Summer 2024 Update: K League 1's Top 10 Most Valuable Players | OneFootball

While Jesse Lingard remains the highest-valued player in the league, departures and sudden rises to stardom mean that there have been some changes to the K League 1 top ten most valuable players since the start of the campaign.

1. Jesse Lingard (31), FC Seoul (€5.00m)

FC Seoul'sJesse Lingard remains the most valuable player in K League 1 but his market valuation has dropped by a million euros. Injury and fitness issues meant a slower-than-desired start to life in K League for Lingard but the former England international has become an important player for FC Seoul, even wearing the captain's armband in the absence of Ki Sung-yueng and Cho Young-wook. Lingard's highest market value recorded was 40 million, a valuation he maintained from July 2018 to June 2019.

2. Nana Boateng (30), Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (€1.7m)

Jeonbuk midfielder Nana Boateng keeps his place as the second-most valuable player in K League 1 but his overall valuation has dropped by 250,000 euros. Boateng was a Dan Petrescu signing and the jury remains out on the Ghanian, having picked up two straight red cards this season. His highest market value was recorded March 2023 at 2.2 million euros while with CFR Cluj.

3. Darijan Bojanic (29), Ulsan HD (€1.4m)

Ulsan midfielder Darijan Bojanić stays third but his market value has dropped by 100,000 euros. This term, Bojanić has already doubled the number of league appearances he made last season, becoming a first-team regular. His highest market value was recorded in December 2022 at 2 million euros, before dropping to 1.6 million when joining Ulsan.

[KLU Pod | The Darijan Bojanić Interview]

4. Gustav Ludwigson (30), Ulsan HD (€1.3m)

With Seol Young-woo leaving for Red Star Belgrade, Swedish winger Gustav Ludwigson moves up one place in the top 10 and his market value remains unchanged. The 30-year-old, however, has missed a lot of the season through injury, with his last appearance on June 1st. Before that, the former Hammerby winger had scored four and assisted three in 12 appearances for the Horangi. The winger's highest record market value was 1.5 million euros in June 2022, a valuation he held until June 2023.

5. Song Min-kyu (24), Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (€1.2m)

Perennially linked to a move to Europe, there's no change in position or market value for Jeonbuk's Song Min-kyu. After a sluggish start to his Jeonju Castle career, Jeonbuk are, seemingly, finally getting a tune out of Song with the Korean international recording double figures for combined goals and assists for the second season in a row. Song's valuation was at its highest in June 2021 when he was valued at 1.5 million euros while with Pohang Steelers. He maintained that valuation when moving to Jeonbuk before dipping to 1.3 million in June 2022.

6. Yang Min-hyuk, Gangwon FC (€1.2m)

Yang Min-hyuk, the soon-to-be Tottenham Hotspur winger, has seen his market value rocket from 150,000 euros at the start of the year to 1.2 million. Yang only turned 18 in April and not long after that signed his first professional contract, but his hugely impressive first season in football - one which has seen him enter the golden boot race - has meant a huge, overnight increase in his market value.

[KLU Pod | What did Sonny and Postecoglou say about Yang Min-hyuk?]

7. Um Won-sang (25), Ulsan HD (€1.2m)

Um Won-sang has moved up three places in the table and has gained 100,00 euros in market value. 1.2 million euros draws level with Um's highest recorded market value in June 2023.

8. Matheus Sales (29), Ulsan HD (€1.0m)

Another Ulsan player to keep their place in the top 10, Matheus Sales, has seen his valuation dip by 200,000 euros. The Brazilian defensive midfielder has featured little more than a handful of times for the Horangi, completing the full 90 minutes just three times. His highest recorded market value was 1.2 million in November 2023.

9. Tiago Orobó (30), Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (€1.0m)

Jeonbuk's number nine Tiago remains at number nine but his valuation has dropped by 200,000 euros. The 1.2 million euro valuation he was given in December last year while at Daejeon is the highest of his career, up by 100% compared to when he first joined the Purples. When the Brazilian striker first moved to K League with Gyeongnam in 2022, his market value was 150,000 euros. Tiago took a while to get going for Jeonbuk but had begun to rediscover his goal-scoring touch before the all-star break, bagging five in seven appearances between rounds 19 and 25.

10. Lee Dong-gyeong, Gimcheon Sangmu  (€1.0m)

Lee Dong-gyeong's last valuation, recorded in December 2023, was 500,000 euros. His current market value is the highest of his career, beating the 900,000 euros from December 2021 and January 2022. Moving switching the Munsu for the military, Lee was in fine fettle - scoring seven and assisting five in eight league appearances for Ulsan.

Changes from February 2024

Despite appearing for Albania at Euro 2024, a lack of game time for Gwangju has seen Jasir Asani fall out of the top ten. His current market value is one million euros, down 200,000 since February. There had been rumours of a move to Europe with teams in Germany and Spain said to be interested. But with Eom Ji-sung's move to Swansea City, Asani looks set to feature more for the Griffins in the latter half of the season.

Notable Transfers

Among some of the new players joining the league or big names returning, Son Jun-ho slots in at number 12 at one million euros. Son signed for Suwon FC on a free transfer after being kept in Chinese custody for well over a year. New FC Seoul winger Lucas Silva is 14th at one million euros, Ulsan forward Giorgi Arabidze is valued at 900,000 euros at 15th, and Daejeon's Kim Moon-hwan is 20th at 850,000 having returned to K League from Qatari side Al Duhail.

How are market values calculated?

In February this year, K League United spoke to the Head of Asian Football at Transfermarkt,Tiberius Radziejewski, to get an insight into how it all works:

"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."

"Demand is defined using a paid transfer fee and salary in the context of the individual and situational parameters. It should be noted that in bigger leagues there is a heavier focus on transfer fees, while in smaller leagues where there is a greater emphasis on free transfers, the focus is primarily on salaries to determine market values. Our goal is to reflect the demand for the player and adjust for special factors or framework parameters in the medium term.

"At the same time, market values are viewed both individually and in comparison to other players, clubs, and leagues. A player with an expiring contract has a transfer value of zero, the market value, however, is calculated independently from his actual transfer value. In this respect, even a short contract length can only be taken into account to a limited extent. The individual transfer modalities are also relevant in the case of a possible difference between market values and transfer fees."