Top 10 Premier League signings of the season: Xhaka, Zubimendi emphasise No.6 importance
We’ve ranked the top 10 Premier League signings of the 2025/26 season, with Granit Xhaka and Martin Zubimendi among the new stars proving just how important it is for clubs to go all out on an elite defensive midfielder.
Arsenal spent big on Zubimendi and it’s instantly paid off, with those around him taking their game to another level, namely Declan Rice.
Sunderland, meanwhile, were ambitious enough to convince Xhaka to return to the Premier League. They immediately gave him the captaincy, and his leadership and quality have the Black Cats sitting as high as fourth in the table.
Players like Adrien Truffert have seamlessly replaced key figures and made Bournemouth’s former left-back Milos Kerkez look even worse, both on the pitch and by comparison.
Anyway, signings of the season ahoy. Here’s our Premier League top 10. Click here for those signings who might just be a bit sh*t.
10) Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United, £73m)
One of the players tasked with replacing a vitally important, now unpopular figure is Woltemade, who’s also had to deal with the pressure of a club-record £73million fee.
Let’s not focus on who he replaced, but on how the German has quickly adapted to Premier League football.
With Eddie Howe having little choice but to throw Woltemade straight into his starting XI, the big striker has repaid that faith. He scored the only goal of the game against Wolves, followed by another against Arsenal, which looks even better in hindsight given that he’s one of only three players to score against Mikel Arteta’s side this season.
It’s four goals in seven Premier League matches for Woltemade, including a sublime flick at Brighton, which is a respectable return for a player with the odds stacked against him.
9) Jordan Henderson (Brentford, free)
We begrudgingly admit that Henderson has been a superb addition to the Brentford midfield and a perfect replacement for outgoing skipper Christian Norgaard, both in the middle and as captain.
Like Xhaka, his leadership, experience and quality have made Henderson a key signing and helped Keith Andrews transition from set-piece coach to head coach during a significant period of change for Brentford.
Henderson acts as a second manager on the pitch and helps raise standards off it. With 86 England caps and four major trophies as Liverpool captain, his teammates listen to every detail.
8) Nordi Mukiele (Sunderland, £9.5m)
If we’re being brutally honest, the signing of Mukiele seemed nailed on to be a waste of time and money. It’s been anything but.
Coming from Paris Saint-Germain after being loaned to Bayer Leverkusen, it looked destined to flop.
But with just one yellow card to his name (for dissent), 2.63 tackles, 1.00 interceptions and 7.25 clearances per game, plus a 66.7% aerial duel success rate, the Frenchman has adapted seamlessly to Premier League football. He’s excelled in both a back four and five under Regis Le Bris.
Mukiele is one of three Sunderland players in the Premier League Team of the Season, and in our top 10. Both are well deserved.
7) Jack Grealish (Everton, loan)
We can surely all agree it’s nice seeing Grealish enjoying his football again. He’s a perfect wide player for David Moyes, and as his confidence grows, we might even see him score some Iliman Ndiaye-style solo goals.
Four assists in nine Premier League appearances is a solid return. He caught the eye early with a brace of assists in his first two starts, but since then he’s managed just one goal involvement, and a rather fortunate one, in seven matches. That’s not great, but we’re confident that by season’s end, Grealish will still rank among the best signings of the campaign.
6) Joao Palhinha (Tottenham Hotspur, loan)
“Palhinha hasn’t got the quality. For a player playing for Tottenham in central midfield, for me, that’s a pass you have to be able to make. He can’t make it… What you’ve got is you’ve got a lack of courage and confidence from certain players, but you’ve also got a lack of ability of certain players.”
Those were the harsh words from Jamie Carragher about the sixth-best Premier League signing of the summer.
Thomas Frank knew what he was getting with Palhinha, and as Carragher also noted, he’s done his job brilliantly.
Palhinha is an elite destroyer. He might not be the most technical passer, but in terms of defensive work and positioning, few in the division do it better.
Spurs look far more stable with the former Fulham man, on loan from Bayern Munich, anchoring the midfield in the No.6 role.
F365 SAYS: Sorry Carragher but Joao Palhinha is the wrong Spurs player to criticise
5) Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth, £11.4m)
We’ve already mentioned Truffert’s terrific form for Bournemouth after replacing the popular Kerkez. It was a daunting task for a player with no Premier League experience, but he’s had no issues adapting, while Kerkez has struggled with the step up to Liverpool.
Bournemouth are thriving despite losing their entire backline in the summer. Remarkably, they sit fifth in the table with defeats only to Liverpool and Manchester City, even after losing Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Kerkez.
Truffert and compatriot Bafode Diakite have slotted in perfectly. The fact Bournemouth somehow look better than last season is a testament to Andoni Iraola and the club’s recruitment.
4) Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City, £26m)
Man City signed arguably the best goalkeeper in the world for just £26million. That’s probably all that needs to be said.
Yes, Donnarumma isn’t entirely convincing with the ball at his feet, but he’s hardly clumsy. Pep Guardiola wouldn’t sign him if he didn’t fit the plan, even as Pep adapts to a more direct style in his latest football revolution.
The Italian’s presence has spread calm through City’s backline. He’s conceded just seven goals in 11 games, keeping five clean sheets. A monster of a signing in every sense.
3) Martin Zubimendi (Arsenal, £60m)
Premier League pacesetters Arsenal look very, very good, and Zubimendi is a big reason why.
The Spaniard has slotted perfectly into the No.6 role, freeing Declan Rice to push forward and setting off a domino effect that’s lifted Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard too.
He keeps things ticking over beautifully, with the defensive steel Arteta craves. It will take something special to reach Rodri levels of control, but Zubimendi might be the final piece of Arsenal’s title-winning puzzle.
2) Robin Roefs (Sunderland, £9.5m)
Sunderland’s summer business has been a roaring success, and Roefs has been at the heart of it.
The young Dutch goalkeeper has brought calm, composure and confidence between the sticks. We can’t quite believe how good some of Sunderland’s signings have been, and having three of them in this ranking says it all.
1) Granit Xhaka (Sunderland, £13m)
Premier League signing of the season: Granit Xhaka.
We couldn’t believe Xhaka wanted to swap Bayer Leverkusen for Sunderland, especially given the record of newly promoted sides. But his arrival has gone a long way to ensuring the Black Cats buck that trend.
Le Bris’ side have 18 points from 10 games and look a sticky proposition for title-chasing Arsenal this weekend in the Xhaka derby.
The Switzerland and Sunderland captain is clearly a level above his teammates and looks one of the best No.6s in the league, underlining just how vital that position has become.
It’s no coincidence that Zubimendi, Henderson, Palhinha and Xhaka are all in this top 10, and that Rodri won the Ballon d’Or last year. The defensive midfield role has become the position every manager wants to build around.
Honourable mentions: Jaidon Anthony, Quilindschy Hartman, Martin Dubravka, Maxim De Cuyper, Joao Pedro, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Anton Stach, Malick Thiaw, Reinildo, Senne Lammens, Bryan Mbeumo.
