Securing the perfect transfer deal is no mean feat in the modern game. In many ways, every signing has an element of risk to it, but sometimes, everything just fits.
The Premier League can be brutal at times, so it’s worth giving credit where it’s due when a club pulls off the perfect deal.
Since the turn of the century, legends of English football have come and gone – but who are the best signings from Premier League clubs?
Ranking factors
For this list, we have put together a ranking of the best transfers in the Premier League in the 21st century. To assist with putting the players in order, we have considered the following factors:
- Transfer fee – how much the buying club paid at the time
- Impact at their club – how much they changed their new club’s fortunes
- Transfer sale fee – if applicable, whether they were sold for big money and/or profit
- Legacy at their club – whether they have a lasting impact at their club
- Trophies won – major honours won
| Rank | Player | From | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohamed Salah | Roma | Liverpool | £34m |
| 2 | Virgil van Dijk | Southampton | Liverpool | £75m |
| 3 | Frank Lampard | West Ham | Chelsea | £11m |
| 4 | N’Golo Kante | Caen | Leicester | £6m |
| 5 | Petr Cech | Rennes | Chelsea | £7m |
| 6 | Eden Hazard | Lille | Chelsea | £32m |
| 7 | Wayne Rooney | Everton | Man Utd | £27m |
| 8 | Kevin De Bruyne | Wolfsburg | Man City | £55m |
| 9 | Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund | Man City | £51.2m |
| 10 | Gareth Bale | Southampton | Tottenham | £10m |
10 – Gareth Bale to Tottenham Hotspur (2007)
Signed from Southampton for £10m
Gareth Bale was something of a slow burner at Tottenham Hotspur, but once he had exploded into life during the 2010/11 season, Spurs proved their £10m acquisition from Southampton some three years prior was a wise one indeed.
Bale may have only won a single League Cup while in north London, but his talent elevated himself to becoming the team’s best player by some distance, almost single-handedly placing them in contention for the top four in the Premier League.
With Real Madrid breaking the world record transfer fee to sign him in 2013, this was terrific business all round for those in N17.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007/08 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| 2008/09 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009/10 | 34 | 3 | 0 |
| 2010/11 | 41 | 11 | 0 |
| 2011/12 | 42 | 12 | 0 |
| 2012/13 | 44 | 26 | 0 |
9 – Erling Haaland to Man City (2022)
Signed from Borussia Dortmund for £51.2m
Manchester City made quite the statement when signing Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022.
The Citizens had just secured back-to-back titles, and the Norwegian’s arrival showed there was little appetite from those at Eastlands to relinquish their crown.
With the striker netting a record 36 Premier League goals in his first season and leading them to a historic treble, the £51.2m fee paid for him looks an absolute snip, particularly with more trophies potentially on the horizon.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53 | 52 | 3 |
| 2023/24 | 45 | 38 | 2 |
| 2024/25 | 48 | 34 | 0 |
8 – Kevin De Bruyne to Man City (2015)
Signed from Wolfsburg for £55m
Despite the merits of their deal for Haaland, what sets Man City’s signing of Kevin De Bruyne apart is the legacy the Belgian has left at the Etihad Stadium.
De Bruyne bid the Citizens farewell after the 2024/25 season, bringing a decade of service to an end, during which he steered the club to 15 trophies – more than anyone else on this list.
£55m may have seemed steep at the time for the 24-year-old, but now a City legend, De Bruyne’s arrival has to be considered one of the finest examples of a value-for-money signing.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015/16 | 40 | 15 | 1 |
| 2016/17 | 49 | 7 | 0 |
| 2017/18 | 52 | 12 | 2 |
| 2018/19 | 32 | 6 | 3 |
| 2019/20 | 48 | 16 | 1 |
| 2020/21 | 40 | 10 | 2 |
| 2021/22 | 45 | 19 | 1 |
| 2022/23 | 49 | 10 | 3 |
| 2023/24 | 26 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024/25 | 40 | 6 | 0 |
7 – Wayne Rooney to Man Utd (2004)
Signed from Everton for £27m
£27m was relatively close to top dollar back in 2004, but with Wayne Rooney going on to become Manchester United’s top goalscorer in 13 years at Old Trafford, this deal is certainly one that should remain admired.
