Top 10 best PL signings?

[Royalblue]

It's been a record-breaking transfer window full of crazy signings, but which teams made the best signings? Just to clarify, I've chosen these signing based on how good a player they are/their potential, and also their importance to the team and their value for money. So the likes of Raheem Sterling and Christian Benteke don't make this list because they were (in my and other people's opinions) overpriced. Other players such as Depay and De Bruyne miss out on the top ten because they were improvements to a position, rather than necessary players. And others, such as Son to Tottenham, miss out because I don't reckon they'll do very well in the EPL.
(note: the window isn't over yet so there are still some signings to be made)

Honourable mentions:
Adama Traore, Barcelona-Villa, £7m
Connor Wickham, Sunderland-Palace, £7m
Robbie Brady, Hull-Norwich, £7m
Virgil Van Dijk, Celtic-Southampton, £11.5m
Kevin De Bruyne, Wolfsburg-Man.City, £55m
Roberto Firmino, Hoffenheim-Liverpool, £29m
Nathaniel Clyne, Southhampton-Liverpool, £12.5m

10) Nicolas Otamendi, Valencia-Man.City, £32m:
Mangala was shocking last season so City did need to spend big on a quality CB- signing Ottamendi from under United's nose was a great bit of business by Pelligrini, and with the Argentine shoring up their defence I reckon City have a good chance of reclaiming the title from Chelsea.

9) Bakary Sako, Wolves-Crystal Palace, £Free:
Sako has had a brilliant start to life at Palace and is one of Palace's standout signings (which is saying something, considering the number of player's they've brought in). Palace have a very strong squad now, but Sako can add the goals and quality required to push them further up the table, perhaps into the top ten.

8) Georginio Wijnaldum, PSV-Newcastle, £14.5m:
Newcastle are another team who will struggle this year, but Wijnaldum could make the difference for them. Certainly Newcastle's best signing since they brought in Sissoko, he and the Frenchman will hopefully make up for Newcastle's lack of quality elsewhere and if he performs at his best then I can't see him staying at Newcastle for long.

7) Petr Cech, Chelsea-Arsenal, £10m:
Cech is still a quality keeper and an excellent signing for Arsenal, who were really missing a quality player between the sticks (though personally Ospina was brilliant last season and is unlucky to be dropped). I don't see Arsenal competing for the title, but Cech can certainly shore them up at the back.

6) Yohan Cabaye, PSG-Crystal Palace, £10m:
At just £10m Cabaye is Palace's best bit of business and certainly one of the EPL's most surprising signings. Pardrew knows better than most what he is capable of, and the quality he will bring to Palace this year will see them shoot up the table.

5) Andre Ayew, Marseille-Swansea, £Free:
For free this man is an absolute bargain- he's already off to a quick start, and alongside a reinvented Gomis he can really cause the best teams some problems (as Manchester United found out). Swansea look impressive this year and will certainly be within the top ten, and Ayew will play a large part in their success this season.

4) Matteo Darmian, Torino-Man.Utd, £12.7m:
Darmian is a very impressive player and at just under £13m he is also a bargain- he can really shore up United's defence, and can provide the quality that Rafael could never quite deliver. He'll be key to United's hopes this season- if he proves to be a success then United are within a good chance of getting perhaps second (they won't win the league), adding much needed quality to a defence full of errors.

3) Dmitri Payet, Marseille-West Ham, £10m:
How West Ham signed this man is beyond me- it's reminiscent of when they signed Tevez and Mascherano. He's made more chances than any other player in Europe last season, and yet he cost just £10m- one of Europe's most underrated players, and with his quality West Ham may be able to top their brilliant work last season.

2) Morgan Schneiderlin, Southampton-Man.Utd, £25m:
The most expensive signing on this list, Schneiderlin was key for Southampton last season and this year he'll be key to Van Gaal and United's ambitions. He's already proven his quality, and with the Frenchman shoring up the midfield United may have just enough stability to overtake City/Chelsea and Arsenal to leapfrog into second (again, they won't be finishing 1st, which for me is between City and Chelsea).

1) Pedro, Barcelona-Chelsea, £21m:
As much as I dislike saying it, Jose has once again made a quality signing (and, once again, from under a rivals nose). There is no way that Costa can emulate his form from last season, so support for him was desperately needed- and Pedro looks an absolute perfect fit for the job. Under the shadow of so many great players at Barcelona, I reckon Pedro can follow the same path as Sanchez and really flourish in the EPL, as one of Chelsea's best players. Pedro will also take some pressure of Hazard and will add depth to Chelsea's attack.

 

[Royalblue]

Oh, and I forgot to give Micah Richards an honourable mention- he'll be important for Villa this season and for Sherewood he's a really good signing.

 

[SALTIRE]

Love Adama Traore, one of the big boys will get him off Villa in January. Such a shame he didn't go to Anfield.

