Ukraine market value update: Mudryk becomes second most valuable Ukrainian player ever

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After a summer of incessant transfer rumours and a remarkable Champions League group stage with Shakhtar Donetsk, Mykhaylo Mudryk is undoubtedly the biggest winner from the new Transfermarkt market value update for the Ukrainian Premier Liga. Not only has the 21-year-old talent become the most valuable player in the division, but sits second only to former AC Milan and Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko has the most valuable Ukrainian player ever. 

In this market value update Mudryk’s value increased by a remarkable €25 million to where it now stands at €40m. Only the aforementioned Shevchenko could lay claim to a higher market value in Transfermarkt market value history, when he had a value of €51m in 2006. "It's the biggest ever jump in market value we've had in the Ukrainian Premier League and Mudryk gets the competition's record so far," said International Operations Coordinator at Transfermarkt, Artjom Zavodnyk. 

“In particular, the interest in Mudryk, for example from Arsenal, is driving the market value up enormously – the Shakhtar star is also of interest in the Bundesliga and Serie A,” added Zavodnyk. “Brentford had already offered €30m in the summer, but were rejected. Since then Mudryk has improved his performance and has attracted particular attention with his five goals and assists in the Champions League. The chances are good that he will leave in the winter if he gets a suitable offer. Then Mudryk could even set a new transfer record for Ukraine.” 

Other winners in Shakhtar's ranks include goalkeeping talent Anatoliy Trubin, who will be boosted by €3m to €11m, and attacking midfielder Georgiy Sudakov, who will be boosted by €4.5m to €6m going up, and Artem Bondarenko, who goes up €2.5m to €4m.

Ukraine market values: Dnipro striker rises as Kyiv's stars falter

The surprising league leaders are currently neither the team from Donetsk nor the record champions Dynamo Kyiv, but SK Dnipro-1. The unofficial successor club to the 2015 Europa League finalists, FK Dnipro. Their striker Artem Dovbyk is the Premier League's top scorer with 11 goals and has been a fixture in the national team for the past 12 months. 

Market Value

A. Dovbyk Centre-Forward

€30.00m

“Dovbyk's market value increases by €4m to €10m. He was the top scorer in the aborted season and got right back to work after the start of this season. He has also scored five goals in the Conference League, propelling Dnipro into the round of 16 playoffs. Interest from Italy is very high again, he could make his second attempt in Europe in the summer after it didn't work out at Midtjylland between 2018 and 2020," says market value expert Zavodnyk.

Market Value

V. Tsygankov Right Winger

€28.00m

The big loser is the previous market value leader in the league, Viktor Tsygankov, who has been downgraded by €3m to €22m. Zavodnyk notes: “One of the reasons for this is that there is no longer much interest in the player. He is past the peak age of 25 and there is great concern in Ukraine that, like Andriy Yarmolenko, he may have missed the right moment to take the next step.” The striker’s contract is also set to expire next summer and the player’s performances in the first half of this season have been hardly exemplary, most notably in the Europa League where his side failed to get out of their group.

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).