Eredivisie Market Values: Gimenez and Lang on the rise, Hato only positive at troubled Ajax

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After the departures of Xavi Simons and Jurriën Timber, the Dutch Eredivisie once again has a player valued at €40 million or more. Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez confirmed his status as one of Europe's most prolific strikers in the first few months of the new season and fills the void left by the two Dutch national team youngsters. The Mexican has seen his market value increase from €25m to €40m, which makes him the biggest winner of the market value update in the Dutch top-flight. Feyenoord and PSV are the biggest winners amongst the teams, while struggling Ajax are quickly losing ground.

With seven goals in only four matches, Gimenez became Europe's top goalscorer in the month of September alongside Stuttgart star Serhou Guirassy. His season total stands at twelve goals in the Dutch league, which gives him a good chance of becoming the first Eredivisie striker since Georgios Giakoumakis in 2020/21 to score more than 25 times in a single season. "Gimenez' goals put him on the radar of several top clubs and his rise of €15m in value puts him closer to the numbers that are circulating in the transfer rumour mill", Kevin Lux, Transfermarkt Content Manager in the Netherlands, explains. "The reason why the Dutch market value team decided to limit him to €40m is because the Mexican striker hasn't played yet in the Champions League. Gimenez was suspended for the first two matches against Celtic and Atletico Madrid. When he shows that he can also perform for his team on this level, he will undoubtedly climb even further on the market value ladder in the coming months."

Gimenez has to share his status as biggest market value winner with PSV youngster Johan Bakayoko. The Belgian winger does already have experience in the Champions League and was a big factor in taking the Eindhoven side to the group stages with two assists against both Rangers and Sturm Graz. "Bakayoko was widely expected to leave PSV in the summer", Lux notes. "But he decided to discard offers from Paris Saint-Germain and other clubs to stay in Eindhoven so he could play regularly in the Champions League. For now, that seems like the right choice because the Belgian plays a lot and has shown how dangerous he can be from the right wing." The only downside is his numbers. Apart from the four assists in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League, Bakayoko only amassed two more assists and one goal in his fifteen matches so far. "It's a lot of bark, but no bite,” Lux adds. "He keeps defenders busy with his dribbles, but has to be more decisive with assists and goals." His €15m rise in value (now €25m) brings him towards the amount that PSG apparently offered for the winger. When he starts producing goals and assists on a regular basis, he can climb even higher towards Gimenez' numbers. For now, Bakayoko has to be satisfied with his status as the most valuable player at PSV.

He replaces Hirving Lozano (-€3m to €22m), who hasn't started well during his second stint in Eindhoven. The Mexican winger was supposed to be Bakayoko’s replacement, but has to put up with a role on the bench for the time being. When he does play, he rarely convinces his coach Peter Bosz that he should be PSV's number one on the right wing. "Therefore, it would have been weird to have him as PSV's most valuable squad player," Lux concludes. Lozano is the only big name in Eindhoven who has lost market value. Other important players like Noa Lang (+€5m, to €20m), Joey Veerman (+€4m, to €20m), Jerdy Schouten, who climbs up by €4m to €16m, Sergiño Dest (+€3m to €13m) and defenders Jordan Teze (+€3m to €9m) and Olivier Boscagli (+€3m to €10m) are all on the rise for the current number one in the Eredivisie.

Back to reigning Dutch champions Feyenoord, where the other big winners of the market value update can be found. After Gimenez and Bakayoko, David Hancko (+€5m to €30m), Yankuba Minteh (+€6m, to €8m) and Lutsharel Geertruida, who increases by €10m to the second most valuable spot in Holland at €35m, are the biggest winners in market value. Both defenders are crucial for Feyenoords performances and have strong interest from teams in the bigger European leagues, while Minteh is slowly starting to play himself into the starting eleven.

About four years ago, Ajax seemed to be on a pathway to becoming Holland's own version of Bayern Munich. The Amsterdam side had all the money and were the only team who could spend record fees to bring new players in, taking them to a Champions League semi-final. How different things are today, with Ajax sitting at a record low 16th place in the Dutch league. Maurice Steijn’s players have an important few weeks ahead of them, because if Ajax don’t win in one of the next two matches, they could end up dead last in the Eredivisie. It may not come as a big surprise that Ajax are amongst the losing teams in this market value update. "The overall numbers are however not as bad as the team's performances at the moment," Lux says. "That was mainly due to the high transfer fees that were paid for players with low market values. Diant Ramaj is one of the best examples. The goalkeeper was valued at €750k when he played for Eintracht Frankfurt, but was bought by sacked sporting director Sven Mislintat for €5m. Since then he has dropped to third-choice goalkeeper after the injured Geronimo Rulli and current first choice Jay Gorter." Because of his transfer fee, his market value has risen to €1m. The same goes for Benjamin Tahirovic (+€3.5m to €5m) and Gaston Avila, who climbed by €2.5m to a new market value of €6m. "None of them convince at the moment, but they still climb in value because of the paid transfer fees,” adds Lux.

The only bright spot at Ajax is 17-year-old central defender Jorrel Hato. The youngster is part of the first eleven and although he also shares in Ajax's misfortunes, his age and status as alumni from the famed Ajax youth academy makes him a popular target on the transfer market. Hato doubles in value from €5m to €10m, putting him just short of the three most valuable 17-year-olds worldwide. Goalkeeper Gorter (+€1m to €2m) and youngster Silvano Vos (+€2m to €3m) are also profiting from a rise in playing time. Big names like Steven Bergwijn (-€2m to €20m), Steven Berghuis (-€3m to €9m) and Kenneth Taylor (-€2m to €10m) are all paying the price for their share in Ajax's record low standings in the Dutch league. 

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).