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With the rise in the football transfer market, the 2026 summer transfer window surpassed the 2025 summer window (€9.9 billion), with a total of €10.4 billion spent, making it the most expensive transfer window in football history in terms of transfer fees paid.
An assessment of the performances so far of the five most expensive transfers of the 2026 summer window, four of which were made by Premier League clubs:
1- ENZO FERNÁNDEZ — MANCHESTER CITY (€145M)
The 25-year-old Argentine international midfielder had a generally good spell at Chelsea, where he spent three and a half years, although he occasionally struggled with consistency despite the club's chaotic structure. He subsequently joined Manchester City for an absurd fee of €145M, partly due to the appointment of his former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca as City's new head coach, as well as the fact that the transfer took place on the final day of the window.
Having previously played in Maresca's system at Chelsea, Enzo adapted to the club immediately and made a good start to the season. He was particularly impressive against PSG and Sunderland. However, Man City have lost their last three Premier League matches, and Enzo failed to make much of a difference in those games. After all, a player signed for an absurd fee of €145M should be able to make a difference on the pitch even during difficult periods like these. Nevertheless, if you ask, "Has his performance been good so far?", the answer is yes. But if you ask, "Has he been good enough to justify the €145M fee?", the answer is no.
2- MORGAN ROGERS — CHELSEA (€138M)
The 24-year-old English international can play both as a left winger and an attacking midfielder. After consistently performing well over the last two seasons at Aston Villa, recording 14 goals and 13 assists in 2024/25 and 14 goals and 11 assists in 2025/26, he became the most expensive signing in Chelsea's history, joining the club for a transfer fee of €138M.
Rogers adapted quickly to Xabi Alonso's system. In his 13 appearances so far, he has recorded 6 goals and 4 assists, producing a total of 10 goal contributions. Beyond his impressive attacking output, he has also shown a combative side to his game off the ball. Although it is still too early to say that he has justified the huge fee, Chelsea may finally have got it right after making so many poor transfer decisions over the years.
3- ELLIOT ANDERSON — MANCHESTER CITY (€135M)
The 24-year-old English international central midfielder was, to be honest, a relatively unknown player despite being in his early twenties until around two years ago. However, he experienced a rapid rise after joining Nottingham Forest in 2024. He was not particularly popular due to his lack of goal contributions, but after an impressive 2024/25 season, he took his game to an even higher level in 2025/26, delivering one of the best midfield performances in the Premier League. Last summer, he joined Manchester City for a fee of €135M.
Anderson has performed slightly better than Enzo Fernández, City's other high-profile signing, who was mentioned earlier. His style of play is not particularly flashy or spectacular to watch, but he is highly efficient. Despite not being a particularly conservative passer, he has achieved a pass completion rate of 91 percent per 90 minutes. In addition, he has won 6.3 loose balls per 90 minutes and come out on top in 66 percent of the 13.4 duels he has contested, demonstrating his effectiveness off the ball as well. Although it is still too early to say that he has justified the transfer fee, he looks likely to deliver one of the Premier League's standout performances.
4- BRADLEY BARCOLA — LIVERPOOL (€125M)
The 24-year-old French international left winger joined PSG from Lyon, the club where he came through the academy, for €45M in 2023. Although he initially struggled to adapt during his first season, he produced an impressive 34 goals and 26 assists over the following two seasons, becoming an important player for PSG, although never quite one of their most important figures. The presence of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia made it difficult for him to get opportunities in big games. He probably wanted to become the main man at a club, and was therefore not particularly opposed to leaving. Liverpool eventually signed him, paying PSG a huge fee of €125M.
Barcola has, quite clearly, made the weakest start to the season among these five players. He has recorded 3 goals and 3 assists in 14 appearances, which does not look particularly bad at first glance. However, all three of his goals came against LASK Linz, who are not a particularly strong side in the UCL. In other words, he has failed to score a single goal in the other 13 matches. Even putting aside the €125M Liverpool spent on him, it is clear that he has been a major disappointment for the club so far.
5- YAN DIOMANDE — REAL MADRID (€125M)
The 19-year-old Ivorian international can play on either wing. Having been virtually unknown before being discovered and joining LaLiga side Leganés during the 2024/25 winter transfer window, his performances over the remainder of that season caught the attention of RB Leipzig, who invested €25M in him that summer. It would prove to be an excellent investment: Diomande recorded 13 goals and 9 assists in his first season at RB Leipzig (2025/26), while also attracting attention with his exceptional athleticism and dribbling ability. Following this impressive campaign at just 19 years of age, several European giants showed an interest in signing him last summer, but Real Madrid were the club that managed to secure his services by paying €125M.
Diomande initially struggled with the adaptation process in the opening matches of the season, but it did not take long for him to settle in. On 12 September, he made his first start for Real Madrid in their 4-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano. Since then, he has started 9 of the club's last 11 matches and has not relinquished his place in the starting eleven. During those 11 matches, he recorded 4 goals and 4 assists, while also demonstrating his greatest strength by achieving a 67 percent success rate with his dribbles. Given his young age, he still has plenty of room to develop, and even his current level is good enough to keep Vinícius Júnior on the bench. So far, he looks to have been an excellent signing for Real Madrid.
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