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Smart Buys and Big Impact: Which Premier League Clubs Recruited the Best This Season?
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Smart Buys and Big Impact: Which Premier League Clubs Recruited the Best This Season?

Who had the best transfer windows this season? And which signings stood out?

The Premier League is unpredictable, which is why it is loved worldwide. Clubs that are predicted to succeed can end up enduring a shambolic season, and those tipped to struggle can become shock underdogs.

The Art of Buying Smart

Buying smartly is all about stretching your budget, signing players at a low cost due to their unproven ability or underrated nature and turning them into superstars.

Crystal Palace, for example, signed key trio Maxence Lacroix, Ismaila Sarr and Daichi Kamada for a combined total of just over £30 million. All three were integral on their journey to winning their first-ever trophy last month, impacting their defence and attack. Lacroix started almost every single game in the Eagles’ backline, and Sarr tallied up 20 goal contributions in all competitions.

In fact, Palace have a recent history of uncovering hidden gems, the likes of Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise were all brought in for under £25 million. Keeping Guehi and Eze this season was equally as impactful as a fresh signing could be, and led to them both getting the chance to lift the FA Cup.

The Power of Big Impact Signings

A club doesn’t necessarily have to sign numerous players to find glory. Nottingham Forest’s spending spree in the summer of 2022 was enough to prove that. Bournemouth’s transfer action this campaign, for example, can be summarised in three signings: Evanilson, Dean Huijsen and Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Evanilson managed to become a strong replacement for the departing Dominic Solanke and ended up averaging a goal contribution almost every other game in the Premier League. Brazilian keeper Neto was swapped for Kepa, with the Spaniard reviving his career on the South Coast with eight clean sheets and a 73.9% save rate.

Fresh signings can not only make a difference on the pitch, but they can also be impactful from a financial perspective. Huijsen helped the club to their best Premier League season of all time, and has now given the Cherries a transfer profit around the figure of £40 million with his recent move to Real Madrid confirmed.

We can also look at the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Liam Delap, who were West Ham and Ipswich Town’s Player of the Season, despite both clubs struggling all year. Without them, it could’ve been an even worse story for their respective sides, their seasons can still be applauded on a personal level.

Iliman Ndiaye and Jorgen Strand Larsen did not receive the Player of the Season prize for Everton or Wolverhampton Wanderers, but they too had brilliant and creative seasons from an attacking perspective, making the ‘impact signing’ label more than appropriate.

Which Teams Had the Best Transfer Windows?

It is undeniable how influential the transfer windows are for each team, signings can go on to impact a squad incredibly, with some individuals proving to be revolutionary. In the 2024/25 campaign, the likes of West Ham and Manchester United have had some of the greatest windows on paper, but have fallen short of expectations as their squads have struggled together.

Nottingham Forest

In a similar fashion to Bournemouth and Crystal Palace’s mentions earlier, Forest’s transfer business can be whittled down to a pair of names. Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic. Anderson was a statement big-money signing from Forest, but the young midfielder has repaid the fee by becoming one of the most well-rounded players in the league.

A first-team staple, Anderson was reluctantly sold by Newcastle United for good reason. The Scotsman has chipped in with eight goal contributions while also being one of the top performers in areas like winning possession in the defensive third.

Milenkovic has a strong case for signing of the season full stop. The Serbian international was snapped up for £12.3 million from Fiorentina and has established an unformidable partnership with fellow centre half Murrillo. Together, they have racked up a joint league high of 13 clean sheets and carried Forest from the back to European competition. The 6”5 defender has also scored five goals on top of collecting Nottingham Forest’s Player of the Season award.

To prove that Forest killed their transfer business this year even further, it is also worth mentioning that they strengthened their squad depth by bringing in Morato, Alex Moreno and Jota Silva, who all contributed to their stellar season, often from the bench. The Reds have started the transfer window at a fast pace once again, find out the moves they've already been making this summer here!

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton spent big in the summer of 2024, which has been a rare occurrence since their promotion to the top flight. However, they invested their £200 million+ budget cleverly, bringing the likes of Georginio Rutter, Yankuba Minteh, Mats Wieffer, Ferdi Kadioglu and Matt O’Riley to East Sussex. All five players are 24 or younger and have each looked like successful signings when fit.

In typical Brighton style, they also struck cheap deals of less than £20 million for even more young talent who will likely grow to be highly sought-after talents. Ibrahim Osman and Diego Gomez were signed from Denmark and the USA, but are both individuals with high potential, making the Seagulls’ transfer activity even more impressive, but when has it ever not been?

Aston Villa

The Villains have flexed their financial power over the last half-decade, and it finally paid off in 2023/24 when they achieved a top-four finish. Villa will play in Europe once again next season, yet they would not have had such a great season if it weren’t for the business side of things.

Aston Villa splashed the cash on Amadou Onana to make the defensive midfielder their record signing, and he has proved to be worth every penny. Onana was not the only statement signing made as in January Villa brought in Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford on loan, two players who those at Villa Park could’ve only dreamed of playing for their team a matter of years before. The pair of famed names came up with 19 goal contributions between them in the second half of the season alone.

Villa also invested in youngsters like Samuel Iling-Junior and Ian Maatsen, who are statement signings themselves after fighting off other top clubs for the high-potential prospects.

Manchester City

Cast your mind back to December, and you will remember that Manchester City were in the worst form ever seen under Pep Guardiola. Many might be surprised to see City’s name on this list, but the former reigning champions demonstrated exactly how to go about winter transfer business.

City signed Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Abdukodir Khusanov all in the same window. Khusanov hit the ground running initially and should prove to be an important backup in Guardiola’s backline heading into next season. Gonzalez quietly became a mainstay in City’s starting XI after joining the squad at the beginning of February, and more importantly, helped fill the void Rodri left after his injury kept him out for over half the season.

Marmoush also had an explosive start to life at the Etihad. Manchester City pounced at the chance to sign the forward after his incredible start to the season at Eintracht Frankfurt, and he hasn’t looked back. No one will forget that goal against Bournemouth anytime soon either.

Combine those players with the additions of Brazilian youngster Vitor Reis and Savinho, as well as the return of Ilkay Gundogan, and it is safe to say that the Citizens - despite spending big - ended up pulling their season back together because of their moves in the market.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
James McLeish

Writer

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