Summary
We’ve ranked every Premier League club’s record signings, from best to worst.
Declan Rice of Arsenal is presently in first place after two outstanding seasons at the Emirates Stadium.
However, Jean Michael Seri and Tanguy Ndombele failed to live up to expectations after making big money moves to Fulham and Tottenham, respectively.
In recent years, numerous Premier League clubs have spent big money on world-class players. Erling Haaland’s move to Manchester City in 2022 paid off well, as the Norwegian helped Pep Guardiola’s team win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title in the 2023/24 season.
Declan Rice has altered Arsenal’s team since signing from West Ham this summer, and Alexander Isak has established himself as one of the league’s top strikers since joining Newcastle from Real Sociedad in 2022. With teams battling for the title or simply staying in the division, some big signings haven’t paid off.
Following Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich in 2023, Tottenham paid a club record price to sign Dominic Solanke, who has not been the club’s ideal replacement. There have also been questions raised about several other high-profile acquisitions following their big-money moves, while Liverpool fans will be watching to see if their new addition, Florian Wirtz, can carry over his Bundesliga form into the Reds’ championship defence next season.
Ranking Factors
Performance levels in the Premier League.
Important to the team.
Goals.
Assists.
Whether they lived up to the price tag.
20Brentford: Igor Thiago
2024 | Cost: £30 million
Brentford finalised the signing of attacker Igor Thiago from Club Brugge two weeks after the January transfer window closed last year, with the Brazilian signing a five-year contract and joining the Premier League club on July 1.
Thiago, 23, started his professional career in his native Brazil with Cruzeiro. In March 2022, he moved to Europe to sign with Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad. After scoring 15 goals and assisting eight times in his first season with the club, Belgian heavyweights Club Brugge signed the Brazilian, who has since impressed. While it may appear that the Bees are taking a gamble, their scouting technique has generally been effective. He ranks low on our ranking mostly because, at this point, he remains unproven following only eight league appearances last season.
19Burnley: Zeki Amdouni
2023 | Cost: £16.1 million
Zeki Amdouni joined Burnley in July 2023 on a long-term contract from FC Basel, and he rapidly established himself as a regular starter under Vincent Kompany. In 2023/24, he appeared in 37 matches across all competitions and scored six goals, despite Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League.
Rather than staying with Burnley in the Championship, Amdouni moved to Benfica on loan for the 2024/25 season, appearing 36 times and scoring eight goals and three assists. His performances in Lisbon have sparked interest from teams like Besiktas, highlighting his developing reputation.
Amdouni’s brief spell at Burnley laid a solid foundation, and his performance at Benfica demonstrates his ability to flourish abroad, but that is of little value to the Clarets, who want impactful players immediately if they are to remain in the top flight.
18Fulham: Emile Smith Rowe
2024 | Cost: £34 million
The widespread expectation was that he’d show Arteta wrong for not giving him the same first-team opportunities at Arsenal as some of his former Hale End teammates, and that he’d flourish under the lights at Craven Cottage. That appeared to be the situation with Emile Smith Rowe. But as the winter fixture congestion set in, his form plummeted, and he nearly vanished off the radar.
Fulham’s 2024/25 season finished with the club falling to the bottom part of the Premier League table, owing largely to key players running out of steam after a promising start. He has outperformed most new arrivals in terms of output, with nine goal involvements early on. However, that early spark dissipated quickly, and his progress appeared to stagnate just when the squad needed him the most.
However, everything is not lost. With a complete season of top-flight football under his belt, there’s hope he can rebound and thrive next year—especially if Fulham can recapture the success they briefly had at the start of the season.
17Leeds United: Georginio Rutter
2023 | Cost: £34.1 million
Georginio Rutter joined Leeds United in January 2023 for a club record £36 million from Hoffenheim, with great expectations. Though his first months in the Premier League were difficult, he found his footing in the Championship following Leeds’ relegation.
Rutter established himself as a prominent creative force in the 2023/24 season, collecting double-digit goals and assists while demonstrating flair, mobility, and technical ability. Despite Leeds’ failure to achieve promotion, his performances sparked renewed attention across Europe. Ultimately, he was sold to Brighton for a £6 million profit in the summer of 2025, but the Lilywhites would have loved to keep him for a little longer.
