Does a Long Throw Increase a Player's Market Value?

Michael Kayode: Has His Value Inflated Thanks to His Long Throw

The long throw is well and truly back in fashion, with the Premier League at the forefront of the resurgence. With some sides using the long throw-in more than three times as often as in the 2024/25 campaign, many an opponent arrives unprepared for the aerial assault they are to be subjected to.

Some players have really taken advantage of their ability to chuck the ball into the mixer, with Brentford’s Michael Kayode quickly becoming viewed as the new Rory Delap, the new face of the long-throw revolution.

A right-back by trade, he is an excellent defender in his own right, and various high-profile clubs, including Juventus, were keeping tabs on the Italian during the January transfer window. However, his price tag of £32 million seems out of proportion for the skills Kayode possesses as a player. Has his long-throw ability affected his market value, as well as others?

Kayode’s Not So Secret Weapon

By now, everyone knows about the 21-year-old's ability to spear the ball into the box from the sideline. However, if you think the old adage “knowledge is power” applies here, you’d be disastrously incorrect.

Because even when opponents know what is about to happen, they still somehow seem to be caught off guard each and every time. Coming in a dangerous, flat trajectory at a considerable pace, it seems to arrive just a little bit sooner than the defending side thinks.

Michael Kayode's throws are something else 😯 pic.twitter.com/iz6AuW8NqV

— Premier League (@premierleague) February 13, 2026

It’s not just the distance that makes his throw so dangerous – it's the unerring accuracy which accompanies it. Every single time, Kayode finds his mark, whether it be a man at the near post or straight into the six-yard box. It’s frightening – if told to throw the ball on top of a 50p coin from 40 yards, every attempt would probably fall within a one-metre radius. Odds are he was a darts player in a former life.

In all, Brentford have netted a whopping 10 goals directly from throw-ins this season, more than double the number of any other team, and every single one of them has come from Michael Kayode’s hands.

And these aren’t goals against relegation fodder. Among the long-throw assists in his collection are equalisers against Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as one in a win over Liverpool back in October. The fact that his touchline weapon comes in handy against the bigger, more expensively assembled sides as well as lesser outfits is likely what has sparked such interest in the Italian from high-profile sides.

Does the Long Throw Influence Transfer Value?

In the good old days, the long throw would arguably reduce a player’s transfer value, as it was seen as a mediaeval piece of skill that was quickly falling out of favour, deeming it useless in the modern game.

Yet in the present day, there is no doubt in our minds that possessing a 40-yard missile launcher is more of a strength than a weakness, and that is now being reflected in the players' transfer values.

Of course, there is plenty more to Kayode than just his throw. At the age of just 21, he has made the starting right-back spot of a European chasing side his own, making 34 appearances across all competitions this season.

Though not the tallest defender, standing at just 179 cm, Kayode has adapted his game to focus on speed, strength, and football IQ, all of which he has in abundance. The Italian has managed to lock down some of the Premier League’s finest left-wingers this season and is surely destined for a big move come the summer.

🚨 NEW!

Manchester United are closely monitoring Michael Kayode, Brentford’s throw-in expert.

[@FrazFletcher] pic.twitter.com/GviOonHbjc

— SimplyUtd (@SimplyUtd) March 4, 2026

So the long throw is just an added bonus when it comes to Kayode’s skill set, and valued at £32 million in the transfer market, that figure seems like a fair reflection of his abilities and the club he’s playing for.

The problem is that in the modern-day transfer market, a player’s listed value is typically an absolute minimum, and often they will move for considerably more than it.

Brentford will be adding an extra £15 million at the very least to make his valuation a nice round £50 million come the summer transfer window, ensuring that they receive enough of a windfall to find a suitable potential replacement.

But how much of this is the long throw? Well, we need to expand the sample size and consider some of the Premier League’s other long-throw experts, these being Sunderland’s Nordi Mukiele, Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall, and Crystal Palace’s Chris Richards.

Former PSG starlet Mukiele is currently only valued at around £12 million, having been brought for a bargain £10.5 million in the summer. However, the level of his performances for Sunderland, combined with his own long-throw prowess, means that by summertime, assuming the Black Cats secure Premier League survival, his value will have shot up to the mid-£20 millions.

Highest-rated fullbacks in the Premier League this season:

◉ 7.09 - Daniel Munoz
◉ 7.04 - Matheus Nunes
◉ 7.04 - Nordi Mukiele
◉ 6.96 - Jurrien Timber
◉ 6.92 - Nico O'Reilly pic.twitter.com/1jmEMvNmKe

— WhoScored (@WhoScored) February 16, 2026

Bergvall is currently considered one of Tottenham’s most valuable players, with a current price tag of £36 million. This is where things become puzzling, as the young Swede has been one of Spurs' biggest underperformers this campaign after impressing in 2024/25

Of course, at the age of 20, a lot of that value is stored in his potential future ability, but with an average throw distance of 30 metres, there is certainly a certain amount of stock placed in his long throw.

Finally, Chris Richards of Selhurst Park currently boasts a value of £20 million, a seemingly fair value for a solid centre-back who helped his club to their first ever piece of major silverware in the FA Cup last season.

However, his ability to launch it into the box will almost certainly boost his invisible value (i.e., what the club values him at behind closed doors) in the summer. Though £25 million would be a more than fair price for the American, the reality is that a fee of £30 million or more would be required to poach him from the Eagles.

It appears that the long-throw does not affect the publicly known transfer value of a player, with the analysts and experts preferring to study the on-ball skill and potential ability to calculate how much any given player should cost.

However, in the boardrooms of all Premier League clubs, we have the sneaking suspicion that these market values, particularly those of those who possess the weapon of the long throw, are being cranked up.

The ability to chuck the ball into the box makes Michael Kayode a £50 million player, a price tag which, without the long throw, he would be nowhere near; no disrespect, Michael, but you still have some developing to do.