Addressing the topic of a player’s value is extremely difficult in world football, especially when comparing across positions and even ascribing value to a player specific to the team they play for.
One way to define “value” is an equivalence to importance. That is to say, a player is valuable because he is important to his team, and the “Most Valuable Player”, which is the phrasing Serie A uses for its annual award in a hearken to American sports, is therefore the player who helped his team the most.
But in this article ,I’d like to discuss value in a less nebulous but equally challenging realm, which is a player’s financial value on the transfer market in a perfect vacuum in which leverage, contract, and overall situation are taken out.
Let’s take a look at the most valuable player, in terms of transfer value, on every team in the Premier League.
Manchester City
Manchester City’s most valuable player is, by definition, Erling Haaland in a transfer sense. Josko Gvardiol is a rare talent who cost the club 90 million euros last summer, Kevin De Bruyne is the most unique player, and Rodri is a prime Ballon d’Or candidate.
However, it would be intellectually dishonest, in an effort to be contrarian, to argue for anyone else other than Haaland, who is the best pure goal-scorer in world football and an athletic monster.
In his first season with Manchester City, Haaland shattered the record for most Premier League goals in a season with 36. He even had 8 assists, defeating the false narrative that he is a one-dimensional player who cannot create (because he did show subtle playmaking in tight spaces at Dortmund).
With his physical presence, pace, and cannon of a left foot, Haaland is a 24-year-old footballing robot who lives and breathes this sport. 30-goal strikers at that age are always worth upwards of 100 million euros on the market, and he may be one of the only true 100 million euro players in the entire Premier League. (By that I mean, one of the only players who *should* be going for that amount, not because he was overpaid by an inept club or the subject of a maniacal bidding war.)
Arsenal
Arsenal have a relatively young, ascending squad with valuable players at all levels of the squad, including young center back William Saliba and captain Martin Odegaard.
But there should be no doubt that Bukayo Saka is the best, most important, and most valuable player on Arsenal. It’s rare to find a 22-year-old, left-footed winger with three seasons of at least 11 goals and 7 assists (his numbers in 2021/22 as a 19-year-old).
Left-footed right wingers, in general, are highly in demand, but a U23 starter with Saka’s leadership, unselfishness, and end product is incredibly valuable indeed. Saka is another player who, on the open market, would command upwards of 100 million euros. After all, if Arsenal paid 105 million pounds for Declan Rice, Saka should be worth at least 10 million more than that.
Liverpool
It gets a little more difficult to pick out a most valuable player for Liverpool, because while their best and most important player is quite obviously Mohamed Salah – who is literally the best player in the Premier League – he is now 32 with little long-term value to suitors on the market.
New signing Dominik Szoboszlai actually has a decent case if he were to play at his best, but it is hard to justify calling a playmaker with five goal contributions an 80 million euro player, especially after he already went for about 60 million pounds in 2023.
Liverpool’s most valuable transfer commodity is, therefore, 25-year-old right back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is quite literally a generational playmaker at the right back position due to his football IQ and technique.
Even his defensive issues are woefully overblown, and he’s a better defensive right back than the vast majority of players at his position in the Premier League. Liverpool are very lucky to have him, and their fans appreciate him, which should tell you something about the criticisms other Premier League fanbases levy against him.
There is a reason why Real Madrid are intent on signing him in the future, and with Alexander-Arnold’s contract running out in 2026, the right back’s transfer saga is one of the biggest background storylines to watch in European football.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa actually just sold and bought their previous and new most valuable players. Last summer, Villa brought in right winger Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen, and after one mediocre season, they dumped him off to the Saudi Pro League for a profit.
Now, Aston Villa have a new expensive baller, and that is the less flashy but more consistent center midfielder Amadou Onana of Everton. Top clubs like Arsenal and Barcelona were after Onana, but Aston Villa had a compelling project and offer for the 50 million pound Belgian star.
Onana was the only Belgium player to enhance his reputation at another poor European Championship showing. The box-to-box midfielder is an intelligent and strong defensive presence who keeps play moving forward with his calm passing and strong dribbling. He is exactly what Aston Villa ordered in midfield after shipping Douglas Luiz off to Juventus – a candidate with Diaby as the previous most valuable transfer piece at Villa Park.
Ollie Watkins is the best player on Aston Villa and was right there with Cole Palmer as a Premier League Player of the Season candidate, but at 28, Onana gets the edge as far as resale value goes as a 22-year-old No. 6/8.
Tottenham
Tottenham’s most valuable player may surprise you. Son Heung-min is their best player, easily, but the South Korean star is also 32 years old and not really a valuable player on the transfer market to anyone other than Saudi Pro League club; he’s basically to Spurs what Mohamed Salah is to Liverpool.
