With the transfer
window done and dusted, we’ve identified nine slightly less obvious
Premier
League signings that captured our
imagination.
Monday brought a close to the summer 2025 transfer window, with
Premier League clubs reportedly spending over £3 billion, smashing
the previous record.
Reigning champions Liverpool caught the eye, of course,
especially with their
deadline-day signing of Alexander Isak for a British record £125
million. That came after also spending an initial £100m on
Florian Wirtz.
While those deals are undoubtedly exciting from a neutral’s
perspective, here at Opta Analyst, we wanted to shine a
light on some of the less headline-grabbing deals that captured our
imagination…
Nick
Woltemade
Stuttgart to Newcastle
Admittedly, Nick
Woltemade cost a bit more (£75m) than anyone else on this list
and so categorising him among “less obvious deals” might be a bit
of a stretch. Nevertheless, he’s such an intriguing – and fun –
player that we are particularly fascinated to see how he
adjusts.
As we wrote last week, he’s a unique player. For starters, he’s
huge; but then he has this immense technical ability, agility and
vision. Blended into one, it makes for quite an array of
strengths.
In his sole season at Stuttgart, he was both a creator and a
finisher. Among the most rounded centre-forwards in Europe, he was
one of just six such players from the top five leagues (900+
minutes) to average at least 2.0 shots (2.7), 0.3 non-pen xG
(0.44), 7.0 touches in the opposition’s box (9.8) and 1.0 open-play
chances created (1.9) on a per-90 basis last term.
No nominal centre-forward got close to his 1.9 open-play chances
created in the Bundesliga in 2024-25, with his 0.25 xG assisted per
90 up there with the very best, and equal to Wirtz.
Woltemade may struggle at times as he adapts to the rough and
tumble of the Premier League, but his broad range of skills gives
him every chance of being a success at Newcastle.
El Hadji Malick
Diouf
Slavia Prague to West Ham
It would’ve been understandable – natural, even – to do a
double-take at West
Ham spending roughly £20 million on a young player from Slavia
Prague, but El
Hadji Malick Diouf has made a positive start.
Those familiar with him prior to joining West Ham were
applauding the club for their vision in bringing him in during the
summer, even with the hefty fee. He made a strong impact in
pre-season and that’s continued even after a somewhat testing first
outing at Sunderland.
One of the most notable features of his game is the frequency
and quality of his deliveries from the left; in the Czech First
League last season, Diouf’s 107 open-play crosses was the second
most among all players. And he’s already produced a few beauties
for West Ham, including the excellent delivery for Callum Wilson’s
goal in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
This also feeds into his general mentality. So often he offers
an out-ball on the left, with Diouf ranking second among nominal
full-/wing-back for off-ball runs (68) and off-ball runs into the
final third (28) this season.
There are still some raw elements to his game, but at 20 years
old, Diouf looks set to make a lasting impression on the Premier
League.
Tyler
Dibling
Southampton to Everton
For a while it looked like Tyler
Dibling might have to accept a season of development in the
Championship after Southampton’s relegation and suitors being put
off by the asking price.
But Everton
eventually put aside any potential doubts and made their move in a
deal reportedly worth up to £40m. It’s a lot of money, but Dibling
is a player with a high ceiling.
Last season, we thoroughly enjoyed Dibling’s graceful style of
play as he satisfyingly glided and jinked past defenders,
resembling a younger Jack Grealish both in that respect, and with
his short socks.
Ball carrying was where he stood out. On average, he travelled
13.2 metres per carry, the eighth furthest among Premier League
wingers (900+ mins) in 2024-25, with the teenager (he turned 19 in
February) showing significant bravery and belief.
Linked to that, his 5.6 take-on attempts per 90 saw him rank
seventh among wingers. Even fewer were able to match his ability to
get past multiple defenders, though, with his 14 multi take-ons
bettered by just Mohammed Kudus and Jérémy Doku (22 each).
Meanwhile, only Morgan Rogers (22) drew more fouls while dribbling
than Dibling (21), with the Aston Villa man playing nearly 1,300
more minutes than the England Under-21 international.
The prospect of him on one wing and Grealish on the other is an
exciting one, and a boost for manufacturers of tiny shinpads
everywhere.
Harvey
Elliott
Liverpool to Aston Villa (Loan)
We’ve waited a while for Harvey
Elliott to explode, but injuries and the presence of Mohamed
Salah have meant his progress has been a little slow.
After lighting up the European Under-21 Championship in the
summer and with designs on getting into the England squad for next
year’s World Cup, it seemed the time had come to move on from
Liverpool; only, it took longer than expected, with him only
securing a loan to Aston
Villa on deadline day.
His switch to Villa is one we like, though. Unai Emery’s team
have traditionally been known for their quick transitions, but
their nine build-up goals last term was bettered only by Manchester
City (10); Elliott has a blend of abilities that can make him a
potent weapon in both types of phase.
He’s clever in tight spaces, a competent passer between the
lines and he can carry the ball effectively. Elliott is also
productive in the final third; over the past two seasons, only five
players averaged more shots and chances created per 90 in Premier
League games than him (6.0). Meanwhile, only De Bruyne and Rodri
were involved in more open-play shot-ending sequences per 90.
If he can have a run of regular games, we have a feeling a
season at Villa Park could be the making of him.
Michael
Kayode
Fiorentina to Brentford
After turning last season’s loan into a permanent move from
Fiorentina, Michael
Kayode has wasted little time making an impression at Brentford.
Quite literally, he has hit the ground running.
