In brief
At around £6.5 million, Cesar Azpilicueta was a great deal for Chelsea and went on to become a vital member and captain while winning numerous titles.
Sami Hyypia, Nicolas Anelka, and Phillipe Coutinho are other noteworthy steals who contributed significantly to their respective clubs for relatively little money.
Eric Cantona’s £1.2 million move to Manchester United and Patrick Vieria’s 1996 transfer to Arsenal are among the Premier League’s greatest deals.
The allure of the transfer market is that there is no assurance that a new hire will be a success, regardless of the club’s size or financial resources. The Premier League has seen innumerable instances of big-money failures over the years.
Every team has, in fact, had a worst-ever January acquisition. For example, Cenk Tosun cost £27 million to join Everton but left after only managing one goal in 61 games. Of sure, you can succeed despite all of your setbacks. I immediately think of Seamus Coleman’s appearance at Goodison Park. However, more about him later.
In keeping with this idea, we at GIVEMESPORT have made the decision to go back in time and reminisce about 15 of the greatest deals ever made since the Premier League was established.
Free transfers are excluded for the sake of the list. For instance, even though Sol Campbell was a huge success and didn’t cost the team any money in transfer fees, his move from Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal doesn’t qualify here.
We have mostly considered each player’s contribution to their clubs in terms of appearances, trophies, and goals (if they are an attack-minded player) while creating our subjective rankings using data from Transfermarkt. However, we’ve also considered their legacy, the amount of money they were later sold for, and the subsequent success that team was able to achieve.
15Cesar Azpilicueta
£6.5m – Marseille to Chelsea
With 508 games overall—the sixth-highest number in Chelsea’s history—Cesar Azpilicueta was a wonderful servant for the team. As he gained experience and was appointed captain, he demonstrated leadership qualities and led the west London team to numerous awards, including the Champions League in 2021.
During his 11-year tenure, he departed the team in the summer of 2023 to join Atletico Madrid, leaving fans with innumerable happy memories. He is a real Blues icon, and Stamford Bridge will undoubtedly always welcome him back.
14Andy Robertson
£8m – Hull City to Liverpool
When it comes to dependable fullbacks, Andy Robertson has been one of the best in European football in recent years. Following the Tigers’ Premier League relegation in 2016–17, Liverpool pounced to acquire the Scottish defender, who had joined Hull City from Dundee United in 2015.
He took some time to establish himself on the team, but once he did, he never looked back. Since then, he has helped the Reds win the FA Cup, League Cup, Premier League (twice), Champions League, and Club World Cup. Not bad for a player who was cut by Celtic at the under-15 level because they thought he was too little to succeed.
13Philippe Coutinho
£8.5m – Inter Milan to Liverpool
Given the markup Liverpool ultimately paid for the midfield player, the most costly Premier League departure in history had to be on the list. Philippe Coutinho’s amazing long-range goals and amazing skill with the ball lit up the Premier League.
The Brazilian joined Barcelona for an estimated £146 million, leaving England for Spain after five years at Anfield. He became one of the worst value-for-money moves ever, unfortunately, and things did not work out for him at Camp Nou.
With Aston Villa, he is now back in England. At least the money from the sale of his Reds allowed Jurgen Klopp to assemble his all-conquering Liverpool team, even though that move hasn’t exactly gone as planned.
12Nicolas Anelka
£500k – Paris St Germain to Arsenal
For roughly half a million pounds, Nicolas Anelka moved to Highbury to join Arsene Wenger’s project after making a fleeting impression for Paris Saint-Germain. In his first full season, when Arsenal won the Premier League, the then-18-year-old contributed 12 goals in 26 league appearances.
The following season, he scored 19 goals across all competitions before landing a transfer to Real Madrid for the 1999–2000 season. Arsene Wenger invested the remaining funds on a young Frenchman named Thierry Henry after the proceeds from his sale were utilised to construct the nation’s top training facility.
11Sami Hyypia
£2.6m – Willem II to Liverpool
When discussing some of the top defenders in the Premier League, Sami Hyypia’s name isn’t mentioned nearly enough. Considering what he contributed to Liverpool during his ten years there, it is safe to say that many people undervalue him.
The Finnish international, who has made 464 appearances for the Reds since his 1999 debut, won the Champions League in 2005 against AC Milan. He has also won numerous local cups, the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Supercup. It is a true deal in every way.
10Jurgen Klinsmann
£2m – Monaco to Tottenham
Considering how much he cost, Spurs’ decision to sign a World Cup champion was a fantastic business move. He would bring goals—38 of them, to be exact—to White Hart Lane, but no trophies. Although it’s not the largest number, it’s noteworthy given that he only played 66 games for Tottenham.
