Revealed: The Best and worst signings of the 2024-25 season

Premier League clubs accumulatively spent in excess of £2 billion on new signings over the course of the 2024–25 season’s two transfer periods, underlining the English top-flight’s ongoing dominance as the premier hub for elite footballers across the continent.

Yet, for many clubs, the high-profile arrivals have failed to justify either their weighty fees or glowing reputations. From a statistical perspective, the likelihood of a new signing turning out to be a hit remains relatively low—still, that rarely deters Europe’s wealthiest outfits from opening their chequebooks when the chance presents itself.

While some managers tend to ease new signings into the squad, a few bolder Premier League tacticians wasted no time reaping the rewards of early integration. Now that the 2024–25 campaign has come to a close, clubs are already active in the market, eager to bolster their squads ahead of next season.

With transfer business underway, we take a look at some of the best and worst signings from the recently concluded 2024-25 season.

Worst signings

Arijanet Muric—Ipswich Town

The role of goalkeeper might be the most demanding on the pitch, and in the Premier League, there’s absolutely no place to hide.

Whether a club is chasing silverware or simply battling to avoid the drop, having a reliable presence in goal can prove decisive throughout a season.

Despite featuring in a Burnley team that appeared doomed to relegation regardless of his faults, Arijanet Muric somehow secured a switch to Ipswich Town.

This season has once more shone a light on the highs and lows experienced by those guarding the net, with Muric’s blunders in goal for Ipswich making headlines.

He was dropped before suffering a shoulder problem that prematurely ended his campaign. Yet, the Kosovan stopper has continued to display familiar habits since joining the Tractor Boys—registering five mistakes directly resulting in goals across just 18 league games, the most in the division alongside Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez.

Joao Félix—Chelsea

Any belief that Félix had finally secured a lasting and settled future at Chelsea quickly evaporated after he rejoined his previous loan side from Atlético Madrid near the end of the summer window, with Conor Gallagher moving the other way.

After a hugely disappointing six-month spell that yielded only two league goal involvements, he departed for AC Milan—where, as is well known, fortunes have scarcely improved throughout his temporary stay.

The Blues’ acquisition of Félix appeared more a matter of availability than tactical sense, and unsurprisingly, he failed to carve out a place in Maresca’s setup, with Cole Palmer firmly established in the No. 10 role and the manager favouring traditional wide men out wide. Most of the mercurial forward’s appearances came in domestic cups as he once more fell short of what increasingly seems destined to remain a considerable, yet unrealised, promise.

Federico Chiesa—Liverpool

Being this ineffective in a high-flying league-winning side has been a remarkable achievement for Federico Chiesa. The fact that the 27-year-old was only handed his first Premier League start last month against Brighton—by which point Liverpool had already clinched the title—reflects just how little confidence Arne Slot has placed in the Italian forward.

‘He did even more than I can expect from him, Slot remarked, somewhat uneasily, following that outing at the Amex, where Chiesa faltered while operating as a false 9—lacking the strength required to lead the line, miscontrolling straightforward passes that rolled out for throw-ins, and slicing the only attempt he managed.

Injury troubles and fitness setbacks hindered the early stages of Chiesa’s campaign, yet he has shown nothing to warrant increased involvement. The ACL injury he sustained in 2022 appears to have left lasting physical and psychological effects.

Raheem Sterling—Arsenal

Once a terror to Premier League defences, the 2014 Golden Boy and 2018 PFA Young Player of the Year has seen his career take a dramatic downturn. In 2019, he was rivalling Lionel Messi for goal involvement; today, few could have foreseen such a sharp decline.

Mikel Arteta opted to bring Sterling on board in the final moments of the summer transfer window—a deadline-day move that had all the markings of short-term patchwork rather than a calculated squad addition. The England international arrived on loan from Chelsea, having already fallen out of favour with Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge. Fans with Arsenal tickets hoped he would prove to be a shrewd short-term addition, but the move turned out to be a disaster.

Although injuries throughout the campaign thinned Arsenal’s attacking depth, Sterling remained on the fringes. The winger often warmed the bench, with Arteta’s February remark—’We are all behind him… we need his ‘best’—sounding more like hope than conviction. In 17 Premier League appearances, he tallied just two assists and failed to hit the net once.

Sterling’s brief stint in north London produced few memorable moments—loose ball control, errant dribbles, and an apparent lack of belief stood out. The fact that he started only seven top-flight games illustrates how little impact he had, even in a side desperate for attacking alternatives.

