
Will Hughes
Value picture
Where the market, the likely price and the model estimates sit.
The model rates Will Hughes's performance-implied value at EUR 9.6M-21.0M, above the estimated acquisition range of EUR 1.2M-4.0M. Its 24-month market value projection is EUR 1.3M-3.3M. Context-adjusted goal contributions are 0.35x the positional average in the league (1568 minutes, league coefficient 1.30). Confidence is medium: no event-level data (xG, progressive actions) is available from the current free source, and injury history is unavailable.
Acquisition note: Final year of contract: selling club's leverage is reduced.
Bargain Index: 13
What drives the score. Not a black box: each component and its level.
| Performance | Elite | 93.2th pct among MID peers (age-neutral) |
| Age | Unfavorable | 31.2 years |
| Acquisition cost | Very favorable | est. €1.7M vs market €5.0M |
| Expected appreciation | Very low | -65% over ~2 years (model) |
| Value gap | Very large | weak predictor on its own |
| Development | Low | |
| League translation | Big-five league | league coefficient 1.3 |
| Tactical fit | Not evaluated | Requires event/role data not available from the current free source. |
| Risk | High | |
| Data confidence | Medium |
Bargain Index = percentile (among all evaluated players) of expected 2-year value relative to estimated cost. See methodology and backtests.
Market value history
Market value ≠ transfer fee ≠ acquisition cost.
Profile vs positional peers
Percentiles among 1163 evaluated MID players with 900+ minutes.
Performance (last season, league)
- Minutes
- 1568 (46% of available)
- Goals + assists / 90
- 0.00
- Context-adjusted G+A / 90
- 0.08
- xG, xA, progression
- Data unavailable
- Defensive actions
- Data unavailable
- Performance percentile
- 93 (Elite)
Adjusted = shrunk toward positional baseline for small samples, corrected for team dominance over opponents, expressed relative to positional peers in the same league.
Context
- League strength
- 1.30 (rank 1)
- Team strength (Elo)
- 1589
- Opponent strength
- 1603
- Possession, role
- Data unavailable
League strength 1.00 = average club of the big-five leagues. Elo includes continental matches.
Potential
- Development
- Low
- Trajectory
- declining
- Breakout probability
- Age > 23
- Resale range (24m)
- €1.3M – €3.3M
Trajectory drivers: minutes share down 16 pts; relative output down 59% vs positional peers.
Historical comparables (8): median 2-year value change -60% (IQR -76% to -47%).
Risk profile
Overall: High
- ⚠Limited sample: 1568 league minutes last season.
- ⚠Contract ends in 12 months: cheaper, but competition and wage demands likely.
- ⚠Age 31: resale value typically declines.
- ⚠Declining trajectory versus previous season.
- ⓘInjury history unavailable from current data source.
League translation
What happened to players who moved from this league to the big-five leagues (observed, not a forecast).
Already playing in a big-five league.
Output is relative to positional peers in each league. Movers are a selected group (clubs buy players who fit), so treat this as context, not a guarantee.
Season-by-season (domestic league)
Context-adjusted values are model outputs.
| Season | Club | League | Pos | Apps | Min | Min share | G | A | G+A/90 | Adj. G+A/90 | Opp. Elo | Team Elo | League str. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Crystal Palace | Premier League | CM | 31 | 1568 | 46% | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.08 | 1603 | 1589 | 1.30 |
| 2024/25 | Crystal Palace | Premier League | CM | 33 | 2120 | 62% | 0 | 4 | 0.17 | 0.18 | 1571 | 1620 | 1.23 |
| 2023/24 | Crystal Palace | Premier League | CM | 30 | 1900 | 56% | 0 | 1 | 0.05 | 0.11 | 1601 | 1562 | 1.14 |
| 2022/23 | Crystal Palace | Premier League | CM | 27 | 828 | 24% | 1 | 1 | 0.22 | 0.22 | 1554 | 1536 | 1.23 |
| 2021/22 | Crystal Palace | Premier League | DM | 16 | 1058 | 31% | 0 | 1 | 0.09 | 0.09 | 1498 | 1537 | 1.17 |
| 2019/20 | Watford FC | Premier League | CM | 30 | 2262 | 66% | 1 | 1 | 0.08 | 0.17 | 1606 | 1433 | 1.14 |
| 2018/19 | Watford FC | Premier League | RM | 32 | 2436 | 71% | 2 | 4 | 0.22 | 0.28 | 1555 | 1492 | 1.22 |
| 2017/18 | Watford FC | Premier League | AM | 15 | 994 | 29% | 2 | 3 | 0.45 | 0.54 | 1540 | 1436 | 1.15 |
Cups & continental competitions
| Season | Competition | Club | Apps | Min | G | A | Avg opp. Elo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Uefa Conference League Qualifying | Crystal Palace | 1 | 90 | 0 | 1 | 1252 |
| 2025/26 | Community Shield | Crystal Palace | 1 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 1800 |
| 2025/26 | Fa Cup | Crystal Palace | 1 | 45 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024/25 | Fa Cup | Crystal Palace | 4 | 160 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 2023/24 | Fa Cup | Crystal Palace | 2 | 109 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022/23 | Fa Cup | Crystal Palace | 1 | 74 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021/22 | Fa Cup | Crystal Palace | 4 | 185 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2018/19 | Fa Cup | Watford FC | 6 | 476 | 1 | 1 | — |
Small continental samples are shown for context only and are not over-weighted.
Historical comparables
Most similar profiles 2+ years ago (same position group) and what happened next. Chosen by similarity only — failures included.
| Player (then) | Age | Value then | ~2y later | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moussa Sissoko Premier League · 2021 | 32 | €10.0M | €2.5M | fell |
| Mohamed Diamé Premier League · 2019 | 32 | €5.0M | €2.0M | fell |
| Jack Cork Premier League · 2021 | 32 | €5.0M | €1.0M | fell |
| Enzo Pérez Laliga · 2016 | 30 | €14.0M | €2.5M | fell |
| Oriol Romeu Premier League · 2020 | 29 | €8.0M | €5.0M | fell |
| Sebastian Rode Bundesliga · 2021 | 31 | €4.0M | €2.0M | fell |
| Andrew Surman Premier League · 2019 | 33 | €2.5M | €1.0M | fell |
| Nampalys Mendy Premier League · 2022 | 30 | €4.0M | €3.0M | fell |
Transfer history
Fees as reported by the source; undisclosed fees shown as unknown, never estimated.
| Date | From | To | Fee | MV at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Aug 2021 | Watford | Crystal Palace | €7.0M | €7.0M |
| 1 Jul 2017 | Derby | Watford | €9.1M | €8.0M |
| 1 Jul 2012 | Derby U18 | Derby | Unknown | Data unavailable |
MoneyballAI identifies statistical opportunities from available data. A player flagged as a potential bargain is not guaranteed to succeed, to transfer, to rise in value, or to generate resale profit. Market values, fees and contracts come from third-party sources; ranges are model estimates with stated confidence.