Not all signings work out, but a few go on to become key parts of their team or even club legends and record-breakers.
The latest example of a signing gone very right is Cole Palmer at Chelsea. There was a lot expected of the 22-year-old when he joined from Manchester City — and surprise that Pep Guardiola let him go — but few could have expected him to reach the heights he has already achieved at Chelsea, with him now being talked about as the best player in the Premier League.
From forwards who became world stars to loyal club men who were brought in for next to nothing, our writers have picked one signing from each Premier League club who went on to exceed expectations at their club. Some go way back and some are from the most recent transfer windows.
Rewind to January 2023 and it looked like Mykhailo Mudryk was the man Arsenal would choose to bolster their attack to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League. Instead, Chelsea signed the Ukraine winger and Arsenal pivoted to Leandro Trossard from Brighton.
Trossard’s trajectory since has gone nowhere but up. The Belgian fit in seamlessly, assisting 10 and scoring one goal in his first half-season. His influence switched in 2023-24 as he scored 17 goals and assisted two, becoming one of Arsenal’s most reliable forwards in their second title race with City.
He has been similarly effective this season, with two important goals, an assist and a cross deflected in to lead Arsenal to victory against Leicester.
His importance to the side continues to grow season-on-season.
Art de Roche
(Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)
Upon joining Villa in January, Rogers was to use the second half of the campaign as a bedding-in process, assimilating the nuances of Unai Emery’s principles in and out of possession. The 22-year-old had not pulled up trees during his spell in the EFL on loan at Lincoln City, Blackpool and Bournemouth, while his move to Middlesbrough had shown promise but did not suggest an oven-ready Premier League player.
Emery saw different, however. Injuries and his quick learning meant he started regularly and this season he has become one of Villa’s key players. Rogers has transformed into a ball-carrying, direct No 10 playing off Ollie Watkins and is close to an England senior call-up.
Jacob Tanswell
Ramsdale joined Bournemouth from Sheffield United in January 2017 for £800,000. He was loaned to Chesterfield and AFC Wimbledon and, generally, was seen as a young promising goalkeeper who could serve as a third-choice goalkeeper. Or, at best, as backup to No 1 Asmir Begovic.
But Ramsdale returned for pre-season in 2019-20 and manager Eddie Howe made it clear the No 1 spot was an open race between Ramsdale, Begovic and Mark Travers. Ramsdale impressed the most and made both his Premier League debut and his full debut on the opening day against former team Sheffield United.
This marked the point when expectations rose significantly. Three months later, he signed a new long-term contract and was named the club’s player of the season in an ultimately doomed relegation campaign.
Ramsdale would then rejoin Sheffield United for £18.5million before moving to Arsenal, falling behind David Raya in the pecking order. When joining Southampton this summer, it was regarded as a major coup.
Jacob Tanswell
Ramsdale was at Bournemouth from 2017-2020 (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Roerslev could make a strong case for being the best value signing in Brentford’s history. He was plucked from Copenhagen’s reserves in 2019 for around £50,000 and originally joined the B team.
He quickly impressed and earned the trust of Thomas Frank and the full-back became a regular member of the first-team squad during the 2020-21 season.
Roerslev is not first choice, but he is always available to provide cover for Aaron Hickey, Rico Henry and Kristoffer Ajer. He has made over 70 Premier League appearances, which is remarkable considering where he came from.
The 25-year-old is a success story for Brentford’s B-team project and it feels like only a matter of time until he makes his debut for Denmark after being called up for the first time, but not playing, in March.
Jay Harris
What is a reasonable expectation for a £3million signing for a club new to the Premier League? A few good performances? A goal and an assist here or there to help them survive?
This was the context when Brighton made Gross their first signing in 2017 for their return to the top flight in England after a gap of 34 years. Little was known then about a midfielder hired from one of the lesser lights in Germany (Ingolstadt) after they had been relegated from the Bundesliga.