Overall its hard to see past Cech for £10 mill imo.

 

[Royalblue]

Love Adama Traore, one of the big boys will get him off Villa in January. Such a shame he didn't go to Anfield.

Overall its hard to see past Cech for £10 mill imo.

Agree completely. Was going to have him as 10 instead of Otamendi but changed my mind at the last second. If he gets playing time then he could make the difference for Villa this season, and at just £7m he could turn out to be a very good investment. Again though, he needs to be given playing time and I expect he will.

 

[Royalblue]

As for Cech, he'll make a big difference for Arsenal but the reason he's only at 7 is because there's only so much he can do for them- in the end, if Arsenal's defence has a bad day then even a keeper like Cech will concede goals. He's important, but the most important part of a teams defence are the Centre-backs. Plus, I felt that Ospina was really good last season for Arsenal and though Cech is a good signing I think that Ospina would've been a very good first-choice keeper too, so that puts Cech lower down as he wasn't totally a necessary signing.

 

[tizzle90]

Sakho without a doubt!

 

[Royalblue]

Sakho without a doubt!

A very good signing for Palace, and even better since he cost them nothing. Palace need someone who can score 15+ goals, and to be honest I can see Sako filling that void. He, Cabaye and Bolasie will be tearing teams apart this season.

 

[Royalblue]

Berahino to Tottenham.

That move hasn't happened yet mate, and I'm not sure it will.

 

[Jonny]

Otamendi to City is great business for them, IMO the final piece of the jigsaw for their title challenge. He'll be much more reliable paired with Kompany than Mangala. Potentially could be the best partnership in the League.

 

[Royalblue]

Otamendi to City is great business for them, IMO the final piece of the jigsaw for their title challenge. He'll be much more reliable paired with Kompany than Mangala. Potentially could be the best partnership in the League.

Completely agree. De Bruyne is a big signing for them but they really did need a quality CB last season alongside Kompany and I reckon that Otamendi will deliver. With him at the back plus their beefed up attack I reckon they can possibly win the league ahead of Chelsea, who's only signing of note has been Pedro.

 

[thespus]

Ayew and Sako on bosmans stand out for me - I voted Ayew purely due to positional scarcity within the respective squads. Cech, Pedro, Payet, Cabaye, and Darmian were all very good business.

I'm not as convinced by Otamendi - he's 27 and played one season in a top five league. Valencia - arguably the best organised side in Europe last season - is more pragmatic than Manchester City. I think Mangala will have the opportunity to remain first choice. I reckon Otamendi was purchased to partner with Mangala if/when Kompany moves on or is past his best - they played together at Porto, too.

 

[JaseTheVillain]

Richards and Traore are fantastic signings, Saltire, unless we get a ridiculous Martial type fee for Traore he's going nowhere (that release clause applies to only Barca remember) especially not as early as fucking January.

In terms of importance, I've got to plump for Richards and maybe Lescott can come into that, as if anything will keep us up this season it's our defence. Could very well mention Amavi too in this equation, been our best player so far.

 

[Royalblue]

Ayew and Sako on bosmans stand out for me - I voted Ayew purely due to positional scarcity within the respective squads. Cech, Pedro, Payet, Cabaye, and Darmian were all very good business.

I'm not as convinced by Otamendi - he's 27 and played one season in a top five league. Valencia - arguably the best organised side in Europe last season - is more pragmatic than Manchester City. I think Mangala will have the opportunity to remain first choice. I reckon Otamendi was purchased to partner with Mangala if/when Kompany moves on or is past his best - they played together at Porto, too.

Otamendi's been playing at a high level for a while- with Porto he was solid, and with Valencia last season he caught the eye. At 27 he's also more experienced and is also a first team player for Argentina- meanwhile, Mangala was still in his early 20's when he was bought (for the same fee as Otamendi), so buying Mangala was a bit of a risk and it didn't pay off. Mangala and Otamendi could play together, but Kompany's had a good start to the season and I don't see him being unseated, so if it comes down to Otamendi V Mangala then it has to be Otamendi purely on his experience and recent form.

 

[Royalblue]

Richards and Traore are fantastic signings, Saltire, unless we get a ridiculous Martial type fee for Traore he's going nowhere (that release clause applies to only Barca remember) especially not as early as fucking January.

In terms of importance, I've got to plump for Richards and maybe Lescott can come into that, as if anything will keep us up this season it's our defence. Could very well mention Amavi too in this equation, been our best player so far.

I don't think he'll be going in January, but if he is giving playing time and performs well then I can easily see one of the bigger clubs trying to buy him. Richards is also a decent buy and I forgot to put him on the Honourable Mentions list, but as for Lescott I'm not convinced- the guy is past his best and he wasn't exceptional for West Brom last year. I'll be honest and say that I haven't really paid much attention to Amavi, but if he is really good then I'll be looking out for him this season.

