Ikechukwu Uche: World Cup outsider looking in

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• Ikechukwu Uche is having a strong season for Villareal with 12 goals and 2 assists so far in La Liga. His 1124 minutes make him the 11th most utilized member of the Yellow Submarines
• Uche is currently the 2nd most efficient goal scorer in Europe's top 5 leagues with a 42.86% conversion rate, 2nd only to Jorginho, who's form this season has earned him a move from Verona to Napoli (See BSports charts below)
• The 30 year old Nigerian International has never quite produced his best form for the Super Eagles, but his form this season should see him at least make the squad as the primary backup to starting forward Emmanuel Emenike who currently plies his trade for Turkish giants Fenerbahce

Goal Scorers charts from BSports (Updated through 1/22/2014):

Borja Valero: World Cup outsider looking in

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• Borja Valero is having his best season yet this year at Fiorentina. In addition to his 5 goals and 7 assists, Valero has developed into a true leader on the pitch for La Viola
• Valero has the fifth highest accurate final 3rd passes (of players with at least 750 final 3rd passes) in Europe's top 5 leagues. He only trails Xavi, Nasri, Iniesta and Ozil in this category (See BSports Leader boards below)
• The 29 year old Spanish International has an outside chance of making the final cut for Spain's World Cup squad. He's only appeared for La Roja once in his career and it's truly unfortunate that a player this talented could miss out on the opportunity to take part in soccer's biggest showcase

Prolific Passers charts from BSports (Updated through 1/22/2014):

Bruno Manga: Value for money

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• Bruno Manga (FC Lorient's 25 year old Gabonese International), is a solid central defender currently valued at 5 million Euros by transfermarkt.com. He is third in the "Best in Tackles" BSports Defender leader-boards (updated through 1/14/14) 
• So far this season, Manga has racked up 21 appearances and 1890 minutes
• The Gabon International, who was signed as a replacement for Laurent Koscielny (who departed for Arsenal), has been linked to interest from Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton by various media outlets
• A complete central defender with no apparent deficiencies, Manga has high concentration and is particularly strong at aerial duels, interceptions and tackling

Most Prolific Defender Leaderboards from BSports (Updated through 1/14/2014):

Sebastien Corchia: Value for money

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• Sebastien Corchia (Sochaux's 23 year old French Youth International), is a talented right-back currently valued at 4 million Euros by transfermarkt.com. He leads the "Best in Tackles" BSports defender leaderboards (through 1/14/14) with 48 tackles won (96% tackle win percentage) an five 1v1 duels won
• So far this season, Corchia has racked up 20 appearances and 1800 minutes 
• Corchia's consistency over the past 18 months has seen him linked to Arsenal, Tottenham and some of Ligue 1's top clubs by various media outlets
• His strengths lie in his crossing, tackling, concentration and blocking, while his weaknesses are in aerial duels and his overall passing range
• Corchia can also fill in as a defensive midfielder

Most Prolific Defender Leaderboards from BSports (Updated through 1/14/2014):

Serie A over-performing vs. under-performing clubs (19 games into the season)

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• Verona is currently ranked 6th in Serie A, and only has the 19th highest average player value (APV) in the league
• Verona's exceptional performance so far this season has effectively put the club 13 places ahead of where it "should" be considering its APV ranking (see table below)
• Verona's performer differential of +13 is the highest in Italy's Serie A
• Verona's positive exploits have led to plenty of transfer market speculation surrounding stars such as Jorginho and Iturbe. Sporting Director Sean Sogliano's role in building a competitive team on a tight budget has also been recognized as he's been linked with a move to Serie A giants Milan next summer 
• Torino has the second highest performer differential (+7)
• Torino is ranked 8th in the league with the 15th highest APV
• Parma has the third highest performer differential (+5)
• Parma is ranked 7th in the league with the 12th highest APV
• Chievo has the fourth highest performer differential (+4)
• Chievo is ranked 16th in the league with the 20th highest APV
• Roma has the fifth highest performer differential (+3)
• Roma is ranked 2nd in the league with the 5th highest APV 
• Fiorentina and Atalanta both have a performer differential of +2 (See table below)
• Juventus has the highest APV in Serie A and tops the league (0 differential)
• Inter Milan and Lazio both have a performer differential of -2 (See table below)
• Catania is ranked bottom (20th) of the league with an APV ranking of 10th. The club has the worst performer differential in the league of -10