So Spurs’ most valuable player is very likely a center back, and between starters Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, the latter, signed just last summer, gets the edge by being 23 compared to the Argentinian’s 26.
Romero makes more headlines because he is the more active of the two center backs and has some of the best ball-winning numbers in the world, but van de Ven is actually the better pure defender when it comes to avoiding mistakes and reading the game.
It also helps that van de Ven is an absolute speed demon and one of the best athletes at center back in the world. Every top club had some understanding of who he was at Wolfsburg, but the 40-50 million euros Spurs spent on him could look like a bargain in a few years when van de Ven presumably doubles his value.
Chelsea
Picking Chelsea’s most valuable player has to be the easiest task, because Cole Palmer was the best player in the Premier League last season and saved Chelsea from finishing outside the top seven again.
Palmer was unplayable and looks like Chelsea’s best player since Eden Hazard, who is legitimately one of the most talented wingers to ever grace the Premier League.
The 22-year-old joined Chelsea for 40 million pounds last summer, and, now, he’s worth at least double that. With another strong season in 2024/25, Palmer could triple his value and rival Haaland as the most expensive player in the Premier League.
Last season, Palmer scored 22 goals with 11 assists, averaging 2.2 key passes and 1.6 dribbles completed per game. Capable of starting as a right winger or attacking midfielder, Palmer is the new face of the Chelsea project and could make even more progress if the players around him step up next season.
Newcastle
Bruno Guimaraes is probably Newcastle’s best player and is the kind of midfield presence defensively, creatively, and positionally that every single top club would dream of having.
But when it comes to value on the transfer market, you have to take a 23-year-old, ascending, legitimately world-class left winger every single time. Players like Anthony Gordon change games and impact the final score more profoundly, and this particular game-changer is, as of right now, the best left winger in the entire English Premiership.
Gordon scored 11 goals with 10 assists as one of the league’s big breakout stars, and, at this point, he has to be seen as more valuable than Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.
If Rashford was once seen as a 100 million euro player by outlets, then Gordon very much has to be in that conversation if he takes another step forward next season. It already looks like he’s going to be a better footballer than Rashford has ever been for Man United.
Manchester United
The new hero at Old Trafford, young Kobbie Mainoo broke out as a true building block for Manchester United behind veteran and star man Bruno Fernandes, displacing Casemiro in importance at the base of the Man United midfield.
Manchester United spent a lot of money on Rasmus Hojlund last summer and now Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro this year, but Mainoo, a homegrown talent, has taken the top spot on the value table at Old Trafford. He looks like a serious talent.
West Ham
West Ham have a couple of candidates here, but their most unique and gifted talent is a player they signed last summer from Ajax – and probably the best forward Ajax has produced in ages – Mohammed Kudus.
The 24-year-old Ghanian scored 8 goals and 6 assists last season while averaging more than 6 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game. Kudus is electrifying and only scratching the surface on what he can become over the next five years in the Premier League.
Crystal Palace
After Michael Olise’s sale to Bayern Munich, attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze is the unquestioned top star at Crystal Palace and a player likely worth upwards of 50 million euros.
Eze actually has a release clause worth at least 60 million pounds, and Crystal Palace are waiting to see if someone in need of a game-changer like Tottenham goes after the 26-year-old.
Last season, Eze scored 11 goals with 4 assists for Palace, averaging 2.6 dribbles completed, 2.0 key passes, and 1.8 fouls drawn per game. He is a menace in transitions and adept at linking play together with his teammates.
Brighton
Brighton have quite the collection of young talents rising through the ranks, but the general consensus is that Japanese left winger Kaoru Mitoma is the best of the bunch as he enters his prime years at 27.
A late bloomer and arguably Roberto De Zerbi’s finest find as Brighton manager, Mitoma’s 2023/24 season was derailed by injury, yet the winger still made an impact with 2.1 dribbles completed and 1.3 key passes per game.
In the previous season, Mitoma scored 7 goals with 5 assists to mark his Premier League debut. Monitored by Barcelona, Mitoma is a bigger season away from a move to one of Europe’s elite clubs as more teams have a vacancy for an all-around, decisive winger like Mitoma.
Bournemouth
A bit of a late-bloomer, former top Liverpool prospect Dominic Solanke first showed signs of putting it all together with a monstrous 2021/22 season in the Championship for Bournemouth, scoring 29 goals with 7 assists to help his club get back to the Premier League.
Although Solanke only scored 6 goals in his return to the top flight, his all-around impact and clutch plays could not be overlooked for the Cherries, with the striker notching another 7 assists while averaging 3 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game.
