ALBION have already doubled their money on Neal Maupay if the estimated transfer values released by a respected international football research group are to be believed.

Reports emerged on Tuesday claiming Italian side Napoli are keeping tabs on leading scorer Maupay.

And that the Seagulls rate their striker at £40million.

The Argus believes Napoli's interest in Maupay is historic, dating back to last summer when his 28-goal tally for Brentford in the Championship caught the eye.

But that value may be on the money for a player who joined Albion in the summer for an initial fee believed to be £16million.

Rankings produced by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) Football Observatory on Tuesday rated France and PSG star Kylian Mbappe as the most valuable player in the world.

It is claimed Mbappe's true market value is £226million (265.2million euros).

The next six places are occupied by either English or Premier League players.

Liverpool have Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in that group and also possess the highest-ranked player in every defensive position, while Leicester midfielder and reported Manchester United target James Maddison also features prominently at a staggering £96million.

The CIES Football Observatory put their rankings together for Europe's 'big five' leagues - Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.

No Albion player features in the list published of 166 footballers in the big-5 valued at more than 50 million euros.

The CIES model draws on a player's performance for his club and national team, his age and position, as well as the league he plays in and the "economic level" of both his club and those potentially wishing to sign him.

The Premier League's financial strength therefore adds to the estimated value of its players.

The CIES website has a tool, though, where it estimates players' values and, as of Monday, he was ticking along nicely at 40-50million euros.

It perhaps highlights how well Albion's recruitment team did to land the 23-year-old Frenchman - and also pull off a shrewd investment.

Summer buy Leandro Trossard would command 30-40million euros based on the CIES methodology.

Highly-rated Lewis Dunk is valued at 20-30million euros while striker Aaron Connolly has shot up to 7-10million euros after breaking into the first team squad.