Top 10 summer transfers made by European clubs

Modified Sep 03, 2019 13:54 GMT

2019 MLS All-Star Game: MLS All-Stars v Atletico Madrid

#8 Frenkie de Jong (€75 million)

The highly-rated 22-year-old central midfielder was snapped up by defending La Liga champions Barcelona for €75 million after a stellar European season with Ajax.

Frenkie de Jong is adept in a variety of midfield roles (defensive, central, holding, box-to-box) and also as a centre-back. The young Dutchman who is renowned for his brilliant positional sense, clean tackling and ability to start attacks, starred prominently during Ajax's fairytale run from the qualifying rounds to the semifinals in the Champions League last season.

De Jong arrives in Spain after 5 seasons in the Eredivisie for Willem II and Ajax.

#7 Nicolas Pépé (€80 million)

Nicolas Pépé's 22 goals and 11 assists last season grabbed eyeballs across Europe before Arsenal won a close race with SSC Napoli for his signature by shelling out a club-record €80 million (£72 million) to Lille for the services of the Ivory Coast midfielder.

After Napoli had also agreed to meet Lille's valuation for the midfielder, Arsenal's higher wage offer tipped the balance in favour of the Gunners.

Pépé arrives in England after three seasons in the French Ligue 1 where he scored 3 goals for Angers and 35 goals for Lille. The midfielder was the top scorer behind Kylian Mbappe (33 goals) in Ligue 1, scoring 22 goals for Lille, which included a hattrick in an away game at Amiens.

The 24-year-old's pace, close control, and directness are known to harangue the best of opposition defenders.

#6 Lucas Hernández (€80 million)

Serial Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich acquired the services of French centre-back Lucas Hernández from Spanish club Atletico Madrid for a Bundesliga record €80 million.

The versatile 23-year-old 2018 World Cup winner for France, who can play at both centre-back and fullback positions, arrives in Germany following 5 seasons with Atletico.

#5 Matthijs de Ligt (€85.5 million)

The 20-year-old Dutch centre-back played a prominent role in Ajax's run to the Champions League semifinals last season. He scored the winner in Turin which knocked out Juventus from the quarterfinals of European club football's premier event.

The Ajax captain's exemplary leadership and stellar matchplay impressed Juventus enough to part with €85.5 million to land the services of the young centre-back, which made de Ligt the second-most expensive defender in the world and the third-most-expensive arrival in Serie A.

De Ligt's maturity beyond his age and his clean tackling, strength, accuracy of passes and prowess from setpieces make him an invaluable acquisition for the Bianconeri. At Juventus, he would have the best platform to blossom into one of the world's finest defenders.

Edited by Zaid Khan