Nigerian super eagles stars, Osimhen and Ndidi were included in the biannual list of most expensive players in Europe’s top five leagues recently released by The International Centre for Sports Studies, popularly known as CIES.
The list by CIES carried out with a powerful econometric approach to assess the transfer value of professional footballers on a scientific basis (methodology).
For the just-released list, Lille striker, Osimhen is in the 66th position, and valued at €64.3m, higher than players like Tammy Abraham, Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane, etc.
Meanwhile, Leicester City midfielder Ndidi who is recognised as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe is ranked 94th on the list with a valued of €50m.
Osimhen and Ndidi are the only Nigerian Super Eagles players on the list, and are apparently the most highly rated Nigerian players.
Osimhen, 21, was impressive in his debut season at French Ligue 1 side, Lille, where he scored 18 goals in 31 games to finish as the club’s Player of the Season.
He was also named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Season for his performances last season. His stock has continually rise with the admiration he is getting from big European clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Napoli to have him play in their shirts.
However, since he joined Leicester City, Ndidi has seen his stock rise every year with his appreciating performances for the English club.
He improved even further for Leicester City this season and has been the key creative player to push the club up for a top-four finish in the English Premier League.
On the CIES list, Osimhen is fourth from an African representation with Egypt and Liverpool skipper Mohammed Salah, Senegal and Liverpool player Sadie Mane, and Côte d’Ivoire and Arsenal winger Nicolas Pele are ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively above Osimhen. Ndidi is ranked fifth in Africa.
In the general ranking, Paris Saint-Germain and France international Kylian Mbappe is number one on the list with a value of €259.2m.
England and Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling (€194.7m), England and Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho (€179.1M), and England and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford (€152.3m) are those making up the top five.