Now back with his parent club, Chelsea are left holding a player who no longer resembles the dynamic forward they once pursued so fervently. That his loan to Arsenal fell flat may not be a rarity in itself—many temporary moves do—but the depths of this underperformance were particularly jarring.

There’s little clarity on where his career heads next. However, there’s still an experienced player in there—one who could yet make an impact, albeit not at the electrifying level that once kept defences on their toes and had over 50,000 home fans at the Etihad chanting ‘Raheem Sterling, running down the wing! Sterling! Sterling!’ while bouncing in unison with the Poznań.

Best signings

Omar Marmoush—Manchester City

Despite joining midway through the campaign, Omar Marmoush is the sole winter arrival to feature on this list—an indication of how swiftly he has adapted to life under Pep Guardiola. The Egyptian forward has transferred the excellent scoring touch he showed during the first part of the season with Eintracht Frankfurt into his early Premier League games for Manchester City.

In a side that has not hit its usual heights this term, Marmoush has nonetheless stood out, with Pep Guardiola and fans with Man City tickets recognising the impact he’s made. That the 26-year-old has registered seven goals in his opening 15 top-flight matches—including a dazzling hat-trick against Newcastle in a 4-0 victory—says plenty about his rapid acclimatisation.

His positional intelligence and versatility—especially his knack for exploiting half-spaces—suggest he’s earmarked to fill Julian Alvarez’s role down the line. But with Erling Haaland sidelined through injury, Marmoush has shown he is also capable of leading the line with confidence.

The fact that he’s delivered such consistent performances while the team around him has faltered speaks volumes about his character and capability. Marmoush may have only just arrived at the Etihad, but he already looks like a crucial piece for both the present and future.

Ismaïla Sarr—Crystal Palace

The Senegalese winger made an instant impact at Selhurst Park, fitting seamlessly into Oliver Glasner’s proactive system.

Operating just behind Jean-Philippe Mateta, Sarr’s sharp interplay with Eberechi Eze has elevated Palace’s attacking threat. His explosive dribbling in transition has not only unsettled defences but also become a reliable weapon in Glasner’s tactical blueprint.

His sharp movements into the box have become a regular feature of Palace’s forward play—and the results speak for themselves. With 13 goal involvements already in the top tier, Sarr is producing the kind of numbers that once felt beyond his grasp in England.

Notably, no player in the Eagles’ squad has carved out more clear-cut chances this campaign—a testament to his improved decision-making in the final third. His current form has made him indispensable, and if he maintains this trajectory, Palace may well become serious contenders for European qualification again next season.

Mikel Merino—Arsenal

Mikel Merino didn’t arrive with the fanfare Arsenal supporters were craving. While his performances at Euro 2024 for Spain caught attention, many questioned the decision to recruit another midfielder rather than invest heavily in a headline striker.

Yet as the season unfolded, Merino’s influence grew far beyond expectations. Although fitness concerns hampered the early months, the 28-year-old emerged as a vital figure in Arsenal’s charge, repurposed as a central forward following injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.

Remarkably, six of his seven league goals have come post-January, with one of the most telling being a decisive strike in the derby clash against Chelsea. That moment underlined how important his adaptation has been to Mikel Arteta’s side in the business end of the season.

Beyond just technical finesse and intelligence in possession—qualities he’s long been admired for—Merino has also added a physical presence to Arsenal’s frontline. His aerial threat and tactical awareness have brought balance to the attack, and without his positional flexibility, the Gunners could have easily slipped out of Champions League contention.

Nikola Milenković—Nottingham Forest

Few signings in the Premier League have delivered such immense value as Nikola Milenkovic has for Nottingham Forest during the 2024–25 campaign. Arriving from Fiorentina after a standout European Championship with Serbia, the 27-year-old has been nothing short of a revelation at the City Ground.

His impact has been particularly felt alongside Murillo, with the pair forming a commanding central defensive partnership that has managed to nullify some of the division’s most prolific attackers. Forest, who had one of the league’s most vulnerable backlines last season—especially from set pieces—has seen that narrative flipped on its head since Milenkovic’s arrival.

Standing at 6’4, Milenkovic has brought dominance in the air, clarity in decision-making, and an unflappable calmness at the back. His reading of the game and physical assertiveness have made him indispensable under Nuno Espírito Santo, whose team has let in only 45 goals—a remarkable improvement that places them among the top six defences in the league.

His influence has extended beyond defensive duties. Jamie Carragher labelled him a ‘man-mountain,’ and rightly so, as Milenkovic has also chipped in with five Premier League goals, posing a serious threat from corners and set plays. Without his contributions at both ends of the pitch, Forest’s improbable push for a Champions League berth would likely have remained a fantasy.