Solanke had his true breakout last season with 19 goals for Bournemouth and strong all-around numbers as a creator and dribbler, entrenching himself as one of the top strikers in the league.
Now, Tottenham are pushing for the 26-year-old in an effort to sign a true No. 9, moving Son Heung-min back to his best position on the left wing. With Spurs interested, Bournemouth likely feel they can get a 50 million euro fee for Solanke.
Fulham
Although Emile Smith-Rowe just joined Fulham for 35 million pounds from Arsenal. he’ll have to actually play some games for the Cottagers before he can say that he has taken over the top spot as the club’s most valuable player.
For now, that honor belongs to left back Antonee Robinson, who is one of the best American players right now and one of the top left backs in world football despite the lack of recognition he seems to get at Fulham.
Robinson averaged 2.5 tackles and 2.2 interceptions per game last season as a top defensive presence on the flanks. With another strong season, Robinson should become a household name in world football as a top left back.
Wolves
Injuries are just about the only thing that can be counted against Pedro Neto, who was squarely on the radar of literally every big club in England before, yet again, an injury ruined his season.
Neto was one of the best players in the Premier League during the first half of the campaign, finishing the 2023/24 season with 9 assists, roughly 2 key passes per game, and around 3 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per match.
The 24-year-old is one completely healthy season away from being recognized as one of the Premier League’s biggest stars, as he is a menace on the right flank with his trickery and ability to create clear-cut chances for his teammates.
Imagine what Neto could do at bigger club like Tottenham, combining with another top Premier League star like Son Heung-min. Even at the Euros, Neto showed the world his game-changing ability with a strong cameo off the bench in Portugal’s opening match.
Everton
Even before Everton sold Amadou Onana to Aston Villa, Jarrad Branthwaite had overtaken the Belgian midfielder as the Toffees’ most valuable asset on the transfer market.
Everton know how valuable he is, too, and with cash generated from the Onana sale, they can hold out for a maximum price – potentially over 70 million pounds – before selling Branthwaite to an interested elite of English football, such as center back-hungry Manchester United.
At the age of 22, Branthwaite established himself as one of the best center backs in the English top flight last season, averaging 1.9 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game while making surprisingly few mistakes as a U23 defender. He’s the next big thing.
Brentford
A suspension took Ivan Toney out of the spotlight a bit, but big clubs like Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal are still circling around the 2022/23 breakout star for Brentford.
Toney is a gamee-changer in transition and one of the most talented strikers in the Premier League. The 28-year-old is right in his prime, and he cooked up 20 goals and 4 assists with 2.2 fouls drawn per game in the 2022/23 season.
Nottingham Forest
There are a couple of candidates at Nottingham Forest, but nobody stands out more than Morgan Gibbs-White, who is downright electric at times, as he showed Manchester United in the middle of the 2023/24 season during a Forest upset win.
Gibbs-White has speed in transition and an element of creative genius, showing real end product and leadership for Nottingham Forest last season with 5 goals and 10 assists.
The 24-year-old isn’t one of the best players in the Premier League, but he’s a very good attacker with all-around ability and a willingness to work for the team. A valuation of 40 million euros is not unreasonable for the England international.
Leicester City
After notching 6 goals, 13 assists, and 2.3 dribbles completed per game for Leicester City in the Championship last season, 20-year-old right winger Abdul Fatawa has to be considered the Foxes’ most valuable transfer commodity going into the 2024/25 season.
While most fans around the world have never heard of Fatawa, he is the most dangerous attacker on a Leicester City side that is still waiting for Patson Daka to truly break out.
Look for Fatawa to earn plenty of admirers in the Premier League next season, and clubs like Arsenal and Tottenham could be pushing to sign him as soon as January.
Southampton
Southampton made it back to the Premier League after scraping by Leeds United in the promotion playoff, but they are a team very much in need of experienced upgrades in order to stay up this time around.
That said, Southampton do have an intriguing collection of young talent, and none of those talented young players looks more intriguing or more ready to make an impact than 22-year-old center back Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
The English defender 1.2 interceptions per game with just 0.2 dribbles completed allowed per 90. Harwood-Bellis looks advanced beyond his years at reading the game and in one-on-ones. He even scored twice and assisted thrice last season.
Ipswich Town
At long last, Ipswich Town are back in the Premier League, and they have brought up two very interesting defensive players with them in left back Leif Davis and center back Jacob Greaves.
After notching a whopping 18 assists and around 3 key passes and 3 combined tackles and interceptions per game last season in the Championship, Davis looks like THE player to watch for Ipswich.
With even half that number of assists in the Premier League next season, Davis could triple or quadruple his transfer value and announce himself as the next big playmaker in English football. He is legit.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.