The 491st CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the U25 players who are sportingly the most deserving for a senior national team debut. The rankings were established on the basis of a performance index* specifically designed by our research team using Wyscout data. They include the ten players with the highest performance scores from 50 nations around the world.

For the major nations, the following U25 non-full international footballers are considered the most deserving: Santiago Hezze (Olympiacos, Argentina), Jarne Steuckers (Genk, Belgium), Murillo (Nottingham Forest, Brazil), Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest, England), Hugo Ekitike (Eintracht Francort, France), Nico González (Manchester City, Spain), Yann Aurel Bisseck (Inter, Germany) and Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta, Italy).

For all the players listed, the Post also presents the estimated transfer value according to the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model, based on the assumption of an international debut. In this case, the five highest values were recorded for Jamie Gittens (England, €74.2m), Désiré Doué (France, €62.9m), Santiago Castro (Argentina, €60.5m), Archie Gray (England, €56.6m) and Dean Huijsen (Spain, €51.2 m)

* The index is based on the footballers’ playing time over the last year, the sporting level of the matches played and the players’ performances in six areas of the game (method here).

>>> Full data

>>> Any organisation interested in our services is invited to contact us to find out more about all the possible applications of the multiple procedures developed.

In the last two transfer windows, only one team has had a negative net spending* of more than €250 million: Brighton & Hove. Now firmly established in the Premier League, the English club recorded a deficit of €197 million during last summer and €56 million this winter. Premier League newly-promoted Ipswich Town and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr round out the podium of the teams with the worst balance sheets. All the data is available free of charge here.

In the other European big-5 leagues, the biggest deficits were recorded by Atlético Madrid (-€116m) in Spain, AS Roma (-€111m) in Italy and Bayern Munich (-€63m) in Germany. Manchester City totalled the biggest win last summer (+€157m) and the greatest loss in the transfer window that has just ended (-€226m). In terms of spending, Brighton & Hove (€317m) are ahead of Chelsea (€310m) and Manchester City (€278m).

An English club tops the list also in terms of the most positive results: Leeds United (+€132m). Another team relegated from the Premier League with a squad featuring many young players highly rated on the transfer market ranks in the top three: Burnley FC (+€101m). RC Lens is second (+€106m), while Benfica (+€92m) and Porto (+€82m) are just off the podium.

* All figures include any add-ons regardless of their effective payment or receipt, as well as fees earned from sell-ons. Loans with a non-conditional obligation to buy have also been considered.

>>> Full data for the 100 clubs with the highest transfer fee volumes

Issue number 489 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post forecasts the results up to the end of the season of teams in 42 leagues around the world according to their performance level. The latter was measured on the basis of a statistical model including the number and location of the passes and shots made and conceded so far by teams (Wyscout data), regardless of the results obtained.

In the five major European leagues, the best progress in terms of points per match should come from Toulouse and Monaco in Ligue 1 (with Auxerre and Strasbourg at the opposite end), Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga (RB Leipzig at the opposite), Cagliari and Como in Serie A (Empoli at the opposite), Tottenham and Manchester City in the Premier League (Newcastle at the opposite), as well as Girona and Getafe in La Liga (Leganés at the opposite).

Across all leagues, the greatest positive gaps between the points per match achieved so far and those predicted up until the season end were measured for Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia (+0.66), United Arab Emirates’ Al-Wasl FC (+0.54) and Cyprus’ APOEL FC (+0.5). Conversely, Serbia’s FK Mladost (-0.62), the Emiratis of Ittihad Kalba (-0.52) and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Riyadh SC (also -0.52) are expected to experience the biggest drops in form.

>>> Full data

The 488th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 players who have scored the most goals in official club or national team matches (senior, U23 or U21) over the last year. Sporting CP’s Swede Viktor Gyökeres is clearly at the top of the list with no fewer than 64 goals: 54 for his club and 10 at national team level.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway) and Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England) complete the podium with 52 and 47 goals respectively. In terms of goal frequency, the top three are Irishman Garbhan Coughlan of Cashmere Technical in New Zealand (one goal every 43 minutes), Japan’s Tomoyuki Doi of Geylang United in Singapore, and Uruguay’s Martín Cauteruccio of Sporting Cristal in Peru.

The Post also presents the rankings for the last two and three years. Over the last two years, nobody has scored more goals than Erling Haaland (101), while Kylian Mbappé tops the last-three-year list with 147 goals. The youngest player in last year’s top 100 is the Spaniard Chupete (Atlético Malagueño), while the evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr and Portugal) is the oldest.

>>> Full data

The 487th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the U23 players not yet in Europe’s big-5 who are most ready to take the next step in their careers. The selection is based on an index considering the footballers’ playing time over the last year, the sporting level of matches played, as well as their performances in six game areas (Wyscout data).

Sporting CP’s Belgian full international Zeno Debast tops the table with an index of 87.5 out of 100. Another centre back, PSV Eindhoven’s Dutchman Ryan Flamingo, ranks second, while his teammate Malik Tillman (86.2) round up the podium. Ukrainian Georgiy Sudakov (Shakhtar Donetsk) is fourth, ahead of Portugal’s Álvaro Carreras (Benfica). Sixth-placed Brazilian Wesley França (Flamengo) is the top-ranked player outside Europe.

The Post presents the overall top 100, as well as the ten highest-ranked players in 60 leagues worldwide. The following footballers head the rankings in their respective league: Christos Tzolis (Belgium), Manfred Ugalde (Russia), Mario Mitaj (Saudi Arabia), Martin Vitík (Czech Republic), Oscar Gloukh (Austria), Victor Guzmán (Mexico), Thiago Fernández (Argentina) and Semih Kiliçsoy (Turkey). For all players, the Post also unveils the estimated transfer value.

>>> Full data

>>> More information on the technical analysis of performance

>>> Scientific paper on the statistical model for transfer estimates

The CIES Football Observatory is the world leader in the scientific evaluation of professional players’ transfer values. Issue number 486 of the Weekly Post presents the 100 best-valued footballers in the world today. Englishman Jude Bellingham, under contract with Real Madrid until 2029, tops the list with a value of €251 million.

Manchester City’s Norwegian Erling Haaland (€221m) and Real Madrid’s Brazilian Vinícius Júnior (€206m) complete the podium despite contracts extending only until 2027. Fourth-placed Spaniard Lamine Yamal (€180m) is tied to his club for even less time (June 2026), which would facilitate a possible departure from Barcelona. Now aged 26, despite a contract with Real Madrid until 2029, Kylian Mbappé’s transfer value (€175m) is only the fifth-highest.

Three Premier League players, England’s Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, one from the Bundesliga, Germany’s Florian Wirtz, and a fourth Real Madrid footballer, Brazil’s Rodrygo, also feature in the top 10. The highest value for goalkeepers was recorded for Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove), while Joško Gvardiol (Manchester City) tops the list for defenders and Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting CP) for players from outside the big-5.

>>> Top 100

>>> Best-valued player per club in 65 leagues worldwide

>>> Scientific paper on the CIES Football Observatory method