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Chelsea’s CIES values: Reviewing the seven Blues in the top 100

By Travis Tyler

Leverkusen's German midfielder Kai Havertz is interviewed after the German first division Bundesliga football match Werder Bremen v Bayer 04 Leverkusen on May 18, 2020 in Bremen, northern Germany as the season resumed following a two-month absence due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Stuart FRANKLIN / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by STUART FRANKLIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Leverkusen's German midfielder Kai Havertz is interviewed after the German first division Bundesliga football match Werder Bremen v Bayer 04 Leverkusen on May 18, 2020 in Bremen, northern Germany as the season resumed following a two-month absence due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Stuart FRANKLIN / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by STUART FRANKLIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 21: Mason Mount of Chelsea battles for possession with Mark Noble of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on December 21, 2020 in London, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 21: Mason Mount of Chelsea battles for possession with Mark Noble of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on December 21, 2020 in London, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /

4. Reece James, 60th, €69.9, Academy

Simply put, this valuation alone should put the entire calculation system CIES used into question. No one is saying James is Trent Alexander-Arnold (the third highest valued player at 151.6 million euros) yet, but anyone who has seen either play knows that the gap between the two is much closer than their valuations show.

Alexander-Arnold is an offensive juggernaut, but James is an incredibly well rounded fullback. One might even call him a “complete” fullback. Mind, this is also only his second season in the Premier League and only his third season as a professional. If he was put on to the market today for any reason, the richest clubs in the world would be throwing closer to 100 million euros at Chelsea for him, not 70 million. That’s even ignoring the English premium many young English players have on their transfer fee.

A method of calculation can’t be dismissed just because a result doesn’t match the perceived reality, but this valuation alone would show that something in the system is flawed.

Related Story. Chelsea's sales history in the January transfer window. light

3. Mason Mount, 17th, €109.3, Academy

With Mount, the valuation swung too far in the other direction. Mount is one of Chelsea’s most important (if not the most important) players. He is still young and developing a skill set but like James he is very good in many areas. The difference being that for a fullback, that is a greater strength and therefore modifier to their value. For a midfielder it is more a source of confusion.

Mount has plenty of assists but he isn’t necessarily a creative player. He takes shots but outside of set pieces, it can’t be said he is really a goal scorer. He has an excellent press but few would argue he is a defensive stalwart. He works harder than any other player on the pitch almost every match, but without a specialized skill, his jack of all trades becomes a bit of a master of none in midfield.

He would still go for quite a large fee if Chelsea was ever dumb enough to sell him, but nearly 110 million euros at the moment seems a bit steep. Frankly, he would be priceless to Chelsea which may change the number but then again so would James.

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