Premier League clubs spend more than any other league, with England's top-flight clubs making more in a year through television rights and advertising revenue than most other European clubs make in decades. This, in turn, has boosted their buying ability, with the clubs combining to spend £1.26 billion this summer. It's a few millions short of the £1.4 billion they had spent the previous season but, in the event that the transfer window had remained open until the end of the month, like it used to do in the previous seasons, they'd have gotten closer to £2 billion for only the first time in history.
Liverpool have spent the most, with Jurgen Klopp given the permission to spend as much as he wants to make the Reds title-contenders again. Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton have all spent big on transfers. In the past, big spending wasn't necessary to ensure success, but the PL clubs have made failing to spend big a step backward. Thus, we've seen clubs, including those who've only been promoted to the top-flight, such as Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham spending over £50 million and £100 million, respectively.
The following article looks at 10 players Premier League clubs overpaid for and 10 players who're considered a steal.
20 Overpaid: Fred - £53.10m
Manchester United and Jose Mourinho have come under the microscope for a multitude of reasons, with the manager’s opinion on things being one of the biggest ones.
At this juncture, the Old Trafford regulars and local media must have little problem with the club overpaying for signings.
However, that’s yet another accusation that they definitely are guilty of. The polarizing manager spent £53.10 million on Fred, a 25-year-old midfielder who’s only played in leagues in Brazil and Ukraine thus far and has failed to break into the national set-up. A couple of years ago, such amounts of money would help a club land world-beaters, but the Red Devils could only find a largely unproven talent.
19 Bargain: Jack Wilshere (Free)
When Jack Wilshere bossed the midfield against Barcelona in 2011, many expected him to become Arsenal's own Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard. However, numerous injuries and a couple of loans to Premier League clubs later, it became evident that, despite his undeniable qualities, he lacks the consistency or fitness levels to be a first-team player at a club of Arsenal's stature.
Upon the expiry of his Arsenal contract, however, ambitious West Ham United quickly snapped him up, reportedly with a view to making him the central figure at the London Stadium club. In today's market, a player of Wilshere's ability and experience usually costs nothing short of £30 million, but the Irons have managed to get him for nothing.
18 Overpaid: Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa - £26.95m
Fulham have bought excellently this summer, with the club bringing in players who, on paper, must ensure the club finishes in the top half of the Premier League table in their first season back in the top-flight. Their ambition to sign top-class players, however, has had an unhealthy side effect: overpaying for players. Andre Zambo Anguissa, a 22-year-old defensive midfielder from Cameroon, has, indeed, been an effective player in the Marseille side which finished fifth and fourth in the last couple of seasons. However, it remains unknown if he's worth the amount of money the London club chose to part ways with.
17 Bargain: Rui Patricio (Free)
When you sign a European Championship-winning goalkeeper who was drawing interest from Champions League clubs such as Napoli for nothing, you must be on cloud nine.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers' head honchos, found themselves in hot water for signing Portugal’s Rui Patricio.
The Sporting Lisbon legend was reported to have cancelled his contract unilaterally two months ago, and the Wolves soon snapped him up for free after seeing a £18 million deal fall through thanks to Bruno de Carvalho's lack of professionalism. However, the club, unwilling to let a club legend move on after being treated poorly, sued the Wolves for £50 million. However, the transfer remains one of the biggest bargain signings in Europe.
16 Overpaid: James Maddison - £22.50m
Every player who's impressed in Championship deserves his shot at Premier League football. However, the top-flight clubs shall never find themselves overpaying for them. Ben Gibson, Matej Vydra, David Brooks, Josh Murphy, Bobby Reid and Joe Bryan have all earned a move to the top-flight, but the clubs only paid Championship amounts of money, with most of them costing only £10 million or less. James Maddison, who did have arguably the best season among second-tier players last season scoring 14 and creating eight, however, cost his new club Leicester City a whopping £22.50m.
The Foxes' scouts are some of the smartest in the country, so we may be forced to eat humble pie in the event that he becomes Riyad Mahrez 2.0.
15 Bargain: Jonny Evans - £3.60m
Jonny Evans has never been anyone's favorite defender ever, but he's been one of the most solid defenders in the Premier League for over a decade now. Any side will be happy to welcome a three-time title winner to their team despite a good number of football fans deeming him average at best.
His pedigree usually would force a club to pay eight figures.
