This article forms part of our Valuation Evaluation feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at the increase or decrease of a player’s Transfermarkt valuation and whether it is justified or not.
It was a slow start to life at Wolves for midfielder Leander Dendoncker following his initial loan move from Anderlecht in the summer of 2018.
He was absent from the Midlands club’s first nine Premier League matchday squads and did not make his first start in the competition until December that year. However, since then, Dendoncker has really come into his own.
Despite that slow start, the 24-year-old went on to finish the 2018/19 campaign with an average of 2.8 tackles per game (via WhoScored), the second-highest number in Wolves’ squad, showing what exactly he had brought to the side. The £12m Wolves ended up paying as part of their obligation to buy agreement (via talkSPORT) now looks like a snip, especially when his valuation is now more than double that.
According to Transfermarkt, the Belgium international now has a market valuation of £25.2m, up from his £16.2m June 2019 valuation. It is not just Dendoncker’s tackling efficiency, though, that makes him worth the money.
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When you look at his game, what arguably stands out most is his ability to play in midfield and defence. As per WhoScored, he has made 15 starts in the middle and 14 starts at the back this season, registering a pass success rate of 84.5% (Premier League only) playing across both areas. Excluding January arrival Daniel Podence, who has only made two appearances, only Conor Coady (84.6%) and Joao Moutinho (85.2%) have performed better in that area.
A strong tackler and accurate passer who brings versatility to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, Dendoncker has been quite the capture for Wolves as he continues to justify his market valuation.
Wolves fans, how much do you think Dendoncker is worth in today’s market? Let us know in the comment section below!
