With several South African players abroad having wrapped up their seasons overseas, here's a look at five stars whose values have dropped, including two midfielders who were surprisingly snubbed for Bafana Bafana's 50-man provisional Africa Cup of Nations squad.
Football data platform Transfermarkt recently updated the values of several South African players. While the likes of Ricardo Schutte, Sphephelo Sithole, and Tashreeq Matthews have seen their values go up this month, the same cannot be said for five other Mzansi players currently plying their trade internationally.
Here are five South African stars abroad whose values have declined
Lars Veldwijk (unattached) - €450 000
The Dutch-born star is currently without a club following the termination of his contract at Suwon FC in South Korea after a drunk-driving incident. With his value having been €500 000 (R10 million) in October, it has now gone down to €450 000 (R9 million) after it was updated on 19 December. The 32-year-old, who has represented South Africa seven times, has a total of 143 goals and 55 assists in 310 career appearances. He has been linked with Greek top-flight side Aris FC, but the player is thought to have returned to the Netherlands following his abrupt exit from the K-League. In 2020, he was asked about the possibility of playing in the PSL one day. He told BBC Sport: "I am also open to maybe one day play in South Africa. I love to see the world and to see other places and in combination with football. I think I have the best job in the world."
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Alan Robertson (Kedah Darul Aman) - €200 000
The former Stellenbosch FC star has endured a miserable start to life in Malaysia, having not made a single appearance for Kedah Darul Aman FC so far. He joined the club on a one-year contract from United City FC in January, but it's been a spell to forget so far, with his deal due to expire on 31 December 2023. This has resulted in his value dropping to just €200 000 (R4 million) last week. He enjoyed a slightly better time at United City, where he made 16 appearances for the Philippines outfit, registering one goal and one assist. The tall centre-back also won the 2021/22 Philippine Cup.
Luke Le Roux (FC Volendam)- €700 000
A notable absentee from Bafana's provisional AFCON 2023 squad, the 23-year-old made his first appearance for his new team FC Volendam last week. He joined the Eredivisie outfit from Swedish team Varbergs back in August, but had to wait almost four months to play his first match for his new team due to injury. With five caps for the national team, the midfielder has lost his place in Hugo Broos' side, and now his market value has also dropped to €700 000 (R14 million). His Dutch team are also languishing in the relegation zone, with just 11 points from their first 16 matches of the season, so he will be hoping things are start looking up again as soon as possible.
Finally, Luke! ??????
— FC Volendam ?? (@fcvolendam) December 19, 2023
First impression? ??#VolVoorOranje pic.twitter.com/QsNFQW7KE7
Keanin Ayer (Sandefjord) - €250 000
The Johannesburg-born star made 24 appearances out of a possible 30 games this season, with the six matches he missed being down to injuries. His side, Sandefjord, were fortunate to finish the 2023 Norwegian top-flight season just outside the three relegation spots. The 23-year-old began his professional career at Right To Dream in Ghana before moving Varbergs, where he spent three seasons in Sweden. Perhaps due to his current side's lacklustre 2023 campaign, Ayer's value was reduced to just €250 000 (R5 million) on 15 December.
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Thabo Cele (Fakel Voronezh) - €300 000
Another surprise omission from Broos' AFCON preliminary team, the KwaMashu native is now worth a reduced €300 000 (R6 million). In August this year, he penned a two-year deal with Russian side Fakel Voronezh, but is yet to get hist first start for the club, although he has featured in five matches in the Russian Premier League. The former Benfica youth star has also made a further four appearances in the Russian Cup. After signing for Voronezh, it was reported that he was close to joining Kaizer Chiefs. A source told Soccer Laduma: "Chiefs tabled a very good offer. They were amicable in the way they conducted the deal to get him. They really wanted him because they knew Thabo would add value to the team. It would have been a good move for Thabo because he would have been right under Hugo Broos' nose. It would have made his chances a bit better to get into the national team for AFCON."
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