 

[JaseTheVillain]

I don't think he'll be going in January, but if he is giving playing time and performs well then I can easily see one of the bigger clubs trying to buy him. Richards is also a decent buy and I forgot to put him on the Honourable Mentions list, but as for Lescott I'm not convinced- the guy is past his best and he wasn't exceptional for West Brom last year. I'll be honest and say that I haven't really paid much attention to Amavi, but if he is really good then I'll be looking out for him this season.

Yeah, I think every Villa fan realises that Traore is a long term loan more than anything and we'll eventually lose him, but only to Barca do we have to sell at a set price for 3 years. They do have first refusal on him though regardless of what happens. As I said, out of our signings so far this season, Amavi has shined much brighter than anyone else. As for flops of the season, Ayew (our one) is an early contender.

 

[KevinMcallister]

it's clearly Ayew

only the clueless wouldn't see it

 

[thespus]

Richards and Traore are fantastic signings, Saltire, unless we get a ridiculous Martial type fee for Traore he's going nowhere (that release clause applies to only Barca remember) especially not as early as fucking January.

In terms of importance, I've got to plump for Richards and maybe Lescott can come into that, as if anything will keep us up this season it's our defence. Could very well mention Amavi too in this equation, been our best player so far.

I forgot to mention Amavi - he's ace. Definitely in the top 10 transfers.

 

[johnnytodd]

 

[SALTIRE]

He'll flop.

 

[Jarv]

Not even a mention of Depay?

Anyway it's clearly Ayew by a million miles at the moment that's a fantastic bit of business by Swansea.

all in all there's a long way for the seaosn to unfold before we can really answer this though

 

[JimJams]

Otamendi's been playing at a high level for a while- with Porto he was solid, and with Valencia last season he caught the eye. At 27 he's also more experienced and is also a first team player for Argentina- meanwhile, Mangala was still in his early 20's when he was bought (for the same fee as Otamendi), so buying Mangala was a bit of a risk and it didn't pay off. Mangala and Otamendi could play together, but Kompany's had a good start to the season and I don't see him being unseated, so if it comes down to Otamendi V Mangala then it has to be Otamendi purely on his experience and recent form.

I'm calling bullshit. Mangala was not a risk that didn't pay off, Mangala was an expensive signing that didn't wow in his first season for an underperforming Man City side. You say Otamendi at Porto was 'solid' but during his time there the standout defender was, wait for it, Mangala. There's a reason Otamendi wasn't the player that clubs were looking at. And when it comes to recent form, there's obviously only one winner. The guy that's partnered Kompany for 4 games and 4 clean sheets.

I fully expect Mangala to score an OG and get sent off in his next match now.

 

[JimJams]

Out of the options it's Ayew or Sako. Wanted Sako at Leicester for years but he didn't want to leave Wolves (or his wolves wage I suppose which was apparently pretty damned good for a side that were in league one for a bit). And Ayew is a class player who one of the bigger clubs should have probably taken a chance on but Swansea is a good fit for him because he's a starter and he won't be exiled to the bench/reserves when he goes through a barren spell. Villa fans will probably wonder how the fuck him n Jordan are related. If they don't now, they will.

 

[thespus]

Not even a mention of Depay?

Were you expecting one? He's been okay in the league thus far. Price tag and a good return in Holland dosen't make him one of the best signings. Darmian and Schneiderlin were both better signings for Manchester United.

 

[merseyboyred]

Clyne.

 

[PDS]

Gradel to Bournemouth until he got injured

 

[JimJams]

He's another player I'd like us to have gone for. He was a decent player for us before but he's obviously gotten a lot better since.

 

[Royalblue]

I'm not certain how good Mori can be: he's only back-up for Jags and Stones, and a lot of the people around him (former managers, etc.) reckon he'll struggle with the pace of the EPL. Plus he cost us £9.5m, when the figure that had been going around was only £4-5m.

 

[Royalblue]

Not even a mention of Depay?

Anyway it's clearly Ayew by a million miles at the moment that's a fantastic bit of business by Swansea.

all in all there's a long way for the seaosn to unfold before we can really answer this though

At almost £30 million Depay, for me, is overpriced- and plus I reckon he'll struggle to make a big impact this season. That's just my opinion though, so feel free to disagree.

 

[denizgelir]

I think Ayew , he'll be very effective

 

[johnnytodd]

I'm not certain how good Mori can be: he's only back-up for Jags and Stones, and a lot of the people around him (former managers, etc.) reckon he'll struggle with the pace of the EPL. Plus he cost us £9.5m, when the figure that had been going around was only £4-5m.

3-5-2 will be brought in i reckon wouldn't pay that much if he was to sit out,