Is Ryan Kent worth £40M?
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 12: Ryan Kent of Rangers FC celebrates with Alfredo Morelos and Joseph Ayodele-Aribo after scoring his team's second goal during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and St. Johnstone at Ibrox Stadium on August 12, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
On the subject of player value, we had a post recently suggesting some ‘outrageous’ player prices. They had Goldson at £18M and Kent at £40M, to name just two.
Now, immediate reaction is to laugh this kind of comment out of town, as Rangers did the Barisic and Kent bids from Leeds, but on closer inspection, while it’s patently obvious Rangers won’t get £40M for Kent, the fact Celtic demand that for Edouard (sell-on clause or not) suggests a couple of things.
- On top of their selling Tierney for £25M, even SPL players are starting to be valued in the more relevant numbers of this transfer market.
- If these players were plying their trades in England and not the SPL, this wouldn’t even be a debate.
Even our own fans seem to be critical of the more valuable assessments of our players, suggesting our players aren’t worth what Celtic’s are because they’ve ‘won more’.
But can someone tell me what Wan-Bissaka won with Palace before Man Utd paid £50M for him?
It’s not about winning, although that’s a part of it, it’s about what makes Joe Aribo far more valuable than Greg Docherty despite all the valid comparisons of their positions and stats.
It’s ‘desirability’.
A buying team isn’t strictly interested in the medals a player has, they’re interested in the whole package – ability, status, marketability, appearance, age, current division and even nationality.
All these attributes and more are why a club will pay big money for a new player – and being in the PL is a huge one, which can instantly double a player’s price off the bat.
Look at what John Fleck was worth in the SPL/Third Division then Championship, and now look at his value in the PL.
Is Kent worth £40M? Not in the SPL, but he’s certainly not worth the derisory £8M Leeds offered.
Was the poster right that Goldson is £18M? Well, a 26-yo defender in the PL tends to be worth around that, if not more.
It’s all about a bunch of factors, not just how good a player is.
Unfortunately, of course it’s all a bit moot because Rangers won’t be switching to the PL any time soon.
But Ryan Kent might – and to achieve that, the buying team will have to shell out a lot of money.
£40M? Who knows…