Liverpool buy first, Man City duo included: Top 10 summer signings in the Premier League
Top 10 summer signings ahoy. Is it too early to judge players? Definitely. Will we do it anyway? Obviously. The fact these guys have been at their new club for such a short period means our neck is on the line as we are essentially predicting them to do well. It is guaranteed that we will look very silly in a few months.
Anyway, here are the top 10 Premier League signings of the 2024 summer transfer window.
10) Leny Yoro ā Lille to Manchester United (Ā£52m)
A serious foot injury before the season started was far from ideal for young Yoro and Man Utd, with Erik ten Hag signing Matthijs de Ligt to provide further centre-back depth after a season in which Jonny Evans played 30 times. Across the entirety of 2023/24, the Northern Irishman shared the pitch with Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Willy Kambwala, Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez.
The long-term benefits put Yoro in the top 10; this guyās potential is scary. So has been the reaction from some, though. The āMan United are back!ā mafia was in full force following this announcement, wanting you to believe they beat Real Madrid to Yoroās signature as the 18-year-old simply could not turn down the opportunity to play at the Theatre of Dreams.
It didnāt quite go like that. On one hand, Man Utd have paid Ā£52million for a teenager available for nothing next summer and only got him because Real Madrid werenāt actually that bothered and PSG had doubts over his metatarsal problem. On the other hand, they have signed one of the most promising young footballers in the world capable of becoming even better than a prime Varane. We do think it will prove to be a wonderful signing, for what itās worth.
9) Federico Chiesa ā Juventus to Liverpool (Ā£10m)
Putting Chiesa in this top 10 does contradict the words of our very own Will Ford but to avoid contradicting him even further, the new Liverpool signing is only ninth; he would probably be a bit higher if this opinion piece did not exist.
The transfer fee raises some alarm bells. Why was he so cheap? Even with a year left on his contract and being out of the Juventus project, it feels absurdly low. The fact it is so low seems to be more of a negative than a positive. Liverpool fans will want you to believe that is because he signed for Liverpool but that is not trueā¦we think.
If Liverpool get the Chiesa of Euro 2020, they have made one of the best signing of all time, and if they donāt, then at Ā£10m it still doesnāt really matter.
READ MORE: Chiesa to Liverpool āpointlessā? Thereās a 50/50 chance itās a bargainā¦
8) Sam Johnstone ā Crystal Palace to Wolves (Ā£10m)
Johnstone has hopefully found a permanent home in the Premier League after being deemed not good enough by Crystal Palace ā whose No. 1 is Dean Henderson after the pair shared the role for a while.
Wolves needed a new goalkeeper and they got a very good one, and for an excellent price. This is a transfer for which we canāt see any faults. It is perfect for Johnstone, Wolves, and even for Crystal Palace, who get a bit of money for someone likely to only feature in cup competitions.
He will never take Jordan Pickfordās spot away for England but this is a move that can help Johnstone get back into the international picture and makes us a little bit more confident about Wolves after a very shaky start to the campaign.
7) Jack Clarke ā Sunderland to Ipswich (Ā£15m)
The step up from the Championship to the Premier League is a gigantic one and Ipswich Town have taken a bit of a risk with a lot of their summer additions, bringing in Clarke, Sammie Szmodics and Jacob Greaves. We have taken a risk ourselves by putting ex-Sunderland winger Clarke in this top 10. He could easily sink. We clearly predict him to swim.
The former Leeds United winger was electric in the Championship for Sunderland and if he quickly finds his feet in the Premier League, he will be running full-backs ragged and hopefully winning Kieran McKennaās side points on his own. Itās a big ask, but this is a signing Ipswich fans should be very excited about.
6) Archie Gray ā Leeds to Tottenham (Ā£35m)
Another player to make the jump up from the second to first tier, Gray has more margin for error than Clarke, which should benefit him in the long term. The former Leeds teenager does not have relegation to worry about and wonāt be a guaranteed starter straight away. The pressure is off.
This kid is seriously good and Leeds have been cut deeply by his departure. Itās going to sting for a while but at least he didnāt 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 Postecoglouās 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 Kingās finest is a very modest fee as well. We like this signing a lot.
5) Amadou Onana ā Everton to Aston Villa (Ā£50m)
The early impact of Onana at Aston Villa is a huge reason for his placement in the top five. 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, a level he was always capable of reaching.
He did cost an awful lot of money and playing well for three games is obviously nowhere near enough to justify a Ā£50m transfer fee. It will be interesting to see how Onana does in the Champions League. Given the money Villa fans have to pay to watch it, he better be bloody brilliant.
š READ MORE:Ā Aston Villa and their āf*** youā to fans relegates Man Utd arguments
4) Ferdi Kadioglu ā Fenerbahce to Brighton (Ā£25m)
Yet to make his Brighton debut, 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 ālast piece of the puzzleā buy.
Virgil van Dijk is one of the most famous ālast piece of the puzzle signingsā 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 ā that was with Matt OāRiley in mind as James Milnerās 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 OāRiley from Fenerbahce and Celtic, respectively. For the record, Jack Hinshelwood is a fantastic young player but is not on the same level as Kadioglu. We are awfully excited to see him in the Premier League.
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3) Savinho ā Troyes to Manchester City (Ā£21m)
This is a transfer that reeks. Nonetheless, it is a great signing. Regardless of the logistics (or dodginess), Ā£21m for a player of Savinhoās quality is ridiculous. He is some talent and has already shown that in his early weeks 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 donāt seem to lose any of that pace when the ball is at their feet, which is frightening.
Jack Grealishās evolution from a baller to a mere cog in Pep Guardiolaās 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. Itās all a bit confusing. Maybe Pep rates Grealishās ball retention more and wants Savinho and Doku to take more risks on the ball because theyād probably lose it anyway. We are really trying here, Jack.
2) Ilkay Gundogan ā 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, who automatically improve following the re-signing of Gundogan. Man City improving is horrible news for Arsenal, Liverpool, and basically every club in Europe. They have to win the league again, surely? There may well be 115 reasons why they donātā¦
1) Giorgi Mamardashvili ā Valencia to Liverpool (Ā£25.2m)
Pound for pound, this is the best signing made by a Premier League club in the 2024 summer transfer window.
Mamardashvili is a player I have bigged up for a while now. Before Euro 2024, he was a player to watch and someone tipped for a Premier League transfer. Personally, I am shocked that it was Liverpool who have signed him. That doesnāt make it a rubbish signing though. Far from it.
The Georgian international is happy to stay at Valencia on loan and continue his development at the place he has developed so well. Alisson is under contract until 2027 so another loan is likely but that is absolutely fine. By the time Alisson is being replaced at Anfield,Ā Mamardashvili will be 25 or 26 and should be better than he already is. This guy has the potential to become the best goalkeeper in the world, making him the perfect heir for club legend Alisson; he is that good. And Liverpool got him for Ā£25m. Incredible.
While on goalkeepers, we feel like David Raya is worth an honourable mention. Had he not already spent a season on loan, heād likely be in this top 10.
š MORE: Liverpool | Manchester United | Premier League five-year net spend
