Top 10 Summer Signings

jonjoward1998
Oct 14, 2025
6 min read

The summer transfer window is the window when every club makes a move as they'll want to improve their squads ahead of an upcoming season.

The majority of the the greatest players to have played in the Premier League have moved clubs during the summer window both from another Premier League club and from a club abroad and almost all of them have made a big impact at whatever club they've joined.

The best summer signings have arguably been players who have come from overseas because they’ve taken teams to another level and the impact they’ve made has seen the league grow a lot.

The list of players who have moved in the summer and have been good signings for their respective teams is endless and any of them could’ve been on the list.

And without further ordo, here is the list:

Mohamed Salah - Roma to Liverpool - 2017

Thierry Henry - Juventus to Arsenal - 1999

Ruud Van Nistelrooy - PSV to Man United - 2001

Alan Shearer - Blackburn to Newcastle - 1996

David Silva - Valencia to Man City - 2010

Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund - 2022

Wayne Rooney - Everton to Man United - 2004

Dennis Bergkamp - Inter Milan to Arsenal - 1995

Sergio Aguero - Atletico Madrid to Man City - 2011

N’Golo Kante - Caens to Leicester - 2015

Wayne Rooney - Everton to Man United

Rooney should probably be higher because of the player he was and the career he would go on to have at Man United.

But in his first season at Old Trafford, he didn't make a massive impact as he was only 18 when he signed and United finished 3rd in the Premier League.

He did show a lot of potential during his first season at United as he scored 11 times which was a good return for someone of his age in their first season at a club the size of Man United.

He arrived as one of the exciting young talents in Europe and he went on and became one of the best strikers of his generation.

He became United's record goal scorer by scoring 253 goals with 183 of them coming in the Premier League and he won everything on offer including five Premier League titles.

Alan Shearer - Blackburn to Newcastle

Newcastle broke the transfer record to bring bring boyhood fan Shearer back to the North East by paying Blackburn £15 million which these days would be an absolute bargain.

Shearer scored 25 times in his first season at Newcastle to win his third consecutive golden boot as the Magpies finished second again behind Man United.

But Newcastle were never really in contention for the title that season as they finished seven points behind United who spent most of the season at the top.

He went on to become the Magpies' record goal scorer scoring 206 goals with 148 of them coming in the Premier League.

N'Golo Kante - Caen to Leicester

No one had even heard of Kante when he joined Leicester from Caen, but he immediately made himself known with his incredible energy and ability to win the ball back countless times.

He was arguably the key reason why Leicester did the impossible in winning the Premier League that season because he popped up pretty much anywhere because of how fit he was.

He was very much like two players in one body during that season because of the amount of ground he covered due to his incredible fitness.

His teammate Robert Huth was asked a question during or after that season on how Leicester won the title with a back four of Danny Simpson, Wes Morgan, himself and Christian Fuchs. His answer was N'Golo Kante.

Dennis Bergkamp - Inter Milan to Arsenal

Bergkamp was an exceptionally gifted player on his day as he could do pretty anything with the ball at his feet.

He took Arsenal onto another level when he arrived by giving them that star quality in attack with his creativity and ability to score goals.

It was the creative side of his game that he was known for during his time in England as he liked to drop deep and be the playmaker due to his vision.

He registered 11 goals and 9 assists in his first season at Arsenal where he struck up a good partnership with Ian Wright as Arsenal finished 5th.

He would later form an incredible partnership with Thierry Henry and the pair of them went on to become one of the most feared duos in the Premier League.

David Silva - Valencia to Man City

Silva took City onto another level when he arrived by giving them that extra bit of quality which made City one of the top teams in the league.

City were a side trying to break into the top four before he arrived and he was the player who turned them into a top four team because of his creativity and ability to run games from midfield.

He would go on to play a massive for City in the early years of the Sheikh Mansour era by winning four Premier League titles and being a major part of every single one.

Thierry Henry - Juventus to Arsenal

Henry should probably be higher because of the player he would go on to become at Arsenal and the career he would go on to have there as well.

It did take him a few months to get used to English football after arriving from Juventus as he failed to score in any of his first eight league games.

But once he got used to the pace and physicality of the Premier League, he kicked on and ended his first season at Arsenal with 17 league goals.

He was signed as a winger when he first arrived, but Arsene Wenger soon turned him into a striker and his game went from strength to strength from that point onwards.

He went on to score 175 Premier League goals, win two Premier League titles in 2002 and 2004 respectively, and win four golden boots.

Sergio Aguero - Atletico Madrid to Man City

Aguero took City onto the next level when he arrived by turning them into a team that could challenge for the title.

He showed that he was the final piece of the jigsaw for City by scoring 24 goals to help City win their first Premier League title with his dramatic late winner against QPR on the final day being the goal that clinched the title.

He continued to prove it over the next number of seasons as he would hit 20+ goals in all but four of his ten seasons at the Etihad and the majority of them played a key part in City's success during his time at the club.

He went on to become City's record goal scorer by scoring 260 goals in all competitions and win everything on offer domestically including five Premier League titles.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy - PSV to Man United

Van Nistelrooy was a goal scoring machine at Man United as he could score any kind of goal and was always in the right place to put the ball in the net.

He showed how clinical a goal scorer he was in his first season by scoring 23 times including a brace on his debut against Fulham.

His second season was when he hit his peak as he scored 25 times and went on a then-record 10 game scoring run. His goals that season won him the golden boot and United the title.

He hit 20+ goals in three of his four seasons in England and the rate he scored goals at was absolutely incredible.

Mohamed Salah - Roma to Liverpool

Liverpool got Salah for about £37 million and he immediately made it look like a bargain by scoring goals at an incredible rate and ending his first season with an incredible 32 league goals.

He joined Liverpool with a point to prove after not being given enough of a chance at Chelsea in his last spell in England, and he has proved ever since that they were crazy to let him go when they did.

He's gone on to establish himself as one of the best finishers in Europe since he's been with Liverpool as he's bagged himself four golden boots and over 150 Premier League goals.

His goals have been instrumental to Liverpool's success in recent seasons and have taken them onto another level.

Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund to Man City

Haaland had to be my no.1 because he's been an absolute goal machine ever since he arrived in England which the stats can back up.

His debut season could not have gone any better as he scored a record breaking 36 league goals to win the golden boot and help City win the title as part of the treble they won that season.

He picked up another golden boot in the following season where scored 27 times as City won a fourth straight title and he appears to have one hand on another one this season as he's started the season in fine form.

Most players who arrive in the Premier League develop into world class players within at least a couple of seasons.

But Haaland was the first player to arrive as a world class player after he grew into that class of player at Dortmund.

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