The English Premier League season is roughly one-quarter complete, and we’re seeing some very, very interesting trends emerge.
Today the leaves are changing colors and there’s an autumn chill in the air. But past is prologue. We have to look back at the action in the red-hot summer when clubs spent hundreds of millions trying to improve their championship chances.
Which incoming transfers are helping their teams overachieve, and which ones have club owners wondering, “What did we spend all that money for?”
Below we review the performance of some of the most-expensive summer signings and grade their results on a scale from A to F.
Leny Yoro from Lille to Man United
Manchester United stole the teenage center-back from Real Madrid, snapping him up from Lille for £52.2 million plus add-ons. It’s a huge gamble for the Red Devils, who will never live down buying center-back Harry Maguire for £80 million in 2019.
But at least Maguire was a somewhat proven commodity. He had already been playing for England for two years.
By contrast, the 18-year-old Yoro has made just 13 appearances for France’s youth sides. Yes, he was named to the Ligue 1 team of the year for 2023-24, but he didn’t even win Young Player of the Year. That honor went to PSG’s Warren Zaire-Emery.
Sadly, Yoro broke a bone in his foot in a preseason friendly in early August. The team reported he would be back in action in approximately three months. But three months later, United say his return is not imminent.
While it’s clearly not Yoro’s fault, it’s a terrible start for a player who must live up to the fact that he is the most expensive age-18-or-under transfer in history.
Grade: Incomplete
Matthias de Ligt from Bayern to Man United
Anyone playing for United these days is a target for criticism. And when you’re a £39-million man (plus add-ons) like Matthias de Ligt, the target on your back becomes larger than your squad number.
Graeme Souness, for one, the former Scottish international turned pundit, has been particularly critical of de Ligt. His latest insult was calling de Ligt and fellow newcomers Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee as “not good enough” to wear the red, white and black.
However, there are opinions and there is reality. And the reality is more complex than he’s “not good enough.” Granted, de Ligt has rated 6.2 or lower in three of his 11 matches for United this season (via SofaScore). But his statistics show he’s performing better in key metrics during his first season for the Red Devils than he did for previous teams.
With United this season, de Ligt’s tackles per 90 minutes, tackles in the final third per 90 minutes, blocks per 90 minutes and interceptions per 90 minutes are all much higher than they were in his final season with Juve and two seasons with Bayern — against weaker competition.
He’s also been an anchor for a side that is first in the Premier League in tackles, second in clean sheets and tied for seventh in goals allowed.
So let’s dial down the de Ligt hate.
Grade: A controversial B
Ricccardo Calafiori from Bologna to Arsenal
The list of Italian transfers who have long-term success in the Premiership is only slightly longer than the list of condiments that belong on a hot dog. (The answer is one: mustard.) Some of the many failures from Italy that litter the EPL junkyard include Moise Kean, Mario Balotelli and Gianluca Scamacca.
It’s very early days, but Calafiori, who cost Arsenal £42 million, appears to be a young man who might buck this trend. The 22-year-old left-back has invigorated play on that side of the pitch for Arsenal. He’s also improving the performance of 23-year-old Gabriel Martinelli, who plays directly in front of him.
Calafiori ranks fifth on the team in pass-completion percentage and is second in long-pass-completion percentage. He’s only scored once; but it was a golazzo against Man City from well outside the box — on a pass from Martinelli, naturally.
Grade: A-
Georginio Rutter from Leeds to Brighton
Rutter became Brighton’s club-record signing when the Seagulls swooped in for a £40-million pound deal with Leeds. At just 22-years-old, he’s playing like a seasoned veteran. Rutter is a pivotal reason why Brighton sit seventh in the Premier League table alongside Spurs with 14 points.
After a relatively slow start to the campaign, he has come on like wildfire. On Sept. 28, he scored in Brighton’s 4-2 loss to Chelsea. Eight days later, he scored again against Spurs to pull the Seagulls level at 2-2 just minutes before Danny Welbeck scored the eventual game-winner.
On Oct. 19, he notched an assist to Wellbeck on a perfect give-and-go for Brighton’s lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Newcastle. One week later, he again found Welbeck, slipping him a nifty ball into the box for an assist in Brighton’s 2-2 draw with Wolves.
Whether it’s playing up front or acting in a supporting role in midfield, the young Frenchman has quickly taken ownership of the right side of Brighton’s attack.
Grade: A-
Max Kilman from Wolves to West Ham
Wolves paid Maidenhead United £40,000 for Kilman in 2018. This past July, West Ham paid Wolves a cool £40 million for him. So, is the 27-year-old playing 1,000 times better than he did when he was 21? Not quite.
Individually, he’s played very well at times. For example, in West Ham’s 2-1 victory over Man United on Oct. 27 — the highlight of the Hammers’ season — Kilman was a warrior. He played 90 minutes at center-back with seven clearances, three blocks and a last-man tackle. He also completed 94% of his passes. On Oct. 5, he shined in West Ham’s win over Ipswich, as well.
The main problem with Kilman is he’s tainted by the stink of his club’s early-season failures. Despite all the excitement that came with new gaffer Julen Lopetegui (who arranged a reunion with Kilman after coaching him at Wolves), the Hammers have consistently missed the nail. They currently sit 14th in the table.
Kilman was supposed to help build a wall at the back. But West Ham have just one clean sheet in league play so far. They rank 14th in shots blocked, 13th in crosses blocked and 19th in passes blocked – and, perhaps worst of all, 16th in goals conceded.
Grade: C-
Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth to Spurs
Any soccer supporter would need to take the phrase, “Yes, he’s definitely worth £65 million” with a grain of salt the size of Wembley Stadium. But when it comes to Solanke, that phrase might actually hit with Spurs fans after his performance against Aston Villa on Nov. 3.
The Berkshire Bomber scored twice in the span of four minutes to lead Tottenham to a dominating 4-1 win. In eight Premier League matches, he now has four goals and an assist. The icing on the cake are his goal and assist in three Europa League matches for Spurs, a club eternally in search of silverware.
Almost clandestinely, Solanke is becoming a player who shines on the biggest stages in 2024. Over and above his Europa League theatrics, he’s scored against Man United, notched an assist against Brighton and even scored for England against Greece in the Nations League.
There are many reasons Spurs have won nine of their last 11 matches, and certainly, Solanke is near the top of that list.
Grade: A
Pedro Neto from Wolves to Chelsea
It speaks volumes about Chelsea and the truckloads of money they’ve spent on players in recent transfer windows that the best adjective to describe their new £51-million man (plus add-ons) is “solid” — and Blues supporters seem decidedly okay with that.
He’s only started four of the 10 Premier League matches in which he’s appeared. He has yet to score in 479 minutes (despite an xG of 0.37) and has notched just two assists.
He tends to burn a good deal of energy churning on the left side but doesn’t dribble past too many defenders. In fact, Neto has completed just 46 percent of his dribbles. Compare that to the most successful dribbling wingers of the season so far, like Callum Hudson-Odoi at 85 percent or Ryan Ait-Nouri at 77 percent.
To see what Neto is truly capable of, see the rare start he made against Newcastle recently. He sprinted to link up with a long pass from Cole Palmer, stepped over a defender and slipped a perfect pass to Nicolas Jackson for what turned out to be the winning goal. (jump to 2:30).
More please.
Grade: B-