plus, he was heavily linked with a transfer. Fulham are very interested in him and made an unsuccessful €35m bid last winter. With that in mind, his current value of €15m is clearly too low.”
Transfer rumors also impacted Smit’s market value upgrade. “For Kees Smit, it seems like new top clubs are interested in him every week,” Siereveld said. “Last weekend, national team coach Ronald Koeman added fuel to the fire by comparing him to Frenkie de Jong and calling him a serious option for next summer's World Cup squad.” There have even been suggestions that Alkmaar could receive as much as €60m for Smit on the transfer market. “I wonder whether clubs will seriously pay more than €60m, which would make him at least the fourth most expensive Eredivisie player after Antony, Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, but it seems certain at this point that he will break AZ's transfer record.”
Eredivisie market values: Ajax talents Godts and Baas among big winners
The third player to hit the €25m market value benchmark to become the joint third most valuable player in the league is Ajax’s Godts. The 20-year-old striker saw his market value increase by €10m from €15m to €25m. “Mika Godts already established himself as a regular starter for most of last season but has made great progress this season,” Siereveld said. “His biggest point of criticism was his efficiency, but with 13 goals and 8 assists, he is showing that he is working hard on this. Without the Belgian youngster, Ajax would probably be in an even worse position.”
Indeed, Ajax have once again struggled to meet their standards this season and currently sit in fifth place in the Eredivisie standings. “Ajax is once again experiencing a dramatic season and is already up to its third coach,” Siereveld said. “Still, there are some bright spots in the shape of youth players who are breaking through.” One of them is Godts. Another is Youri Baas. “Although he has been somewhat more inconsistent in recent weeks than before, he has been playing a strong season,” Siereveld said. “Nevertheless, there will undoubtedly be interest from foreign clubs this summer. A year ago, he was already part of the Dutch national team selection.” As a result, Baas sees his market value increase by €4m from €16m to €20m.
While Godts and Baas were among the winners, there were also several downgrades at Ajax. “On the other hand, there are players such as Oscar Gloukh (-€3m to €15m), who lost his place in the starting line-up, Takehiro Tomiyasu (-€4m to €8m), he barely any playing time, Oleksandr Zinchenko (-€5m to €10m), who was seriously injured in his second match, Josip Sutalo (-€2m to €15m), he is hopelessly out of form, and Kasper Dolberg (-€2m to €10m), who has mediocre stats for an Ajax striker,” Siereveld said. “The fact that these players are underperforming partly explains why young players from Ajax’s academy are getting so much playing time.”
Dutch market values: Wanner on the up – Ruud Nijstad leads Twente revolution
The news were better at PSV Eindhoven, where former Bayern Munich talent Paul Wanner saw his market value increase from €14m to €18m. “Wanner had a difficult start at PSV and saw his value drop in the previous update, not without reason,” Siereveld said. “However, since the previous update, he has established himself as an undisputed starter for the Eindhoven club. It seems that if he can continue this form, he could follow in the footsteps of Malik Tillman at PSV in terms of impact.”
Meanwhile, at Twente, young defender Ruud Nijstad is the biggest percentage winner in market value. The 18-year-old saw his market value increase by 1042.9% from €700,000 to €8m. “According to various reports, the biggest clubs in the world are already very interested in him,” Siereveld said. “The left-footed centre-back became a regular starter after the winter break and is making a big impression. These could very well be his last matches for Twente. It's interesting to see which decision he will make in terms of his next club, because playing time seems to be crucial at this age.”
Nijstad and his teammate Mats Rots (+€5m to €10m) are the symbol of a big turnaround at Twente. “Twente had a very poor start to the season, but since the change of manager, the situation has completely turned around,” Siereveld said. They haven't lost since 26 October, and although several players are in good form, Rots and Nijstad are the most interesting. Rots gained experience last season with rivals Heracles Almelo and is the undisputed left-back for the Enschede team this season. The attacking full-back won the European Championship with the Netherlands Under-19s last summer and is now the regular left-back for the Netherlands Under-21s. Clubs will be lining up for him next summer.”
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).
