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Sports Illustrated

Sport

Braden Chalker

Top 10 Premier League Summer Signings: Ranked

EPL Fulham Arsenal Manchester City Amadou Onana Jadon Sancho Chelsea Anderson Douglas Luiz Georginio Rutter

Jadon Sancho is a key player in the Chelsea squad | IMAGO/Every Second Media

Premier League clubs continue to splash cash like there's no tomorrow during summer transfer windows.

London-based clubs Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Chelsea were among the top spenders, bringing in talent across the pitch to fill out their respective squads. Spurs moved to bring in four teenagers to build for the future while Aston Villa spent a club-record fee to upgrade Unai Emery's options in the midfield.

Brighton & Hove Albion—a team playing in just its eighth Premier League season—were the second-highest spenders in Europe with over $260m spent on transfer fees. Manchester City improved its squad depth and options on the wing with by bringing in one of the best dribblers in Europe from a fellow City Football Group club.

Here are the top 10 Premier League summer signings ranked, as of the October international break.

10. Liam Delap/Ipswich Town

Transferred from Manchester City to Ipswich Town
Fee: $26.1m
Position: Striker
Key stat: Four goals scored in seven starts

Ipswich Town shelled out just over $26m to Manchester City for Liam Delap in a bid to help the club stay up in the English first division. It's been a tough start to the season for Kieran McKenna's team as they've yet to win a match with four draws and three defeats.

Delap, however, has proved his worth to Ipswich by scoring four of the team's six league goals. Should Ipswich avoid relegation, don't be surprised to see Delap in and around the top of the goalscoring charts.

9. Joachim Andersen/Fulham

Transferred from Crystal Palace to Fulham
Fee: $39.2m
Position: Center-back
Key stat: Fulham have conceded six goals with Anderson in the side (five starts)

Fulham fans might've been worried when Tosin Adarabioyo departed on a free transfer to join London rival Chelsea. However, Fulham swooped in to sign Joachim Andersen from Crystal Palace in what many saw as a sideways step in his career.

So far, Anderson's move to Fulham has worked out for all parties except for Palace. With Anderson in the backline, Fulham has conceded just six goals in the Premier League with half of those coming in the 3–2 defeat at Manchester City. The Cottagers hope to build on their strong start to the season to finish in the top half of the table with Anderson in defense.

8. Georginio Rutter/Brighton & Hove Albion

Transferred from Leeds United to Brighton & Hove Albion
Fee: $52m
Position: Striker/Attacking midfielder
Key stat: Scored two goals in six appearances (four starts)

Georginio Rutter was transferred for over $40m for the second time in his career after his move to Brighton from Leeds United.

With Danny Welbeck in the twilight of his career, Brighton is now able to lean on players like record-signing Rutter, Evan Ferguson and João Pedro up front and center. New head coach Fabian Hürzeler has slowly introduced Rutter to minutes in a Brighton shirt as he's managed two goals in six appearances (four starts) as the Seagulls deal with injuries in the final third.

7. Emile Smith Rowe/Fulham

Transferred from Arsenal to Fulham
Fee: $43.7m
Position: Attacking midfielder/Central midfielder
Key stat: Three goal contributions in seven appearances

Fulham splashed a club-record $43.7m fee to land attacking midfielder Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal. The 24-year-old enjoyed solid back-to-back solid seasons with the Gunners in 2020–21 and 2021–22 before his playing time was hampered by injuries and competition for places.

Fulham boss Marco Silva could see that there was a still a quality player in Smith Rowe that couldn't get the minutes he needed in the talented Arsenal squad. So far, Smith Rowe has proved to be worth the transfer fee with three goal contributions for the Cottagers.

6. Amadou Onana/Aston Villa

Transferred from Everton to Aston Villa
Fee: $64.6m
Position: Defensive midfielder/Central midfielder
Key stat: Two goals in six starts

Aston Villa's Amadou Onana signing has refreshed the midfield at Villa Park after the departure of Douglas Luiz. While Onana and Luiz have two different playing styles, many saw Onana's arrival as the replacement for the Juventus-bound Luiz.

