Only Four Clubs
With less than two weeks remaining before the new Premier League season kicks off, anticipation is building for the return of English football’s top tier. The 2024/25 campaign was remarkable, marked by Liverpool equaling Manchester United’s record of 20 titles, setting the stage for another exciting season. This summer, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal have all made significant investments, positioning them as the top contenders for the Premier League title.
The summer transfer window has captured headlines as fans eagerly await new signings for their clubs. Transfermarkt is known for its comprehensive recording of transfer data, including precise fees and market values that serve as industry benchmarks for player valuations. While Transfermarkt’s market values shouldn’t be directly equated with actual transfer fees, they do offer insights into player worth by taking various factors into account. To better understand the landscape, we examined how many players within each Premier League squad have market values exceeding their club’s record sales.
Premier League Clubs with Players Valued Higher than Their Record Sales
Notably, only four Premier League clubs feature players whose market values surpass their previous record sales. Several factors contribute to this scenario, including the notion that English clubs generally face less financial pressure to sell top talents, allowing them to command high fees. For instance, Newcastle is the sole non-traditional ‘big six’ club with players valued above €55m, even though seven clubs from the big six have record sales that exceed this amount. As illustrated in the graphic below, Arsenal leads with the highest number of players in their squad valued beyond their record sale of €38m, boasting an impressive 15 players whose values are greater than the fee received for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
While valuations inevitably invite discussion, the reason so many Arsenal players exceed their record sale value stems from the club’s historical challenges in recouping substantial fees for surplus players—highlighted by Arsenal holding the third-lowest record sale figure among all current Premier League teams. Newcastle United follows with six players whose valuations surpass Elliott Anderson’s €41m, attributed mainly to the substantial progress the Magpies have made in recent years following increased investment. Additionally, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and Rodri possess market values exceeding Manchester City’s record sale of Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid last summer. Meanwhile, Philippe Coutinho’s €135m transfer to Barcelona remains the all-time record sale for the Premier League, but Liverpool’s new marquee signing, Florian Wirtz, is valued even higher at €145m.