Taking a punt on any teenager is a risk, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s call paid off almost immediately following Rooney’s debut hat-trick in the Champions League against Fenerbahce.
Five Premier Leagues and a Champions League later, Rooney is an England legend who was arguably bought on the cheap.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004/05 | 43 | 17 | 0 |
| 2005/06 | 48 | 19 | 1 |
| 2006/07 | 55 | 23 | 1 |
| 2007/08 | 43 | 18 | 2 |
| 2008/09 | 49 | 20 | 3 |
| 2009/10 | 44 | 34 | 1 |
| 2010/11 | 40 | 16 | 1 |
| 2011/12 | 43 | 34 | 0 |
| 2012/13 | 37 | 16 | 1 |
| 2013/14 | 40 | 19 | 0 |
| 2014/15 | 37 | 14 | 0 |
| 2015/16 | 41 | 15 | 1 |
| 2016/17 | 39 | 8 | 2 |
6 – Eden Hazard to Chelsea (2012)
Signed from Lille for £32m
Eden Hazard joined Chelsea not long after they were first crowned champions of Europe in 2012, signing for £32m from Lille.
Hazard didn’t take too long to make an impact, spearheading their title triumph in 2015 and bowing out a winner in his final game, scoring a brace in the 2019 Europa League final against Arsenal.
If that wasn’t enough, the Blues were able to offload the Belgian at the peak of his powers, with Real Madrid paying an initial £89m for his services -almost triple what they paid Lille for him. That his career tailed off soon after arguably made the deal even sweeter.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012/13 | 62 | 13 | 1 |
| 2013/14 | 49 | 17 | 0 |
| 2014/15 | 52 | 19 | 2 |
| 2015/16 | 43 | 6 | 0 |
| 2016/17 | 43 | 17 | 1 |
| 2017/18 | 51 | 17 | 1 |
| 2018/19 | 52 | 21 | 1 |
5 – Petr Cech to Chelsea (2004)
Signed from Rennes for £7m
Talk about a bargain buy. Petr Cech became Chelsea’s No 1 as he replaced Carlo Cudicini in 2004, and helped steer the Blues to a first league title in 50 years by conceding the fewest goals (15) throughout an English football campaign.
The Czech became the Premier League’s undisputed top goalkeeper, and was part of a trophy-winning Chelsea side on 13 occasions. It would not be unreasonable to claim they would have done well to reach those heights without him.
Cech eventually moved on for a small profit 11 years after joining, and considering those who have succeeded him at Stamford Bridge in particular, he must surely go down as the greatest goalkeeping import the league has ever seen.
| Season | Appearances | Clean sheets | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004/05 | 48 | 28 | 2 |
| 2005/06 | 42 | 22 | 1 |
| 2006/07 | 36 | 19 | 2 |
| 2007/08 | 40 | 21 | 0 |
| 2008/09 | 54 | 26 | 1 |
| 2009/10 | 43 | 23 | 2 |
| 2010/11 | 50 | 20 | 0 |
| 2011/12 | 56 | 19 | 2 |
| 2012/13 | 63 | 20 | 1 |
| 2013/14 | 46 | 22 | 0 |
| 2014/15 | 16 | 8 | 2 |
4 – N’Golo Kante to Leicester (2015)
Signed from Caen for £6m
We all know the fairytale story of Leicester City’s title glory, but the perhaps lesser-told background to their 5,000-1 triumph involves their run of superb transfer deals.
Some of that was done before they were even promoted to the Championship – thus disqualifying the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez from this list.
But the Foxes followed up their miraculous relegation escape with more transfer market trickery, signing an unknown Frenchman named N’Golo Kante from Ligue 1 outfit Caen.
Kante missed just one of Leicester’s Premier League matches as he became one of the division’s most formidable midfielders, with his move to the East Midlands sending his career into the footballing stratosphere.
