In a season which has seen both Feyenoord and Monaco win their first top flight titles this century and Leipzig earn Champions League football, unpredictability has played centre stage. Whilst some clubs have crumbled under expectation, others have risen to the occasion and the success of a football club can almost always be traced back to its start-of-season wheelings-and-dealings.
Whether operating on a shoestring budget or blessed with millions-upon-millions to spend, there are some clubs which are just simply better at spending their money and spotting top talent season after season.
Now in the typical post-season analytical phase, it’s the perfect time to assess the transfers made by clubs across the continent back in August and rank the five clubs who recruited best this term…
#5 Borussia Dortmund: A-
Despite securing third spot and guaranteed Champions League football on the final day of the season, it’s fair to say ‘Die Schwarzgelben’ have had better campaigns in recent years. Tuchel’s men were heavily reliant on Bundesliga top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who finished with 31 league goals, but there were a handful of new faces who put in solid shifts in their debut campaigns.
Most impressive of the new bunch was 20-year-old Ousmane Dembele, signed from Stade Rennais last summer, created more chances this season (63) than any other Dortmund player going forward. The Frenchman scored six league goals and doubled that figure in terms of assists in the league and has proven he’s got the potential to be a big-name player for the club in the near future.
At the other end of the pitch, but having found the net on as many occasions as Dembele, Raphael Guerreiro, formerly of Lorient, has too hit the ground running in his first season at the Signal Iduna Park. The Portuguese has proven to be explosive, attacking full-back this term and may have finally plugged a hole Dortmund have been desperate to fill at left-back.
#4 Hoffenheim: A-
It’s rare enough to see one club ruffle the feathers of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, never mind two, but along with RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim have proven to be a surprise package in the German top flight this term, eventually finishing fourth, just five points behind second place.
The club already had the likes of Oliver Baumann and Niklas Süle in their ranks but added quality last summer with Andrej Kramaric and Kevin Vogt to name but a couple.
Former Leicester City player Kramaric contributed 15 goals and eight assists in the league this season, becoming Hoffenheim’s most potent attacking outlet in a campaign where they scored the fourth most goals of any side in the division.
Whilst new signing Kramaric was dispatching at one end, defensive midfielder Kevin Vogt was helping to deny chances at the other, with the former-Köln middle-man maintaining an average pass accuracy of 92% and averaging five defensive actions per game. Such recruitments undoubtedly set Hoffenheim up for the electric season they’ve had.
Benjamin Hübner, formerly of FC Ingolstadt put in a good shift in his debut season for Hoffenheim at the back, with the 27-year-old averaging seven defensive actions per game, the most of any other individual at the club.
#3 OGC Nice: A
Prior to PSG’s stabilising and Monaco’s resurgence, there was a brief time at the start of the Ligue 1 season where Nice looked favourites to lift the title. At the close of the campaign however, it was not to be, although they still finished a remarkable third and earned a Champions League qualifying place.
Although the club moved up just one position from their fourth-place finish in 2015/16, they collected fifteen more points and the squad is undoubtedly stronger than at the end of last term.
Last summer, the French outfit invested by bringing in the likes of Arnaud Souquet, Wylan Cyprien, Dante, Younès Belhanda (albeit on loan) and Mario Balotelli. The eccentric Italian was the most notable of the names and delivered with 15 goals and a single assist, whilst Wylan Cyprien proved to be an absolute steal in the centre of the park.
The midfielder, signed from Lens last summer, finished the season with the highest overall performance score of any other Nice player (969), according to Squawka Statistics, scoring eight goals and maintaining an average pass completion rate of 89%. Nice proved competent away from home this term and such stability emanated from Cyprien’s top-class displays.
The 33-year-old Brazilian defender Dante proved he’s still as good as ever in a fine debut term with Nice, averaging seven defensive actions per game. Evidence then that it was Les Aiglons’ wise reinforcements through the spine of the team which allowed them to challenge for Ligue 1 so fiercely this campaign.
#2 Chelsea: A
Chelsea may have lost out in the FA Cup Final to Arsenal on Saturday, but their season was nonetheless an incredibly successful one. Conte led the Blues to their fifth Premier League title campaign after the club learned from last season’s mistakes by adding a host of new players in the summer.
Among the most influential of the new additions was N’Golo Kanté who has just won the English top flight for a second consecutive season with a different side. Gary Lineker’s tweet at the start of the campaign proved to be all too true, after the pundit claimed that Chelsea’s purchase of the midfielder from Leicester would guide them to the league title.
Kanté was announced the PFA Player of the Year for the 2016/17 season after establishing himself as Chelsea’s first choice in holding midfield by making an impressive 83 interceptions, rendering him the industrious engine needed to fuel the flair Chelsea already had at their disposal.
Diego Costa was Chelsea’s top scorer this term but even he scored under a quarter of their league goals, outlining that there were numerous individuals capable of chipping in with a goal here and there and it was a few new boys who proved especially prolific.
Defender Marcos Alonso, signed from Fiorentina in the summer, was perhaps the most surprising of these scorers; the Spaniard scored six league goals meanwhile averaging an admirable four defensive actions per game.
David Luiz was rock solid in the center of defence as well and Conte’s decision to play with a back three helped the Brazilian exert his dominance.
Towards the top of the tree, Michy Batshuayi did what he could with his 20 appearances, scoring five goals and assisting on one occasion. The Belgian forward therefore had a modest start to life in the Prem but has nonetheless proven to be a wise investment for the future and a good player to keep Costa on his heels.
#1 Juventus: A+
The Old Lady’s perennial stranglehold of the Scudetto is rendering Serie A less competitive by the year and courtesy of some shrewd summer business, they look stronger than the last two seasons combined.
Gonzalo Higuain was brought in for a remarkable €90 million from Napoli in the summer to bolster Juve’s mediocre attacking armoury and the Argentinian frontman proved a top signing, netting 24 goals in 37 games.
In the middle, €32 million signing Miralem Pjanic has too impressed significantly since signing from Roma, after the Bosnian created more chances than any other Juve player (57), supplying eight assists.
Meanwhile, other notable new signings who have transformed Juventus into Champions League finalists include Juan Cuadrado who was brought in on an eccentric three-year loan deal, defender Medhi Benatia and veteran Dani Alves, who has been especially impressive on the European platform.
Massimiliano Allegri already had the strongest defence in the continent at his disposal along with a more-than-capable midfield but the club invested incredibly efficiently to only bring in players that would make the side better and who would plug any notable gaps and it’s because of this acute business last summer that Juve are now on the verge of completing the treble.
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Edited by Staff Editor
