From flops to masterstrokes
©TM/IMAGO
The summer transfer window is now technically open, with Europe’s top leagues opening their doors to new business on Sunday ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup. Many big deals are expected to go through before the world’s biggest clubs lock horns in the new competition, but before we start cataloguing the billions of Euros that are set to swirl around the global transfer market, let’s take a moment to look back at the biggest deals that took place over the course of the 2024/25 season. And, more specifically, decide which ones did and didn’t work out for the players and clubs in question.
10. Teun Koopmeiners: Atalanta to Juventus for €58.4m
Signed last summer as Juventus’ sixth most expensive signing ever, Teun Koopmeiners made the move to Turin with high expectations of helping to galvanise the Old Lady’s midfield and it’s probably safe to say that hasn’t exactly happened. Last season for Atalanta the Dutch midfielder bagged an impressive 12 goals and five assists in 34 league games, averaging an impressive 0.58 goal contributions per 90. However, in his first season at Juventus Koopmeiners managed just three goals and three assists in 28 Serie A games, averaging just 0.27 goal contributions per 90, before an Achilles tendon injury ruled him out for the final six league games of the season. The player and his club will be hoping for a far better campaign next season.
9. Amadou Onana: Everton to Aston Villa for €59.4m
It’s often very difficult to judge the output or influence of defensive midfielders and in the case of Amadou Onana the jury is perhaps still out on a player that made the move to Aston Villa as the club’s record signing last summer. When fit, Onana has played a starring role in Unai Emery’s team and impressed as a box-to-box enforcer for the Villa Park side. The problems have arisen due to injuries, with Onana missing four games in the first half of the league campaign and then a further six in the second half. As such, the Belgian international finished the season in 13th place among Villa’s players for most minutes in all competitions. Not terrible, but perhaps not what was expected of a record signing.
8. João Neves: Benfica to Paris Saint-Germain for €59.92m
A transfer fee of just under €60m would seem like a lot at most clubs, but for Paris Saint-Germain it’s just the going rate for a decent first team player these days. As such, João Neves’ move from Benfica somewhat flew under the radar last summer, leading to the midfielder far exceeding all expectations placed upon him in his first season in the French capital. Neves has wasted little time claiming the No.6 position in Luis Enrique’s team and has been an ever-present member of the team’s march to the Champions League final – as well as a crucial peformance in the final itself. With five goals and nine assists in all competitions for PSG this season, Neves has not only proven himself as a smart signing for PSG but is now quickly being considered as one of the most gifted midfielders in all of European football.
7. Pedro Neto: Wolves to Chelsea for €60m
At first glance, Pedro Neto’s €60m move to Chelsea hasn’t exactly gone as well as the Stamford Bridge club may have hoped. Just four goals and six assists in 35 league games for his new side doesn’t point to a player in remarkable form – especially when we compare it to his two goals and 12 assists in the league for Wolves last season – but in truth Neto has proven to be a useful utility player for Enzo Maresca this season. Whether played on the left (14 games), on the right (22 games) or through the middle as a false nine or centre forward (seven games), Neto has routinely filled in the gaps for Chelsea throughout the season, helping his team to important wins over the likes of Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool in the league, as well as a starting role in their Conference League final win over Betis. Such a fee may be a high price to pay for a handy squad player, but Chelsea seem to be quite content with Neto’s first season at the club.
6. Nico González: Porto to Manchester City for €60m
It’s hard to look at Nico González’s January move to Manchester City for €60m in January as little more than a panic buy from the former English champions. At the time the 23-year-old midfielder was signed to help bolster a midfield that was seriously struggling to deal with a long-term injury to Rodri, and while González has played a role in Pep Guardiola’s team it has been that of a bit-part player, used to fill in the gaps when better midfielders are out of form or injured. Just three starts in the club’s last eight league games of the season certainly suggests that Guardiola has been overly impressed with González’s introduction to English football, but there’s certainly still time for the young midfielder to prove his worth.
5. Leny Yoro: Lille to Manchester United for €62m
It’s been more or less impossible to get an accurate reading on Leny Yoro’s impact at Manchester United this season. With the somewhat unfair expectations thrust upon him to be the club’s long-term solution to their defensive woes when he joined the club last summer, Yoro then subsequently picked up an ankle injury that ruled him out for the first half of the season. By the time Yoro was fit enough to start games for the Old Trafford club, he found himself playing in a highly dysfunctional side that had stumbled towards the bottom of the Premier League table. With just 12 league starts this season, few could blame Yoro for Man Utd’s problems. But they’ll be hoping he can help solve them in the next league campaign.
4. Dominic Solanke: Bournemouth to Tottenham for €64.3m
Tottenham broke their transfer record last summer when they signed Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke for €64.3m and for the most part the England striker has taken his chances and proved to be a decent source of goals for Ange Postecoglou’s side. An ankle injury at the start of the season then a knee injury in January meant that Solanke missed 14 games in all competitions, but an average of 0.64 goal contributions per 90 when he has played would suggest that the No.9 has made the step up when fit and called upon. Especially in the Europa League, where Solanke bagged nine goals and assists in 13 games.
3. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia: Napoli to Paris Saint-Germain for €70m
Although Khvicha Kvaratskhelia only made the move to PSG in January, there’s little doubt that he well and truly hit the ground running upon his €70m move to Paris. In 24 games for the Ligue 1 giants, Kvaratskhelia has bagged six goals and six assists, making crucial interventions such as his goal against Aston Villa, the assist against Arsenal and his excellent performance in the Champions League final, which saw him bag a goal for his troubles. If PSG truly have moved on from Kylian Mbappé then that has been in no small part due to Kvaratskhelia’s goals and assists.
2. Omar Marmoush: Eintracht Frankfurt to Manchester City for €75m
Much like González, Omar Marmoush’s €75m move from Eintracht Frankfurt to Man City in January was widely seen as a bit of a brash move from the Premier League giants, but to the Egyptian forward’s credit he has done as well as expected under difficult circumstances. Despite playing in a highly dysfunctional team, Marmoush has still bagged eight goals and three assists in 22 games for Guardiola’s team, averaging a respectable 0.64 goal contributions per 90 for his new club. While that isn’t quite what Marmoush was managing at Frankfurt in the first half of the season, it’s still a perfectly solid return and points to a player that should do much better next season if Man City can continue giving him game time.
1. Julián Alvarez: Manchester City to Atlético Madrid for €75m
It’s rare that the most expensive signings often make for the best ones, but in the case of Julián Alvarez you’d struggle to find an Atlético Madrid fan that hasn’t been extremely impressed with their second most expensive signing ever. While the Spanish giants finished the season without any silverware, Alvarez has been a constant source of joy for the club having bagged an impressive 29 goals and seven assists in all competitions, averaging an impressive 0.87 goal contributions per 90. Such has been Alvarez’s influence at his new club, that the second most expensive signing on this list was later purchased to make up for the Argentine’s absence in Guardiola’s squad. Few can truly understand why Man City allowed the 25-year-old talent to leave in the summer, but there’s little doubt that Atlético pulled off one of the smartest moves in all of European football when they signed Alvarez.
