Every team in the 2023/24 Champions League group stages has faced each other at least once, as the third round of fixtures finished on Wednesday night with more intrigue and a few surprising finishes.
With Matchday 3 in the books, let’s take a look at the new faces in the Champions League who are making a big impact for their current clubs. Here are the 10 best signings made by UCL outfits in the 2023/24 season.
Real Madrid CM Jude Bellingham
No signing in world football has made more of an impact than Jude Bellingham, as it is fair to say that the England international is the early Ballon d’Or favorite. Bellingham added another exquisite – and decisive – finish to what is become quite the catalogue of goals in a Real Madrid kit. He passed the ball into the net expertly to give Real a 2-0 lead over Braga that they would not relinquish – though the home side came close in Portugal.
Bellingham has 11 goals in 12 appearances between the Champions League and LaLiga, which is an outrageous total for a midfielder – attacking or otherwise. His all-around impact has been at least as good, too. Even in the match against Braga, Bellingham did a ton of good work both defensively and in terms of recycling possession.
At 100 million euros, Bellingham did not come cheap, but, honestly, he looks like a bargain in the Cristiano Ronaldo mold. Yes, he was an expensive signing at face value, but his overall quality is so priceless that 100 million euros feels like 10 million.
Bayern Munich ST Harry Kane
It’s no surprise to see that Harry Kane is still banging home the goals for Bayern Munich. He had a sensational all-around season in North London that went to waste because of disappointing performances from his attacking teammates, namely Son Heung-min and Richarlison.
Kane has seamlessly fit into the Bayern attack, and it may not be a coincidence that Leroy Sané is having a career year in the attack alongside the best creative striker in world football. With 11 goals and 6 assists in 11 starts between the Champions League and Bundesliga, Kane is maintaining the highest level of production as a scorer and creator.
Barcelona RB João Cancelo
Bayern Munich decided to balk on Manchester City’s asking price for João Cancelo, which led to another loan to Barcelona and what seems to be an even more fruitful transfer for the Portuguese international. Cancelo has his flaws defensively, but because he’s such a determined ball-winner, he has his benefits in that respect as long as his role is tailored appropriately.
Of course, any team interested in Cancelo is primarily intrigued with his creative capabilities and his supreme technical quality. Cancelo is averaging 2.4 dribbles completed per game, which is an astounding number for a fullback and speaks to an on-the-ball work-rate that benefits every other attacking teammate.
Barcelona love to play expansive attacking football, shining on the front foot and always striving for positivity. Cancelo suits the playing style extremely well. He could get exposed against better wingers in the Champions League knockout stages, but as long as Xavi knows how to minimize his exposure to one-on-ones or covering positions defensively, La Blaugrana will be better off having Cancelo in the XI, especially on the other end.
Manchester City LW Jérémy Doku
It is incredible how Manchester City manage to get markedly better after every successive season, including a 2022/23 campaign in which they captured the Premier League over a stiff challenge from Pep Guardiola’s former protégé Mikel Arteta and then went ahead and won the title that had evaded the manager after his time working with Lionel Messi.
The reigning Champions League winners look that much more dangerous with former Rennes winger Jérémy Doku roaming the flanks. Capable of starting on either side of the formation, Doku has made slightly more appearances on the left side, where he has shown that he is the best pure dribbler in world football right now.
Just 21 years of age, Doku. is less raw than anticipated, executing Guardiola’s instructions to a “T”. Doku has earned rave reviews for his decision-making, progression, and ability to stretch the pitch for the others. Once Kevin De Bruyne returns to connect with Erling Haaland again, Doku could help the Norwegian fly further.
Inter Milan ST Marcus Thuram
A mere free-agent signing for Inter Milan, Marcus Thuram has been a revelation alongside Lautaro Martínez, arguably coaxing even better football out of the Argentinian superstar as his new striker partner. Filling the shoes of current icons Edin Džeko and Romelu Lukaku is not easy by any means, but Thuram has legitimately surpassed both of them this season.
Thuram isn’t a big-time goal-scorer, but he is a big-time striker because of his ability to impact the build-up phases and create chances. Entering the prime of his career, the Frenchman has 4 goals and 5 assists in all competitions for one of the 2023 Champions League finalists.
RB Leipzig CM Xavi Simons
Xavi Simons has unequivocally been one of the best signings in world football to start the 2023/24 season, and perhaps only Victor Boniface can truly contend with Simons as the signing of the summer in the Bundesliga when accounting for cost – with the caveat that Simons is, for now, merely a loan signing from PSG.
RB Leipzig will hope that Simons follows in the footsteps of Christopher Nkunku as another former PSG player who becomes a true superstar in east Germany for several years. Simons is already leading Leipzig by example and in personality, doing a little bit of everything at a very high level.
Just 20 years old, Simons has three goals and four assists as a midfielder with monstrous overall attacking output in terms of his progression and chance-creation. Simons is just scratching the surface. He could very well prove to be an upgrade on Dominik Szoboszlai, who is having quite the debut season for Liverpool in his own right.
Bayern Munich CB Kim Min-jae
Bayern Munich aren’t done with Harry Kane, though. Kim Min-jae is another big-name signing who has been just as important to Die Roten as the superstar striker. Kim was central to Napoli’s success last season as Scudetto winners and Champions League quarterfinals, showing great leadership and grit in defense as well as near-perfect reading of the game.
A warrior in defense, Kim does not shy from tackles and is as intelligent and composed as they come in reading the game for interceptions. On the ball, Kim is world-class with picking out progressive and even outright dangerous passes. He is a massive upgrade for a Bayern side that already had some of the best central defenders in Europe.
Arsenal DM Declan Rice
Easily one of the best signings of the summer and a quite obvious one, Declan Rice is the kind of defensive midfielder who shores everything up for a club. Rice is a big reason why Arsenal are dreaming of finally winning the Premier League title again, finishing the story they began with Manchester City last season. Further, Rice is the kind of player who can serve as a playing field-leveler against the elite clubs in the Champions League.
Brilliant in defense, competent on the ball, and capable of creating chances from nothing as a deep creator, Rice is the prototypical defensive midfielder for the modern game. There’s a reason why Pep Guardiola wanted him alongside Rodri, and there’s a reason why Arsenal broke the bank to make sure they got the former West Ham man over their main Premier League title rivals.
Rice completed about 92 percent of his 61.7 pass attempts in the Premier League, averaging more than 70 attempts per game in the Champions League. He is also averaging well over three combined tackles and interceptions per match in both the English top flight and European competition.
Barcelona FW João Félix
The other new “João” in the great city of Barcelona, João Félix looks like a changed man away from the dysfunction of Chelsea and an untenable situation with another top LaLiga side in Atlético Madrid. While Félix had his positive moments in the capital, he clearly never fit Diego Simeone’s system and pretty much openly clashed with his manager last season.
Félix looks happier and a whole lot more effective in Barcelona, where he can focus on playmaking and attacking in a role that allows him plenty of freedom to link up with the likes of Robert Lewandowski.
The Portuguese international has three goal and three assists between the Champions League and LaLiga, which seems like a modest return but undervalues all the work he does on the ball before the key play is made. Félix is putting in the work and disrupting defenses, drawing loads of fouls that keep Barcelona in control.
Since he’s been around for a while, it’s easy to forget that the ex-Benfica gem is still only 23. And really, he’s barely accomplished a fraction of what he is capable of in Barcelona, especially once Pedri and Frenkie de Jong are both healthy and in the lineup together.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.