16Everton: Gylfi Sigurdsson
2017 | Cost: £45 million
When you consider the additions the Toffees have made in recent years (Romelu Lukaku, Richarlison, and Amadou Onana), you may be surprised to learn that Gylfi Sigurdsson remains their record signing. Unfortunately for the Merseyside club, the Icelandic midfielder failed to impress during his stint at Goodison Park.
When it comes to the club’s all-time greats, the 35-year-old falls short. Following his great tenure at Swansea, the midfielder had a lot of pressure to perform. In 156 games, he scored 31 goals and 25 assists. Sigurdsson fell out of favour at Everton near the end of his time there, and his contract expired at the end of the 2021-22 season.
15Sunderland: Enzo Le Fee
2025 | Cost: £19.1 million
While on loan from Roma, Enzo Le Fee helped Sunderland win promotion to the Premier League last season. The Frenchman has now joined the Black Cats on a permanent basis as they try to cement their status in the top division having being relegated to the Championship in 2016/17 and then to League One shortly after.
At £19.1 million, signing a Roma player who can do almost anything in midfield seemed to be a steal. But much of that is dependent on ifs, buts, and maybes. Only time will tell whether Le Fee can continue to thrive, prove to be a one-season wonder, or be signed by another team as Sunderland fights to stay in the Premier League. Even yet, he was cheap as chips, so it would take something disastrous for this move to be judged a failure.
14Crystal Palace: Christian Benteke
2016 | Cost: £27 million
In 2016, the Eagles went in quest of a consistent striker and signed Christian Benteke for a club record sum of £27 million. While he did not impress at Liverpool, his previous form at Aston Villa convinced Crystal Palace to spend the money.
His debut season with the club saw him score 17 goals across all competitions. Unfortunately, the rest of his time at Selhurst Park was marred by inconsistency, and he only scored more than five goals in a season once again for the Eagles. He was a decent buy, but he failed to meet expectations.
13Brighton: Georginio Rutter
2024 | Cost: £40 million
Rutter, who is also Leeds United’s record signing, hasn’t revolutionised Brighton overnight, but he’s proving to be a vibrant, creative force whose long-term value could justify the high price. With time and tactical refinement, he may be able to justify the investment, although current appraisals of his debut campaign are divided.
In his first ten months, he’s scored eight goals and assisted four times in 32 appearances across all competitions, demonstrating his ability to be an all-action middle man at key moments. Some Seagulls fans, however, are not convinced he is consistent enough. At 23, he has plenty of time to add another quiver to his bow.
12Manchester City: Jack Grealish
2021 | Cost: £100 million
Jack Grealish broke into the scene at Aston Villa at an early age. During his stint with his boyhood club, he motivated them to promotion to the Premier League and then helped them remain there in 2020, scoring a thrilling goal on the last day of the season.
With so much expectation and enthusiasm surrounding his name, City signed him for a whopping £100 million in August 2021. Grealish went on to win the Premier League in 2022, and then helped the club win the triple in 2022-23. His contribution that season is the primary reason he remains fairly high on our list, but after only six goal involvements in his last 40 league appearances, his time at the Etihad Stadium appears to be coming to an end after he was left out of the Club World Cup squad.
11Tottenham Hotspur: Dominic Solanke
2024 | Cost: £65 million
Tottenham Hotspur needed a new talisman to replace Harry Kane, their all-time leading goalscorer, who left for Bayern Munich in 2023. It took the Lilywhites a full year to decide on Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke as the best candidate for the role. His transfer to north London was described as a logical fit, given his strength, height, speed, and quiet appeal.
With 16 goals and eight assists in 45 games, Solanke’s return has been solid, if not outstanding. Perhaps more was expected, but his contribution should not be underestimated. He played a key role in Spurs’ Europa League victory over Manchester United, and despite the team’s struggles to create chances, particularly with Heung-min Son out of form, Solanke’s goal tally remains respectable.
He may not be the marquee replacement fans hoped for when Kane left, but he has been a consistent offensive force. Time will tell if he can properly mature into the role, or if his name will be regarded as a significant chapter in Spurs’ post-Kane history.