Serie A over-performer vs. under-performer differential table

Serie A Average Player Values (Market Value data from Transfermarkt.com)

Serie A Average Player Value Index (Market Value data from Transfermarkt.com)

Premier League over-performing vs. under-performing clubs (21 games into the season)

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• Hull City is currently ranked 10th in the Premier League table, and only has the 19th highest average player value (APV) in the league
• Hull's performance so far this season has effectively put the club 9 places ahead of where it "should" be considering its APV ranking (See table below)
• Hull's performer differential of +9 is the highest in the Premier League
• Arsenal and Everton are currently tied for the second highest Premier League performer differential of +3 
• Arsenal is top of the league with the 4th highest APV, while Everton is ranked 5th in the league with the 8th highest APV (See table below)
• Southampton, Aston Villa and Norwich are the only other over-performing teams in the premier league with a performer differential of +1 (See table below)
• West Ham, Cardiff and and Crystal Palace have a performer differential of 0 as they are respectively ranked 17th, 18th and 20th both in the league table and in the APV rankings (See table below)
• Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle, West Brom and Fulham all have a performer differential of -1 as they each have an APV ranking 1 place better than their current league position (See table below)
• Under-performers Manchester United and Swansea City both have a performer differential of -4
• Manchester United is ranked 7th in the table with an APV ranking of 3rd, while Swansea is ranked 13th in the table with an APV ranking of 9th
• Sunderland is ranked 19th in the league table with an APV ranking of 11th. The club has the worst performer differential in the league of -8

Premier League over-performer vs. under-performer differential table

EPL Average Player Values (Market Value data from Transfermarkt.com)

EPL Average Player Value Index (Market Value data from Transfermarkt.com)

Analysis of the Portuguese Primeira Liga's top 20 individual transfer market value (TMV) increases in 2013

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• The 20 players in the Portuguese Primeira Liga's with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of 146.3M Euros between them (fifth highest behind Serie A, La Liga, EPL and Bundesliga)
• The average of the top 20 valuation increases was 7.32M Euros
• Jackson Martinez saw the highest TMV increase (21.5M Euros) from 8.5M to 30M as he led the Portuguese Primeira goal scorer charts with 26 goals
• Rui Patricio saw the 20th highest TMV increase (3M Euros) from 17M to 20M as he continued to establish himself as Portugal's national team first-choice keeper
• 4 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved a Preimeira Liga player leaving the league (James Rodriguez to Monaco, Bruma to Galatasaray, Tiago Ilori to Liverpool and Joao Moutinho to Monaco)
• 7 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved Portuguese Internationals (Bruma, Ilori, Josue, Eder, Moutinho, Lica and Rui Patricio)

Top 20 Transfer Market Increases in the Primeira Liga in 2013 (Data from Transfermarkt.com)

Analysis of Ligue 1's top 20 individual transfer market value (TMV) increases in 2013

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• The 20 players in the French Ligue 1 with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of $102.8M Euros between them (Sixth highest behind Serie A, La Liga, EPL, Bundesliga and the Portuguese Primeira Liga)
• The average of the top 20 valuation increases was 5.14M Euros
• Florian Thauvin saw the highest TMV increase (11.5M Euros) from 0.5M to 12M as he transferred from Lille to Marseille
• Mamadou Sakho saw the 20th highest TMV increase (3M Euros) from 16M to 19M as he transferred from PSG to Liverpool
• 4 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved a Ligue 1 player leaving the league (Aubameyang to Dortmund, Guilavogui to Atletico Madrid, Mavinga to Rubin Kazan and Sakho to Liverpool)
• 14 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved French Internationals (Thauvin, Matuidi, Guilavogui, Umtiti, Payet, Alessandrini [uncapped], Cabella, Digne, Grenier, Gonalons, Ben Yedder, Mavinga, Valbuena and Sakho)

