A German winner
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Transfermarkt has updated the market values of 182 Championship players. The English House of Commons remains the sixth most valuable league in world football behind the European top five. The biggest winners of the update include Žan Vipotnik from Swansea City (+11 to 15 million euros), Middlesbrough’s Morgan Whittaker (+6 to 16 million euros) and August Priske from Birmingham City (+5.4 to 7 million euros).
Boro’s Hayden Hackney remains the most valuable player, while league leaders Coventry City have seen the biggest increase in squad value. There are only two adjustments to the market values of the six German legionnaires.
The former England U21 midfielder Hackney reached the top of the ranking of the most valuable championship players last December with an increase of 5 million euros and is defending this position thanks to an increase of a further 3 million euros to 28 million euros. The 23-year-old was close to a move to Ipswich last summer and has attracted strong interest from the Premier League. He was also instrumental in Boro’s successful season, which is currently in one of the direct promotion places.
The Championship’s second most valuable professional is Leicester winger Abdul Fatawu. Although the Foxes are in the relegation zone (also due to a point deduction), the 21-year-old has had an impressive season so far. This results in a market value increase of 4 million to 24 million euros. The Ghanaian has 15 goal involvements after 35 games. Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Ipswich’s Leif Davis remain at 20 million euros and share the remaining place on the market value podium, followed by ten players with a value of 18 million euros each.
Biggest market value winner: Vipotnik achieves breakthrough at Swansea
Slovenian striker Vipotnik has made his breakthrough with the Welsh side and is currently the Championship’s top scorer with 16 goals in the Swans’ jersey. The 1.85 meter tall attacker came from Bordeaux on a free transfer in 2024 and really got off to a flying start after scoring seven goals in his debut season. Vipotnik has already been linked with a move to the Premier League.
The biggest loser in terms of market value is West Brom striker Josh Maja, whose value drops by €3 million to €4 million. Another 16 players will lose €2 million in value as a result of the update, including the German Kai Wagner from Birmingham City. The 29-year-old only moved from Philadelphia Union to the Blues in January after almost seven MLS years and has since appeared nine times in the league and twice in the cup. Wagner is now valued at 3 million euros.
Caspar Jandar, who moved from Nuremberg to Southampton last summer, is the second German to receive a new market value. The 22-year-old, who scored two goals in 29 games, recorded an increase of 2 million euros to 12 million euros, which is the highest mark in his career so far. The market values of his teammate Joshua Quarshie (formerly of Hoffenheim) as well as those of ex-Bremen player Marvin Ducksch, ex-Hannover player Phil Neumann (both Birmingham) and Stuttgart-born Kwadwo Baah (Watford) remain unchanged.
Coventry & Middlesbrough biggest winners in squad values
When it comes to squad value, the two biggest increases are in the current top teams: League leaders Coventry recorded an increase of 29 million euros to 194 million euros, only Ipswich now has a higher squad value across the league at 199 million euros. Second-placed Middlesbrough recorded an increase of 23 million euros to 128 million euros and is now the sixth most valuable team in the league.
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).
