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#3 Riyad Mahrez - £60m (Leicester City to Manchester City) - 2018
Riyad Mahrez was part of the triumvirate, alongside Jamie Vardy and N'Golo Kante, that helped Leicester City extraordinarily win the Premier League title in 2016.
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The Algeria international was tipped for a move away from the East Midlands after a stellar 2015-16 campaign. He even tried to force his way away from the club during multiple transfer windows.
Mahrez ultimately got his wish when he completed a move to Manchester City for the sum of £60m, a then club-record fee, in the summer of 2018. Mahrez has enjoyed differing levels of importance under Pep Guardiola due to the intense competition for places at City. As a result, he has occasionally found himself on the sidelines during his three-year stay so far.
However, the 30-year-old has shown his class whenever he has been called upon. Mahrez has scored 39 goals and provided 37 assists in 142 matches across all competitions for the Mancunians.
His time at the Etihad has seen him win seven major trophies, including two Premier League titles and three consecutive League Cups.
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#2 Cedric Bakambu - £65m (Villarreal to Beijing Guoan) - 2018
This is without a doubt the most surprising transfer on the list and one of the most curious in footballing history.
Cedric Bakambu joined La Liga side Villarreal in 2015. He played some of the best football of his career for the Yellow Submarines before joining Chinese side Beijing Guoan midway through the 2017-18 season.
The DR Congo international left Villarreal for £65m after a very protracted transfer. Bakambu has adapted extremely well to the Chinese Super League. He has scored 43 goals in 58 league matches and finished as the top-scorer in the 2020 CSL campaign.
#1 Nicolas Pepe - £72m (OSC Lille to Arsenal) - 2019
Arsenal broke their transfer record on an African player for the second time in as many years when they paid £72m to LOSC Lille to sign Nicolas Pepe. The Ivory Coast international joined the Gunners in the summer of 2019.
Pepe had just come off a spectacular season that saw him score 22 goals and provide 11 assists in 38 Ligue 1 matches. He was one of just two players to finish with double-figure assists and goals in Europe's top five leagues in the 2018-19 season. The other player? A certain Lionel Messi.
Pepe's time at Arsenal has, however, been far from spectacular. The 26-year-old has been plagued by inconsistencies, as well as poor decision-making. This has put the 26-year-old under the spotlight negatively and has consequently seen him kept out of the starting XI on several occasions.
The fact that Pepe is the club's record signing has only served to exacerbate his underperformance in north London.
After an underwhelming debut season with the Gunners, Nicolas Pepe stepped up in his sophomore campaign. He was one of Arsenal's better players in what was a disappointing 2020-21 season. Pepe scored 16 goals and assisted five more across 47 matches for the Gunners in their last campaign.
He is expected to build on from his decent run of form as the Gunners enter what could be a make-or-mar campaign.
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