Top 20 Transfer Market Increases in the French Ligue 1 in 2013 (Data from Transfermarkt.com)

Analysis of the Bundesliga's top 20 individual transfer market value (TMV) increases in 2013

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• The 20 players in the German Bundesliga with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of $192.3M Euros between them (4th highest behind Serie A, La Liga and EPL)
• The average of the top 20 valuation increases was 9.61M Euros
• Julian Draxler saw the highest TMV increase (16M Euros) from 14M to 30M as he became a more established German International
• Bastian Schweinsteiger saw the 20th highest TMV increase (5M Euros) from 35M to 40M as he continues to develop into one of the most promising left-backs in the league
• Only 1 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved a Bundesliga player leaving the league (Kevin De Bruyne to Chelsea)
• 9 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved German Internationals (Julian Draxler, Mario Gotze, Ilkay Gundogan, Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos, Kevin Volland, Max Kruse, Marco Reus and Bastian Schweinsteiger)

Top 20 Transfer Market Increases in German Bundesliga in 2013 (Data from Transfermarkt.com)

Analysis of the Premier League's top 20 individual transfer market value (TMV) increases in 2013

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• The 20 players in the English Premier League with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of $197.5M Euros between them (3rd highest behind Serie A and La Liga)
• The average of the top 20 valuation increases was 9.88M Euros
• Gareth Bale saw the highest TMV increase (40M Euros) from 40M to 60M as he transferred from Spurs to Real Madrid
• Luke Shaw saw the 20th highest TMV increase (5.5M Euros) from 1.5M to 7M as he continues to develop into one of the most promising left-backs in the league
• Only 1 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved an EPL player leaving the league (Bale to Madrid)
• 6 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved English Internationals (Jack Wilshere, Raheem Sterling, Wilfried Zaha, Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs and Luke Shaw)

Top 20 Transfer Market Increases in English Premier League in 2013 (Data from Transfermarkt.com)

Analysis of La Liga's top 20 individual transfer market value (TMV) increases in 2013

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• The 20 players in Spain's La Liga with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of 212M Euros between them (2nd highest in Europe behind Italy's Serie A)
• The average of the top 20 valuation increases was 10.6M Euros
• Isco saw the highest TMV increase (20M Euros) from 15M to 35M Euros as he moved from Malaga to Real Madrid 
• Iago Aspas saw the 20th highest TMV increase (6M Euros) from Celta Vigo to Liverpool
• 6 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved La Liga players leaving the league (Kondogbia to Monaco, Ozil to Arsenal, Falcao to Monaco, Negredo to Manchester City, Callejon to Napoli and Aspas to Liverpool)
• 8 (9 including Diego Costa) out of the top  20 valuation increases involved Spanish Internationals (Isco, Asier Illarramendi, Koke, Ander Herrera, Alvaro Negredo, Inigo Martinez, Jose Callejon and Iago Aspas

Top 20 Transfer Market Increases in Spain's La Liga in 2013 (Data from Transfermarkt.com)

Analysis of Serie A's top 20 Individual transfer market value(TMV) increases in 2013

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• The 20 players in Italy's Serie A with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of 244.4M Euros between them (highest in Europe)
• The average of the top 20 valuation increases was 12.2M Euros
• Edinson Cavani saw the highest TMV increase (25M Euros) from 35M to 60M Euros as he transferred from Napoli to PSG
• Borja Valero saw the 20th highest TMV increase (7M Euros) from 12M to 19M Euros as he developed into a leader on the pitch for Fiorentina
• Only 3 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved Serie A players leaving the League (Cavani and Marquinos to PSG, and Erik Lamela to Spurs)
• 7 out of the top 20 valuation increases involved Italian Internationals (Stephan El Shaarawy, Giuseppe Rossi, Mattia De Scilio, Alessandro Florenzi, Alessio Cerci, Lorenzo Insigne and Antonio Candreva)

Top 20 Transfer Market Increases in Italy's Serie A in 2013 (Data from Transfermarkt.com)

Italy's Serie A showed the strongest individual player Transfer Market Value (TMV) increases in Europe's top leagues