10Manchester United: Paul Pogba
2016 | Cost: £89.5 million
Pogba’s arrival from Juventus in 2016 was met with high expectations. While the brilliant midfielder had his moments during his second tenure at Old Trafford, he was mostly unreliable and failed to justify his high price tag. Nonetheless, he played a key role in the club’s Europa League and League Cup victories in 2016-17.
From four assists in a single Premier League match against Leeds United to the Frenchman’s numerous injury concerns, there was rarely a dull time in Pogba’s career. His standout performance for the Red Devils came in 2018, when he scored twice at the Etihad Stadium to ignite a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Manchester City.
9Bournemouth: Evanilson
2024 | Cost: £40.2 million
8Aston Villa: Amadou Onana
2024 | Cost: £50 million
Amadou Onana was frequently the driving force behind Everton in recent years. As a result, some of the country’s top clubs began to take notice of the Belgian international. The powerful midfielder chose to join Champions League club Aston Villa and made an immediate impact, scoring against West Ham on the first weekend of the Premier League season.
Onana has played as both a box-to-box midfielder and a deeper-lying player in the engine room, demonstrating his incredible versatility and adaptability. Unai Emery has a propensity for propelling young players to new heights, and Onana appears to be the ideal project player for the Spanish manager, who never shied away from midfield clashes to help the Villans qualify for the Europa League in his first season in the Midlands.
7Chelsea: Enzo Fernandez
2023 | Cost: £106.8 million
The 24-year-old has impressed to some extent since his high-paying move to west London in January 2023. While the Blues have battled for form over the last year, Enzo Fernandez has been a bright spot in their midfield.
Fernandez, who has already won the World Cup and Copa America with his home Argentina, has unparalleled game reading skills and ball vision. However, some Premier League fans would believe he hasn’t lived up to the high price tag yet, given how awful Enzo Maresca’s new side had been, waiting until the last minute to rescue a Europa League Conference championship and qualification for next season’s Champions League. With his contract set to end in 2031, the teenager has plenty of time to prove his naysayers wrong and become one of the world’s top midfielders, especially now that he’s added goals to his game.
6Liverpool: Florian Wirtz
2025 | Cost: £116 million
The Arne Slot revolution is rumbling at Anfield, but the general sentiment in the red half of Merseyside is that there is still so much to accomplish in life after Jurgen Klopp. The Premier League winners’ roof will be repaired while the sun shines, according to its owners, Fenway Sports Group. As a result, a British transfer price record of £116 million has been agreed upon to recruit Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.
The two-time Bundesliga Player of the Year will earn a whopping £355,000 a week once he joins on the dotted line. The 22-year-old will now be under pressure to hit the ground running from the start, but given his track record, he is expected to accomplish just that and more to help the Reds defend their 20th English league title.
5Nottingham Forest: Morgan Gibbs-White
2022 | Cost: £42.5 million
Since signing for Nottingham Forest in 2022, Morgan Gibbs-White has been the club’s top player. The Englishman has adapted to life at the City Ground like a duck to water, using his small stature to his advantage when beating opponents and sprinting into the box.
Following his record transfer three years ago, the midfielder has grown in leaps and bounds, establishing himself as a fan favourite and demonstrating why Forest chose to pay just over £42 million for his services. After receiving a four-point deduction, the club was able to avoid relegation in the 2023/24 season and subsequently qualify for the Europa Conference League less than a year later.
4West Ham: Lucas Paqueta
2022 | Cost: £51 million
Lucas Paqueta is perhaps West Ham’s most useful and important player. He became the club’s record signing in 2022 and has more than justified the price. The dazzling Brazilian is extremely versatile, and he can play in an advanced role or further back as a number eight, with the latter his preferred position.
He enjoyed playing as a number eight, helping the Hammers win the Europa Conference League in his debut season in east London. The fact that Manchester City has been heavily linked with the midfielder for some time speaks volumes about his ability, though a betting scandal last year has reduced his ranking in recent months as he and his teammates struggle to return the Hammers to their rightful place in life after David Moyes.
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