Ranking the 20 biggest PL summer transfers from Chelsea ace to Liverpool flop

Three games into the Premier League season feels like as good a time as any to rank summer signings and we’ve done just that with the 20 most expensive of them this summer.

We’re all thoroughly looking forward to the prospect of Alexander Isak being the flop of all flops but have limited this list to those who have played in at least two of the games so far.

So you can look forward to an updated version of this which includes Isak and his sulking compadre Yoane Wissa, along with Nick Woltemade, Eberechi Eze, Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho, but for now it’s just the 14.

14) Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool) – £100m rising to £116m

Probably not the worst performer of everyone listed here, but all things considered – the cost, his reputation, a full pre-season – he merits bottom spot, with Liverpool arguably winning all three of their opening three games in spite of him.

Maybe it’s a coincidence that they’re struggling for attacking fluency but BILD’s report of Germany’s shock World Cup qualifying defeat to Slovakia which stated that Wirtz ‘couldn’t live up to the demands placed on him’ feels equally applicable to the start of his Premier League career. Poor lad ‘has forgotten his joy’.

MAILBOX: Everybody makes the same point about Florian Wirtz and Kevin de Bruyne…

13) Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig to Manchester United) – £66.2m rising to £73.4m with add-ons

Four off-target shots in 80 minutes of Premier League football off the bench following a £66m move to solve Ruben Amorim’s goalscoring woes probably isn’t exactly what he had in mind, and he did himself no favours by stepping up tenth in the penalty shootout defeat to Grimsby Town having put a stoppage-time chance over the bar from roughly four yards out to ensure the game went that far.

12) Jamie Gittens (Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea) – £48.5m rising to £52m with add-ons

Feels nailed on to be the next talented forward Chelsea can’t be arsed to develop before flipping for profit, or at least for no great loss within the next two years. Started the opening-day draw with Crystal Palace but was hooked early in that one before two brief substitute appearances ahead of the signing of Alejandro Garnacho to provide further competition for his already limited game time.

READ: Chelsea’s successful transfer model not the one football needs, but the one it deserves

11) Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest to Newcastle United) – £52m rising to £55m with add-ons

Really quite unfair to judge a guy signed to create chances for a striker Newcastle haven’t had for the opening three games of the season, but it’s all we can do. There’s plenty of room for improvement.

READ: Newcastle fleeced for extra £90m as Liverpool stung for Alexander Isak

10) Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth to Liverpool) – £40m

The calls for Andrew Robertson’s return to the starting line-up aren’t yet widespread, but there have certainly been suggestions that Arne Slot may revert to the tried and tested left-back, at least before a better outing for Kerkez against Arsenal, after some worrying signs that he’s one of the new breed of defenders who don’t really like defending.

9) Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford to Manchester United) – £65m rising to £71m with add-ons

The scorer of Manchester United’s Goal of the Month for August, which was revealingly described as ‘well-worked’ rather than a hoof, flick-on, bumble to the byline by Diogo Dalot and simple finish from Mbeumo. The alternatives options were two own goals or a Bruno Fernandes penalty.

Mbeumo scoring a decent goal against Grimsby before missing the crucial penalty feels like a decent summary of his Red Devils career to date – about par. We’re none the wiser.

8) Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting to Arsenal) – £55m rising to £63m with add-ons

Two goals in three games is a start we’re guessing both he and Mikel Arteta would have taken after an incredibly long build-up to him joining Arsenal and then a short pre-season because of that dragging of feet. That first goal against Leeds was so perfectly Gyokeres – direct and powerful before a top finish – while it’s also nice to get off the mark from the penalty spot. Plenty more of those to come, we suspect.

But he did also look like a but of a lump in the games against Manchester United and Liverpool to grant some early doors flat-track bully theories.

7) Noni Madueke (Chelsea to Arsenal) – £48.5m rising to £52m with add-ons

Given we may never have been more invested in an Arsenal player doing well we briefly wondered whether the #NOTOMADUEKE petition was actually signed by a bunch of genius Gunners seeking support from the masses for one of their big summer signings.

We gave our heads a wobble and reverted to our previous opinion of them a bunch of unthinkable tw*ts lacking any sort of human decency, which will allow us to continue to enjoy Madueke’s performances after a promising start to his Arsenal career.

READ MORE: England player ratings v Andorra: Anderson and Madueke impress but CBs and Rashford struggle

6) Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan to Manchester City) – £46.3m

Who needs Kevin De Bruyne? Oh, we do. One excellent performance against Wolves was followed by two hugely uninspiring displays for City’s new midfielder.

5) Matheus Cunha (Wolves to Manchester United) – £62.5m

He’s not off the mark yet like his fellow United inverted winger summer signing, but has still looked as though he will be the better addition as we suspected before the season started. Got a ways to go to prove he’s some sort of Eric Cantona regen, mind.

4) Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad to Arsenal) – £60m

We’ve not really noticed him and while we accept the argument that that’s sort of the point with players of his ilk who sit at the base of midfield, keeping things ticking along while allowing others to attack and express themselves, it got to a point with Rodri before his injury where we couldn’t keep our eyes off him.

It may be a slight concern that Zubimendi has looked far, far better for Spain in their World Cup qualifiers than he has done for Arsenal, but then maybe it’s time for us all to accept that Arsenal are not Spain.

3) Mohammed Kudus (West Ham to Tottenham) – £55m

Suspicions that those questioning Kudus’ price tag after a very ordinary output of five goals and three assists last season were missing the obvious ‘but he was playing for West Ham caveat’ have been confirmed through his displays for Spurs.

He put the willies up PSG in the Super Cup, got two assists on the opening day win over Burnley and there’s been plenty of other evidence besides that the 25-year-old will be able to more effectively combine his enviable skill, speed and power to reap reward this season compared to last.

He’s in the Premier League XI of the season so far.

2) Hugo Ekitike (Eintracht Frankfurt to Liverpool) – £69m rising to £79m with add-ons

Ekitike said what all players must when asked about competition for places on the back of Alexander Isak’s deadline-day arrival from Newcastle, insisting he’s looking forward to the challenge rather than frankly a bit f***ed off that after three goals and an assist in four games for Liverpool he may soon be watching from the bench, though maybe not that soon.

But such is his form that it’s now assumed by many that Arne Slot will look to crowbar him into the team on the left, though that also feels very unfair on Cody Gakpo, who’s arguably been the Reds’ best player so far this season.

1) Joao Pedro (Brighton to Chelsea) – £55m rising to £60m with add-ons

Quite clearly the best of the 427 signings BlueCo made this summer and possibly already one of the best since the takeover just over three years ago. He’s got two goals and two assists already to provide genuine hope that Chelsea have finally found a close to fully-formed striker to lead their attack. No ifs, buts, maybes or time to bed-in required for the 23-year-old bodes very well indeed.