While Onana might not have the same attacking qualities as Luiz, he's still pitched in with two goals to start the season.

5. Jadon Sancho/Chelsea

Transferred from Manchester United to Chelsea
Fee: Loan with an obligation to purchase
Position: Left-winger/Right-winger
Key stat: Three assists in four appearances

Eyebrows were raised when Jadon Sancho completed a season-long loan to move to Chelsea from Manchester United given the sheer number of forwards already at Stamford Bridge. However, Enzo Maresca appears to be getting the best out of Sancho thus far with three league assists and just over four dribbles per match as he looks more and more like the player Manchester United were hopeful of getting when it signed him from Borussia Dortmund.

Chelsea will make Sancho's move permanent at the end of the season for about $32.8m and that figure could look like a steal given how he's started for the Blues.

4. Yankuba Minteh/Brighton & Hove Albion

Transferred from Newcastle United to Brighton & Hove Albion
Fee: $39.2m
Position: Right-winger
Key stat: Two goal contributions in seven appearances (five starts)

The Seagulls just might have the most underrated attacking department in the Premier League that was bolstered with the addition of Yankuba Minteh. Newcastle United had no choice but to part ways with the Gambia international to comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules and Brighton moved quickly to sign the young, talented winger.

Although two goal contributions isn't exactly shattering records, all you have to do is tune in to a Brighton match and see how the 20-year-old wreaks havoc upon defenses. Tottenham Hotspur's Destiny Udogie—who's typically solid on one-on-one situations—struggled throughout the match against Minteh in the Seagulls' 3–2 comeback win over Spurs.

3. Savinho/Manchester City

Transferred from Troyes to Manchester City
Fee: $43.7m
Position: Left-winger/Right-winger
Key stat: 2.8 dribbles-per-match

Savinho's transfer from Ligue 2 club Troyes to Manchester City is one of the most talked about moves from the summer, mainly because of the controversy behind him moving from the City Football Group to the City Football Group.

While Savinho has yet to find the back of the net as a City player, the ex-Girona winger has tallied two assists and completes an average of 2.8 dribbles per match—sixth-most in the Premier League. Savinho plays his part in Pep Guardiola's system by making full use of the pitch to stretch opposing defenses before finding a cut-back pass inside the penalty area.

2. Dominic Solanke/Tottenham Hotspur

Transferred from Bournemouth to Tottenham Hotspur
Fee: $83m
Position: Striker
Key stat: Three goal contributions in five appearances (five starts)

After brushing aside a minor ankle problem, Dominic Solanke has enjoyed a solid start to the campaign at Tottenham Hotspur with two goals in five appearances. There's a start contrast when Tottenham play with Son Heung-min up front—a winger–when compared to how Solanke leads the line and pulls everything together.

Not only has he proven to be clinical in front of goal in the Ange Postecoglou system, he's also been vital in defending from the front with his relentless pressing. Fellow striker Richarlison also excels in this area but has made just two league appearances this season due to a muscle injury.

1. Riccardo Calafiori/Arsenal

Transferred from Bologna to Arsenal
Fee: $43.2m
Position: Center-back/Left-back
Key stat: Scored key goal in the 2–2 draw vs. Manchester City

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta opted to increase his options in the backline with the addition of versatile defender Riccardo Calafiori from Serie A club Bologna. The 22-year-old played a key role in Bologna returning to the UEFA Champions League and the Gunners snatched him up in a bid to cross the finish line and beat Manchester City to the league title.

Calafiori continues to perform week in and week out for Arsenal, notably scoring a curling stunner against Man City at the Etihad Stadium in September. As the Italian defender can slot in as a center-back, left-back and even right-back, he provides tremendous value to Arsenal as the team keeps things tight at the back.