While a critical component of Leicester’s title success, it is a shame they could not keep him for longer, even if Leicester were able to sell for around five times his original fee a year later.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015/16 | 40 | 1 | 1 |
3 – Frank Lampard to Chelsea (2001)
Signed from West Ham for £11m
When Frank Lampard moved across the capital in summer 2001, surely even he had no idea he would go on to become Chelsea’s record goalscorer and one of their best players of all time.
But that’s exactly what happened, and for the relatively paltry fee of £11m (by today’s standards, at least), Chelsea showed that they didn’t require Roman Abramovich’s millions to master the transfer market.
211 goals in 13 years wouldn’t be a bad return for a world-class striker, never mind a midfielder who transcended the pre and post-takeover eras at Chelsea, proving he was worthy of mixing it with the best week after week.
With players not sticking around for too long these days, it’s difficult to find a deal that truly overdelivered in so many aspects, not least the amount of trophies he lifted, including the Champions League as the Blues’ stand-in skipper.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001/02 | 53 | 7 | 0 |
| 2002/03 | 48 | 8 | 0 |
| 2003/04 | 58 | 15 | 0 |
| 2004/05 | 58 | 19 | 2 |
| 2005/06 | 50 | 20 | 1 |
| 2006/07 | 62 | 21 | 2 |
| 2007/08 | 40 | 20 | 0 |
| 2008/09 | 57 | 20 | 1 |
| 2009/10 | 51 | 27 | 2 |
| 2010/11 | 32 | 13 | 0 |
| 2011/12 | 49 | 16 | 2 |
| 2012/13 | 50 | 17 | 1 |
| 2013/14 | 40 | 8 | 0 |
2 – Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool (2018)
Signed from Southampton for £75m
While you could have bought close to seven Frank Lampards for one circa-2018 Virgil van Dijk, there is no doubting the significance and impact of the Dutchman’s arrival at Liverpool.
Along with the likes of Alisson, Van Dijk was one of the final pieces of the jigsaw as Jurgen Klopp built a Premier League colossus, which went 40 games unbeaten during their run to the title in 2019/20.
Of all the star signings Klopp made in his nine years at Anfield, Van Dijk stands out as one of the better success stories.
While he steered Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League triumphs (losing the final on two further occasions), Van Dijk had elevated his game so much, that Lionel Messi was the only man standing in his way of a Ballon d’Or in 2019.
Big signings can often go wrong, and they can be even harder to ‘pay off’ at the top level, but this is one that Michael Edwards and Liverpool got bang on.
| Season | Appearances | Clean sheets | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 22 | 9 | 0 |
| 2018/19 | 50 | 26 | 1 |
| 2019/20 | 50 | 17 | 3 |
| 2020/21 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021/22 | 51 | 30 | 2 |
| 2022/23 | 41 | 14 | 0 |
| 2023/24 | 48 | 12 | 1 |
| 2024/25 | 49 | 21 | 1 |
1 – Mohamed Salah to Liverpool (2017)
Signed from Roma for £34m
If you thought Virgil van Dijk’s impact was good, Mohamed Salah’s was something else.
After a few years in the Italian Serie A following a lacklustre spell at Chelsea, Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp returned the Egyptian to the Premier League, and he has never looked back.
What puts Salah clear of Van Dijk is the level that the winger has reached since turning up at Anfield in 2017.
His impact was instant, setting a then-record of 32 Premier League goals in 2017/18, before scoring in Liverpool’s victorious Champions League final win over Spurs the following season and steering the Reds to their first title in 30 years.
He’s had four Premier League Golden Boots and heads into the 2025/26 season as Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer after leading them to another league title.
It’s safe to say this was money well spent.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 52 | 44 | 0 |
| 2018/19 | 52 | 27 | 1 |
| 2019/20 | 48 | 23 | 3 |
| 2020/21 | 51 | 31 | 0 |
| 2021/22 | 51 | 31 | 2 |
| 2022/23 | 51 | 30 | 0 |
| 2023/24 | 44 | 25 | 1 |
| 2024/25 | 52 | 34 | 1 |
All player stats sourced via Transfermarkt (last updated 22/07/2025).
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