Exclusive: Michelle Agyemang, world-record transfer boosts Arsenal value to investors
Michelle Agyemang’s stunning performances at the European Championships will give Arsenal a boost in valuation to potential investors.
That is according to football finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that the success of the women’s team and Olivia Smith’s record-breaking transfer from Liverpool would both provide boosts to the valuation of the club.
Arsenal’s women’s side enjoyed one of their best seasons in recent history last term, beating a Barcelona side considered to be the greatest team of all time in the Champions League final.
Despite missing out on a domestic title, Chloe Kelly’s return to Arsenal on loan inspired a stunning continental run.
Following the culmination of the season, the English winger was signed permanently, and Smith joined shortly after for the first-ever £1million fee in the women’s game.
However, both transfers have been quickly overshadowed by Agyemang’s burst onto the international scene, and the 19-year-old scored a crucial equaliser against Italy in the semi-final to set up a meeting with Spain in the Euro 2025 final on Sunday, 27 July.
Arsenal stars boosting club’s valuation
Speaking to Football Insider exclusively, finance expert Plumley explained that the performance of the women’s team’s players would be a major boost to the club as a whole in a financial sense.
The senior lecturer from Sheffield Hallam University said that the club’s value would be positively impacted by Smith’s fee and Agyemang’s performance.
When asked if the headline-grabbing news coming from Arsenal’s stars would make the club more attractive to investors, Plumley said: “Absolutely. Absolutely. Not necessarily in the numbers that we can see in the accounts, because the squad values are based on amortisation and transfer fees.
“The book value of the squad is always lower than the market sale value. But if you were investing in a women’s team or you’re looking to purchase a women’s team or any sporting entity for that matter, you would enter into negotiations about what the value of the squad is. And that would factor into the valuation of the club.
“The bigger the superstars you’ve got, and the more they command in transfer fees, the higher the valuation of the club, whether that’s measured tangibly through numbers or intangibly through other things, such as leverage and commercial reach.
“It’s tracking in line with where we thought the market was going. It’s been ticking up over the last few years.
“We were only so far away from seeing this type of transfer; we’ve got that now, and yes, it will have an impact on ultimately club valuations.
“At the very top end for now, I think it’s probably going to be exclusively in that group of the biggest women’s teams, but you would factor it into valuation techniques.”
Arsenal set to bank £15m windfall
Whilst the women are deservedly earning headlines for their show-stopping performances in the Euros in Switzerland, the club have netted themselves another tidy windfall.
Sources have told Football Insider that Arsenal could be set to earn up to £15m for the men’s pre-season tour of Asia this summer.
The women’s team have smashed the transfer record, and the men’s side is making similar moves to boost their side this summer.
£15m is hardly a game-changing sum, but the financial boost will be very welcome in North London as both teams push to reach the pinnacle of their respective domestic tables after finishing as runner-ups to Chelsea and Liverpool, respectively, last term.