Sidiki Cherif of Coventry City in action during the Carabao Cup Third Round match against Aston Villa
Sidiki Cherif has seen his transfer value soar
Coventry City striker Sidiki Cherif’s transfer value has soared, according to the latest figures from the CIES Football Observatory. In its latest analysis of estimated transfer values, the specialised research group that conducts statistical, demographic, and economic analyses of professional football worldwide has calculated the most valuable player at each club.
Established in 2005, it operates as a part of the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) - an independent center located in Neuchatel, Switzerland, created as a joint venture with FIFA
And if their estimations are accurate, it is good news for the Sky Blues who have seen Cherif’s value rise to between £24.6m and £28.9m - around £3.5m to £8m more than the £20.9m fee widely reported when they signed him from Fenerbahce this summer.
That is despite the fact that the 19-year-old centre-forward has played just 30 minutes of Premier League football for City – from the bench against Brighton – since joining from the Turkish top flight in what has been a slow start to the season. Cherif has had to contend with fact that he hadn’t had a full pre-season before he moved to England, along with the settling in a new country at such a young age.
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Fans have only seen a glimpse of what he can do, mainly in the Carabao Cup as a substitute against Plymouth and starting and getting through almost an hour against Aston Villa.
City boss Frank Lampard and his staff have been working with the striker during the international break to improve his fitness and get him fully up to speed.
Cherif’s valuation takes into account his age profile, contract and who could potentially sign him in the future. It’s a big boost for the club owner Doug King in the era of profit and sustainability rules as it is inevitable that some players will be sold on, hopefully for a big profit, in the future.
CIES’ verdict puts him below the likes of Wolves’ Mateus Mane – the highest Championship ranked player in the list of the most valuable players for each club, with an estimated transfer value of £38m. Elsewhere, West Ham’s Valentín Castellanos is second with a value of £34m and Norwich’s Mohamed Toure’s price tag, according to CIES, is £21m.
In terms of Coventry ’s fellow promoted rivals, Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis - a £20m summer signing from Olympiacos - comes out just below Cherif’s prospective valuation at between £23.8 and £28m, while Ipswich Town’s £26m capture from Strasbourg, Julio Enciso, is now valued at between £46m to £53.5m after five starts and no goals for the Tractor Boys.
The Observatory also benefits from the support of the staff of the Centre International d’Etude du Sport (CIES), an education and research centre to which it belongs.
Since its creation in 2005, the CIES Football Observatory research group has become a reference point in the demographic and economic study of the football players’ labour and transfer markets, the analysis of the clubs’ and players’ performance (technical, tactical, physical), as well as the scientific estimation of transfer values.
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Coventry City writer Andy Turner
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