Key Soccerlytics Insights

• As a way of evaluating the ability of clubs in Europe's top 5 leagues to skillfully scout, recruit and develop top talent, we take a look at the top 20 individual player transfer market value (TMV) increases in each of the these leagues in 2013
• This analysis shows that Italy's Serie A led the way in scouting, player development and recruitment of top talent in 2013
• The 20 players in Italy's Serie A with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of 244.4M Euros between them (highest in Europe)
• Edinson Cavani led this category in Serie A. His TMV increased 25M (35M to 60M) Euros in 2013 as he transferred from Napoli to PSG

• The 20 players in Spain's La Liga with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of 212M Euros between them (2nd highest in Europe)
• Isco led this category in La Liga. His TMV increased 20M Euros (15M to 35M) Euros in 2013 as he transferred from Malaga to Real Madrid

• The 20 players in England's Premier League with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of 197.5M Euros between them (3rd highest in Europe)
• Gareth Bale led this category in the EPL. His TMV increased 40M (40M to 80M) Euros as he transferred from Tottenham Spurs to Real Madrid

• The 20 players in Germany's Bundesliga with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of 192.3M Euros between them (4th highest in Europe)
• Julian Draxler and David Alaba led this category in the Bundesliga. Draxler's TMV increased 16M (14M to 30M) Euros. Alaba's TMV also increased 16M (16M to 32M). Neither one of them moved clubs in 2013

• The 20 players in France's Ligue 1 with the highest TMV increase in 2013 had a total TMV increase of 102.8M Euros between them (5th highest in Europe)
• Florian Thauvin led this category in Ligue 1. His TMV increased 11.5M (0.5M to 12M) Euros as he transferred from Lille to Marseille

Transfer Market Value Graph/Chart (Market Value data from Transfermarkt.com):

Giuseppe Rossi is back: Fiorentina reaping the benefits of taking a calculated risk on "Pepito"

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• Giuseppe Rossi has staged a remarkable return to form having missed over an entire season of football due to an ACL injury
• "Pepito" has scored 14 goals for Fiorentina so far this season, trailing only Luis Suarez, Diego Costa, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Europe's top 5 leagues (See BSports Goal Scorer Charts below)
• Prior to Rossi's ACL injury at Villareal in October 2011, he was widely considered the best player in Spain's La Liga (outside of Real Madrid and Barcelona), following a 2010/2011 season within which he scored 32 goals in 56 appearances (in all competitions), and was close to a move to Barcelona
• Prior to his injury, Rossi's transfer market value would have been at least double, but more likely triple the paltry 10M Euro fee Fiorentina eventually paid for his services a year ago during the January transfer window
• Fiorentina's investment in Rossi was astute, and an example of one way clubs of modest means (relatively speaking) can find value in the transfer market when they can afford to wait for quality players to return from injury. In Rossi's case, the wait for his rehabilitation was certainly worth it
• Italy national team manager Cesare Prandelli will be as delighted as anyone to see Rossi come back to what looks like his best form ahead of the World Cup, where the coach will look to finally play his preferred strike-force of Rossi and Balotelli

Goal Scorers charts from BSports (Updated through 1/2/2014):

Campeonato Brasileiro Focus: Corinthians has the highest Average Player Value (APV) index in Brazil's Campeanato Serie A (higher than the APV of 22 clubs in Europe's Top 5 leagues)

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• Corinthians has the highest Average Player Value (APV) in the Campeanato Brasileiro at 1.76M Euros, which is 131% higher than the league average of 0.76M euros
• Corinthians' APV is higher than 5 clubs currently in Spain's La Liga; Osasuna (1.71M Euro APV), Real Valladolid (1.64M Euro APV), Levante (1.59M Euro APV), Rayo Vallecano (1.58M Euro APV) and Almeria (1.35M Euro APV)

