We thought January might explode the market on Football Index. And so it proved.
But now that the transfer window has slammed shut, it’s time to reflect on those who soared, and those who sunk.
Football Index works like any other stock market in that prices depend on the number of people buying and selling shares in a player. So a good month of performances can see a player’s price quickly rise as more traders buy shares, while poor performances, an injury or just being left out of the team can lead to traders selling shares and that player’s price falling.
So here are those all-important numbers for January.
Biggest Risers: Gabriel Martinelli +£0.91; Eddie Nketiah +£0.05; Hector Bellerin +£0.03
Biggest Fallers: Dani Ceballos -£0.41; Mesut Ozil -£0.22; Nicolas Pepe -£0.21
Alphabetical norms dictate that Arsenal get first dibs, but we would’ve started here anyway with magic Martinelli.
The Brazilian was the biggest riser on the Index in January in absolute terms, rising a whopping £0.91 per share.
He has averaged a goal every 130 minutes in all competitions for the Gunners so far this season. And he has more mad stats to his name too.
And with Mikel Arteta not shy in giving him opportunities, he still looks good value even at his current price of £3.71.
Biggest Risers: Jack Grealish +£0.53; Mbwana Samatta +0.20; Pepe Reina +£0.07
Biggest Fallers: Wesley -£0.10; Douglas Luiz -£0.06; Mahmoud Hassan -£0.05
Biggest Risers: Josh King +£0.38; David Brooks +£0.12; Jordon Ibe +£0.07
Biggest Fallers: Ryan Fraser -£0.17; Nathan Ake -£0.17; Harry Wilson -£0.16
Manchester United’s scattergun transfer policy pointed in the direction of Josh King on deadline day, and for a while it looked as if the Norwegian would be packing his bags for Old Trafford, which provoked a big spike in his value.
Ultimately Eddie Howe couldn’t countenance his departure, and he has stayed on the South Coast.
It remains to be seen whether United will be back in for the 28-year-old in the summer – and what his price will do between now and then.
Even if the Reds do pursue him, King is reportedly feeling “used and messed about” by United vice-chairman Ed Woodward, and he may not want to revisit a short, disruptive saga in his career.
Biggest Risers: Lewis Dunk +£0.20; Leandro Trossard +£0.06; Glenn Murray +£0.04
Biggest Fallers: Alireza Jahanbaksh -£0.18; Yves Bissouma -£0.08; Neal Maupay -£0.06
Biggest Risers: Nick Pope +£0.14; Charlie Taylor +£0.06; Ben Gibson +£0.05
Biggest Fallers: Dwight McNeil -£0.24; Ashley Barnes -£0.07; Johann Berg Gudmundsson -£0.07
Biggest Risers: Reece James +£0.78; Olivier Giroud +£0.29; Callum Hudson-Odoi +£0.19
Biggest Fallers: Mason Mount -£0.38; Jorginho -£0.23; Willian -£0.20
What a January it was for Reece James, who seems to have cemented his place in the first XI at Stamford Bridge and has also signed a new long-term contract with the club.
His impressive displays haven’t been lost on Football Index traders either, who not only have James’ long-term potential in mind but also perhaps see him as an outside bet for an England call-up for this summer’s Euros.
If that happens, even his current price of £3.75 could look a snip.
James wasn’t the only Chelsea player to see a sizeable increase in January, as Olivier Giroud shares grew by £0.29 and Callum Hudson-Odoi by £0.19.
This was chiefly thanks to transfer speculation linking him with a move to Inter Milan, something which ultimately didn’t materialise.
Biggest Risers: Cenk Tosun +£0.19; Jairo Riedewald +£0.14; Joel Ward +£0.05
Biggest Fallers: Wilfried Zaha -£0.42; Luka Milivojevic -£0.10; Jordan Ayew -£0.08
Biggest Risers: Anthony Gordon +£0.20; Andre Gomes +£0.14; Bernard +£0.04
Biggest Fallers: Dominic Calvert-Lewin -£0.24; Gylfi Sigurdsson -£0.24; Djibril Sidibe -£0.19
Biggest Risers: Harvey Barnes +£0.14; James Justin +£0.13; Bartosz Kapustka +£0.13
Biggest Fallers: Ben Chilwell -£0.27; James Maddison -£0.22; Youri Tielemans -£0.18
Biggest Risers: Curtis Jones +£0.76; Jordan Henderson +£0.57; Virgil van Dijk +£0.52
Biggest Fallers: Takumi Minamino -£0.32; Naby Keita -£0.27; Mohamed Salah -£0.17
Some huge climbers in the Liverpool ranks last month, and at the top of the pile was Curtis Jones.
