A Virgil van Dijk or a Joelinton: Rating the record signings of every Premier League club
- Michael Graham
- 2 January 2022
With Newcastle expected to flex their financial muscles this January, we rate just how well the 20 top-flight clubs have done when breaking the bank.
Indeed, any time the television revenues go up, transfer fees also shoot up.
With Newcastle set to splash the cash following their Saudi takeover and suggestions Manchester City may make another big-money bid for Harry Kane, Planet Sport looks at just how well Premier League club's record signings have fared.
Arsenal - Nicolas Pepe - £72million
It's fair to say that this one hasn't worked out. Well, it hasn't yet at least.
Pepe has been okay in fairness, but he just hasn't justified the size of the fee. Last year it was even reported that Arsenal were conducting an internal inquiry as to how they were persuaded to agree the deal.
Still, even though they definitely overpaid, at least they got a good player out of it.
Rating: 5/10
Aston Villa - Emi Buendia - £38million
Buendia had big shoes to fill following the departure of Jack Grealish. And having enjoyed success in a wide role at Norwich, it was probably a bit much to expect him to instantly transfer his Canaries form to the middle of the park.
Nevertheless, one goal and two assists is a poor return from a player who cost close to £50million.
The arrival of Steven Gerrard provides hope Buendia can finally kick-start his Villa Park career, with the new boss confident the Argentine will fit perfectly into his system. However, on the strength of his stint at Villa so far, he can only be classed as a massive failure.
Rating: 4/10
Brentford - Ivan Toney - £10million
Toney was the man who Brentford turned to when they needed to replace Aston Villa-bound Ollie Watkins, and it definitely looks like they got value there.
Indeed, Toney outscored Watkins in the Championship, hitting 33 goals in all competitions, including 31 in the league.
The striker has found the going much tougher in the Premier League with just four goals to his name. However, for the money they paid for him, Brentford have already had incredible value out of Toney.
Rating: 8/10
Brighton - Adam Webster - £20million
Webster is one of those players who doesn't sound very exciting, but rarely lets anyone down.
The centre-back has worked his way up to the Premier League, where he has become a crucial part of the Brighton spine.
He has suffered a couple of spells out with injury this term but of the ten games in which he has featured, Brighton have lost just two.
Rating: 6/10
Burnley - Ben Gibson - £15million
Rating: 1/10
Chelsea - Kai Havertz - £75.8million
The German scored a Champions League final-winning goal to cap his first campaign in England, which is about as good as it gets.
However, you can't help feeling there is a lot more to come from Havertz.
Just two goals and two assists this campaign suggest it hasn't arrived yet and patient is starting to wear thin.
Rating: 6/10
Crystal Palace - Christian Benteke - £27million
On paper, this looked a really good signing for Palace. Benteke was leaving Liverpool after a frustrating spell for the Reds, but the Aston Villa form that earned him that move to Anfield was still fresh.
The following four years yielded just 16 more, though. It was enough to get him a new deal and this season has followed a similar pattern. The striker's campaign has threatened to ignite, most notably with four goals in five games across October and November. However, going into 2022 he remains stuck on four.
Rating: 3/10
Everton - Gylfi Sigurdsson - £45million
You get the feeling he won't be Everton's record signing for long, and his time at Goodison Park looks to be coming to an end too.
Rating: 5/10
Leeds - Rodrigo - £27million
He arrived in England without much of a pre-season and struggled with injuries as a result, but his end-product wasn't anywhere near what had been expected.
Rating: 2/10
Leicester - Youri Tielemans - £40million
The Foxes recruit brilliantly and Tielemans is a perfect example of that.
In addition to his fine performances in the Premier League, Tielemans scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final as Leicester beat Chelsea at Wembley.
Rating: 7/10
Liverpool - Virgil van Dijk - £75million
When Liverpool agreed to pay Southampton such a huge fee for Van Dijk, there were certainly plenty of raised eyebrows.
That has almost been forgotten, because if you had to choose one player who turned Liverpool from a top team to a Premier League-winning team, it was the Dutchman.
The fact he missed a large chunk of last season and Liverpool struggled so much without him just highlighted further what a superb signing he has been.
Rating: 9/10
Manchester City - Jack Grealish - £100million
The Jack Grealish deal always seemed a strange one from City's point of view when it was a striker, and more specifically, Harry Kane, they were crying out for.
Rating: 6/10
Manchester United - Paul Pogba - £89.3million
Where on earth do you start with Paul Pogba? He has to be the most enigmatic player we have seen in recent years.
Add into the fact that Man Utd even had to buy him back after initially losing him for nothing, and you'd struggle to argue that Pogba has been anything more than a moderate success at Old Trafford.
Rating: 6/10
Newcastle - Joelinton - £40million
Mike Ashley was a well-known skinflint, but when he did release the purse strings a little and it's spent on Joelinton, it becomes easier to understand why he didn't do it more often.
Joelinton has simply not delivered for Newcastle and it's far from a secret.
The Brazilian has contributed just seven Premier League goals in 87 matches, so he can't even say he hasn't had a fair crack of the whip.
Rating: 1/10
Norwich - Milot Rashica - £9.4million
He's a fan favourite and he's been praised for his ball-carrying ability by manager Dean Smith who said he has goals in him.
Unlocking them is proving to be a problem, however, with the Kosovan yet to get off the mark in ten appearances for the Canaries.
Rating: 3/10
Southampton - Danny Ings - £20million
He rediscovered his best form at Southampton, though, where he scored 41 goals in three seasons.
Made a surprise £25million move to Aston Villa in the summer so he even made Saints money as well.
Rating: 8/10
Tottenham - Tanguy Ndombele - £53.7million
Tottenham's transfer policy, which often restricts them to signing players with potential resale value, is highly conducive to risk, and Ndombele never looked a very safe bet.
He has not been a total flop, it should be stressed. The Frenchman has played 89 times for the club, although he has never looked a £53million player.
Looks to be on his way out in January after starting just one of Spurs' last eight games.
Rating: 3/10
Watford - Ismaila Sarr - £40million
It was a decision which paid dividends as they were immediately promoted back to the top flight.
Transfer rumours resurfaced this season after five goals in 12 games but a knee ligament injury has put his campaign on hold.
Rating: 6/10
West Ham - Sebastien Haller - £45million
West Ham decided to cut their losses on the Frenchman, with Ajax giving them half their money back. Naturally, he went right back to banging in the goals in the Netherlands.
Rating: 3/10
Wolves - Fabio Silva - £35.6million
This one is a very tough one to judge. If we are honest, there was a strong 'rush it through before Brexit' feel to the signing, with Wolves knowing the youngster would be out of their reach once work permit rules came into effect for European players.
Fabio Silva is only 19 still, and he has four Premier League goals to his name despite his limited opportunities.
As of right now, though, you'd have to say he is not delivering the value you'd want for a record signing.
And there is a thought that his development might be better served away from Molineux.
Rating: 2/10