• Corinthians' APV is higher than 3 clubs in Italy's Serie A; Livorno (1.7M Euro APV), Hellas Verona (1.64M Euro APV) and Chievo Verona (1.34M Euro APV)
• Corinthians' APV is higher than 5 clubs in Germany's Bundesliga; Nurnberg (1.62M Euro APV), Hertha Berlin (1.61M Euros), Mainz (1.53M Euro APV), Augsburg (1.23M Euros) and Eintracht Braunschweig (946,296 Euro APV)
• Corinthians' APV is higher than 9 clubs in France's Ligue 1; FC Lorient (1.74M Euro APV), Sochaux (1.36M Euro APV), Bastia (1.22M Euro APV), Valenciennes (1.19M Euro), Reims (1.12M Euro APV), Ajaccio (0.996M Euro APV), Evian (0.99M Euro APV), Nantes (0.91M Euro APV) and Guingamp (0.65M Euro APV)
• Corinthians' APV is lower than that of all 20 clubs in the English Premier League. Crystal Palace has the lowest APV in the Premier League at 1.88M Euros
• Santos (1.44M Euro APV) has the second highest APV index at 90% to Campeonato Brasileiro's 0.76M APV
• Fluminese, Sao Paolo, Cruzeiro, Atletico Mineiro, Gremio and Internacional make up the 6 other clubs whose APV is higher than the league average (See chart below)
• Botafogo (0.75M Euros) and Flamengo (0.74M Euros) each have an APV closest to (2% below) the league's 0.76M Euro average
• Goias and Portuguesa (0.26M APV) have the lowest APV in the Campeonato Brasileiro, 66% below the the league's average

Top 3 current Campeonato Brasileiro player Individual Transfer Market Values (Pictured Above):

• Leandro Damiao (Santos): 24 year old Brazilian International striker valued at 22M Euros
• Alexandre Pato (Corinthians): 24 year old Brazilian International striker valued at 12M Euros
• Ganso (Sao Paolo): 24 year old Brazilian International play-maker valued at 7.5M Euros

3 other Potential Campeonato Brasileiro Prospects for Europe's Big Leagues:

• Doria (Botafogo): 19 year old Brazilian International defender valued at 6M Euros
• Everton Ribeiro (Cruzeiro): 24 year old Brazilian Youth International midfielder valued at 3M Euros
• Jo (Atletico Mineiro): 26 year old Brazilian International striker valued at 2.5M Euros

Top 3 Individual Player Transfer Market Value (TMV) Increases in 2013:

• Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk): 20 year old Brazilian saw his value increase 1000% from 1M to 11M Euros as he transferred from Internacional to Shakhtar
• Neymar (Barcelona): 21 year old Brazilian International winger saw his value increase 25% from 40M to 50M Euros as he transferred from Santos to Barcelona
• Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk): 21 year old Brazilian winger saw his value increase 100% from 10M to 20M Euros as he transferred from Atletico Mineiro to Shakhtar

Campeonato Brasileiro Average Player Value Index (Market Value data from Transfermarkt.com):

Analysis of Basel Individual Transfer Market Valuations

Key Soccerlytics Insights:

• FC Basel has a total transfer market valuation (TMV) of 53.8M Euros and an average player value (APV) of 2.1M Euros
• Pictured above, Mohamed Salah (8.5M Euros), Yann Somer (8M Euros) and Valentin Stocker (7M Euros) are Basel's three most valuable assets (in terms of transfer market value)
• Salah, who's been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool, has a valuation of 8.5M, which is 311% higher than Basel's APV (See APV chart below)
• Fabian Schar saw the highest TMV increase among current Basel players (and in the Swiss Super League)
• Schar's (22 year old Swiss International defender) transfer market value increased 1100% from 0.5M to 6M Euros in 2013
• Mohamed Elneny's (21 year old Egyptian midefielder) TMV increased 317% from 0.6M to 2.5M Euros in 2013 
• 24 year old Ivorian striker Giovanni Sio (2.5M Euros) is Basel's most highly valued striker
• 22 year old Swiss International defender (6M Euros) is Basel's most highly valued defender
• Mirko Salvi (19 year old Swiss Youth International Goal Keeper), Fabian Ritter (22 year old Swiss Defender) and Naser Aliji (20 year old Swiss Youth International) are all valued at 50,000 Euros, which is 98% below the APV of Basel's squad

Basel Transfer Market Value Index Chart as of 1/1/2014 (Market Value data from Transfermarkt.com):