Market values USL: Oluwaseyi in Adeniran's footsteps - Barajas doubles value

©USL/Transfermarkt

After the conclusion of the 2023 USL Championship season, Transfermarkt has updated or confirmed the market values of 567 players. There was some movement at the very top, but only the two most valuable players in the USL Championship, Emerson Hyndman (Memphis 901) and Rocco Ríos Novo (Phoenix Rising), saw their market values drop from €800,000 to €500,000 and €750,000 to €500,000 respectively.

Hyndman and Ríos Novo are now joined at the top by Milan Iloski (Orange County SC) and Rida Zouhir (San Antonio FC). Although the USL Championship is improving at a steady pace, Transfermarkt felt that a market value above €500,000 should be reserved for exceptional talents only. Also of note, of the four top players, only Hyndman is under contract in the USL Championship next season. Ríos Novo (from Lanús) and Zouhir (Montréal) are currently on loan. Iloski will join Danish side Nordsjaelland this winter. 

Market Value

F. Barajas Right Winger

€1.00m

Ranked as the second division below Major League Soccer, the USLC has increasingly become a development league for top US-based talent. Among the three standout players with market value updates were three players that also featured at the U17 FIFA World Cup in Indonesia: Matthew Corcoran from Birmingham Legion (+€50,000 to €300,000) and Bryce Jamison (+€50,000 to €350,000) represented the United States, Fidel Barajas from finalist Charleston Battery (+€175,000 to €300,000) featured for Mexico. 

USL market values: Corcoran, Jamison, and Barajas scouted by European clubs 

Corcoran, Jamison, and Barajas not only made the U17 World Cup rosters for their respective countries but were already a significant part of their respective club sides in the USL this season. All three are also being scouted by European clubs. Jamison is on Feyenoord’s radar but was also scouted by Premier League clubs at the U17 World Cup. Barajas has been linked with a move to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. Corcoran, too is now in the notebooks of several top European clubs. 

Market Value

B. Jamison Right Winger

€350k

The USL Championship, however, isn’t just developing for Europe. Although that pathway is trickier, there have been a few players who have recently managed to make an impact on the MLS as well. One example is Samuel Adeniran, who just finished an outstanding season with St. Louis CITY SC. In Tani Oluwaseyi (San Antonio FC) and Albert Dikwa (Pittsburgh Riverhounds), two strikers, in particular, are projected to follow in Adeniran’s path and, as a result, saw their market values upgraded from €175,000 to €300,000 and €350,000 to €400,000 respectively. 

Market Value

T. Oluwaseyi Centre-Forward

€350k

Dikwa has scored 20 goals in 28 games and has been scouted by MLS clubs all season. Oluwaseyi, who has both a Canadian and Nigerian passport, scored 16 goals and seven assists in 25 league games for San Antonio. The 23-year-old striker is currently on loan from Minnesota United and is expected to fight for a first-team spot at the MLS club ahead of the 2023 season.

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).