Jurgen Klinsmann scored 20 goals and dishevelled 11 assists during the 1994–95 season, earning him a spot on the PFA Team of the Year. He was also named the FWA Footballer of the Year for that exceptional season. He simply lacked a club trophy to accompany the individual accolades from his tenure in north London.
9Seamus Coleman
£60k – Sligo Rovers to Everton
Coleman may not be the most well-known person on this list, but we had to include him because of how ridiculously inexpensive he was. Everton paid a small amount for the full-back’s many years of service, making him the ultimate Premier League steal.
Together with Leighton Baines, the Irishman formed one side of one of the league’s top full-back tandems. He has since become the Toffees’ captain. He has already made more than 400 appearances for the team, and before his tenure at Goodison Park ends, the seasoned manager would want to add a good number more. However, his transfer fee has only cost £140.19 every excursion as of this writing.
8Edwin van der Sar
£2m – Fulham to Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson’s team had a difficult time finding a replacement for the Danish custodian after Peter Schmeichel left Manchester United. That is, until the 2005–06 season, when, following a stellar stint for Fulham, they decided to sign Dutch international Edwin van der Sar.
Considering his career at Old Trafford, that £2 million cost is an amazing bargain. He won the Premier League and the Champions League four times when he was at United, keeping 135 clean sheets in 266 appearances. He remains one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the league.
7Kolo Toure
£150k – ASEC Mimosas to Arsenal
The Ivorian football team ASEC Mimosas is not well-known to most fans, but over the years, they have contributed to the development of several well-known players. Although Emmanuel Eboue, Gervinho, Yaya Toure, and Salomon Kalou are all excellent examples, Kolo Toure cleared the path for those future agreements when he signed a £150,000 contract with Arsenal in 2002.
He proved to be an excellent player. He played a variety of positions before settling in at centre-back just in time to help the team create history during their legendary Invcibles era. Toure would play 326 games with the Gunners, winning two Community Shields, the FA Cup, and the league before departing in 2009 for £14 million.
6Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
£1.5m – Molde to Manchester United
This proved to be a huge bargain for United. When Sir Alex Ferguson called upon Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, also known as “the Baby-faced Assassin,” he was deadly. Although he didn’t initially cost the Red Devils much, his iconic goal against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final made him well worth the money.
The Norwegian helped the storied team add six more Premier League crowns to their trophy cabinet during his 11-year tenure at Old Trafford, where he scored 126 goals in 366 games. Even after retiring, he came back to manage United, albeit his tenure there wasn’t quite as successful as his playing days.
Manchester United to Spartak Moscow for £7 million
One of the best defenders to ever play for Manchester United is Nemanja Vidic. The Serbian was actually a member of one of the best centre-back duos in Premier League history. Among the fiercest football players to have ever played in England, he was also a formidable opponent.
The only defender in the Premier League to win the award twice, he helped Man United win five Premier League titles in eight years with his unwavering play on the pitch that made it impossible for forwards to get past their defenders.
5Vincent Kompany
£6m – Hamburg to Manchester City
One of the best defenders to ever play for Manchester United is Nemanja Vidic. The Serbian was actually a member of one of the best centre-back duos in Premier League history. Among the fiercest football players to have ever played in England, he was also a formidable opponent.
The only defender in the Premier League to win the award twice, he helped Man United win five Premier League titles in eight years with his unwavering play on the pitch that made it impossible for forwards to get past their defenders.
4N’Golo Kante
£5.6m – Caen to Leicester City
As the focal point of Claudio Ranieri’s Premier League-winning Foxes team, N’Golo Kante had a brief but impactful tenure at Leicester City. Perhaps no player in Premier League history had a better debut season than the Frenchman’s one and only season at the King Power Stadium. He arrived, he saw, and he won.
After that, he paid £30 million to join Chelsea, who won the Premier League that season thanks to Kante’s performance in the middle of the pitch. Before joining Al-Ittihad this summer, the Frenchman, who is regarded as one of the league’s greatest midfielders in recent years, won the FA Cup, the Super Cup, the Europa League, and the Champions League.
3Patrick Vieira
£3.5m – AC Milan to Arsenal
In 1996, Patrick Vieira came to London to bolster the midfield. He became the general in Arsenal’s engine room under the renowned manager, and his heyday came under Wenger.
The Frenchman led the Gunners to three Premier League championships and four FA Cups, among other accolades. From 1999 to 2004, he was selected to the PFA Team of the Year six times in a row and is still regarded as one of the greatest midfielders to have ever played in England. A decent resume for someone so inexpensive.
xz
