Arsenal Star Valued at £86m by CIES Football Observatory

CIES Football Observatory have released their list of the most valued young players.

Scanning across the top five football leagues in Europe – England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France – The International Centre for Sports Studies has made their estimations for the top transfer values of players born after the year 2000, with four Arsenal players featuring in the top 100.

Estimations such as these are made using a specific algorithm. On the player’s side, it takes contract duration, age, international status, career progression and performances into account, while areas such as the sporting level of the club they’re at are also factored in.

Arsenal have a string of exciting young talents making their mark on the first team, but it will come as no surprise that Bukayo Saka has been valued at the most by CIES. With his value estimated at a cool £86m, he earns an impressive seventh spot on the list.

https://twitter.com/CIES_Football/status/1323211499565912065

Racing away at the top of the table is Canadian roadrunner Alphonso Davies, with Saka’s nearest competitors being Ferran Torres and Mason Greenwood of Manchester City and Manchester United respectively.

Is he worth that? It’s far too soon to judge but in a normal climate, with the trajectory he’s on and given the length of his contract, it really isn’t out of the realms of plausibility. If he isn’t now, he sure will be.

Saka didn’t have his best game against Manchester United, but he was still solid in patches and the one of the main reasons his performance didn’t garner the most attention was due to the majesty of the midfield duo. But he’s now cemented his place in the starting lineup for the rest of the season. No doubt about that.

It speaks volumes of his development that in just 12 months he’s gone from making his first mark in the Europa League, to fans now pleading he be rested for the competition in favour of regular Premier League outings.

The 19-year-old isn’t the only Arsenal player who’s been given a transfer estimate, with Gabriel Martinelli worth an estimated £23.6m and William Saliba coming in at £18.8m. The latter is somewhat unnerving, but hardly surprising since he’s yet to play for the club competitively since joining for nearly £10m more than that.

Emile Smith Rowe takes up the final spot of Arsenal’s young contingent, although his value is rated at a much lower £4.7m.