A craftsman with 30 goals and 45 assists in 228 appearances (both club records), playing in a variety of roles under three different head coaches across seven seasons, he became a German international in 2023 at the age of 32.
He is still performing (three assists in eight outings) after joining boyhood club Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
Andy Naylor
There was a fitting lack of fanfare accompanying Chelsea signing Azpilicueta from Marseille for £7million in 2012 — the same window in which Eden Hazard and Oscar arrived at Stamford Bridge with more exciting reputations and much bigger price tags.
For a while, the most memorable thing about Azpilicueta was the decision of many supporters to christen him “Dave” in comic acknowledgement that they could not pronounce his last name.
But over time, Azpilicueta established himself as one of Europe’s most reliable, durable and versatile performers. Towards the end of his 11 years and more than 500 appearances for Chelsea, he also became the second captain in the club’s history to lift the Champions League trophy, in Porto in 2021.
His legend at Stamford Bridge is enduring and secure.
Liam Twomey
Azpilicueta spent 11 years at Chelsea (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
For Crystal Palace, it was a risk plucking the raw 21-year-old Ian Wright — still working on a building site — from non-League Greenwich Borough in 1985.
Wright quickly struck up a fearsome strike partnership with Mark Bright, scoring twice as a sub in the 1990 FA Cup final against Manchester United. He was named the club’s player of the century, with 118 goals in 277 appearances before joining Arsenal, where he did alright, too…
Any others? Damien Delaney was utterly disenchanted with football before joining on a free, inspiring promotion and crying on the Wembley stairs. He went on to make 129 Premier League appearances, with memorable moments including the first goal in the ‘Crystanbul’ comeback against Liverpool and his (largely successful) physical battles with Chelsea striker Diego Costa.
He and initially unheralded team-mate Mile Jedinak were absolute titans for Crystal Palace, instrumental in establishing the club in the Premier League.
Max Mathews
When Cahill joined from Millwall for £1.5million in 2004, few would have imagined he would go on to become one of the club’s most important players in the Premier League era.
A mainstay of the David Moyes sides that regularly qualified for Europe on shoestring budgets, the Australian maximised every ounce of his talent. Despite being just 5ft 10in (178cm), he had a prodigious leap and excelled in the air.
Cahill would often show up when it mattered most, sealing Champions League qualification in the 2004-05 season with a goal against Newcastle United and thriving in derby games. Those performances and his commitment to the badge cemented his status as an Everton icon.
He remains the club’s joint-third top scorer (56 goals) in the Premier League and one of the biggest bargains in Everton’s modern history.
Patrick Boyland
Cahill scoring back in 2005 (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Nobody expected much from Willian when he signed for Fulham in 2022. He left Arsenal by mutual consent in 2021 after a miserable spell and then ripped up his contract with Corinthians in Brazil after becoming the target of online abuse. Most assumed he was over the hill.
When The Athletic caught wind of the fact he was training with Marco Silva’s newly promoted side, the assumption was that he would add, at best, squad depth following injuries to Harry Wilson and Manor Solomon. Willian’s best years were supposed to be far behind him, stored in a trophy cabinet at Stamford Bridge.
But he proved everyone wrong. He quickly became integral, the heartbeat of Fulham’s attacking play and such was his impact over two years that there were genuine concerns this season about how Fulham would cope without him following his departure.
He was a joy to watch and proved class is permanent.
Peter Rutzler
Ipswich: Mauricio Taricco
Ipswich made the double signing of Adrian Paz from Estudiantes de La Plata and Mauricio Taricco from Argentinos Juniors in 1994. Paz was considered the exciting new addition, a Uruguayan international crowd-pleasing forward, while full-back Taricco arrived to much less clamour.
Paz scored just once in 17 Premier League appearances as Ipswich were relegated from the top flight and he lasted just a year in East Anglia.
🥳 Happy birthday to former Town star Mauricio Taricco!
What’s your favourite memory of the Argentine in a Blues shirt?
