The term football hotbed is often misused but without doubt, the Dutch Eredivisie is arguably Europe’s top team’s hotbed in terms of recruiting talented youngsters.
Now that the beautiful game is getting awash with moneybags every season, and the amount of money exchanged between clubs for the hottest talents still makes the eyes water. Transfer fees don’t often adhere to basic logic due to the multitude of factors at play.
How much is the bidding club worth? How much does the selling clubs want? Who’s at the negotiating table? And most importantly, the League’s value. These are the factors that decide a transfer fee – as well as a player’s age, their estimated potential, how long remains on the player’s contract.
With everything from the player’s form, age and current club taken into consideration, it often takes a lot more than being one of Eredivisie’s best players to drive up a price tag in the market.
Now, the question is who are the most valuable players in Eredivisie?
Here Are Eredivisie 10 Most Valuable Players In 2021 According to Transfermarkt
- Ryan Gravenberch – (Ajax Amsterdam, €33.00m)
Over the years Ajax has always been one of Europe’s excellent product lines and till now their academy ‘De Toekomst’ still produces some of the finest talents you could see around. They nurture youngsters to become world stars, a tradition that has been embedded in the club’s culture for decades.
With this fact, one notable name that has also pass through the club’s academy is Ryan Gravenberch. Who in the same vein is one of the team’s most important players since he made his senior debut against PSV Eindhoven in 2018, aged 16 and 130 days. He becomes the youngest player to ever play for ‘de Godenzonen’ in the league surpassing the previous record set by the legendary Clarence Seedorf.
The 19-year-old Gravenberch is the most valuable player in Eredivisie presently in terms of monetary value due to his talent and the fact that he’s still very young which without a doubt is the greatest selling point.
The Ajax teen sensation is a central midfielder and he’s shown with his impressive display on the pitch couple of times that he has the necessary knack to become a well-rounded player, which gives credence to why Ten Hag trusted him in providing stability for his backline.
- Andre Onana – (Ajax Amsterdam, €30.00m)
Prior to Onana’s ban, the Cameroonian international is undoubtedly the wall in between the goal-post that makes Ten Hag’s defence thick.
It’s no news that the young goalie was made in Barcelona, one of the best football behemoths in the world. He establishes himself as one of the fast-rising goalkeepers in Ajax where he’s seen as a scintillating talent.
Away from the Catalan club and coming into a new environment like Ajax, the increase in competitive edge, trust and workload in trying to be at his best comes easy for him compared to when he was in Spain.
Since he changed club, Onana has been one of the most coveted goalies in the Eredivisie due to the consistency and maturity he oozes. An awesome pointer to the fact that it is just a matter of time before top clubs in Europe snap him up.
Right now in the Eredivisie, Onana is the second most valuable star and it’s quite understandable because of his commitment, determination, and hunger to be amongst the finest goalkeeper in football.
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- Sebastien Haller – (Ajax Amsterdam, €27.00m)
Centre forward are often judged with goal ratio. Haller’s stint with the German side Eintracht Frankfurt could be said to be a success having scored a total of 33 goals from 2017 to 2019 before he left for West Ham United.
To some, his West Ham United stint was more of a disaster due to the baggage of expectations he was coming with from Germany. However, he did give out a modest performance scoring 14 goals in 53 appearances before moving to Eredivisie.
Since teaming up with ‘de Godenzonen’ he took up his position in the team like he has been there for years, displaying electrifyingly. His presence has undoubtedly given the club’s manager some sort of options in tinkering with his tactics deploying players like Tadic into a playmaker role while Haller, Antony and Neres do the damage upfront.
- David Neres – (Ajax Amsterdam, €27.00m)
If precedent is anything to go by, the stunning performances the Brazilian display against the best of teams in the Champions League and Europa League speaks volumes of how good he is. Since becoming one of the most expensive foreign signings in Eredivisie’s history, he has been on a consistent good form for the Dutch giant.
Should any team come knocking for his service, such team will cough out nothing less than €40m to €45m due to how he has developed himself into one of the biggest names in the league.
That said, one good thing about his style of play is the fact that he’s a natural winger who loves to hug the byline, drives into the box to create something out of nothing for his teammates which is obviously one key quality today’s coaches look out for in a winger.
