Former Burnley midfielder Jeff Hendrick one of most valuable free transfers in Europe

The 303rd edition of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post has presented the big-5 league players whose transfer value would increase the most if their contract with their club was extended for an additional year.

And of the players out of contract this summer, Hendrick - who has been linked with Celtic and Newcastle United, as well as Serie A giants AC Milan and Roma - is among the top 10 value free signings on the continent.

If Willian (31) had another year on his deal at Chelsea, he would be valued at €15.9M, with Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser (26) supposedly worth €13.9M if he had 12 months remaining.

Manchester City's departing legend David Silva, aged 34, would still be worth €12.1M with another year on his contract, and Spurs' centre back Jan Vertonghen (33) would be valued at €8.6M.

Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani (33) of PSG would be worth €8.1M, and Hendrick (28) €7.8M.

Next up is José Callejón (33) of Napoli at €7.5M, ahead of Robin Knoche (28) of VfL Wolfsburg - €7.3M, Sheffield United mifdielder John Lundstram (26) - €6.5M, and Brazilian centre back Thiago Silva (35) of Paris St-Germain - €6.5M.

The biggest increase in value was recorded for Jadon Sancho (+€43M), ahead of Kylian Mbappé (+€39M) and Lionel Messi (+€35M).

With two years of contract remaining, the transfer value of Sancho according to the exclusive CIES Football Observatory algorithm is currently just above €180M.

A one-year contract extension would drive this figure up to €223M.

If Mbappé extended his contract with Paris St-Germain from June 2022 to June 2023, his estimated transfer value would increase from €242M to €281M.

Messi leads the table among players with only one year of contract remaining ahead of Georginio Wijnaldum and Ferran Torres.

By renewing their contracts for an additional year, their transfer values would increase from about €80M to €115M for Messi, from €44M to €64M for Wijnaldum, as well as from €42M to €61M for Torres.

For more details, go to https://football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2019/wp303/en/