🇦🇷 | #itfc pic.twitter.com/hilc8D9h23
— IPSWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) March 10, 2021
Taricco did not make a league appearance during his first season at the club, but after waiting a year to get his chance, he established himself as a key part of George Burley’s side. A tough-tackling, committed defender, he was also blessed with flair and skill and earned cult-hero status among supporters, further endearing himself to fans with a goal against rivals Norwich City in 1997 and his tears on the Portman Road pitch after a play-off semi-final loss to Sheffield United.
Ali Rampling
Yes, OK, Vardy had scored a lot of goals in non-League with Halifax and Fleetwood Town, but a record £1million for a player from that level of the pyramid was seen as a huge gamble.
At first, that gamble looked as though it would not pay off after a difficult first year adapting to the Championship as Vardy struggled to adapt to what was required on and off the pitch.
GO DEEPER
Vardy: Guzzling Red Bull, antagonising opposition fans – and back in the Premier League
After a heart-to-heart with manager Nigel Pearson and assistant Craig Shakespeare, gone were the nights out and the Skittles vodka and the rest is history.
Twelve years later, Vardy continues to make history, with 138 Premier League goals putting him 15th on the list of all-time Premier League goalscorers, and he is third in Leicester’s all-time rankings. The best £1million Leicester have ever spent.
Rob Tanner
Pinching Andy Robertson from Hull City in 2017 for just £8million was one of the best value-for-money signings in Premier League history.
The Scot, 23 years old at the time, had shown great promise and was never going to have a shortage of suitors once Hull were relegated to the Championship. But clubs were not falling over themselves to land his signature.
Liverpool, however, recognised his qualities and believed they could mould him into an attacking star. Fast-forward seven years and Robertson has won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup (twice) with Liverpool as well as producing phenomenal performances down the left side with a bucketful of goals and assists. What a signing.
Gregg Evans
(Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester City: Vincent Kompany
When Kompany joined City in a £6million deal from Hamburg, he walked into a training ground where there was no coffee machine for the players to use and no plan to get one, despite his requests.
A week or so later, the Abu Dhabi-led takeover that changed the face of the club and English football was complete. When Kompany returned from international duty shortly after, there was a new coffee machine in place.
He had no prior knowledge of the takeover before joining and his arrival subsequently became a footnote to the statement signing of Robinho from Real Madrid. But it was Kompany who came to define the years of success that were to follow.
The Belgian captained City to four Premier League titles — the fourth effectively won by his remarkable 30-yard screamer against Leicester City (below).
Kompany’s celebration of that goal is now immortalised in a statue outside the Etihad. If that were not enough of a tribute, the training ground has plenty of coffee machines now, too.
Mark Critchley
Even in 2003, people knew Ronaldo was talented. Sir Alex Ferguson described him as “one of the most exciting young players I’ve ever seen”. Shortly after making his United debut, George Best said he thought it a compliment that the Portuguese winger was being compared to him.
In 2024, we all know about the all-conquering attacking player Ronaldo would eventually become, but in 2003, Ronaldo was a gangly-looking winger with a rascal fashion sense, signed to replace David Beckham. United fans hoped he’d be good, but in 2003, they didn’t know he would transform himself into the best player in Europe by the time he left in 2009.
If we told you that next summer United were going to break the world record transfer fee for a teenager who had made 25 first-team appearances in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, you would likely wince. How things have changed.
His return to the club in 2021 was less successful, but he remains the last United player who has claim to being the best in the world while wearing the shirt.
Carl Anka
Relegated with Deportivo La Coruna and acquired for only £3million due to a release clause in his contract, Schar was signed by Rafa Benitez during the summer of 2018 primarily because of his cheapness and availability.
Almost 200 appearances later, including a Carabao Cup final and six games in the Champions League, the 32-year-old has established himself as one of Newcastle’s best modern-day centre-backs.
Steve Bruce may have doubted whether the former Switzerland international could play in a back four, but Eddie Howe tried to sign Schar from Hoffenheim earlier in his career and the technically gifted defender has flourished under his tutelage. Renowned for his long, accurate diagonals, probing through balls and his own showreel of special goals, Schar is a firm fans’ favourite.
