Top 10 loans by xTV rise

Chelsea defender Levi Colwill’s value increased more than any other loan player in the 2022-23 season after an impressive campaign with Brighton & Hove Albion, while Arsenal's Folarin Balogun and Tottenham Hotspur's Destiny Udogie had the next-most successful loan spells by value increase.

The Expected Transfer Value (xTV) of 20-year-old Colwill increased the most out of any player on loan last season, after we crunched the numbers on more than 4,000 loan deals worldwide. 

His xTV soared from €6.6million to over €38.2m, increasing by €31.6m, after making 17 Premier League appearances as Brighton finished sixth and secured UEFA Europa League football. 

It cements Brighton’s reputation as masters of the loan market, both for bringing players in and loaning them out. The club made 10 loan deals via TransferRoom last summer. Technical Director David Weir gave insight at a recent TransferRoom Summit on how they used the platform and global network to find the right loan clubs and give current first-team star Moises Caicedo a crucial opportunity at Beerschot in Belgium last season.

Completing the top three were other talents at major London clubs, with Arsenal's Balogun and Spurs' Udogie rising by nearly €30m in value. 

United States striker Balogun, 21, scored 21 goals in an outstanding Ligue 1 campaign for Stade Reims in France.

It continues Arsenal's impressive record in the loan market, with William Saliba and Matteo Guendouzi switching to Olympique Marseille in the most successful loans of 2021-22, according to TransferRoom's data.

Video: How Arsenal use TransferRoom in the loan market

Udogie’s xTV rose quickly after his €18m move to Spurs last summer, with the 20-year-old wing-back amassing 33 appearances in Serie A after being loaned out to Udinese Calcio to gain valuable experience in a major league.

xTV is TransferRoom’s real-time, data-led measure of a player’s worth in the transfer market, and an important indicator for Loan Managers and recruitment teams as clubs aim to either maximise a player’s value in the transfer market or for the first team with a successful loan deal.

Q&A: Everything you need to know about Expected Transfer Value (xTV)

The rise in xTV suggests that Spurs may have made a bargain signing in Udogie, while Colwill and Balogun could demand a much-higher transfer fee or make an impact in the Premier League after their successful temporary moves.

Away from the Premier League players, notable deals included Moroccan winger Ez Abde’s move from FC Barcelona to fellow La Liga side CA Osasuna.

Malik Tillman was voted Scotland’s Young Player of the Year after his move from Bayern Munich to Scottish side Rangers.

Junior Dina Ebimbe, No 9 in the list, is another great example of loan clubs maximising the loan system.

Ebimbe’s temporary move to Eintracht Frankfurt was his third loan from Paris Saint-Germain and Eintracht were obliged to buy after the young defender helped them secure safety in the Bundesliga.

But the set fee of €6m looks like a bargain compared to his xTV of more than €20m.

Top 10 clubs for loans in

Balogun’s successful move to Reims distorts the figures in the French club’s favour. One of the other two players they brought in on loan in 2022-23 had a decrease in xTV after their time there.

Sheffield United and Coventry City came out just behind Reims in the table.

Manchester City youngsters Tommy Doyle and James McAtee played a big part in Sheffield United’s promotion to the Premier League and return to their parent club with reputations and values greatly enhanced.

Coventry came within one match of returning to the English top flight with players from Premier League clubs like Man City’s Callum Doyle and Nottingham Forest’s Jonathan Panzo.

The Championship’s winners, Burnley, also played the loan market well, with six incoming players.

The Netherlands’ Eredivisie confirmed its reputation as a good place for players to gain experience, with Vitesse Arnhem and PSV Eindhoven in the top five. The latter club’s deal for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite features in the top 10 player deals for xTV increase, bumping up the club’s average xTV increase.

All five of Vitesse’s loans were from top-flight clubs in other countries and all produced xTV increases. That included Brighton duo Kacper Kozlowski and Kjell Scherpen, both deals powered by TransferRoom.

Top 10 clubs for loans out

The Premier League dominates this category, with six of the top 10.

Under the outgoing regulations which have less restriction on numbers of loans, PL clubs have signed big numbers of players and then loaned the majority out again.

Spurs take top spot for average xTV increase of outgoing loans thanks mainly to Udogie’s move to Udinese.

Chelsea, in second place, were pioneers in using the loan market as a way of boosting the value of players who could be sold on for a big profit in the event they did not make the grade at Stamford Bridge.

Across 20 outgoing loan deals in 2022-23, their average xTV increase per player is high and has boosted the theoretical value of their squad by more than €130m.

That will be important for them this summer, as they seek to trim their squad and raise money to balance their previous large-scale spending as well as future purchases.

With many of the biggest clubs topping the list with a large number of loans, the outliers are the Bundesliga’s Borussia Monchengladbach.

Although the German side did only three outgoing loans, all were successful. In particular, sending Jordan Beyer to England to play for Championship side Burnley really paid off for him and the club, as Burnley won promotion to the Premier League and opted to trigger the buy clause in the deal.