And no prizes for guessing what event triggered his ascent.
That goal at Anfield – in a derby no less – has propelled him into Jurgen Klopp’s first-team picture, and with the title looking like it might be wrapped up in record time, there should be more opportunities for the midfielder to sample Premier League action before the season is done.
Jordan Henderson’s value grew an extraordinary 79% over the month. Traders will have their own reasons why they are stocking up on the Reds’ skipper, but an increased involvement in goals and the fact he is looking more and more like the man who will lift the club’s first top-flight title since 1990 are likely to be the drivers.
READ: How every Liverpool player’s price on Football Index has changed this season
Biggest Risers: Riyad Mahrez +£0.25; Leroy Sane +£0.20; Benjamin Mendy +£0.13
Biggest Fallers: Raheem Sterling -£0.54; Kevin de Bruyne -£0.29; Phil Foden -£0.28
It was a good month for Riyad Mahrez.
At £2.44, the Algerian is a fairly under-the-radar figure on the Index, but given he has 13 assists and nine goals this season, he is a constant candidate for matchday dividends.
And traders are perhaps cottoning on to that.
For Raheem Sterling, however, it wasn’t a happy start to 2020. The 25-year-old dropped £0.54 as his returns in front of goal dried up and his side spluttered.
Biggest Risers: Brandon Williams +£0.44; Timothy Fosu-Mensah +£0.08; Diogo Dalot +£0.08
Biggest Fallers: Marcus Rashford -£0.36; Anthony Martial -£0.36; Paul Pogba -£0.27
Biggest Risers: Valentino Lazaro +£0.14; Nabil Bentaleb +£0.12; Miguel Almiron +£0.10
Biggest Fallers: Jetro Willems -£0.09; Sean Longstaff -£0.08; Andy Carroll -£0.07
Biggest Risers: Emiliano Buendia +£0.26; Max Aarons +£0.20; Ondrej Duda +£0.19
Biggest Fallers: Teemu Pukki -£0.06; Sam Byram -£0.02; Tom Trybull -£0.02
Biggest Risers: Dean Henderson +£0.21; Jack O’Connell +£0.10; Muhamed Besic +£0.08
Biggest Fallers: Lys Mousset -£0.04; Oliver Norwood -£0.02; John Lundstram -£0.02×5
Biggest Risers: Danny Ings +£0.30; Cedric Soares +£0.29; Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg +£0.18
Biggest Fallers: Moussa Djenepo -£0.21; James Ward-Prowse -£0.08; Sofiane Boufal -£0.03
GoING higher and higher. OK got to stop the Ings puns. But seriously, the lad is on fire.
We thought his December rise of £0.27 would be hard to beat, but he went up another £0.30 in January.
And for someone who is not only around matchday dividends with his goalscoring but who could also earn a move to a bigger club in the summer – or even turn out for England at the Euros – £1.28 still seems ludicrously low.
We’ve listed Cedric Soares as a Southampton player here, but clearly his move to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal drove his £0.30 increase.
And with the defensive injury crisis at Emirates Stadium showing no signs of abating, the 28-year-old should get plenty of game-time to show his ability.
Biggest Risers: Steven Bergwijn +£0.45; Giovani Lo Celso +£0.44; Ben Davies +£0.21
Biggest Fallers: Dele Alli -£0.52; Son Heung-Min -£0.29; Ryan Sessegnon -£0.26
Biggest Risers: Nathaniel Chalobah +£0.14; Ignacio Pussetto +£0.12; Kaylen Hinds +0.07
Biggest Fallers: Gerard Deulofeu -£0.11; Troy Deeney -£0.06; Etienne Capoue -£0.02
Biggest Risers: Xande Silva +£0.06
Biggest Fallers: Felipe Anderson -£0.17; Sebastien Haller -£0.16; Michail Antonio -£0.12
Biggest Risers: Pedro Neto +£0.47; Adama Traore +£0.43; Morgan Gibbs-White +£0.18
Biggest Fallers: Matt Doherty -£0.09; Joao Moutinho -£0.08; Ruben Vinagre -£0.08
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