Ranking the Premier League’s Big Summer Striker Signings
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Ranking the Premier League’s Big Summer Striker Signings

Which Premier League Side Got the Best Summer Signing Striker?

We all remember the chaotic scenes of the 2025 summer transfer window – seemingly every big side in the league was falling over itself in pursuit of every possible striker target they could name, ranging from La Liga aces to Portuguese top-flight stars.

Eventually, all of Chelsea, Arsenal, Man United, Liverpool and Newcastle got their hands on strikers. However, it came at a price: without fail, all of them arrived with a transfer fee in excess of £50 million. In Liverpool’s case, they spent in excess of £200 million to sign the pair of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike.

Now, eight months later, the scene has been set – 29 games into the season, these big-money players have nowhere to hide. The Premier League is renowned for being a sink-or-swim league regardless of where you came from, and if you don’t perform from the outset, you’re already set to head out.

But who got the best bang for their buck? With a wide array of profiles arriving, the arriving individuals were always going to provide different services to their respective news sides – which one has adapted most seamlessly to their new surroundings?

Graded from worst to best, which of the Premier League’s big-money striker signings has been the biggest success so far this season?

Alexander Isak, Liverpool – £125 million, 16 apps, 3 goals, 1 assist. Grade: D-

Brought for a British transfer record of £125 million just over a month after securing the signature of £80 million Ekitike, absolutely no one expected Isak to flop at Anfield. The Swede had the world at his feet while at Newcastle, with 52 goals in his last two seasons enough to draw the attention of every major club in Europe.

Having brought Florian Wirtz for another £100+ million fee earlier in the window, fans were perhaps surprised to see Liverpool stump up such a substantial transfer fee twice in the same transfer window. However, I learnt long ago to never discuss the Coutinho money with Liverpool fans.

Given two weeks to get back to fitness after going on strike at Newcastle to secure his move, Isak was officially thrown into action for the first time in mid-September, but something was missing. Though he scored in his third game for the club in a cup fixture against Southampton, it was clear that his summer lay-off had affected his sharpness.

He wouldn’t score for another seven games before netting his first Premier League goal in red against West Ham, a moment that was treated as a turning point in his Liverpool career. However, another four goalless appearances followed before his most recent game against Tottenham, just prior to Christmas.

Coolly slotting away the opening goal of the game, Isak was caught on the follow-through by Micky van der Ven and horrifically broke his leg, forcing him off the field immediately. Two and a half months later and he hasn’t been seen since.

To suffer such a severe injury was a real shame, as that goal, which helped Liverpool to all three points, could have been a defining moment for him after what had been an immensely tough start. However, his lack of impact, long-term lack of match fitness, and now unfortunate unavailability mean that Isak ranks at the bottom of our list.

Nick Woltemade, Newcastle - £69 million, 42 apps, 10 goals, 3 assists. Grade: C-

Newcastle’s replacement for the departed Isak, Woltemade was a wanted man throughout the summer, with Chelsea having scouted him closely for a period until their attention moved elsewhere. He was wanted for a good reason – netting 17 times for a mid-table Stuttgart the previous season was nothing to be sneezed at.

Eventually signing for Newcastle for a club record £69 million, the German became an instant fan favourite, netting six goals in his first 11 games. His scorching form gave rise to the nickname Big Nick, and when the towering German did anything of note, the Magpie fans would plaster “Big Nick Energy” all over social media, a curious twist on an initially innocent nickname.

Soon though, the German’s luck started to turn – becoming increasingly isolated up top as the team around him started to dwindle thanks to injuries, he cut a frustrated figure after the rampant start he had made across September and October.

Then in February came the news no Geordie fan wanted to hear – according to multiple sources, Woltemade was unhappy at the club and was open to a move elsewhere just six months after joining Eddie Howe’s side. Though it is hard to determine how true these rumours actually are, Woltemade’s on-field frustration certainly only became more clear.

