With the campaign almost wrapped up, GOAL runs down the new arrivals who have made the biggest impact in the English top flight
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 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…
AFP10Omar Marmoush (Manchester City) – £59m
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 seven goals in his first 15 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!
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport9Evanilson (Bournemouth) – £40m
Bournemouth broke their transfer record to sign Evanilson after seeing Dominic Solanke depart for Tottenham, and the former Porto striker has since done a fine job of filling the England international's boots. The Brazilian has scored a respectable 10 league goals for the Cherries to date, but that number would surely have been higher had he not been sidelined with a broken foot for the first two months of 2025.
Evanilson has been in superb form since returning to full fitness, netting five times in nine starts, including Bournemouth's late winner at Arsenal. Andoni Iraola has pulled off yet another impressive recruitment win with Evanlison, who is a fine finisher and target man capable of spearheading the Cherries' attack for years to come.
"He is a top-class striker. He knows where the back of the net is and is going to get goals," former West Ham and Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker told Football Daily' podcast after watching Evanilson shine at the Emirates. "Great movement in the box, a great natural finisher and old-school striker. He's just gone from strength to strength since coming to Bournemouth."
Evanilson is certainly one of the main reasons Bournemouth have a chance of cracking the Premier League's top 10, and he will surely now have one eye on a Brazil call-up for the 2026 World Cup.
Getty Images Sport8Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace) – £13m
Ismaila Sarr didn't exactly light up the Premier League when he was at Watford, but it was clear that the Senegal international had plenty of potential. He started to unlock it at Marseille last season, which convinced Crystal Palace to lure the electrifying forward back to England, and he's since slotted seamlessly into Oliver Glasner's attack-minded set-up.
Sitting in behind Eagles No.9 Jean-Philippe Mateta, Sarr has linked up to great effect with Eberechi Eze, racking up 13 goal contributions in the top flight. Palace have looked more dangerous than ever thanks to Sarr's late runs into the box, and his ability to dribble through defences at rapid speed has been vital in the transition.
Sarr's end product has improved dramatically, as further evidenced by the fact that no other Palace player has created more big chances this term. It seems that Sarr has found his spiritual home, and if he can keep improving at this rate, Glasner's side should be setting their sights on fighting for a European berth in 2025-26.
AFP7Jorgen Strand Larsen (Wolves) – loan
The 2023-24 season was a forgettable one for Celta Vigo, who finished 13th in La Liga for the second time on the bounce, but Jorgen Strand Larsen was the one real bright spark. Wolves bought into Norwegian's talent after seeing him plunder 13 goals in the Spanish top flight, and he's since managed to equal that total in the Premier League with two games still to go.
Matheus Cunha has taken most of the credit for keeping Wolves above the drop zone, but Strand Larsen has only scored two fewer league goals than the Brazilian, and his hold-up play has been exceptional at times. He works as hard as anyone in the team off the ball, too, much to the delight of his manager Vitor Pereira.
The Wolves boss said in April: “My striker must be a fighter. Must be someone who is the first one to start defending and, of course, the responsibility is not only to score goals. He [Strand Larsen] has this spirit and this character, he’s a player that I like the profile of.”
It has been reported that the Molineux club can make Strand Larsen's loan move permanent for £23m ($31m) this summer, which will surely be a priority for Pereira, especially as Cunha continues to be linked with a move to Manchester United.