Trafford to Leeds, two Spurs transfers: Top 10 Premier League signings of the summer so far

Signings of the summer, ahoy.

It may be a bit early, but we can still have some fun and back these 10 players to become roaring successes at their new clubs.

We want to view the transfer fee as somewhat irrelevant but it’s just impossible, isn’t it? It works both ways as well. For all the reservations about £85m Mateus Fernandes and £117m Morgan Rogers, Andy Robertson to Tottenham is an especially good signing because he cost nothing.

You see our conundrum, don’t you?

We shouldn’t disregard someone like Rogers because he is the most expensive British player ever, but he joins Chelsea under immense pressure to hit the ground running. Is he a £117m footballer? Absolutely not. But he can only do his absolute best to somewhat justify such a ridiculous price tag.

Without further ado, we have ranked the top 10 Premier League signings made so far in the 2026 summer transfer window.

10) Johan Manzambi to Aston Villa (£51m)

We are regrettably giving in to the clamour after a superb World Cup showing.

Manzambi gets in ahead of a host of honourable mentions we are very excited about. Chelsea’s signings of Maxence Lacroix and Morgan Rogers miss out, as do Pascal Struijk’s £20m move to Brighton, Christos Tzolis’ £34m switch to Arsenal, Tottenham’s £85m signing of Mateus Fernandes, Hayden Hackney’s £16.5m move to Everton, and the free transfers of Andy Robertson to Tottenham and Xaver Schlager to Nottingham Forest.

Manzambi was a revelation at the World Cup for Switzerland and has the versatility to become a key player for Villa, especially after Rogers’ departure.

He makes this incredible XI of transfer targets Newcastle United have missed out on since being taken over by PIF.

9) Alvaro Rodriguez to Bournemouth (£21m)

We trust Bournemouth. They are good at transfers.

There is a bit of a Big Six bias to these embryonic rankings because we don’t know an awful lot about the players signed by your Bournemouths and Brightons until the Premier League season gets underway.

Not only do we trust Bournemouth, but we also feel these clubs deserve some representation and Rodriguez is a player we can see doing very well in the 2026/27 Premier League.

8) Luka Vuskovic to Brighton (£46m)

We regret to say that Brighton might have done it again.

Vuskovic is a more high-profile and expensive signing than usual from the transfer experts on the south coast, having joined for a club-record fee, which we still think is a coup.

The 19-year-old Croatian was fantastic on loan at Hamburg last season and several Spurs supporters cannot wrap their heads around this sale. He had the potential to become their very own William Saliba but was instead abandoned for shinier new toys in Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke, who moved in the opposite direction for £6m more and only goes down as an honourable mention despite us rating the deal very highly.

Eighth doesn’t do Vuskovic justice because he is a serious, dare we say generational, talent. Watch him leave Brighton for £100m in 2028.

7) Joao Gomes to Aston Villa (£38m)

Villa’s signing of Wolves midfielder Gomes has flown under the radar. At £38m, he is a savvy addition and a brilliant replacement for Youri Tielemans, who joined Manchester United for £3m less.

Only Elliot Anderson (465) won more duels in the Premier League last season than Gomes (402), who also ranked third for tackles (107) and fourth for ball recoveries (190).

The fact Gomes looked so good in that Wolves team is testament enough.

6) Sandro Tonali to Tottenham (£92.5m)

Fee aside, it’s difficult to pick any holes in this transfer.

Tonali was an Arsenal and Manchester City target after establishing himself as one of the best central midfielders in Europe, yet he joined Tottenham on the back of consecutive 17th-place finishes. Money talks, sure, but it’s still one hell of a statement signing.

Tonali’s 2025/26 wasn’t his best, but he was operating in a shambolic Newcastle team and only a year earlier was performing at a level we deemed higher than any other midfielder in England, excluding Rodri.

He has the ability to completely transform this Spurs midfield. We are still scratching our heads at how they pulled this off. But, listen, fair play.

5) Youri Tielemans to Manchester United (£35m)

Tielemans is a very solid addition to the Manchester United midfield, and for a very respectable price.

There are one or two concerns around this transfer, mainly his injury record and age (29), but it really is a risk-free deal for the fee. It’s obviously a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but not for Manchester United and certainly not for a player of Tielemans’ quality.

The Belgian’s move came out of the blue but has been warmly welcomed by the Red Devils fanbase, who now have two new midfielders after Andrey Santos also joined from Chelsea for big money, with a third expected to follow.

4) Harry Wilson to Leeds United (free)

Wilson’s 10-goal, seven-assist 2025/26 Premier League campaign caught most by surprise, but when you realise it came in a contract-expiry year, it all makes sense.

Leeds will hope Wilson’s form was not a flash in the pan and, if he can maintain his level from last term, he could go down as one of the signings of the season next May.

3) Marcos Senesi to Tottenham (free)

Bloody love a free transfer, we do.

Spurs have landed one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in Europe for nothing and, given their wide representation in this top 10, seem destined for a strong season.

Another bottom-half finish would be a massive shock after consecutive 17th-place finishes and, in a summer full of impressive signings, we have Senesi down as Spurs’ best pound-for-pound addition.

2) Elliot Anderson to Manchester City (£116m)

Hypocrites? Not quite. Anderson feels nailed on to be a success at Manchester City. Sure, £116m is mental, but a fee in the region of £100m felt reasonable in the modern market, while Rogers felt closer to an £80-90m player – the sort of ballpark Arsenal were playing in, but not Chelsea.

Anderson’s numbers last season were extraordinary and a move to City felt inevitable for months after he ran the show for Nottingham Forest and established himself as England’s first-choice No.6.

Not only has Anderson solved a problem position for the Three Lions, but he will be City’s midfield general for years to come and is an adequate replacement for Rodri, who should have been impossible to replace.

Anderson is so good that his extortionate fee does not bother us in the slightest.

1) James Trafford to Leeds United (£40m)

We know it’s not done, but it’s as good as done. And if it falls through, what repercussions will we face, if any? Exactly.

The fact we clearly rate the signing of Trafford so highly is the exception to the rule. There are so many aspects that make this an astronomical signing for Leeds United.

The biggest thing is that a problem position has been fixed. And this is one of the biggest problem positions of all problem positions. Karl Darlow actually did a fantastic job in goal last season but was never the long-term answer and has left for Manchester United anyway. Lucas Perri was brought in last summer and seemed like a sensible solution, only to disappoint and lose his place to a 35-year-old Darlow.

This summer’s goalkeeper signing is on a completely different level.

Trafford will join Leeds in a deal worth at least £40m on a long-term contract. At just 23 years old, he arrives as a full England international and the expected successor to Jordan Pickford as the Three Lions’ No.1, which will probably happen after Euro 2028, if not sooner.

Signed last summer to become Manchester City’s No.1, Trafford was blindsided by the irresistible arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma and spent the vast majority of last season on the bench. When given the chance to impress in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, the former Burnley shot-stopper was excellent.

Leeds have got themselves an outstanding young goalkeeper whose sky is the limit. Hats off.