Now that we are in the second break of the 2025/26 season, it’s time to take stock of all the biggest signings in the Premier League from the summer 2025 transfer window and see if they have been worth it so far. And if not, what will it take for them to meet their expectations based on their fees.
Using the data provided by Transfermarkt (all figures in euros), we have ranked the 10 most expensive Premier League signings of the summer market and given a player rating from 0-10 based solely on how the players have performed through the first seven matchdays of the 2025/26 campaign.
10. Arsenal ST Viktor Gyokeres, 65.8M
Viktor Gyokeres has been dunked on by rival fanbases with slander names like “Mediokeres” and even a comment that he looks like he’s playing football with jeans on.
But Arsenal are first in the Premier League, and Gyokeres is their leading goal-scorer with three goals. He’s provided valuable hold-up play and has opened up more of the attack for Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, though more early injuries to the Arsenal superstars have prevented the team from seeing the full benefits of adding a real No. 9. Rating: 6.5
9. Arsenal AM Eberechi Eze, 69.3M
Arsenal have figured out pretty quickly that Eberechi Eze isn’t a solution on the left wing, and he’s not going to be able to play at a top level there. However, he’s made a couple of assists despite only starting three games and has offered good ball progression with clever turns in tight spaces.
Eze is a solid player, but he’s clearly not better than Odegaard and isn’t going to amount to much more than the captain’s backup and an occasional utility player on the wing.
Having a backup like Eze for Odegaard in case of further injury to the Norwegian is actually pretty important, but other than further bragging rights over Tottenham, I’m not entirely sure that’s worth nearly 70 million euros. Rating: 5.0
8. Arsenal DM Martin Zubimendi, 70M
The best of the three high-priced summer signings made by Arsenal this year, Martin Zubimendi has been essentially just as valuable to the team as Declan Rice, which is the most ringing endorsement of a new No. 6 in North London possible.
Zubi isn’t as creative or as accomplished of a passer as Rice, but he’s honestly pretty close in terms of holding possession and position while being an even more effective ball-winner.
He’s even scored a brace. Zubimendi is, as expected, flourishing to a higher degree on a team with more overall quality. He is going to be a fixture at the Emirates for at least the next five years, as he and Rice rule midfields together. Rating: 8.5
7. Manchester United AM Matheus Cunha, 74.2M
Although injuries have blighted Matheus Cunha’s start to life at Old Trafford, he’s started four games and played enough minutes at 352 in the Premier League to have more than no goals and no assists.
It’s as if Ruben Amorim has no idea what to do with Cunha, which is, honestly, simply par for the course for the worst manager in the entire Premier League. Cunha’s lack of success is more of a reflection of coaching, but this is still a dreadful return on around 75 million euros in cost when Bruno Fernandes is literally sitting right there, buried deeper in the midfield. Rating: 5.0
6. Manchester United RW Bryan Mbeumo, 75M
You have to feel for Bryan Mbeumo, too, because, like Cunha, the underlying quality and numbers are there for the uber-talented Premier League forward, who bagged 20 goals with 7 assists for Brentford in 2024/25 as the league’s biggest breakout star.
Maybe he should have chose Tottenham and Thomas Frank after all, as Manchester United are an utter disaster where no forward can possibly succeed. Mbeumo has just one goal, one assist, and one great game, but he’s also quietly averaging about two key passes per game on a team with very little going for it. Rating: 6.0
5. Newcastle ST Nick Woltemade, 75M
Although Nick Woltemade probably did cost a little too much, when you look at how much Benjamin Sesko went for and consider the fact that Woltemade was the superior player in the Bundesliga last season, maybe Newcastle didn’t get such a bad deal after all.
And since Woltemade is outproducing the now reviled Alexander Isak with three goals in four games while offering superior hold-up play at a younger age (23), the Magpies can be forgiven for thinking that they’ve ultimately come away with the better long-term player here. And around 70 million euros saved. Rating: 7.0
4. Manchester United ST Benjamin Sesko, 76.5M
It’s way too early to call Benjamin Sesko a transfer bust, and, all things considered, two goals in 386 Premier League minutes to tie Bruno Fernandes for the team lead while making just barely half the number of starts as the team’s captain is not a bad return.
Sesko looks better and better with each passing game, and his off-ball traits offer the Red Devils clear hope that they have finally found a real long-term solution at the 9 who can one day score 20 in a season. Rating: 6.5
3. Liverpool ST Hugo Ekitike, 95M
Easily the best of the new signings, Hugo Ekitike has scored three goals with an assist this season and has been the best dribbling striker in the Premier League, making many wonder why Liverpool spent so much on Alexander Isak afterwards.
They could have pocketed 150 million euros and stuck with Ekitike up top. Isak will get better as the season goes on, of course, but Ekitike has been the real gem of the transfer class thus far and has the quality to be a top Premier League star for the next decade. Rating: 7.5
2. Liverpool AM Florian Wirtz, 125M
Anyone who declares Florian Wirtz a transfer bust already is out of their minds, and there have been a few more disappointing players of a similar high profile this season on the Reds.
Arne Slot still needs to figure out how to integrate the new signings, especially Wirtz, into his squad, but the German international has still made a positive impact as a creator, even though the goal threat and progression have not been there at Anfield just yet. Rating: 6.0
1. Liverpool ST Alexander Isak, 145M
Alexander Isak isn’t match fit at all, so you have to take this rating with a grain of salt. The jury is still far, far from being decided on Isak, but since we have to grade him on what he has done so far, he has come nowhere near justifying his cost in the early going and looks superfluous to the more dynamic Ekitike. Rating: 2.0
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.