Liverpool, Aston Villa double additions feature in top 10 Premier League transfers of the summer

This one does exactly what it says on the tin. Here are what we think are the top 10 Premier League signings of the summer so far.

10) Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City (£25m)
Chelsea’s mass exodus included the brilliant, yet slightly injury-prone Mateo Kovacic. With a single year left on his Blues contract, he was available for a cool £25m and Manchester City got a deal over the line with limited fuss.

Kovacic is a 95-cap Croatia international and made 221 appearances for Chelsea, winning the Champions League, Club World Cup and Europa League in five years at Stamford Bridge. He is a perfect low-maintenance, low-cost addition for City after they missed out on Jude Bellingham and lost Ilkay Gundogan.

9) Youri Tielemans to Aston Villa (free)
Those transfer links to Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich seem like a distant memory after a miserable 2022/23 campaign with relegated Leicester City. A fresh start at Villa Park is an ideal situation for Youri Tielemans. And getting him on a free transfer? Superb stuff for everyone involved. Well, everyone except Leicester.

8) Sandro Tonali to Newcastle United (£52m)
Having helped AC Milan reach the semi-final of last season’s Champions League, Sandro Tonali will be in black and white, not black and red, for Newcastle’s return to the big time. Signings from Serie A don’t tend to do well, but Tonali looks like he is the defensive midfielder Eddie Howe has been longing for, even if some fans don’t think the Italian wants to be there…

📽️ Tonali's wife: "The gym wasn't as big in Milan."

Tonali: "It was bigger."pic.twitter.com/QPgUo0dkMH

— Milan Posts (@MilanPosts) July 9, 2023

7) Bart Verbruggen to Brighton (£16.3m)
Roberto De Zerbi made the bold call to drop Robert Sanchez early on in his Brighton tenure, replacing him with benchwarmer Jason Steele, who is apparently a wonderful ball-playing goalkeeper. Who the bloody hell knew?

Steele was never going to be De Zerbi’s long-term No. 1 and the Seagulls head coach evidently made the signing of one a massive priority going into the summer transfer window. The Italian quickly got his man, bringing in Bart Verbruggen from Anderlecht for a measly £16.3m.

At the age of 20, there is a lot of pressure on the Belgian shot-stopper, who will be hoping to hit the ground running as Brighton prepare to play in Europe for the first time in their history while balancing a Premier League campaign. We have faith.

6) Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool (£60m)
The early days of pre-season at Liverpool are absolutely brutal. Many a player has puked up their guts, while others have surely been filled with regret in making the move to Anfield. Hungarian playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai is not one of those. He absolutely pissed it on his first day. No puke. Hair barely out of place. Posing for photos looking like a model. It was light work for the 22-year-old.

This is obviously very relevant considering how Liverpool play under Jurgen Klopp. His heavy metal football could be back, which is very worrying for the rest of the Premier League.

Szoboszlai is not just a workhorse. In fact, his fitness levels are not even the most impressive part of his game. He is wonderful technically, has an eye for goal, and is a penalty-taking expert. Mohamed Salah might not like it, but it’s time to pass the ball over when it is time to shoot from 12 yards.

5) Pau Torres to Aston Villa (£27.77m)
Unai Emery joined Aston Villa and told the owners he wanted Pau Torres as a matter of priority. The Spanish centre-back has been linked with a host of top clubs over the last two years, but it is the Villans who have landed him. And for less than £28m. Just spectacular business.

4) Jefferson Lerma to Crystal Palace (free)
In terms of players who come in and fill a void that desperately needed improving, there are not many better summer signings than Jefferson Lerma to Crystal Palace. And he cost absolutely nothing!

Lerma is not the flashiest of players, but you know exactly what you will get from him. When he initially joined Bournemouth for a then club-record fee, he failed to impress, yet a couple of seasons in the Championship have done him the world of good. He returned to the top flight a better player and will vastly improve Palace’s midfield. Did we mention he cost nothing?

3) Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea (£52m)
Chelsea have got themselves an absolute bargain here. The signing of Christopher Nkunku has been as good as done since last September but was not officially confirmed by the Blues until July 1.

To pick up a player of this quality for £52m today is astounding. The only worry is that this is Chelsea. They have so many forwards and Nkunku unfortunately falls into that category of players without a designated position. And then there is the ‘Bundesliga Tax’.

Sticking with the positives, Chelsea have signed a player who has scored 47 goals and provided 43 assists in 119 Bundesliga appearances. Not bad.

2) James Maddison to Tottenham (£40m)
Let us repeat ourselves. To pick up a player of this qualify for £40m is astounding. The only worry is that it’s Tottenham, lads.

Jokes aside, England international James Maddison is a perfect signing for Ange Postecoglou’s side, who beat Champions League outfit Newcastle to his signature. He will be able to take some of the playmaking burden off of Harry Kane, who can get himself In And Around The Box a bit more. In fact, there was no real playmaker/No. 10 in Spurs’ side before Maddison’s arrival, which is a good sign of what fans can expect under Big Ange.

1) Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool (£35m)
This one is expected to sit top of the list all summer long. Alexis Mac Allister had an incredible 2022/23 campaign for both club and country, winning the World Cup with Argentina while scoring ten goals in the Premier League for Brighton, who finished sixth and qualified for the Europa League.

£35m for Mac Allister is another terrific piece of business, even if mystery add-ons and clauses are included.

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