Daily Echo:

NATHAN Redmond is the 55th most valuable player in Europe’s big five leagues and Virgil van Dijk is worth just over £40m, according research by the CIES Football Observatory.

The International Centre for Sports Studies research group have developed on a “scientific basis the value of professional football players”.

The algorithm which helps them calculate each player’s price tag is based on nearly 2,000 transfer deals involving a fee.

Their latest findings estimate the value of all players from the continent’s leading leagues: the Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1.

In the roster of 110 players who are worth more than 40m euros, two Saints players are listed.

Worth more than Arsenal’s new £52m record signing Alexandre Lacazette, as well as ex-Saint Toby Alderweireld and Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum, Redmond comes in at number 55.

The 23-year-old, who was bought from Norwich for around £10m last summer, now commands a value of 60.2m euros, or around £53m. That is more than Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus (56.3m euros), Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil (51.1m euros) and Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez (51.8m euros).

The former Birmingham City man played 37 times in the Premier League for Saints last season, scoring eight goals in all competitions and contributing one assist.

According to the Football Observatory’s algorithm, Redmond is worth more than Van Dijk, who slots in at number 85 on this list.

The 26-year-old has been calculated to be worth 46.6m euros, which Saints would certainly consider a huge undervaluation, with bids of around £60-£70m likely to get the club’s attentions for their talismanic captain.

The Dutchman has been attracting interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City this summer, but no deal has been struck to seal his exit, with Saints very keen to keep hold of the former Celtic man.

The top ten of most valuable players sees Barcelona’s Neymar top the list with a price tag of 210m euros, followed by Tottenham pair Dele Alli (155.1m) and Harry Kane (153.6m).

Lionel Messi (151.7m) comes in fourth, with Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann (150.3m), Barcelona’s Luis Suarez (140.8m ), Manchester United’s Paul Pogba (134.3m), Gonzalo Higuain of Juventus (120.2m) Chelsea’s Eden Hazard (117.2m) and Juve’s Paulo Dybala (115.3m) completing the top ten.

Take a look at the full list here >>>