His mood certainly won’t be helped by the fact that he is now playing as a midfielder; no longer able to ignore Woltemade’s goal drought, Howe made the brave decision to move the German deeper, placing William Osula up front in his place in the same manner in which he converted Joelinton from a striker to a midfielder.

So far, the experiment has been a failure – Woltemade is not built for the end-to-end nature of a central midfield role, and Osula, despite his superb goal against Man United last night, is not ready to take up the mantle as a full-time starting striker. Howe needs to solve the Woltemade conundrum sooner rather than later, or it could quickly come to be viewed as a waste of £69 million.

Benjamin Sesko, Man United – £73.7 million, 26 apps, 9 goals, 1 assist. Grade: C

A striker whose Football Manager reputation precedes him, Benjamin Sesko has been a household name for years now, despite having only plied his trade in the Austrian and German Bundesliga’s.

Having netted 18+ goals in three successive seasons for RB Leipzig, everyone was of the mind that the 22-year-old Slovenian was finally ready for a big-money move when the summer arrived. Man United willingly obliged, needing a replacement for outgoing loanee Rasmus Højlund, and dropped their biggest transfer fee on him since the arrival of the Dane two seasons prior.

However, things failed to get out of first gear under Ruben Amorim, with Sesko struggling to influence games despite playing the full 90 minutes more often than not. This understandably led to sustained criticism, with some even saying, somewhat early I might add, that Sesko was “not good enough for Man United".

This came just 17 games into his United career, when he had just one goal to his name. However, everything changed when Amorim left – in the first game under stand-in coach Darren Fletcher, Sesko netted a quality brace against Burnley before following that with another goal against Burnley next time out.

Then, upon Michael Carrick’s arrival, Sesko suddenly exploded. Given just nine minutes in Carrick’s first two games in charge, he then scored four in his next five, despite playing just 158 minutes of football in that time. He was coming off the bench and, like the Manchester United sides of old used to do, impacted the game immediately, earning him the nickname Ole Gunnar Sesko, after club legend and former manager Solskjaer.

Playing his first full 90 last night against Newcastle since Amorim left, Sesko, unsurprisingly, failed to score – his conversion rate off the bench is infinitely better, and Carrick would do well to remember that.

The big man is certainly on an upward trajectory and, if he maintains his current vein of form, could still hit 20 goals for the season, but the fact his recent burst of goal-scoring has been so short-lived means that he still sits in the bottom three on this list.

Viktor Gyokeres, Arsenal – £54.8 million, 38 apps, 15 goals, 3 assists. Grade C+

Another one whose reputation preceded him, Gyokeres went from a Brighton flop to a global sensation within two years while playing for Sporting Lisbon. 97 goals in 102 games is the sort of record that quickly garners attention.

For Gyokeres, this return caught the eye of a host of Premier League teams – Arsenal, Man United and Chelsea, to be exact – and after a superb Premier League audition with a two-goal performance in the Champions League against Man City last season, everything about him screamed 'Premier League striker'.

However, upon arriving at Arsenal for £54 million with a potential for a further £8 million in add-ons, Gyokeres did not immediately deliver what was expected of him. A bulky player that relies on physicality and presence rather than straight-line speed, Gyökeres' consistently late arrival on the scene during counterattacks was a constant source of frustration for Gunners fans.

The Swede isn’t incredibly technically gifted either, with his role as a pure finisher not requiring him to carry the ball or display any fancy footwork – in Arteta’s system, he was being asked to do increased amounts of both of these, and once again, the Arsenal fans got on his back.

However, with time, Gyokeres adapted and grew into his role, netting some confidence-boosting goals against the less illustrious sides in the league, and in January, his luck began to turn, as he netted against both Chelsea and Inter Milan away from home. His return in front of goal gradually took an uptick, and after a brace in the North London Derby with Tottenham last week, Gyokeres suddenly found himself on 15 goals for the season, with 10 coming in the league.

The 27-year-old former Coventry, Swansea and St Pauli striker has been unspectacular in his methods this season, more often than not receiving more criticism than praise. Despite this, slowly but surely, he has grown more and more influential, and while he is not the finished product yet, he is leagues better than he was at the start of the season.

