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October Premier League update
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Enzo Maresca has been forced to find a way to win without Cole Palmer, and that has been the story of Chelsea's season so far as they continue to soldier on without their indispensable playmaker. The 23-year-old remains the Blues' highest-valued player at €120 million, but the gap is closing on the England international - with several team-mates including Moisés Caicedo recognised in Transfermarkt's latest Market Value Update.
Palmer finished eighth in the 2025 Ballon d'Or after winning the Player of the Tournament award at the FIFA Club World Cup. However, his domestic season has been blighted by a groin injury, limiting Palmer to just three Premier League appearances for the Blues, and that has hampered his chance to earn an upgrade in October. It remains possible that he could see his market value increase midway through the season if he continues to deliver goals and assists on a consistent basis, but his team-mates are carrying the torch in his absence.
Caicedo hits €100m mark
Caicedo’s slow start in west London saw many question the €116m (potentially rising to €133.4m) spent to secure his signature from Brighton. But now entering his third season at Chelsea, the Ecuadorian shares equal status with Palmer as the Blues' most integral player. His rise from €90m to €100m epitomises his importance to the team - Declan Rice and Alexis Mac Allister are the only other central midfielders to be given a market value of €100m+. His fellow South American Enzo Fernández has also been rewarded for his fine form, having contributed three goals and an assist in his eight league appearances this season, with a €5m rise.
Ben Littlemore, Transfermarkt's Premier League market value co-ordinator, explained the decision to give a substantial rise to the 23-year-old: "Many people feel that Caicedo is one of, if not the, best holding midfielder in the league right now," he said. "The Ecuadorian is so effective off the ball, constantly winning it back and he is also improving on the ball. He will need to continue this form for a longer period to rise more, but he is now delivering on his potential."
João Pedro on the rise
Summer signing João Pedro has received the highest rise to reflect his increased profile and fine start to life at Stamford Bridge, racking up three goals and two assists in his first seven games for the Blues. The wide consensus is that the Brazil international's €60m switch from Brighton reflected fair market value, considering Liverpool paid over double for Alexander Isak and Newcastle invested €75m to sign Nick Woltemade. His compatriot, 18-year-old sensation Estêvão, is the fifth-highest-valued player at the club at €60m. And the youngster is already proving to be a shrewd addition to the squad, scoring a last-gasp winner as Chelsea beat champions Liverpool 2-1 in October.
Other notable players to experience a substantial vertical bump are left-back Marc Cucurella and Pedro Neto, who are now unmistakeably first-choice. Cucurella jumps from €35m to €45m, while Neto is up from €50m to €55m. Cobham academy graduates Trevoh Chalobah, Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong. Chalobah returned from a loan spell at Crystal Palace to become a vital first-team member in defence and goes up to €32m from €25m. George, who saw a deadline-day move to Fulham collapse, is up to €20m (a €10m increase) and Acheampong moves to €15m (€7m increase) following the pair's impressive first-team cameos under Maresca.
Gittens and Lavia down, 'Bomb squad' pay the price
While Jamie Gittens and Roméo Lavia saw the biggest decrease in value - from €50m to €45m and €40m to €35m - Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi's stock has plummeted even further. The pair have seen their values tumble €3m and €4m respectively after failing to secure moves away from Chelsea in the summer transfer window, but the percentage of their value drop is higher than Gittens and Lavia.
Sterling spurned interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, while Disasi's proposed loan move back to AS Monaco collapsed in the final hours. As a result, both players are unlikely to feature under Maresca until January and are training on individual programmes as part of the 'bomb squad'. Without regular football under their belt until January at least, the duo could fall further into obscurity.