Leicester City, however, have managed to cash in on his former club West Bromwich Albion's relegation by signing him for a measly £3.60 million. The Northern Ireland international defender will prove a solid addition to the Foxes' roster.
14 Overpriced: Yves Bissouma - £15.21m
Without handing youngsters opportunities, a club may never progress. Sometimes, certain youngsters may need numerous opportunities before they can make it. Some, however, just won't thanks to bad attitude. From what the media in France has said of Yves Bissouma, it's likely that he'll join the long list of youngsters who blew their career away because of agent nonsense and sense of grandiosity.
Questions over his work ethic and ego meant that Lille left him out of the squad often, and he has given soccer observers little reasons to think that Brighton and Hove Albion, a cash-strapped club, paying over £15 million is a good deal.
13 Bargain: Max Meyer - (Free)
Max Meyer has a nightmare of an agent who played a key role in the player's burning bridges with his former club Schalke. The 22-year-old wunderkind, who'd been drawing interest from Arsenal, Liverpool and AC Milan all summer, ended up not signing a contract extension, thus making him available for free. He, who was once tagged Germany's answer to Lionel Messi, however, has signed for Crystal Palace in what must be one of the biggest coups in the club's history. While he arrived for nothing, he will cost the club a fortune in wages; he is all set to earn a whopping £170,000 a week.
12 Overpaid: Jannik Vestergaard - £22.50m
Southampton’s receiving over £71 million for Virgil van Dijk has definitely given them the license to overpay for players. Jannik Vestergaard, a decent defender in his own right, is a superb mid-table club-level centre-back who shan't cost a club over £12 million; however,
Borussia Monchengladbach capitalized on Southampton's desperation as they forced them to cough up as much as £22.50 million.
Alongside Maya Yoshida, he may prove a solid addition to the team given his height and physique; the Saints faithful, however, feel that he is a bit too error-prone and not technical enough to become the most expensive player from Denmark ever.
11 Bargain: Ki Sung-yueng (Free)
Newcastle United have made tonnes of money flogging big-name players such as Mikel Merino and Aleksandar Mitrovic. They haven't needed to put the money back into the team, however, with their loaning Kenedy and Salomon Rondon and signing Ki Sung-Yueng on a free. The South Korea international midfielder, who's now played seven seasons in Premier League, was relegated with Swansea City last season, and Rafael Benitez quickly signed him to fill the midfield void.
He won't just be super valuable on the pitch, as he'll boost the club's following in Asia, which has now become one of the biggest markets for Premier League in the recent years.
10 Overpaid: Kepa Arrizabalaga - £72m
Everything about Chelsea's signing Kepa Arrizabalaga screams panic buy. With Thibaut Courtois moving to Real Madrid on Deadline Day, the Blues risked entering the Premier League season with only 36-year-old Willy Caballero and 38-year-old Robert Green as potential first-team goalkeepers. That forced Maurizio Sarri to pay £72 million for 23-year-old shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Athletic Bilbao academy product, while said to boast the potential to challenge David de Gea for Spain's number one shirt, has only had two first-team seasons under his belt. Making a goalkeeper who's still only a prospect the most expensive player in his position is far from a good decision, unless he goes on to win the club a few trophies.
9 Bargain: Gerard Deulofeu - £11.70m
Even before the injection of television-deal money into the Premier League, a player like Gerard Deulofeu would be considered a bargain buy at just £11.70 million.
While it's common knowledge that he was never good enough to even be a bit-part player at Barcelona, even his most cynical critics must admit that he'd be a natural fit at any PL club outside the big six.
Consistency and commitment have been identified as the Spain international winger's major weaknesses but, with him getting to work with Marco Silva, a manager adept at making his players give their 100%, he can prove to be the signing of the season.
8 Overpaid: Riyad Mahrez - £61.02m
With Chelsea and Manchester United looking at creative midfielders in the later stages of the transfer window, Manchester City's decision to sign Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City looked like a move that didn't just strengthen them but also effectively made recruitment process of their rivals all the more difficult. However, what the Citizens had to do to pull that off was overpay for the midfielder when they already had world-class talents such as Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane on the roster.
Pep Guardiola and co. ended up paying a little over £61 million for a player who was already looking for a move away from the club.
7 Bargain: Lucas Torreira - £27.00m
One must be surprised to see Lucas Torreira, a talent many hadn’t heard of before his being linked to Arsenal, labelled as a bargain buy when Arsenal had to shell out as much as £27 million for him.
