With spending surpassing a whopping £3bn in the 2025 summer transfer window, Premier League clubs have never splashed out more, and plenty of new signings have made an instant impact.
Hugo Ekitike didn’t need any time to adapt to life at Liverpool, while Bryan Mbeumo was able to make the step-up from Brentford to Manchester United with ease.
However, for every success story, there is also a failure, and Football FanCast has taken a closer look at the 20 worst signings in the Premier League this season.
20
Nick Woltemade
Having been brought in to replace Alexander Isak, Woltemade was one of Newcastle’s biggest ever signings, and the German made a positive start to life on Tyneside, netting four goals in his opening five Premier League games.
However, the striker has gone on to find it difficult to hold down a regular place in the starting XI since Yoane Wissa returned from injury, and scored a horror own goal to gift Sunderland a Wear-Tyne derby victory in December.
19
Florian Wirtz
Wirtz became Liverpool’s most expensive signing in history when he arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m, but it took time for the German to get used to the Premier League, going without a goal or an assist in his opening 12 games.
That said, the attacking midfielder has since started to show some more encouraging signs, putting on a show in the Reds’ 4-1 victory against Newcastle United at the end of January, grabbing a goal and an assist.
Performances of that standard have been few and far between, however, and the huge transfer fee means the former Bayer Leverkusen man couldn’t be excluded.
18
Randal Kolo Muani
Tottenham Hotspur were unable to kick on after replacing Ange Postecoglou with Thomas Frank, with the Dane being sacked after less than eight months in charge, and Kolo Muani did little to prevent him from losing his job.
The Frenchman failed to score a single Premier League goal before Frank got the chop, and the fact he was signed on a straight loan deal is the only saving grace for Spurs, who have been given no indications he is worth signing permanently.
17
Kevin
Fulham broke their transfer record to sign Kevin in a deadline-busting deal, shelling out £34.6m, but the Brazilian hasn’t made the desired impact, often only being used as a substitute by Marco Silva.
It was a gamble for the Cottagers to sign the winger, who was unproven outside Ukraine and Brazil, and he is yet to justify the high transfer fee, scoring his first Premier League goal at the start of February.
16
Eberechi Eze
Unlike Wirtz, Eze was already proven in the Premier League prior to his summer move to Arsenal, but the England international has largely been ineffectual, aside from scoring a hat-trick in the 4-1 North London derby victory in November.
Of course, Mikel Arteta is blessed with star quality, which has made it difficult to hold down a consistent place in the starting XI, but the England international has failed to make the most of his opportunities as a substitute.
15
Xavi Simons
After missing out on Eze, Tottenham opted to sign Simons, with the Dutchman arriving from RB Leipzig, but after grabbing an assist against West Ham United in his opening Premier League game, he went on a run of ten games without a goal involvement.
Much like Wirtz, the attacking midfielder has taken some time to adapt to life in the Premier League, and he has impressed at times, grabbing a goal and an assist to lead Spurs to a 2-0 victory against Brentford in December, but he needs to start performing like that on a more regular basis.
14
Jhon Arias
Vitor Pereira was unable to build on leading Wolverhampton Wanderers to safety in the 2024-25 campaign, losing his job in November after his side collected just two points from their opening ten Premier League games.
Jhon Arias was meant to be one of the signings to help the Old Gold kick on, but the Colombian quickly fell down the pecking order, and didn’t score his first Premier League goal until the New Year, before being sold to Palmeiras.
13
Evann Guessand
It is no surprise Aston Villa decided to offload Guessand during the January transfer window, with the forward failing to score in his opening 13 Premier League games for Unai Emery‘s side.
The Ivorian being unable to force his way into contention, despite Ollie Watkins going on a barren run at the start of the season, speaks volumes, but he made a more promising start to life on loan at Crystal Palace, assisting Ismaila Sarr’s winning goal against Brighton on debut.
12
Fer Lopez
Lopez was shipped out even earlier than Arias, with the Colombian at least having a run in the side. The attacking midfielder, on the other hand, barely got a look in from the start.
The Spaniard was predominantly limited to appearances as a substitute prior to being shipped out on loan to Celta Vigo, failing to score and registering just one assist in 12 matches in all competitions.
11
James McAtee
After failing to make the grade at Manchester City, McAtee would’ve been hoping for his career to truly take off at Nottingham Forest, but he has failed to justify the £30m price tag.
Forest set a Premier League record by bringing in their fourth manager of the season when they appointed Pereira, and none of them have fancied the Englishman, who has barely managed to make it off the bench all season.