Speculation is swirling around two of the Premier League's leading midfielders. As Barcelona push to sign Rodri, Manchester City are being linked with a move for Enzo Fernandez. But why does the Chelsea player have a much higher transfer value?
Rodri is a four-time Premier League title winner who was named player of the tournament at the World Cup with Spain. And yet Barcelona are hoping to land him for a fee in the region of £60m, while Chelsea are demanding twice as much for Fernandez. In this edition of Between the Lines, the Sky Sports strand unpicking the data behind football's biggest stories, we explain what goes into player transfer valuations as this summer's spending continues.
Rodri's outstanding World Cup performances for Spain, following two injury-hit seasons with Manchester City, proved the former Ballon d'Or winner is still capable of operating at his best level. Even in a disrupted Premier League campaign last term, data from Gradient Sports shows Rodri outperformed Fernandez in five out of six key midfield metrics, including passing, carrying and tackling. Rodri's age, however, having turned 30 at the start of the summer, puts him at a different stage of his career to Fernandez, who is heading into what should be his peak years at 25.
Factoring current Premier League midfielders who have reached a Transfermarkt value of £35m at some point in their careers, the graphic below shows that, on average, values peak at 27 before beginning a steady decline as players head towards their 30s. Rodri is atypical in that, according to Transfermarkt, his value peaked later, at the age of 28, when he won the Ballon D'Or. But it has subsequently dropped dramatically, from £111.1m to £47m.
Fernandez's Transfermarkt value, by contrast, is at its highest point having risen to £85.5m, seemingly following the established trend. Contract length is another important factor in player valuations, both in relation to Rodri and Fernandez, and more broadly. While Rodri is entering the final year of his contract, meaning Manchester City run the risk of losing him for nothing next summer, Fernandez has six years remaining on his deal at Chelsea, putting his club in a much stronger negotiating position.
Grouping current Premier League players by contract lengths clearly shows that the longer the contract, the higher the average value. According to Transfermarkt valuations, players with five or more years on their contracts, such as Fernandez, have an average value of £49.7m. Players with under a year remaining on their contracts, such as Rodri, have an average value of just £7m.
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