Revisiting the 10 most expensive Premier League summer signings of 2024 one year on
Players from Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham were among the 10 most expensive Premier League signings from last season.
While some of the top signings from the summer of 2024 have been thriving in their new environments, others have struggled to hit the ground running.
We’ve revisited the 10 most expensive Premier League summer signings of 2024 and have checked up on how they’ve been doing since.
10. Riccardo Calafiori
After joining Arsenal for a fee rising to £42million, Calafiori had a fairly low-key debut season in English football.
The Italian defender only started in 11 Premier League matches and missed a chunk of the campaign with knee and muscle injuries.
However, following his injury-hit debut season, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is still backing the 23-year-old to come good.
“It’s a big season for him,” said Arteta. “He looks very, very excited. We know that one of the biggest things we have to achieve this season is availability.
“It’s true that the two main injuries that he had were on international duty while he was playing with Italy. But these things can happen.
“Now we want a player that is consistently available, and performing at the level that he can do because he brings an energy and predictability to the team that we really are going to need.”
9. Matthijs de Ligt
It’s safe to say that no Manchester United player covered themselves in glory last season. With the club slumping to 15th in the Premier League, it was a season to forget for everyone at the club.
De Ligt did show some flashes of quality in fairness, but like the majority of the United squad, the jury is still out on the 25-year-old this season.
8. Georginio Rutter
After joining Brighton for a club-record fee, the French attacking midfielder enjoyed a steady debut season on the South Coast.
In 28 Premier League appearances, he produced eight goal contributions, averaging a goal or assist every 208.3 minutes.
While those stats are by no means mind-blowing, his role within the Brighton squad goes beyond things like goals and assists.
With Joao Pedro no longer at the club, Rutter will have an even bigger role to play in Fabian Hurzeler’s squad next season.
7. Maximilian Kilman
Also signed in the region of £40million, Kilman made the switch from Wolves to West Ham last summer.
The 28-year-old was an ever-present member of the squad last season, starting in all 38 of the Hammers’ Premier League matches.
In the league last season, Kilman was one of only seven players who made more than 200 clearances, highlighting his importance to Graham Potter’s squad.
6. Manuel Ugarte
After a turbulent debut season, it remains to be seen whether Ugarte is still in Ruben Amorim’s long-term plans for the future.
The 24-year-old is a tenacious ball-winner, but struggled to hold down a regular place in the starting XI last season.
With the Uruguayan still keen on proving the doubters wrong, 2025-26 feels like a make-or-break season for the 24-year-old.
5. Joao Felix
Of all of the big-money transfers on this list, Felix was arguably the most underwhelming.
Chelsea fans had seen some flashes of quality from the Portuguese forward during his initial loan spell with the club in 2022–23, but he struggled to recapture his best form under Enzo Maresca last season.
After only making three stars in the league, he was shipped out on loan in January to AC Milan, where his inconsistency continued.
Following his underwhelming 2024-25 campaign, the 25-year-old now looks set to move to Saudi Arabia and join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.
With Al-Nassr close to agreeing a £44million deal, Chelsea have managed to break even on Felix, despite his disappointing spell.
QUIZ: Can you name Chelsea’s 25 most expensive sales in history?
4. Amadou Onana
Aston Villa coughed up £50million in order to prize Onana away from Goodison Park last summer.
While the midfielder did miss a chunk of the 2024-25 season through injury, he made a good impression in the games he did play for Villa.
Still just 23 years old, we think there’s much more to come from the midfielder yet.
3. Pedro Neto
Signed for £54million from Wolves, Neto was Chelsea’s most expensive purchase of last summer.
The Portuguese star had to fight for his place in the starting XI, but on the whole, he made a good impression.
In the Premier League, he produced 10 goal contributions in 2,270 minutes of football and gave Chelsea a different sort of dynamic on the right-hand side.
He also enjoyed a tremendous tournament at the Club World Cup, scoring three goals in six games.
2. Leny Yoro
After enduring an injury-hit debut season in Manchester, it’s safe to say that United fans still haven’t seen the best of Yoro.
The French defender signed for a fee which could rise to £58.9million with add-ons included. He’s still got a long way to go before justifying that price tag, but he has shown flashes of quality in fairness.
Still just 19 years old, he’s got plenty of time to develop yet.
1. Dominic Solanke
While Solanke struggled to reach top gear at times last season, he did get his hands on his first senior trophy.
Tottenham’s marquee signing only scored nine league goals in 2024-25, less than half the number that he managed in his final season with Bournemouth.
However, he did boast an excellent record in Europe and there’s a strong feeling that a manager like Thomas Frank will be able to unlock his full potential next season.
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TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the 30 most expensive transfers between Premier League clubs?