With the new season just around the corner – there has been plenty of action in the transfer market this summer despite the financial difficulties that the world is facing during the Coronavirus outbreak. Clubs up and down the country are gearing up for the start of the Premier League on 12th September, with many teams looking to reinforce their squads ready for a very unique and different look at the game we know and love.
Previous transfer windows have seen mega-money spent by the big clubs in the league, with plenty of Premier League teams breaking world transfer records multiple times over. With that being said, all clubs operate on different budgets, and transfer records can differ greatly between them – but of all the current Premier League clubs, what are all their record signings?
Here, we are going to rank every current Premier League club’s current record signing from lowest to the highest amount spent according to the website Transfermarkt – many of which could even be broken this summer…
20. Burnley – Ben Gibson, £15.21 million
Burnley signed Ben Gibson from Championship side Middlesbrough in the summer of 2018 for £15.21 million – and since then has only played one game for the club.
The 27-year-old had enjoyed a great season at Middlesbrough during 2017/18, but his career at Turf Moor has failed to take off, and Gibson has found himself on the bench for most of it due to the form of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee.
It is unlikely that this record will be broken this summer, with Burnley not linked with any big-money signings.
19. West Bromwich Albion – Salomón Rondón, £15.30 million
The Venezuelan joined the Albion in the summer of 2015 for a fee of £15.30 million – and hit the ground running at the Hawthorns. In his three seasons at the club – the now 30-year-old scored 24 league goals in 108 games, but after the club’s relegation in 2018, he joined Newcastle United.
Since then, Rondon has gone on to play for the Chinese Super League side Dalian Professional FC, where he still plies his trade. West Brom doesn’t look on course to break this record this summer, after the permanent signing of Matheus Pereira for £8.19 million.
18. Brighton & Hove Albion – Adam Webster, £20million
The 25-year-old defender joined Brighton from Championship side Bristol City at the start of last season and has had a great impact on the club since. Webster made 31 league appearances last season – averaging 1 tackle, 1.5 interceptions, 3.5 clearances, and 3.6 aerial duels won per game.
The defender has been a worthy record signing for Brighton, and this form will likely continue – and the club likely won’t break the record anytime soon.
17. Southampton F.C. – Danny Ings, £20 million
Since his move to St Mary’s at the start of the 2018/19 season – Danny Ings has revitalised his career and regained his goalscoring form from his time at Burnley.
The club signed the striker for £20 million from Liverpool F.C. and last season finished the campaign with an impressive 22 goals. Ings’ time at Southampton so far has been a big hit, and he has warranted his club-record signing status for the Saints.
Recently, however, the club has been linked with a move for Schalke 04 midfielder Weston McKennie, in a deal that could exceed £20 million, making the USA international the club’s new record signing.
16. Sheffield United – Sander Berge, £22 million
Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge joined the Blades from Belgian side Genk during the January transfer window this year, for a fee of £22 million – and has since gone on to make 14 league appearances for the side, including a goal and an assist from defensive midfield.
The 22-year-old has a big career ahead of him, and Sheffield is a great club for him to take the next steps in his career in the Premier League. The club has only been linked with a move for Nottingham Forest right-back Matty Cash, but not for a price that would break the club’s record signing.
15. Aston Villa – Wesley, £22.50 million
The Brazilian striker joined the Villans at the start of last season from Belgian side Club Brugge for a fee of £22.50 million and started his career at the club positively.
After his first 8 league games, the striker had scored 4 goals but was injured at the start of January and missed the rest of the season. Despite the setbacks, I believe that Wesley will be an overall success for the club next season, and will be well worth the fee that the club paid for him.
The club has been linked with a move for Brentford striker Ollie Watkins this summer, and if the deal is agreed, it would make him the club’s new record signing with Brentford wanting £25 million for Watkins.
