It’s been nearly four months since the summer transfer window of 2020 ended and new signings have had enough time to adjust to their new clubs, systems and teammates. Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic having a massive impact on football finances, Premier League teams were still able to splash the cash in the summer and spent over a billion pounds on player arrivals. While some players have struggled to adapt in their first season in England, there have been many smart deals which have improved teams. Today, we take a look at the top 5 Premier League transfers of 2020 summer window.
5) Ben Chilwell
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Chelsea spent a mammoth £220 million in the summer on player transfers and while the likes of Havertz and Werner have struggled, Ben Chilwell has slotted in seamlessly. Chelsea paid Leicester £50 million for the Englishman and so far, he has been worth every penny. Chilwell has hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge and has already registered 2 goals and 5 assists this season. Chilwell has improved Chelsea defensively and is a significant upgrade on Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri.
4) Emiliano Martinez
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Aston Villa has been the most improved side in the Premier League this season, and currently sit 8th on the table with 2 games in hand. There are many factors for this stellar rise, but one of the main cogs in the wheel has been the arrival of Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal. The Argentine was signed for £15 million and has completely changed the outlook of this defence compared to the previous season. In 2019/20, Aston Villa had one of the poorest goalkeeping records in the league, conceding far more than they were expected to over the year. Since Martinez’s arrival, according to advanced metrics, he has already saved Aston Villa 6 goals this season with his shot-stopping, the most for any keeper in the league.
3) Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
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If there is one man that has typified the new defensive solidity and improvement of Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham side it is their Danish central midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. He does the job that players like Essien, Nemanja Matic and Claude Makelele have done in previous Jose Mourinho sides. Hojbjerg is the guy who does the dirty work on the pitch, sweeping up attacks, protecting the defence and passing the ball onto the attackers to score the goals. The 25-year-old was bought for only £15 million from Southampton in the summer and terms of value it’s one of the deals of the summer. He’s also just slotted home his first goal for the Spurs in a losing cause however versus defending Champions, Liverpool.
2) James Rodriguez
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Everton has had plenty of success in the transfer window this season with Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ben Godfrey all having great starts at Goodison Park. But no player has lifted the club’s spirits on the pitch and commercially in a way that James Rodriguez has. Everton pulled off a massive coup by signing the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner on a free transfer from Real Madrid. Rodriguez has already managed 3 goals and 7 assists in all competitions this season and tops the league for goal creating actions per 90 with 1.04.
1) Ruben Dias
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Our signing of the season is Manchester City’s new centre-back, Ruben Dias. While Dias costed Manchester City upwards of £60 million, his arrival will probably be seen as the deciding factor in the Premier League title race and hence should still be seen as a smart investment. Dias has completely revitalised Manchester City’s defence and has taken over the mantle left by Vincent Kompany in 2019. With Dias in the team, City has lost only 1 game in the league all season and have conceded only 7 goals in 16 games. Dias is dominant in the air, extremely comfortable with playing out from the back with a pass completion of 93% and has become the new leader of the Manchester City defence.
Shivaan Shah