The Best and Worst New Signings of the Premier League Season

Best Premier League Transfers 18/19
James Maddison – Norwich to Leicester - £22 million
James Maddison’s signing from Championship side Norwich for £22 million at the time seemed a significant gamble, but the midfielder has not only adapted to the Premier League but has integrated himself to such an extent that he is now a vital cog in the counter-attacking machine that is Leicester City. His 7 goals and 7 assists don’t do justice to the way he has effortlessly moved up a division and guaranteed himself a starting spot in an era when clubs would much rather spend £30m on an unknown Spaniard called Jaime Maddiguez than give an Englishman a chance. If Gareth Southgate wasn’t so universally adored then maybe more would have been made of his criminal decision to include Jesse Lingard, who hasn’t done anything noteworthy since February, in England’s Nations League squad instead of Maddison, but time is on the side of the 22-year-old and he looks to set to continue to flourish under Rodgers.

Raul Jimenez – Benfica to Wolves – Loan deal (with option to buy for £30 million)
Wolves seemed to sign the whole of Portugal over the past 3 seasons, with Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho the most eye-catching acquisitions, but it was an on-loan Mexican who slipped under the radar amidst all the Jorge Mendes hype that ended up hogging the headlines. Raul Jimenez, whose once-promising career had stalled at Benfica, took the Premier League by storm, as his physical presence provided a focal point in a team that largely relies on fast wide players. His 13 goals and 8 assists were crucial as Wolves secured European football in their first season back in the top flight, no mean feat for a club who were in League One as recently as 2014, and Jimenez will definitely be sticking around for the Europa League away days after the Wolves hierarchy made the striker’s loan deal permanent.

Lucas Digne – Barcelona to Everton – £18 million
In this new age of full-backs being more attacking than wingers and covering more ground than N’Golo Kante, Everton desperately needed a replacement for the ageing Leighton Baines, who was a fantastic club servant but at 34 isn’t the player he once was. Luckily for the Toffees, whose recruitment has been a bit hit-and-miss recently, ex-Barcelona, PSG and Roma left-back Lucas Digne decided to swap the Nou Camp for Goodison Park, and then proceeded to score 4 Goal of the Season contenders, as well as doing the occasional bit of defending. The Frenchman has been a mainstay in an ever-changing defence and Evertonians will be hoping that Marco Silva can keep the French international at the club as they look to finally break the glass ceiling and infiltrate the Top 6 in the 2019/20 season.

Worst Premier League Transfers 18/19
Joe Hart – Man City to Burnley - £3.5 million
When Burnley announced last July that they had signed a former England keeper to replace their injured England keeper who had replaced their other England keeper, it’s safe to say there were more than a few heads scratched at Turf Moor. Joe Hart’s move from Man City seemed to be a final throw of the dice with the 2-time Premier League winner looking to restart his England career after failing to make an impact at Torino and West Ham. It turned out to be anything but, as Hart conceded more goals in the league than anyone else before being dropped to the bench in December, his final appearance coming on Boxing Day as Burnley were hammered 5-1 at home by Everton. Not only was the move disastrous for Hart, but Burnley now have a keeper crisis on their hands with Nick Pope and Tom Heaton both wanting to leave after having their feathers ruffled by a lack of game time. £3.5 million well spent.

Fred – Shakhtar Donetsk to Man United - £53 million
Manchester United’s attempt to include more home-grown players in their squad resulted in them spending £53 million on a man called Fred and hoping no-one would notice he was from Belo Horizonte and not Bolton. Luckily for United, Fred managed to go an entire season without doing anything noteworthy, meaning his nationality should still be concealed from the United faithful going into next season. Jose Mourinho’s flagship summer signing was supposed to be the defensive rock that would allow Paul Pogba to flourish higher up the pitch, but a sequence of inconsequential performances led to Pogba being dropped deeper in the midfield diamond and Fred being dropped altogether, as the Brazilian made just 6 starts under new boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and was omitted from Brazil’s Copa America squad.

Yerry Mina – Barcelona to Everton - £30 million
Everton’s uncharacteristically shrewd defensive purchase of Lucas Digne was quickly followed by the stereotypical panic-buy of an over-priced and over-hyped “big name player”, as Colombian centre-back Yerry Mina followed his ex-Barca team-mate to Goodison for the inflated price of £30m after his 3 headed goals at the World Cup guided Colombia to the last 16. Marco Silva quickly realised that heading the ball into a goal and being a competent defender don’t come hand in hand, as Mina managed only 13 appearances amid a string of mistakes and injuries that culminated in the Colombian being dropped for good in January. There are now rumours linking the defender with a move back to Spain, but Everton will be lucky to re-coup anything resembling the fortune they paid for the 24-year-old this time last year.