14. Leeds United – Rodrigo Moreno, £27 million
The newest player on the list – Spanish international Rodrigo Moreno recently signed a four-year deal for the striker, for a fee of £27 million, surpassing the previous record signing of Rio Ferdinand for £23.40 million back in 2000.
The striker had a moderate season for Valencia last time out, scoring 4 goals with 7 assists in 27 league games – and realistically has only had one great season back in 2017/18, scoring 16 goals.
His move to England could prove me wrong, however, and Leeds fans will be hoping he will be a hit for the club in their first season back in the Premier League for 16 years.
13. Fulham F.C. – Jean Michael Seri, £27 million
The Ivorian midfielder joined the London club back in 2018 from the French side OGC Nice, for a fee of £27 million. After spending last season on loan at Turkish side Galatasaray, Seri will be joining back up with the Fulham squad after their promotion back to the Premier League.
His first season with the club saw him play 32 league games, scoring 1 goal with 2 assists, but has always been a great passer of the ball, and bring a great influence once again to the squad given the step up from the Championship to Premier League football.
Fulham has been linked with a move that would bring back Ryan Sessegnon to the club, but only on loan, meaning that there record transfer signing won’t be broken this season.
12. Crystal Palace – Christian Benteke, £28.08 million
The Belgian striker joined Palace from Liverpool back in August 2016, with the London club spending £28.08 million on the player. During his first season for the Eagles, Benteke scored 15 league goals – a stellar first season with the club and seemed well worth the price tag that Palace paid for him.
Since then, however, Benteke has only scored 6 league goals in the past three seasons. The club is close to sealing a deal for QPR’s Eberechi Eze, but only for £19.5 million, nowhere near the record-breaking fee for Benteke.
11. Wolverhampton Wanderers – Raul Jimenez, £34.20 million
The Mexican striker initially joined the club on loan from Benfica in 2018 and left a great impression that the club signed him permanently for £34.20 million at the start of last season.
Since joining Wolves, Jimenez has gone on to score 30 league goals in 76 appearances – more than certainly warranting the record-breaking money that the club signed him for.
It doesn’t look as though the record will be broken by the club this window – with the only definitive transfer so far reportedly being Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Arsenal.
10. Newcastle United – Joelinton, £39.60 million
Last summer, the Magpies broke their transfer record to sign Brazilian forward Joelinton from German club Hoffenheim, for a fee of just under £40 million. Since joining the club, the striker has only managed to score 2 goals with 2 assists from 38 league games.
As of yet, Joelinton has failed to live up to his value, but net season ould prove pivotal for his career at St James’ Park. The club doesn’t look set to break their transfer record this summer, having spent big last summers ahead of the previous season.
9. Leicester City – Youri Tielemans, £40.50 million
The Foxes secured the signature of Youri Tielemans from the French side AS Monaco for a fee of £40.50 million after a successful loan move with the club at the start of 2019. Since making his debut for the club, Tielemans has scored 6 goals with 10 assists for the club and has been a regular starter for Leicester ever since.
At just 23-years-old, the Foxes have found themselves a real gem and a worthy record transfer.
The club may be linked with a move for Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico as a replacement for Chelsea bound Ben Chilwell, but for nowhere near the fee paid for Tielemans.
8. Everton F.C. – Gylfi Sigurdsson, £44.46 million
Everton broke their transfer record for Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson back during the 2017 transfer window for a fee of £44.46 million. His first season at the club was difficult and failed to initially find the form he had showed at Swansea the season before.
The 2018/19 season was his best in an Everton shirt, scoring 13 goals with 6 assists, and was starting to look as though he was worth every penny. Last season was a tough one for Sigurdsson, scoring just twice with 3 assists – and hasn’t really warranted the price that the Toffees paid for him. The club has been linked with a move for Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez – and it is likely that the signing of James would beat the current record set by Sigurdsson.