Before the takeover, Schar was headed for the exit, but since Howe’s appointment, no player has made as many Premier League appearances for Newcastle. He has been, and remains, integral.
Chris Waugh
On deadline day in September 2023, Forest paid £3million — with a potential further £2million in add-ons — to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi from Chelsea. Given the winger had once been the target of a £70million bid from Bayern Munich, it felt a modest fee.
Hudson-Odoi had not fulfilled the potential many felt he had in the capital, though that was partly down to a lack of opportunity.
Between making his Chelsea first-team debut in 2017 and departing the club in 2023 — a period that also included a loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen — he made 72 appearances, scoring four goals. At Forest, Hudson-Odoi has scored nine goals in half as many appearances (25 starts, 11 sub appearances) as he demonstrated what he is capable of given regular game time.
Forest value him at around £40million, but whatever the price tag, it is well in excess of what they paid just over a year ago, with Hudson-Odoi having established his value to the side emphatically.
Paul Taylor
(Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
There are plenty of Southampton signings who exceeded expectations over the years, so choosing just one is a challenge. But after a few years of the famous “black box” producing signings that proved to be duds, Livramento’s arrival from Chelsea in 2021 as an unproven youngster turned out to be a good one.
He brought much-needed life back to the side and a return to giving young players a chance. Romeo Lavia and a batch of signings in recent seasons have reignited that strategy at St Mary’s and it has proved a decent earner when players like Livramento are sold on for a profit.
Southampton will only wish they’d had more time with Livramento on the pitch after a prolonged injury absence before he was sold to Newcastle.
Nancy Froston
Walker will go down as one of the best full-backs in Premier League history, but not many people would have predicted that when he joined Tottenham Hotspur from Sheffield United in July 2009.
He broke into Tottenham’s first-team squad under Harry Redknapp during the 2011-12 campaign and scored the winning goal in a north London derby against Arsenal from outside the box. He went on to win the PFA’s Young Player of the Year award that season.
Walker’s reputation reached new heights after Mauricio Pochettino took charge at Spurs. Walker’s bombing runs down the right along with Danny Rose’s on the left helped make them a potent attacking threat. He was part of the team that finished second in the league behind Leicester City in 2015-16. He exceeded expectations at Spurs and then went on to win six league titles at Manchester City after a £50million move and was vice-captain to Harry Kane for England at Euro 2024.
Jay Harris
(Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
Honourable mentions go to Tomas Repka, Diafra Sakho and Dimitri Payet, but the signing that exceeded expectations was Jesse Lingard.
Before joining on loan from Manchester United in January 2021, Lingard was low on confidence, on the fringes at Old Trafford and no longer an England international.
But he thrived under former manager David Moyes and became a fan favourite. The winger scored nine goals in 16 league appearances, earned an England recall and silenced the doubters. A lasting memory was Lingard, Pablo Fornals and Declan Rice’s synchronised celebration in the victory over Tottenham Hotspur. It led to the group being called “The Band of Brothers”.
Fornals printed their celebration on a T-shirt and the positive team spirit culminated in West Ham qualifying for the Europa League and achieving 65 points, a club record, with Lingard’s arrival a contributing factor.
Roshane Thomas
(John Sibley – Pool/Getty Images)
If we are keeping the conversation into the 21st century, then what about the Irishman who was spotted by Wolves when he played against them in pre-season, cost just £75,000 and went on to help them reach the top half of the Premier League, an FA Cup semi-final and a Europa League quarter-final?
While Matt Doherty’s second spell at Molineux has been underwhelming so far, his first was a fairytale success that secured his status as a modern-day cult hero.
But if we broadened this out across the club’s whole history, there is one outstanding choice.
Steve Bull joined Wolves from their bitter rivals, West Brom, as a relative unknown for next to nothing and ended up firing them from the brink of extinction to the brink of the Premier League and scoring for England in the process.
Steve Madeley
