Premier League's 3 hit and flop summer signings

Arsenal FC v Manchester City - Premier League
Arsenal FC v Manchester City - Premier League

With more than half of the Premier League season over, the race for the league title is intensifying. Arsenal currently sit at the top with Manchester City and Manchester United behind them, while Tottenham Hotspur are fourth. Newcastle United and Fulham, who sit fifth and sixth, are fighting for a place in the top four.

Big teams like Liverpool and Chelsea have underperformed and are placed eighth and tenth in the table.

Looking back at the summer transfer window, Premier League clubs spent over £2 billion in signing new players. That is more than twice as much as the rest of Europe’s big five leagues put together.

Despite spending the most, Chelsea now find themselves in a tight spot with some other teams too. While for some, their summer arrivals have lifted their teams. In this article, we'll take a look at three hit and flop signings by Premier League clubs in the summer of 2022.


3 hit and flop summer signings in the Premier League

Hits

Erling Haaland

The 22-year-old Norwegian striker has become a goal scoring machine since pairing up with Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City. He has scored a remarkable 26 goals in 23 matches for the club, including four hat-tricks. He has also provided four assists in those games.

Tall, quick and strong in the air, he is the Premier League's leading goal scorer - Harry Kane is behind him with 17 goals.

Haaland signed a five-year deal with City, as they paid just £51 million to Borussia Dortmund in the summer to get his services. What a return on investment he has been!

Casemiro

A few eyebrows were raised when Manchester United paid around £60 million to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid. Already 30, this move was seen as another expensive blunder by the Red Devils in the transfer market. But the Brazilian has shown that he is worth every penny paid for him.

When he arrived in the summer, United had lost two of their opening three games and were fourteenth in the Premier League table.

He took it upon himself to change course and did so. His pressing play, strong interceptions and quick passes have made United's midfield difficult to penitrate. Of the 17 league matches he has played, the Red Devils have won 12, drawn 3 and lost just two.

It is due to his performances along with others that United sit third in the table and are still in the title race.

Gabriel Jesus

Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus for £45 million from Manchester City - a move which looked a bit surprising at the time. But seven months later, the Gunners find themselves at the top of the league, mostly due to the start he gave them.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal FC - Premier League Enter caption Nottingham Forest v Chelsea FC - Premier League
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal FC - Premier League Enter caption Nottingham Forest v Chelsea FC - Premier League

After being judged surplus to requirements at City, Jesus has scored five and assisted five in the 14 matches he has played for Arsenal this season.

He is a quick-footed dribbler who scores and also creates opportunities for his teammates - which fits Arteta's style of play.

He was injured in December at the World Cup and could return in a few weeks to boost Arsenal's hopes of winning the Premier league. They last won it in the 2003-04 season.

Flops

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

After falling out with Mikel Arteta in December 2021, Aubameyang was sold to Barcelona on a free transfer the following month. His lack of discipline forced Arteta to take such an extreme step.

Nottingham Forest v Chelsea FC - Premier League

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

However, Aubameyang did show some form at Barca, scoring 13 goals in 23 matches, including a memorable El Clasico hat-trick. His performances earned him a €12 million move to Chelsea in the summer, but he couldn't reach the same heights there.

He has scored just a single goal in 11 appearances for the Blues in the league and was recently left out of the Champions League squad. He is being linked with a move to MLS in the summer as his days at Chelsea seem to be over.

Philippe Coutinho

Philippe Coutinho looked destined for greatness after he completed his £142 million move to Barcelona from Liverpool in 2018. He was 25 when he joined Barca, but the move didn't work out for him and his career has spiraled down since.

Aston Villa v Leicester City - Premier League
Aston Villa v Leicester City - Premier League

After spending the 2019-20 season on loan at Bayern Munich, Coutinho was again loaned out for six months last January to Aston Villa.

Owing to his performances during the loan, he was signed by Villa for just €20 million in the summer.

However, he could not carry out his form from last season and his return has not been a memorable one. He has managed to score just a single goal in 20 Premier League matches for the club.

Jesse Lingard

Nottingham Forest signed Jesse Lingard on a free transfer after his contract expired at Manchester United last summer. The 29-year-old was finding it hard to get game time at United due to his inconsistency.

Nottingham Forest v Leeds United - Premier League
Nottingham Forest v Leeds United - Premier League

Forest were expecting Lingard to replicate the form he had shown when was on loan at West Ham United in 2021. But the England international has disappointed greatly, as he has neither scored a goal nor provided any assists in 14 Premier League games this season.

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Edited by Shubham Banerjee
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