7. West Ham United – Sebastien Haller, £45 million
The Hammers signed the French striker from German club Eintracht Frankfurt for £45 million – and the forward enjoyed a modest start to his career at West Ham. In his first 32 games for the London club, Haller scored 7 goals with 1 assist.
So far the striker hasn’t lived up to the price that West Ham paid for him – but not all transfer kick-off to the best starts in their careers at new clubs, so there is plenty of time for the player to prove himself. After the impact of COVID-19, the club doesn’t look likely to break this record this summer.
6. Tottenham Hotspur – Tanguy Ndombélé, £54 million
Spurs completed the signing of the French midfielder Tanguy Ndombélé in the summer of 2019 from French side Olympique Lyonnais, for a fee of £54 million – and had started the season with the club relatively well under then-manager Mauricio Pochettino, but after the Argentinian’s sacking and the introduction of Jose Mourinho as the club’s new manager, appearances started to slow down for Ndombélé.
With just 2 goals and 2 assists to his name, the midfielder has been linked with a move away from the club, but Spurs are willing to give the player another chance.
5. Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne, £68.40 million
Arguably one of the best signings the Premier League has ever seen, let alone just at Manchester City – the Belgian midfielder maestro joined the Citizens from German side Wolfsburg back in August 2015 and has gone on to prove himself as one of the best players in the world since.
Last season just proved how important a player he has been for the club, registering 13 goals and 20 assists, as well as winning the PFA Player of the Year award. De Bruyne has well and truly been worth every penny for the club – and it would be unlikely for the club to break their transfer record this summer.
4. Arsenal F.C. – Nicolas Pépé, £72 million
The Gunners signed Ivorian winger Nicolas Pépé from French club LOSC Lille last summer for £72 million and has proved to be a hit with the Arsenal faithful. In his first season at the club, Pépé scored 5 goals with 6 assists in the Premier League and proved to be an influential player in their starting XI.
It would be unlikely for Arsenal to break this record this summer, but the Gunners have been very active in the transfer market this month, already signing Willian from Chelsea, and close to completing the signing of Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhães from Pépé’s former club Lille.
3. Chelsea F.C. – Kepa Arrizabalaga, £72 million
Chelsea signed Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for a world-record fee of £72 million for a goalkeeper – and the player has had a turbulent career at Stamford Bridge since joining. His first season at the club showed glimpses of the ability that he has and showed great promise for the future – but midway during Frank Lampard’s first season at the club, Kepa was dropped as his No.1 after a poor run of form.
He has since regained his No.1 spot, but the club is reportedly looking for a new goalkeeper in the current market – with reports linking them to Jan Oblak, a move that could see there transfer record and the world record broken once again, with the Slovenian’s current market value at £72 million.
2. Liverpool F.C. – Virgil van Dijk, £76.19 million
Calm as you like. The Reds broke their transfer record in January 2018 and has gone on to become one of the best defenders in the world – the club paid £76.19 million for van Dijk from Southampton, and has since helped Liverpool win the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, and Premier League in the past two seasons, ending their 30-year wait for the league title.
Van Dijk has been worth every penny that was paid for him, and will likely see the rest of his career out with the club. It is unlikely the Reds will break this transfer record any time soon, with Liverpool’s usual transfer policy not allowing for such astronomical money to be spent very often.
1. Manchester United – Paul Pogba, £94.50 million
The Red Devils had originally sold Pogba to Italian side Juventus for free in 2012 – but signed the midfielder back for a then world-record fee of £94.50 million, after growing to become one of the best players in the world with the Old Lady. Since joining the club, Pogba’s form has been mixed, with difficulties between himself and the managers the club have had in his time there.
Pogba is no doubt one of the best players in the world, and United should do everything in their power to keep hold of him. Pogba is a fine talent, and can easily flourish with the club to help them back to the pinnacle of English football once again.
The club came close to breaking their transfer record after signing Harry Maguire last summer from Leicester for £78.30 million, but look unlikely to break the record this summer given the current financial climate.