Premier League: The best summer signings so far ahead of the new season
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Updated 13/08/2021 at 11:27 GMT
Premier league sides have been busy in the summer transfer window with huge moves between clubs and big fees changing hands. But which of these buys have been the best buys as teams look to boost their chances ahead of the new campaign? Ibrahim Mustapha picks out the best purchases across the top flight.
Ibrahima Konate has joined Liverpool
Image credit: Getty Images
Like a second Christmas, the new Premier League season is finally here. After weeks of waiting and like excited children, football clubs up and down the country have brand spanking new presents to open in the form of new signings.
Rumours that this summer was supposed to see some restraint in spending due to the impact of coronavirus seem to have been exaggerated, with clubs continuing to break records left, right and centre as they rebuild their squads ahead of the new campaign.
The transfer deadline is still just under three weeks away so there could yet be more business to be done before the window slams shut on August 31.
With that in mind, we take a look at who has spent their money best and assess the top deals secured during the summer... so far.
Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea
Let’s start with the most recent, and the return to Stamford Bridge of the big Belgian striker.
Despite a hefty outlay on attacking talent last summer, neither the sacked Frank Lampard nor replacement Thomas Tuchel could really get the Blues forward line firing in the way many expected last season.
They may have won the Champions League and secured a top four finish, but there will be a desperate need to improve on the paltry 58 goals they mustered in the league.
Arriving in west London with 47 Serie A goals in the last two seasons including 24 league strikes to fire Inter to the title last year, Lukaku will be very much expected to improve the strike rate for Tuchel’s side. He also has a point to prove having previously been sold by the club back in 2014.
Jack Grealish – Manchester City
For all their lavish spending down the years, it has to be noted that City had only once broken the English transfer record, and was back in 2018 when they signed Robinho. At the start of this summer, they didn’t have a single transfer in the Premier League top 10 most expensive buys.
That changed on both fronts with the signing of Aston Villa star Jack Grealish for a whooping £100m, propelling him to the very top of the list.
The England winger joins Pep Guardiola’s already star-heavy champions as they look to reassert their dominance when the new season begins.
Having impressed for his boyhood club, Grealish now has the opportunity to kick on and under his new boss, and potentially become one of the world's best players in his position.
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Grealish will be looking to kick on at City
Image credit: Getty Images
Jadon Sancho – Manchester United
Another England international - the long-awaited transfer of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United was finally completed this summer.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been courting the 21-year-old for well over a year and finally got his man when the two clubs agreed a £73m deal.
Sancho will be expected to add more firepower to Solskjaer’s team after finishing an impressive second behind City last term, but they rarely looked like mounting a serious challenge.
If the forward can repeat his impressive return of 16 goals and 20 assists for the German giants last season, United may find themselves a step closer to wrestling the title away from their cross-city rivals.
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Jadon Sancho talks about Manchester United move
Emi Buendia – Aston Villa
With the anticipated loss of Grealish, Villa wasted little time trying to find a potential replacement.
Naturally, transfer talk this summer has been dominated by talk of a certain diminutive Argentine playmaker but if you are of a Villa persuasion, the player that springs to mind first is likely to be Emi Buendia rather than Lionel Messi.
The 24-year-old was one of few Norwich bright lights as they were relegated from the top flight two years ago, but he really kicked into gear in the Championship where his 15 goals and 15 assists helped the Canaries bounce back up at the first time of asking.
Catching the attention of Villa, the club were convinced to break their transfer record by shelling out £33m on the player.
The price-tag shouldn’t be too much of a burden either with the club also recruiting Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen and Danny Ings from Southampton to link up with Buendia and further boost their attacking power.
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Villa will hope Buendia's form continues following his move
Image credit: Getty Images
Ibrahima Konate – Liverpool
Last season, Liverpool had to suffer the admittedly unfair accusation of putting in one of the worst title defences in the Premier League era as they stuttered and stumbled their way through the campaign.
The were able to eventually fight off the critics with an impressive late surge and eventual third place finish, but few at Anfield would have been shouting from the rooftops about it after all that had come before.
Jurgen Klopp could easily blame a horrendous run of injures for his side’s failings, in particular, the knee injury suffered by centre back Virgil van Dijk in October which ruled the dominant Dutchman out for the remainder of the campaign, and Joe Gomez's absence, too.
The club have moved to address their defensive issues with the acquisition of the highly rated RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate, who will be hoping to permanently plug the defensive gaps that looked oh so wide last season.
Alongside a returning Van Dijk, Liverpool may prove almost impenetrable.
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Romero has joined Spurs from Atalanta
Image credit: Getty Images
Cristian Romero – Tottenham
While Spurs fans continue to sweat over the future of want-away forward Harry Kane, they can perhaps rest a little easier in the knowledge that their backline has received some much-needed strengthening.
The departure of defensive stalwart Toby Alderweireld has been offset by the signing of Argentinean star Romero to the tune of £42m.
The physically imposing, tough-tackling centre-back was voted Serie A defender of the year last season as his Atalanta side finished third and reached the last-16 of the Champions League.
New boss Nuno Espirito Santo is known for organised approach to defence and Romero could be the ideal component for his system as he looks to make Spurs a force once again.
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