Jupiler Pro League market values: Vermeeren equals record – Orban drops

The market value update of the Belgian Jupiler Pro League is a record-setter in competition history—first and foremost thanks to Royal Antwerp’s Arthur Vermeeren, who, thanks to an increase of €5 million, now has a market value of €30m. Only Charles De Ketelaere has previously reached that sort of market value benchmark before joining AC Milan from Brugge in the summer of 2022 for exactly that fee.

“Vermeeren is the outstanding talent of the Belgian first division,” Transfermarkt Area Manager Bart Tamsyn said about the record market value. “Although he is only 18, he is already showing consistent performances at a high level. Countless European top clubs want him and he has already played for the senior national team. It is expected that he will leave the Jupiler Pro League in the summer.” 

The second place, in the form of Bilal El Khannouss, is also reserved to a top talent, who will sooner rather than later be moving to a top league. The 19-year-old KRC Genk midfielder represented his country, Morocco, at the World Cup last year, and his market value increased from €18m to €22m. 

Jupiler Pro Laegue market values: Skov Olsen in top 3 - Orban drops 

Complementing the top three players with the highest market value is Andreas Skov Olsen. The Brugge midfielder benefits from the fact teammate Antonio Nusa and KAA Gent’s Gift Orban saw their market values decrease. While Orban dropped by €5m, Nusa, who is still considered a top talent, has struggled with countless injuries and dropped by €3m to €17m. “Orban was the up-and-coming star of the second half of the 2022/23 season, but his goalscoring productivity has dropped significantly from the level he initially showed when he arrived at Gent,” Tamsyn said. “Orban has scored just three goals in 15 games in the league and lost his position in the starting XI.” 

Altogether, the market value resulted in a smaller gap between the top teams. While Brugge dropped by €14m overall, and are now almost even with Antwerp and KRC Genk, Gent—despite Orban’s drop—saw their market value increase to almost the €100m mark. RSC Anderlecht is already there. The club from the outskirts of Brussels saw their market value go above the €100m mark for the first time since mid 2020. 

After going through a period of difficulty over the last few years, the record champions are now second, which is mostly due to two high-flying Danish strikers: Anders Dreyer and Kasper Dolberg. The two Danes are among the highest-scoring players in the league and received market value upgrades of €3m and €3.5m, respectively, to €10m. For Dolberg, this is the first increase in market value since the summer of 2021. 

Belgian market values: High-flying Union Saint-Gilloise up by €19.4m

In terms of market value, still somewhat removed from the top, Anderlecht’s city rivals, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, have dominated the league on the field. Despite losing several top players this summer, the team coached by Alexander Blessin has won 14 out of 18 games. As a result, the squad value increased by €19.4m to €66.8m. 

Japan’s national team, Koki Machida (+€3m to €6m) and Europe’s top assist provider, Cameron Puertas (+€3m to €7m), and top goalscorer Mohamed Amoura are the big contributors to the big gain in squad value. “Amoura was signed for €4m from Swiss second division side Lugano this summer, which is a significant fee for Union,” Tamsyn said. “But he has earned that fee back already and is considered one of the biggest discoveries of the season. The market value of the Algerian national team player increased by €4.5m to €10m, the biggest plus of the update.”

How Transfermarkt market values work

The Transfermarkt market values are calculated, taking into account various pricing models. A major factor is the Transfermarkt community, whose members discuss and evaluate player market values in detail. In general, the Transfermarkt market values are not to be equated with transfer fees. 

The goal is not to predict a price but an expected value of a player in a free market. Both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant in determining market values. Examples of this are listed below. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (you can find the detailed market value definition here).