Premier League clubs invested over £2 billion ($2.7bn) in new players across the two transfer windows of the 2024-25 campaign as England once again proved to be the No.1 destination for the top talents on the continent. However, many of those teams have not seen their marquee signings live up to their hefty price tags and sterling reputations.
Some have flopped spectacularly, while others are yet to prove they can deliver consistently. Joao Felix and Jadon Sancho both fall into the first camp at Chelsea, Manchester United’s Dutch duo Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt sit firmly in the second, and the less said about Federico Chiesa’s first year at Liverpool after his summer move from Juventus, the better.
But it’s not only the super clubs who have made costly missteps. Niclas Fullkrug and Eddie Nketiah have been major disappointments at West Ham and Crystal Palace, respectively, with plenty of others having offered very little to the collective cause.
There have also been a host of disastrous loan deals, including Kalvin Phillips to Ipswich Town and Raheem Sterling to Arsenal, but the top-flight recruitment over the last 12 months hasn’t been all bad. A few of the big-money additions are now established stars at their new homes, and this has been one of the best years for shrewd business in the recent history of the English top flight.
Real value has been found in unexpected places; a refreshing change in an era that has typically seen the richest clubs dominate. With all that in mind, GOAL has ranked the top 10 signings of the season
Omar Marmoush is the only January signing to earn a spot on this list, which is testament to how quickly the Egyptian striker has settled into his new surroundings at Etihad Stadium. The 26-year-old has successfully transferred his prolific form in the first half of the season at Eintracht Frankfurt to Manchester City, scoring six goals in his first 14 Premier League appearances, including a stunning hat-trick in a 4-0 rout of Newcastle.
In the long term, Marmoush will be City’s replacement for Julian Alvarez given his ability to play in multiple attacking positions and penchant for exploiting the half-spaces, but he’s proven he can lead the line effectively, too, in the injury-enforced absence of Erling Haaland. It also bodes well that Marmoush has performed at such a high level despite City suffering a serious drop-off as a collective, which has been noted by Pep Guardiola.
He arrived in the middle of the season and in a moment when we are not good,” the City boss said in April. “Sometimes when you come when everything is fluid and everything is fine it’s easy to adapt. But coming when the team is not playing good, that is a big credit.” It’s safe to say we can expect great things from Marmoush next season – just don’t mention the FA Cup final!