Arsenal fans still complain about a wastefulness in front of goal, but if Arteta focuses on the right areas with the Swede, the complaints will very quickly be quelled.

Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool - £79 million, 38 apps, 16 goals, 6 assists. Grade: B+

Though Gyokeres’ move to Arsenal has been a slow burner and is now starting to look like a successful bit of business, we now move on to the real success stories, starting off with Hugo Ekitike. It’s not often a club drops £80 million on a striker for him to play backup, but that is exactly the situation the 23-year-old Frenchman faced by the start of the season, with Isak the clear number-one striker.

It seemed unfair – Ekitike netted 22 times for Eintracht Frankfurt in a breakout season the previous campaign and had been subject to heavy interest from, you guessed it, Chelsea over the summer, where he no doubt would have been guaranteed a regular starting spot. However, the forward choice Liverpool and, in hindsight, it has proved to be a stroke of genius.

From the very first game of the season against Bournemouth, the intent was there – Ekitike was sharp, quick, intelligent and lethal in front of goal, highlighted by goals in his first three competitive games under Arne Slot.

A ray of light in a Reds side that encountered severe struggles during the winter period that saw hopes of defending their title extinguished, the Frenchman’s consistently high calibre of performances slowly saw Alexander Isak pushed onto the bench, limiting the £125 million man to substitute cameos – Slot simply couldn’t bench Ekitike while he was in such a vein of form.

The former PSG academy graduate isn’t just an out-and-out goalscorer either – he possesses some neat dribbling tricks, while his creative output has been a pleasant surprise; his six assists place him second in the club's goal-creation standings.

Arguably Liverpool’s player of the season so far, Ekitike is unfortunate not to place higher on this list, but he is pipped to the post by one other striker who has owned his new role ever since stepping through the door at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.

Joao Pedro, Chelsea - £60 million, 41 apps, 20 goals, 6 assists. Grade: A

Everyone has known about Joao Pedro for years. Ever since he arrived at Watford in 2019, he has been seen as the next big Brazilian export to be a success on the European continent, his understanding of the game and quintessentially Brazilian flair enough to unlock any defence.

Though he underperformed at Watford, Brighton took a chance on him, and he started to thrive in the English top flight, netting 30 goals and setting up a further 10 in the two seasons prior to his move to Stamford Bridge.

However, in the wake of his purchase, Chelsea fans were unsure: Was he an out-and-out striker? Not really? Would he be invading Cole Palmer's space? That’s where he likes to operate? Will he outperform Liam Delap? Unlikely. The overall consensus was that the incoming Delap, acquired from Ipswich for £30 million, would be the better value deal.

Fast forward to the present day, and Pedro has 20 goals to his name for the campaign. Liam Delap, meanwhile, has three. It is a testament to the level Joao Pedro has overperformed at, and his class was highlighted in just his second game for the club, in which he netted two absolute crackers against Fluminense at the Club World Cup.

Though a slow start to the Premier League season quickly tempered expectations, the arrival of Liam Rosenior in place of the fired Enzo Maresca seemed to reignite the Brazilian – clearly, the English manager had plans in store to make him unstoppable, and Pedro was more than keen to listen.

In the 14 games Rosenior has coached since his arrival, Pedro has scored 10 times and assisted a further two, topped off with a magnificent hat trick against fellow top-four chasers Aston Villa. The confidence is flowing, the chemistry is growing, and right now, he looks like the most dangerous striker in the league, more dangerous even than the out-of-form Erling Haaland.

Long-range stunners, weak-foot corkers, deft little chips and proper close-range poacher finishes – Joao Pedro has netted every type of goal in the last month alone, underlining his remarkable all-round ability and superb adaptability. Still only 24 years of age, he has plenty of room to develop and grow – say it quietly, but Chelsea’s number nine curse could come to an end with João Pedro.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist

Harry Pascoe

Lead Writer

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