Lampard’s Coventry on the rise
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Transfermarkt has adjusted the market values of 647 players in the Championship as part of the update. The biggest percentage loser is ex-Bremer Marvin Ducksch from Birmingham City, while Coventry trio Brandon Thomas-Asante, Victor Torp and Bobby Thomas are among the biggest winners. League leaders Coventry City, led by coach Frank Lampard, also recorded the biggest increase in squad value, while the three relegated teams Leicester City, FC Southampton and Ipswich Town are clearly seeing red flags. It is noteworthy that the second English league is the sixth most valuable in the world and therefore only has to give way to the top 5 leagues in Europe.
The Championship’s new most valuable player is Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough FC, passing both Leif Davis and Taylor Harwood-Bellis. The central midfielder’s valuation rises by €5 million to a new personal best of €25 million, making him now worth €5 million more than anyone else in the league. “The 23-year-old was close to a move to Ipswich in the summer and also attracted a lot of interest in the Premier League. Hackney has also been instrumental in Boro’s strong start to the season, so the Championship club may have to brace themselves for further interest in the January transfer window,” says Ben Littlemore, UK Content Manager at Transfermarkt.
A quintet with 20 million euros is now on a par with Hackney. Norwegian teenager Sindre Walle Egeli was signed from Ipswich in the summer for €20 million and is currently just holding on to that value despite a bumpy season for the Tractor Boys so far. Leicester is also stumbling, the only bright spot in the attack is winger Issahaku Fatawu, who climbs by 2 million to 20 million euros. However, things are going downhill for Southampton’s central defender Harwood-Bellis and Ipswich’s left-back Davis, who are each down by €2 million. How Egeli confirms his value of 20 million euros Center forward Josh Sargent, former Bremen player and with Norwich City since 2021.
Market value update Championship: Leaders Coventry City on the rise
Lampard’s Coventry City have surprised everyone so far this season and lead the English House of Commons table by a significant margin. It is only logical that The Sky Blues increased the most in squad value with an increase of 35.9 million euros. With 143.8 million euros, the club from the West Midlands is no longer the sixth but the fourth most valuable team in the league.
The biggest share of the increase goes to top winner Thomas-Asante, for whom it goes up by 8 million to 12 million euros. The center forward currently leads the top scorers list with ten goals. Four other professionals from Coventry are also among the top 10 winners. Midfielder Torp increases by 7 million euros to 12 million euros, central defender Thomas increases by 6.5 million euros to 10 million euros, right-back Milan van Ewijk increases by 4 million euros to 16 million euros and central defender Liam Kitching increases by 3 million euros to 8 million euros.
Relegated trio with biggest losses – minus for Birmingham’s Ducksch
In contrast, the three clubs that were relegated from the Premier League in May of this year are losing the most. Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton were among the favorites for promotion, but all three are currently outside the play-off places. The Foxes lose 6.5 million euros (to 162 million), the Saints lose 6.3 million euros (to 183 million) and the Tractor Boys lose 6.1 million euros (to 192 million). “These teams remain the three most valuable in the league, largely due to the spending on building their squads last season, but Coventry are now hot on their heels,” says expert Littlemore.
Of the six German legionnaires, only two of them have changes. Kwadwo Baah from Watford FC increases by 500,000 to 3 million euros, while Ducksch loses one million euros in value. Instead of 3 million, the 31-year-old is now valued at 2 million euros, which is a loss of 33.3 percent – the largest in the league. It is his fourth consecutive devaluation. “Although he has recently found his form again with three goals in the last three games, Ducksch previously got off to a very slow start at Birmingham City, which was admittedly partly due to injury problems. By the end of December he had neither scored nor assisted in the Championship. Due to this, the €2 million transfer fee paid for him in the summer and the fact that he will be 32 in March, he will receive a minus,” explains Littlemore.
This is how transfer market market values work
The transfer market market values are created taking into account various pricing models as well as a strong involvement of the transfer market community, which deals with the values in detailed discussions. The transfer market market values cannot generally be equated with the transfer fees actually paid.
The goal is not to predict a price, but rather an expected value. When determining the market value, both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant to a certain extent. Examples of this are listed here. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (for detailed market value definition).