- Antony dos Santos – (Ajax Amsterdam, €25.00m)
Sao Paulo academy ‘Cotia’ has over the years been the most productive academy in South American, which in the same vein has also been Europe’s hotbed in terms of recruiting talented Brazilian players.
Following the departure of Casemiro, Eder Militao, Lucas Moura, and Neres who are all former products of Cotia. Antony is the next youngster to have come out of the academy, turning heads in the Eredivisie with his style of play reminiscent of prime Eden Hazard.
The pacy left-footed winger is valued at €25m having consistently developed his game under Erik Ten Hag who has given him enough freedom to showcase what he’s capable of in terms of his electric pace, ability to beat defenders with ease, and all-round contributions on the pitch.
- Lisandro Martinez – (Ajax Amsterdam, €23.00m)
La Albiceleste over the years are known to often produce exciting players across all positions, but over the last decade producing brilliant centre defenders in the mould of Walter Samuel, Fabricio Coloccini and Roberto Ayala have been quite difficult, perhaps the Argentina Football Association (AFA) don’t give much attention to that position on like they do with the attacking position.
However, there are flocks of talents in that position recently, such as Lucas Martinez Quarta, Nehuen Perez, Marcos Senesi, Cristian Romero, Leonardo Balerdi and Juan Foyth one of the first centres back from the production line to make his debut with the senior team.
Amongst the players who are doing incredibly well with their respective team is Martinez, who was brought in from Defensa y Justicia following the departure of De Ligt to Juventus.
He may be an unknown quality back in Argentina before now, but presently his potential is outstanding.
- Nicolas Tagliafico – (Ajax Amsterdam, €22.00m)
The left-back has been enjoying some sort of swift renaissance at Ajax as one of the best in the league compared to when he was at Independiente, a team he captained to glory in winning the 2017 Copa Sudamericana before moving to join the Dutch giant.
Saying Tagliafico has been one of Ajax’s best defenders is an understatement. The Argentine hasn’t only shown he could develop into one of the most coveted left-back in world football, he has already proved to be one with his unrelenting consistency for the Netherlands side over time.
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- Marcos Senesi – (Feyenoord, €19.00m)
Senesi has also established himself as one of ‘De Trots van Zuid‘ trusted general since joining in 2019 from San Lorenzo, which give the reason why big clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester City and AC Milan have been lurking around for his services.
Back in 2019, the Argentine was valued at €35m but with the current inflated market in today’s football he’s potential suitors won’t pay less than €50m to €55m for his services bearing in mind that his former club would also be entitled to ten per cent of a future sale.
With his rapid progress since he joined the Dutch side, it’s just a matter of time before he moves to one of the biggest clubs in Europe. And at 24, he definitely still has age on his side, being a player for the long term which is one of the main factors proactive team consider.
- Cody Gakpo – (PSV Eindhoven, €18.00m)
The lanky winger is one of the talented products from the team’s academy. Gakpo is of Togo and Ghana descent through his parents and as a matter of fact, he’s been really good for the club in terms of his on-field contributions.
While his breakthrough season for PSV Eindhoven produced 7 goals and 11 assists in 25 appearances. Due to his quality on the ball, Gakpo has been described as a nightmare to defenders with his fast attacking style of play likened to prime Eden Hazard.
Should he one day nurse the ambition of moving elsewhere like some of his colleagues who have moved on to achieved success elsewhere, his potential suitors must be ready to table a suitable bid.
- Duzan Tadic – (Ajax Amsterdam, €18.00m)
Call him the Serbian magician or the old war-horse you won’t be wrong.
Before switching to Ajax, many thought he would use his exciting form with Southampton to seal a move to one of the biggest teams in Europe, the decision came as a big surprise considering how good he was for the Saints scoring 21 goals and 30 assists in 134 games.
However, since teaming up with ‘de Godenzonen’, he has been delivering stunning performances consistently and has at any point regret his decision in moving to the Dutch league.
The Serbian is gradually edging closer to the tail end of his career, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t command some decent fee in the present day inflated market for any team who would like to have him for a short time.
Final Note
Cheapgoal’s list might not be perfect obviously, but it’s the closest you will get to the truth, which is undefinable unless each of these players is sold at this exact moment in time.
