Top 10 Premier League signings of the season features Man City duo, £33m Arsenal star
Including one Arsenal addition, here is our ranking of the top 10 Premier League signings of the season.
We have decided to omit those who are yet to play for their clubs, so despite loving Liverpool’s signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili and rating young Manchester United talent Leny Yoro, we are not considering them. We are also ignoring Arsenal’s David Raya as he spent last season on loan at the Emirates.
10) Archie Gray – Leeds to Tottenham (£35m)
This kid is seriously good and Leeds have been cut deeply by his departure. It’s going to sting for a while but at least he didn’t go to Manchester United. That would have caused riots.
Tottenham have done very well to complete the signing of Gray, who was close to joining Brentford hours before Ange Postecoglou’s side became the frontrunners for his signature.
Naturally a central midfielder, Gray can also play as a full-back but he is a little bit wasted out there. Thirty-five million of the King’s finest is a very modest fee as well. We like this signing a lot.
9) Ilkay Gundogan – Barcelona to Manchester City (free)
There is already a whole article about this signing. You should read that when you are done here.
This represents fantastic business for the Premier League champions and while Gundogan has started slowly this season, we all know the quality he possesses.
8) Emile Smith Rowe – Arsenal to Fulham (£27m)
Smith Rowe is finally playing regularly and we are delighted. After two testing years at his boyhood club, struggling for game time and with injuries, he is thriving at Fulham.
A return to the England team is a long way away for the 24-year-old but it is certainly a possibility if he keeps up his superb start to the season.
7) Yankuba Minteh – Newcastle to Brighton (£30m)
Newcastle felt forced to cash in on Minteh after a terrific year on loan at Arne Slot’s Feyenoord, getting £30m for him from Premier League rivals Brighton.
He has missed the Seagulls’ last three matches through injury, with his most recent performance coming against Tottenham, a game in which he scored to help inspire a 3-2 win from 2-0 down at half time.
The Gambian winger assisted on his Premier League debut and looks like a full-back’s nightmare and someone who would solve a lot of problems for Newcastle. He is certainly better than Miguel Almiron and if he was still there, Anthony Gordon would be able to play consistently on the left where he belongs, rather than on the right or through the middle.
6) Riccardo Calafiori – Bologna to Arsenal (£33.6m)
The strongest defence in the country is even stronger following the addition of Italy international Calafiori, who left Bologna after one season.
Calafiori cost a very respectable £33.6m and the fee could rise to around £42m, which is still an excellent piece of business for the Gunners.
He is naturally a centre-back but has been used as a left-back by Mikel Arteta in his early days as an Arsenal player. The 22-year-old is an absolute unit but moves like a full-back, which is pretty scary. Well, scary for everyone except Arsenal, who are very excited by their new defender.
5) Ferdi Kadioglu – Fenerbahce to Brighton (£25m)
Turkish left-back Kadioglu was linked with a host of top clubs across Europe but made the late summer switch to Brighton. He is a signing we really, really like, especially as a slightly different ‘last piece of the puzzle’ buy.
Virgil van Dijk is one of the most famous ‘last piece of the puzzle signings’ as he helped make Liverpool a gargantuan force once again, while looking at the Brighton starting XI in their opening matches, the only position you felt they could be exposed was in left-back – that was with Matt O’Riley in mind as James Milner’s defensive midfield replacement.
We do think Brighton should have signed a central defender but it was not as pressing as the additions of Kadioglu and O’Riley from Fenerbahce and Celtic, respectively. For the record, Jack Hinshelwood is a fantastic young player but is not on the same level as Kadioglu.
4) Liam Delap – Manchester City to Ipswich (£15.3m)
Ipswich have struggled since returning to the Premier League but one player who has found the step up seamless is Delap, who has five goals in nine top-flight appearances in 2024/25.
His form has been a pleasant surprise but not enough to earn Kieran McKenna’s side a league win yet.
3) Amadou Onana – Everton to Aston Villa (£50m)
The early impact of Onana at Aston Villa is a huge reason for his placement in the top three. He has proven himself to be a valuable asset in both boxes already and being around better players is clearly helping him reach another level, one he was always capable of reaching.
He did cost an awful lot of money and playing well in his first few months at the club is obviously nowhere near enough to justify a £50m transfer fee. Regardless, it has been a brilliant start.
MORE TRANSFER FEATURES FROM F365
👉 20 biggest deals of the summer
👉 20 best players available on a free transfer
👉 Liverpool trio among top 20 stars out of contract in 2025
2) Iliman Ndiaye – Marseille to Everton (£15m)
Everton rarely get signings right but they have with Ndiaye. He has been their best player this season and it is no coincidence to see their form improve following his addition to the starting XI.
The former Sheffield United playmaker scored a crucial goal at Ipswich to help his side win 2-0 and at Leicester City, which earned the Toffees a valuable point.
He left the Blades for Marseille in the 2023 summer transfer window and only had a handful of great games for the French side, assisting three and scoring five in Ligue 1. Ndiaye’s struggles have not carried over into the Premier League and Everton will be very thankful for that. They’d be winless without him.
1) Savinho – Troyes to Manchester City (£21m)
This is a transfer that reeks. Nonetheless, it is a great signing. Regardless of the logistics (or dodginess), £21m for a player of Savinho’s quality is ridiculous. He is some talent and has already shown that in his early months as a Man City player.
Savinho can have an even bigger impact than Jeremy Doku did last season and with these guys on either flank, Premier League full-backs will be even more scared to face City. They are both absolutely rapid and don’t seem to lose any of that pace when the ball is at their feet, which is frightening.
Jack Grealish’s evolution from a baller to a mere cog in Pep Guardiola’s machine made us think any winger signed by the Citizens would see their razzmatazz stripped from them but that was not the case with Doku and apparently not with Savinho either. It’s all a bit confusing. Maybe Pep rates Grealish’s ball retention more and wants Savinho and Doku to take more risks on the ball because they’d probably lose it anyway. We are really trying here, Jack.
