Martial deal was €27.9m too much – study

Anthony Martial was the most overpriced player in Europe in this summer’s transfer window, according to a study compiled by the CIES Football Observatory.

The organisation says Manchester United paid over the odds by €27.9 million to buy the 19-year-old French forward from Monaco, even before the add-ons that could take his €50m (£36m) transfer fee up to €80m (£58.8m).

Premier League clubs are deemed to have paid the three most excessive fees, with Kevin De Bruyne costing €26.6m more than he should have done when Manchester City bought him for €74m and Liverpool paying €19.7m more than Christian Benteke’s supposed value.

But while City are deemed guilty of paying two of the six most inflated fees, they also signed the player the CIES Football Observatory said was the most undervalued.

It claimed Raheem Sterling, who arrived at the Etihad Stadium for an initial €63m from Liverpool, should have cost €95m.

United received €15.3m more than they should have done for Angel Di Maria, the report concludes.

But it also says that they paid over the odds for Morgan Schneiderlin and sold Robin van Persie for a third of his true value.

In total 10 of the 20 most overpriced players were bought by Premier League clubs with Martial, De Bruyne, Benteke and Otamendi followed by Arsenal’s Petr Cech, then Schneiderlin, West Brom’s James Chester, Aston Villa’s Jordan Amavi, Norwich’s Robbie Brady and Crystal Palace’s Yohan Cabaye.

But it claims English clubs found bargains in Sterling, Nathaniel Clyne, Connor Wickham, Gerard Deulofeu, Juanmi, Angelo Ogbonna, Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabian Delph.

The study also said that Arda Turan was the most overpriced summer signing not involving a Premier League club, after he joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid for €34m.

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