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Top 15 revealed
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While we may only be in November and in the thick of it with league campaigns in most of Europe’s top divisions, there’s little doubt that most of the sport's biggest stars will be casting their eyes to the horizon to prepare for what’s to come next year. After all, 2026 is a World Cup year with the 23rd iteration of the biggest sporting competition in the world taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It’s a tournament that every major star will be desperate to take part in and to do so they’ll need to make sure that they’re not only fit and able but also performing at the very highest level on a consistent basis. But which top stars aren’t quite making the cut at this point of the season? Today at Transfermarkt we’ve taken a look at the most valuable players that have so far played less than 50% of the available league minutes for their respective clubs in Europe’s top five leagues. For the purposes of this break down, we’ve excluded new signings and players ruled out by injuries.
The MVPs in need of more game time
Kicking off our list of the most valuable players that aren’t getting enough game time are four players with market values of €40 million that are undoubtedly on the periphery of their respective squads. A good example of this is none other than Real Madrid winger Brahim Díaz, who has started just three LaLiga games for the capital club this season and sat on the bench as an unused substitute in just as many matches. He’s joined by Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher, who will undoubtedly be considering his options ahead of the January window, having played in just 31% of his club’s game to date. They’re joined by Tottenham pair Brennan Johnson and Lucas Bergvall who have both struggled to nail down starting spots in Thomas Frank’s team and have so far managed just 47% and 31% of their team’s total league minutes to date.
At the €45m level we have five players who are perhaps in different stages of their career and therefore may or may not be pushing for moves in the forthcoming January window. Young stars like Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri at Arsenal have played minor roles in Mikel Arteta’s squad to date, with just 9% and 16% of the total league game time in the Premier League, but remain prospects that are still learning their trade. The same could perhaps be said of Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, whose 14% of total league game time to date suggests that Ruben Amorim is using the England international sparingly. However, when it comes to Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli (22% of total league minutes) and Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones (34%) there’s perhaps a serious question to be raised over the long-term future of both players at their respective clubs if they are no longer considered starters.
Moving up the market value ladder we have two players worth €50m who may be considering their options in January. France international Eduardo Camavinga maye have had an injury that ruled him out of action for the first four league games of the season, but has since started just three of Madrid’s last eight league games. Equally, Manchester City winger Savinho may be wondering whether his continued role as an impact sub in Pep Guardiola’s team will guarantee him a spot in the Brazil national team next summer. Just above them with a market value of €55m is Bayern Munich central midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic, who has started just threeBundesliga matches for Vincent Kompany’s side this season.
When we get to the final three players on the list with eye-watering market values we once again need to sift through the context surrounding each star. In third place is Paris Saint-Germain full-back Nuno Mendes (45% of total league game time), followed by Real Madrid forward Rodygo (24%) in second and PSG winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (46%) in first place. However, while the PSG duo’s game time may be down to Luis Enrique’s insistence on rotating his squad each week, it has led to the aforementioned Georgian winger bagging just one goal and two assists in Ligue 1 this season. As such, he may find himself in a similar situation to Rodrygo at Madrid, who will undoubtedly be looking elsewhere for game time and improved form in the second half of the season having made just two starts in LaLiga this season.
