The 6 Premier League transfers who cost more than Antony – & how they fared
With Antony making the headlines for his exciting start to life at Real Betis, it got us thinking about which players cost more than him in Premier League history.
Labelled as a “flop”, the Brazilian cost a cool £86million to sign in 2022 after starring at Ajax. He netted on his debut against Arsenal but it was mostly downhill after that, with 12 goals in 96 games representing a hugely disappointing investment.
It fuelled our curiosity and led us to consider how the six players who cost more than him to sign have fared during their time in England to see whether more money means more chance of success.
6. Paul Pogba – £89.3million
Back in 2016, Jose Mourinho was granted a deal to sign Juventus and European superstar Pogba in what was a mega-money deal at the time.
The midfielder had just shone in Italy, scoring all manner of wonder goals, showcasing incredible passing and skill – he looked like a sure-fire hit.
While there were plenty of standout moments from across his time at United, it has largely been viewed as a failure despite winning the League Cup, Europa League and being nominated in the PFA Team of the Year in the 2018-19 season.
As United began to fall apart as a club, Pogba fell too, being blamed for his lack of commitment on and off the pitch, and being made a scapegoat at times due to his transfer fee.
He later exited for Juventus once again before being banned for doping and he will be a free agent as of March this year.
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5. Romelu Lukuku – £97.5million
Chelsea have never been scared to splash the cash in the pursuit of glory.
And bringing Lukaku back to the club after his incredible title-winning spell with Inter Milan felt like a smart move at the time, given they had just won the Champions League.
Seemingly in his prime, the striker arrived far more experienced than when he left United before heading to Italy and he started strong with a goal on his debut against Arsenal before netting a brace against Aston Villa.
However, whilst recovering from a minor injury after the strong start, he gave a disastrous TV interview in which he claimed he was unhappy with the manager’s tactics.
That was the start of the end for him as he lost his momentum and netted just eight in the league.
He did manage 15 in 44 games and picked up a Club World Cup medal before returning to Inter on loan the following year before later exiting for Napoli, where he looks set to win another Serie A title.
4. Jack Grealish – £100million
At the time, Grealish was one of the most exciting talents in the Premier League as Aston Villa’s talisman.
He was one of the best players outside of the top clubs and a big move beckoned.
When Pep Guardiola brought him to the club, Villa demanded a high fee to part ways and City obliged and dropped £100million for his services.
However, his role was far different at City. Guardiola reduced his free role to a fixed position on the wing where he was given instructions to keep the ball no matter what and to reduce risk and it led to an almost opposite level of performance.
He managed just six goals and four assists as City won the title but his contribution was rather minimal.
He found his feet in their treble-winning campaign, creating the most chances in the Champions League as City dominated.
Yet, instead of kicking on, he managed just three goals the following year and now his position has been taken by the bright Savinho, Jeremy Doku or Omar Marmoush leaving his future in question.
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3. Moises Caicedo – £100million
Initially signed for less than £5million, Brighton made an incredible profit on Caicedo.
Liverpool were close to agreeing on a move but Chelsea slipped in first to sign him, paying an initial £100million, with £15million in performance related add-ons.
He gave a penalty away on his debut and struggled to settle under Mauricio Pochettino but found his feet in the second half of last season, netting a goal from the hallway line on the final day of the season.
However, he is now one of Chelsea’s most reliable performers but is yet to have a consistent midfield partner with Romeo Lavia facing regular injuries and Enzo Fernandez dipping in and out of form.
A hefty price tag for sure, he is one of the best-performing midfielders we’ve seen this season – and he’s still only 22.
2. Declan Rice – £105million
During his final year at West Ham, it looked inevitable that the midfielder would leave the club and he was not short of options.
Arsenal blew everyone out of the water with their bid and secured their man and he quickly slipped into Mikel Arteta’s side effortlessly as they challenged for the title.
Arteta has helped to evolve Rice’s game from a defensive midfielder into more of a box-to-box figure adding set pieces to his armoury, as Arsenal became known for their threat from corners.
He also featured in the PFA Team of the Year as well, making him a rare success on this list.
1. Enzo Fernandez – £106.8million
Having just come off the back of winning the World Cup in 2022 with Argentina, Fernandez quickly became a wanted man.
Chelsea acted quickly to secure a move for the then-Benfica star and paid slightly over the odds to secure what was a highly sought-after midfielder.
He arrived in January 2022 at a time when Chelsea was struggling under Graham Potter and it took time for him to fully settle, even though he showed glimpses of his true potential.
One issue was the fact that he experienced multiple managers while the club was on shaky ground making it difficult to truly shine.
However, he remains a constant starter for club and country and in the 2024/25 campaign, no midfielder has created more chances from open play this season and it has probably been his best season for consistency.
Still, for the price Chelsea paid, they will expect more from him in the future.
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