Kayode’s impact begins with his athleticism. Only central
midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk (79) has pressured opponents more often
inside Brentford’s defensive third than Kayode (76). But crucially,
that off-ball work is carried out relentlessly: 82% of his
pressures can be classified as “high intensity”, a figure bettered
only by Nathan Collins (85.2%) among Brentford players to attempt
30 or more pressures in that zone.
That ferocity is matched by his combative nature in duels.
Kayode leads Brentford players for tackles per 90 minutes (2.7) and
ranks second for ground duels won (4.8 per 90), just behind fellow
full-back Rico Henry (5.6).
He has also shown the confidence to play forward. Only Mikkel
Damsgaard and Jordan Henderson have completed more passes in the
final third for the club, and Kayode has been involved in six of
Brentford’s open-play attacking sequences, behind only Igor
Thiago.
Furthermore, Kayode leads Premier League defenders for completed
dribbles (five), a strength he’d also shown last term.
And then there’s the additional dimension to his game that fits
neatly into Brentford’s long-standing emphasis on set-pieces: his
long throw.
He has launched eight throws into the penalty area, creating two
chances directly – a league-high figure. Those deliveries have
already generated 0.21 expected goals, more than any other player
in the division from throws.
Adrien
Truffert
Rennes to Bournemouth
Bournemouth
have made some excellent signings in recent seasons, including
Milos Kerkez. The Hungarian left-back departed for Liverpool in the
summer for a big profit, and so it was little surprise that the
Cherries simply went into the market and found a player who many
believe is another gem.
Adrien
Truffert had already caught the eye in Ligue 1 with Rennes,
earning himself a call up to the France senior squad in September
2022 after Lucas Digne pulled out with injury, and he has continued
to impress.
Only midfielder Ludovic Blas (47) created more chances for
Rennes than Truffert (39) in Ligue 1 last season, while just six
players in the whole of Ligue 1 attempted more crosses than him
(145).
Truffert also won possession more times than any other Rennes
player (139), while only teammate Azor Matusiwa (64) made more than
his 61 tackles.
He has taken to the Premier League seamlessly too, standing out
in Bournemouth’s 1-0 win at Tottenham on Saturday. Truffert made
more tackles than anyone else (5), won more duels than any other
Bournemouth player (12), and no-one in the game attempted more than
his five crosses.
Anton
Stach
Hoffenheim to Leeds United
When promoted Leeds
United confirmed the signing of midfielder Anton
Stach, with the greatest of respect, it was quite surprising
that more established teams from Europe’s top five leagues hadn’t
already taken a punt on him.
The Germany international had two solid seasons at Hoffenheim
after joining from Mainz in 2023. Only six players won possession
more often than Stach (171) in the Bundesliga last season, while
just 10 made more interceptions (46).
However, it was perhaps the 2023-24 season that caught Leeds’
eye even more, when Stach made the most interceptions of all
Bundesliga players (74), while only Nico Schlotterbeck (245) and
Granit Xhaka (226) won possession more times than him
(222).
He showed his strengths in other parts of his game on his
Premier League debut against Everton; Stach attempted more shots
than anyone else in the game (4), created the most chances (4), had
the most touches (86) and made the most passes in the final third
(26) with an impressive accuracy of 96.2%.
It was a similar story in an admittedly dull 0-0 draw with
Newcastle on Saturday, where Stach attempted the most shots (3) and
created the most chances (3) for Leeds.
Robin
Roefs
NEC to Sunderland
Sunderland
signed Robin
Roefs to compete with long-term goalkeeper Anthony Patterson,
and the Dutchman seems to have already established himself as first
choice at the Stadium of Light.
Roefs only had his first season of regular first-team football
in the Eredivisie last season with NEC, and he rewarded the faith
shown in him by head coach Rogier Meijer.
According to Opta’s expected goals on
target model (xGOT), Roefs prevented 11.5 goals in the Dutch
top flight last season, (38 goals conceded excl. own goals from
49.5 xGOT), more than any other goalkeeper in the
competition.
He kept 10 clean sheets in 32 league games, which helped NEC to
an eighth-place finish. Only Gábor Babos (11 in 2006-07) has more
for the club on record in a single Eredivisie campaign.
The data was there to suggest that the 22-year-old was a solid
stopper, and it was enough to earn him a place in our Eredivisie Team of the
Season.
Roefs has also made a promising start to life at Sunderland,
keeping a clean sheet on his debut against West Ham, and saving a
penalty from Kevin Schade in Saturday’s dramatic late victory over
Brentford.
Dan
Ndoye
Bologna to Nottingham Forest
It looked like a blow for Nottingham
Forest when they sold Anthony Elanga to Newcastle United, one
of their star men leaving for a team they hoped to compete with in
the Premier League for European spots. The early impact made by
Dan
Ndoye has allowed fans to largely move on from the Swede,
though.
Ndoye joined from Bologna over the summer and took no time at
all in making an impact. He scored on his debut with a fabulous
header in the 3-1 home win over Brentford, before playing a sublime
pass from inside his own half to Callum Hudson-Odoi to equalise at
Crystal Palace.
That made Ndoye the first Forest player since Geoff Thomas in
1998 to score or assist in each of his first two Premier League
appearances for the club.
Only Riccardo Orsolini (15) scored more goals in Serie A for
Bologna last season than Ndoye (8), while none of his teammates
attempted as many as his 86 dribbles. Ndoye likes to get on the
ball and take players on, much like Elanga.
In fact, Ndoye attempted 3.6 dribbles per 90 minutes in the
league last season, completing 1.6, while Elanga, although Forest’s
most prolific dribbler, only attempted 2.6 per 90, with 0.9 being
completed.
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