However, when one looks at the issue that his signing effectively addresses at Arsenal, the amount that the Gunners spent on him looks measly.
Central midfield is an area Arsene Wenger and Arsenal have failed to address for years, and new manager Unai Emery, with the aid of Sven Mislintat and co., have managed to bring in the Uruguay international, who produced the kind of performances Arsenal fans have been clamouring for from their midfielders at the FIFA World Cup in Russia. He may well prove to be the final piece of the puzzle Arsenal have been trying to solve for years.
6 Overpaid: Diogo Dalot - £19.80m
With a teenager's now being the second most expensive player in soccer, it's not surprising that big Premier League clubs are now willing to splash the cash on up-and-coming talents. With even Arsenal, who've shied away from spending big as of late spent £7.20 million on 1999-born Matteo Guendouzi, one shouldn't be surprised to know that Manchester United, perennial big spenders, overpaid for an largely unproven 19-year-old full-back, Diogo Dalot, who's only made six senior appearances to date.
Many do expect him to evolve into one of the best full-backs, but the Red Devils must know a thing or two about young fullbacks' failing to realize their potential.
5 Bargain - Andre Schurrle (Loan)
Mid-table Premier League clubs pull off surprising deals every now and then. We've seen Stoke City sign players dubbed to be world-beaters, including Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri. This is Fulham's turn to not just do one or two, for they've signed numerous big names, including Aleksandar Mitrovic, Jean Michel Seri and Arsenal's Calum Chambers. However, no other deal has positioned Fulham among a short list of clubs who're expected to have a fantastic season as their loaning Andre Schurrle from Borussia Dortmund for two seasons does. The World Cup-winning midfielder is certain to bring the much-needed winning mentality as the London club looks to impress in their return to the top-flight.
4 Overpaid: Adama Traore - £18 million
For some reason, a few Premier League clubs are obsessed with signing La Masia products and former Barcelona players. Stoke City tried to create a Barcelona B in vain a few years ago when they signed Bojan Krkic, Marc Muniesa and Ibrahim Afellay.
Everton are now trying to pull a Stoke City, with their signing a few Barcelona players this season.
Their signings, however, seem to boast a lot of potential, unlike Wolverhampton Wanderers' Adama Traore. The Wolves, who've otherwise bought excellently this summer, have pretty much wasted £18 million on a striker who has scored just five senior goals.
3 Bargain: Joe Hart - £4.05m
Many deemed Joe Hart one of the worst signings of 2017-18, with the former international failing to make the number one spot his own ahead of West Ham United’s Adrian. Despite his reputation taking a dip, he, a two-time Premier League winner and four-time Golden Glove winner, remains one of the best goalkeepers in England today.
With the Burnley roster currently boasting numerous experienced goalkeepers youngster and first-choice 'keeper Nick Pope can learn from, Sean Dyche's signing the former Manchester City man clearly suggests that the manager won't just be hoping that his goalkeeping knowledge doesn't just rub off on the 26-year-old but also hope that he challenges him for the number-one spot. One won’t get a potential first-teamer and an excellent teacher at a meagre £4 million.
2 Overpaid: Jefferson Lerma - £25.20m
For a club that's only been in Premier League for only three seasons, Bournemouth have been overpaying for players.
No other transfer underlined their tendency to splash the cash like their signing Jefferson Lerma for £25.20 million just a few days before the Deadline Day did.
He has only been playing in Europe for two seasons, with his first season seeing him play Segunda Division football in Spain, and how the Cherries convinced themselves that he, a 23-year-old defensive midfielder, was worth breaking their transfer record for baffles football observers. It's a possibility that he turns out to be what N'Golo Kante was for Leicester City, but the odds are quite high.
1 Bargain: Aleksandar Mitrovic - £18.18m
Paying £18.18 million for a player of Aleksandar Mitrovic’s calibre must not be regarded as a bargain, on paper. However, when one takes the amount of impact the former Newcastle United man had had in his three months with Fulham in Championship into account, one can’t help but label the deal a bargain. He tore Championship up during his short loan there, scoring 12 goals and creating one in just 15 starts; no other player averaged as many goals as he did among those who'd scored 10 goals or more. One can never put a price on the kind of chemistry that he'd built with his Fulham teammates during the second half of the 2017-18 season.