Ranking the 10 biggest Bundesliga signings made by Premier League clubs
Florian Wirtz is set to become the most expensive Premier League signing from the Bundesliga when he joins Liverpool for £127million.
The Bundesliga has quite a reputation when it comes to developing players, although not all of them manage to make it in the Premier League.
We’ve assessed the 10 most expensive Premier League signings from Bundesliga clubs and have ranked them by their transfer fee.
10. Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea – £52million
After triggering his £52million release clause, Nkunku joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023 following some prolific years with RB Leipzig.
There was plenty of hype around the Frenchman upon his arrival, but his start to life at Stamford Bridge was less than ideal.
After sustaining a knee injury during pre-season, he had to wait until December to finally make his competitive debut for the club and he’s since struggled to nail down a consistent starting spot.
In the Premier League, he’s only started in 11 Premier League matches over the last two seasons, with the majority of his appearances coming in cup competitions.
He’s still under contract until 2029, but an exit seems more than likely this summer.
9. Kevin De Bruyne to Manchetser City – £55million
Pound for pound, this is undoubtedly the best signing on the entire list.
After struggling to establish himself at Chelsea, De Bruyne reinvented himself in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg. Manchester City snapped him up in the summer of 2015 and the rest is history.
With 285 goal contributions in 422 appearances for City and countless trophies under his belt, it’s safe to say that he was worth every penny.
8. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal – £56million
Things might have ended on a sour note for Aubameyang at Arsenal, but we’d still classify this signing as a success.
He was Arsenal’s best player for the best part of three years and carried them to the FA Cup in 2020.
With 92 goals in 163 appearances, you can’t knock that sort of record.
7. Christian Pulisic to Chelsea – £58million
Chelsea fans never saw the best of Pulisic after he arrived from Borussia Dortmund in 2019.
While the United States international did show flashes of quality, injuries largely hampered his time in the Premier League.
Chelsea eventually cut their losses and sold him to AC Milan in a deal worth just £18.8million.
Typically, he’s looked much sharper since making to Italy, having produced 29 goal contributions last season.
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6. Omar Marmoush to Manchester City – £59million
After failing to replace Julian Alvarez in the summer, City went all out to sign Marmoush in January.
The Egyptian forward was on fire for Eintracht Frankfurt at the time, having scored 15 goals in 17 appearances during the first half of the 2024-25 campaign.
He managed to take that form into the Premier League and ended the season well with seven league goals in 16 appearances for City.
Given that he’s under contract until 2029, there’s still plenty more to come from him yet.
5. Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool – £60million
Signed from RB Leipzig in 2023, Szoboszlai became Liverpool’s third most expensive signing of all time upon his arrival, behind Virgil van Dijk and Darwin Nunez.
The attacking midfielder has been a solid performer for the Reds, but perhaps hasn’t quite hit his top gear in a Liverpool shirt as of yet.
Now with the impending arrival of Wirtz, Szoboszlai will have even more competition for his place next season.
4. Kai Havertz to Chelsea – £68million
Given that he won them the Champions League, that £68million transfer fee doesn’t look so bad in hindsight.
Despite not fully living up to the hype in a Chelsea shirt, the German forward still scored some important goals and they practically broke even when selling him to Arsenal a few years later.
3. Jadon Sancho to Manchester United – £72million
Where did it all go wrong?
After chasing his signature for multiple windows, United finally signed Sancho in 2021 for a whopping £72million.
At the time, it seemed like the perfect transfer for United, but things quickly turned sour between him and the club.
He struggled to produce his best form at Old Trafford and public spat with former boss Erik ten Hag virtually ended his United career in September 2023.
Since then, he’s had loan spells with Dortmund and Chelsea, but neither of them have opted to sign him on a permanent basis.
Still under contract with United until 2026, this will no doubt go down as one of the worst signings in Premier League history.
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2. Josko Gvardiol to Manchester City – £77million
Upon joining from RB Leipzig, Gvardiol became the second most expensive defender in football history, only behind Harry Maguire.
He’s done well for himself under Pep Guardiola since then, having won four trophies and garnered plenty of priase from fans and pundits alike.
1. Florian Wirtz to Liverpool – £127million
The Bayer Leverkusen star is set to smash the Premier League record for the most expensive player signed from the Bundesliga.
Justifying that sort of price tag won’t be easy, but Wirtz certainly has all of the attributes to be a roaring success at Anfield.
We can’t wait to see him in the Premier League.
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