Market values ​​Japan: Kiel candidate Machino on the upswing – Iniesta with minus before farewell

Scholz claims top

For the second half of the J1 League, Transfermarkt subjected all players to a market value update. The Urawa Red Diamonds now have a total of seven players in their roster with a market value of over €1m, with Hiroki Sakai (33; -300k to €1.4m), David Moberg Karlsson (29; -300k to €1.5m) EUR million), José Kanté (32; -300,000 to EUR 1.2 million) and Bryan Linssen (32; 500,000 to EUR 1.3 million). Atsuki Ito (24; +150,000 to €1m) and Marius Höibraten (28; +200,000 to €1m) are stepping up, while Alexander Scholz (30) remains at €2.2m and continues to have the highest market value of all professional soccer players in Japan.

Scholz’s fine performances not only helped the Urawa Red Diamonds to their third AFC Champions League title, but he also contributed three goals and an assist as a central defender to get the club back on track after a slow start in the league came. With only 13 goals conceded, the Urawa Reds and Vissel Kobe are the strongest defensive teams in the J1 League.

The latter club from Kobe is currently having the best season in recent years. The forward duo Yoshinori Muto (30; €1.8m) and Yuya Osako (33; +100,000 to €1m) – both with a Bundesliga background – contribute in particular to this, with a total of 20 goals and eleven assists involved in half of the team’s goals.

Meanwhile, their teammates Gotoku Sakai (32; €900,000) and Hotaru Yamaguchi (32; €900,000) are devalued by €100,000 due to their age. The Brazilian Lincoln (22; €1.2m) was also cut, he received a loss of €500,000. Even in his third year with Vissel Kobe, the youngster, who was previously valued at 5.4 million euros, does not get his foot on the ground and has only scored once in 25 games in the J1 League since 2021.

Market values ​​​​J1 League: Iniesta with minus before farewell

Andrés Iniesta, who is leaving Japan after more than five years, is looking for a new challenge. In 133 games for Vissel Kobe, the former world and European champion prepared 25 goals with Spain and scored 26 times himself. At the age of 39, the former Barcelona professional was devalued by 200,000 euros due to age and ended up at one million euros. It is not yet known where the veteran will end up in the future.

Shonan Bellmare’s Shuto Machino (23; €1.5m) is also on the verge of a move – with a high probability to Holstein Kiel in the 2nd Bundesliga. With eight goals and three assists, the 23-year-old forward did a lot to keep Bellmare out of the relegation battle for a long time and receives a performance-related bonus of 300,000 euros, which is a personal best.

rumor
	S. Machino
	centre-forward
Shonan Bellmare 71% Holstein Kiel J1League 2nd Bundesliga

Ryotaro Ito (25; €1.3m) is also in focus due to an impending move to VV St. Truiden. The transfer from the Urawa Red Diamonds to Albirex Niigata was good for the offensive all-rounder, who helped the team to their long-awaited promotion in 2022 with nine goals and eleven assists, and also shows his class in the 1st league. After seven goals and four assists in 17 games, his market value is increased by 450,000 euros.

Kosei Tani (22; €700,000) has long been considered the most exciting prospect among Japanese goalkeeping talents. After two good years between the posts at Shonan Bellmare, his return to Gamba Osaka saw a rethink of the goalkeeping position. Veteran Masaaki Higashiguchi (37) had to vacate his post with the blue-blacks, but Tani, who was rather unlucky, experienced one of the worse seasons of the Suita team. Only when Higashiguchi returned to the goal did the team stabilize again. As a result, Tani’s market value is reduced by 150,000 euros.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s Keisuke Osako (23; €1.2m), on the other hand, continues to be the backbone of his team. With just 17 goals conceded, Hiroshima’s defense is the fourth-best in the league. This is also thanks to Osako, whose market value goes up by 200,000 euros and is currently the most valuable goalkeeper in the J1 League.

This is how the Transfermarkt market values ​​work

The Transfermarkt market values ​​are created taking into account various pricing models and a strong involvement of the Transfermarkt community, which deals with the values ​​in detailed discussions. The transfer market market values ​​are not to be equated with the transfer fees actually paid.

The goal is not to predict a price, but an expected value. When determining the market value, both individual transfer modalities and situational framework conditions are relevant to a certain extent. Examples of this are listed here. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (for detailed market value definition).

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