Two Premier League Stars Included In List Of Europe’s Top FIVE Most Valuable Defenders

David Tully

3 years ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Chelsea, Everton, leeds, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, spurs, West Ham, wolves

The CIES Football Observatory compile a list twice a year of the highest valued players in Europe based on their positions on the pitch.

Following our look at the most valuable midfielders in our article last week, we will now switch our focus to the defenders.

CIES assess eight different variables to come up with their transfer values. Age, career progression, contract length, recent performances, inflation, the club’s sporting and economic levels, as well as international status, are all considered.

Press the next page as we go through the five most valuable defenders in Europe’s top five leagues.

5) Sergino Dest (Barcelona – €92.7m)

The United States international has had a pretty decent first season in La Liga after making the €26m switch from Ajax back in October last year.

Dest has not always been first choice under manager Ronald Koeman, but he finished the campaign strongly, with the highlight being the brace he scored in the 6-1 win over Real Sociedad in March.

4) Achraf Hakimi (Inter – €93.5m)

At the time of writing, the Moroccan remains an Inter player, but he is currently at the centre of a tug of war between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.

It is not surprising considering Hakimi scored seven goals and contributed 11 assists as a wingback, helping the Nerazzurri to their first Serie A title in eleven years.

3) Ruben Dias (Manchester City – €114.4m)

The Portuguese defender has been a fantastic buy for Manchester City. Many were worried that spending £61m on the 24-year-old was a big gamble, considering he had not proven himself in a top European league.

However, Dias was integral to helping City win the Premier League title, and he was handed the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award for his performances.

2) Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool – €115m)

There has been a lot of debate surrounding the right-back’s recent form, but the defender has already won the biggest prizes in club football at the age of 22 so his valuation can’t really be disputed.

Alexander-Arnold has the potential to improve even further as well, so we shall see how he develops as a player in the coming months and years.

1) Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich – €131.6m)

The Canadian international has been a sensational find for Bayern. Brought in from the Vancouver Whitecaps for an initial fee of £10m, he has rapidly become one of the world’s best left-backs in the past couple of years.

Davies’ speed, dribbling and crossing ability make him a complete modern-day fullback, and at 20 years of age, he is only going to get better in the future.