It may feel like yesterday the 2016/17 Premier League campaign kicked off but after next weekend, we’ll be more than a third into the new season with all twenty clubs playing 13 of 38 games.
It’s been a captivating term thus far with minuscule gaps between the mini-divisions. Indeed, there’s just four points separating first and fifth place and only a three-point difference betweem 10th-place Southampton and 17th place West Ham.
With that in mind, Football FanCast feel we’ve been privy to enough evidence to pass a verdict on the Premier League’s dealings during the summer – a transfer window that saw the English top flight decimate all kinds of records and break the collective £1billion spending barrier for the first time.
You can check out our Top Ten Flops of the Season later this week, but this article focuses on the other end of the spectrum – the signings to have impressed the most since their summer arrivals.
10. Marcos Alonso
Many mocked Chelsea’s late £23million summer swoop for wing-back Marcos Alonso, based on his four rather unspectacular seasons in England with Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland before moving to Fiorentina in May 2013.
But the Spaniard has since emerged as a key component of Antonio Conte’s revolution at Stamford Bridge, donning the left flank in the 3-4-3 system that has seen the Blues claim six Premier League wins on the bounce without conceding a single goal.
In fact, the west Londoners are yet to lose with Alonso starting and he’s chipped in at the other end with one goal and one assist.
9. Johann Berg Gudmundsson
Sean Dyche is producing minor miracles at Turf Moor and no signing highlights the Clarets’ over-achievement better than attacking midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson.
The Iceland international may not have exactly uprooted trees yet, barring a goal-and-assist display in a 3-2 comeback against Crystal Palace. But Dyche deserves endless credit for spotting a player who was about to fall out of the Championship trap door with Charlton Athletic yet is now more than holding his own in the Premier League.
Signed at just £2.5million, the 26-year-old is proving to be an absolute steal and has a case for value-for-money signing of the summer.
8. Nacer Chadli
Nacer Chadli’s form may have dipped a little just before the international break but the Belgian winger enjoyed an explosive start to his West Brom career, notching up four goals and two assists in his first five appearances.
Tony Pulis publicly criticised his club’s dealings as the summer window drew to a close but the £13million investment in Chadli has certainly paid off. He’s already struck up a solid partnership with striker Salomon Rondon and has been a fundamental factor behind the Baggies’ strong start to the season – which has them looking up to the top ten rather than nervously over their shoulders at the relegation zone.
7. Idrissa Gueye
Another superb pound-for-pound addition, in a similar manner to the aforementioned Gudmundsson, a relegation release clause saw Everton pick up Idrissa Gueye for just over £7million during the summer.
Some were surprised considering his role in Aston Villa’s horrendous 2015/16 campaign but the Senegalese enforcer has undoubtedly impressed, adding energy to the Toffees’ engine room and averaging the most tackles per match – a staggering 4.8 – of any Premier League player.
It’s another example of recruitment staff identifying talent in spite of rather negative circumstances.
6. Eric Bailly
The Jose Mourinho era at Manchester United is yet to truly get off the ground but the first signing of his Old Trafford tenure is proving to be an expert acquisition – prodigious centre-back Eric Bailly.
Considering the ease in which he’s transitioned to life at a major club and the physical dominance he’s provided at the heart of the Red Devils’ defence this season, it’s easy to forget the Ivory Coast international is still just 22 years of age.
The £30million outlay is already looking like an incredibly shrewd long-term investment, especially considering the dearth of world-class centre-backs at the moment added a premium to price-tags during the summer.
5. Joel Matip
Speaking of centre-backs recruited for modest fees, Liverpool didn’t pay a penny to sign Joel Matip in the summer, snapping him up from FC Schalke on a free transfer.
The Cameroon international’s already had a hugely positive effect on the Reds’ notoriously porous backline; a 4-2 win over Crystal Palace is the only time the Merseysiders have conceded more than one goal with Matip in the starting line-up, whilst they’re still yet to lose a Premier League fixture in his presence.
Indeed, the 25-year-old has been one of the driving forces by Liverpool’s surge to the Premier League’s summit and Jurgen Klopp deserves copious credit for arresting arguably his side’s biggest weakness without affecting his transfer budget.
4. N’Golo Kante
Few predicted Chelsea’s £32million swoop for N’Golo Kante would turn out to be a poor investment but nonetheless, the way the Frenchman has moved from one title-winning side to potentially another and maintained his impeccably high standards has been fantastic.
Indeed, Kante remains the dynamic ball-winner, seemingly combining the defensive awareness of Claude Makelele with the energy of Ramires, that had such a profound influence on Leicester City’s triumphs last season – but is now delivering at a bigger club, under more pressure and the weight of a bigger price-tag.
The 25-year-old has already struck up a formidable partnership with Nemanja Matic in central midfield, which has arguably been the basis for Chelsea’s success in their seemingly unstoppable 3-4-3 system.
3. Joe Allen
Joe Allen has gone from being a figure of fun at Liverpool to propping up a Stoke City side that would be in the relegation zone without his supply of four goals and two assists from the tip of midfield.
Indeed, Allen appeared a player reborn as he helped Wales reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and countryman Mark Hughes acted accordingly, snapping up the 26-year-old for a meagre £13million.
But it’s not just the former Swansea City man’s output in the No.10 role that has impressed; he’s also averaged 3.3 tackles, 1.8 interceptions, 1.2 successful dribbles and 1.4 created chances per match – an all-round contribution on par with any midfielder in the Premier League.
2. Victor Wanyama
Tottenham Hotspur may have endured a turbulent start to the new campaign but they’re the only side yet to lose in the Premier League and boast the best defensive record throughout the division – conceding just eight times in twelve games.
Much of the credit has to fall on Victor Wanyama’s shoulders. He’s added a new layer of defensive protection in front of back line and much-needed physicality to Tottenham’s largely slender engine room, whilst bolstering a Spurs squad that is competing on a new front this season in the form of the Champions League.
Perhaps the Kenyan international hasn’t performed beyond expectations, having established himself as a top Premier League anchorman during his three years at Southampton. But it’s the incredibly modest transfer fee, a mere £11million, that has earned Wanyama second spot on this list.
1. Sadio Mane
From one Southampton sale to another, no Premier League player has met the expectations of their transfer fee better than Liverpool’s £36million signing Sadio Mane.
Many baulked at the price-tag upon his move to Anfield but the Senegal international has more than justified it, rocketing up the goal charts to become top scorer for a side who were league leaders before last weekend, scoring the most goals of any team in the division in the process.
Indeed, Mane has proved to be the final piece of an attacking jigsaw also including Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, linking up with the Brazilian duo to great effect and providing an added injection of pace down the right hand side.
Suddenly, £36million doesn’t look so silly – and it will seem an even humbler sum if Mane fires Liverpool to their first ever Premier League title.