The English transfer market appears out of control with a premium on any player with a sniff of Premier League experience – £117m for Morgan Rogers, £116m for Elliot Anderson, £100m for Sandro Tonali and £85m for Mateus Fernandes.
So plenty of clubs will have been on the lookout for a bargain deal from the hundreds of players who were on show at this summer’s World Cup.
Now, we’ll freely admit signing players based on a strong World Cup doesn’t always work out – see case studies Karel Poborsky, Kleberson, Marcos Rojo (all Manchester United).
That’s why, when compiling a list of the best value players from every position at the tournament who could make a difference in the Premier League, we’ve also looked at their numbers at club level to reveal a clearer picture of what these players can do.
Using Machine Football’s model, we can uncover the World Cup’s hidden gems and identify the clubs where they could make the biggest impact.
Goalkeeper: Raul Rangel, 26 (Guadalajara, Mexico; True Value: £10.2m)
Raul Rangel of Mexico(Image: Getty Images)
The goalkeeping ranks produced fewer stand-out bargains, but this shot-stopper’s performances over the summer have elevated him into that category.
Rangel actually entered the World Cup off the back of a steady but unspectacular Liga MX campaign with Club Deportivo Guadalajara, starting all 32 matches and playing 2,880 minutes.
He faced 116 shots across the season, saving 66.4% of them, while conceding 39 goals at 1.22 per 90. Guadalajara’s third-place finish reflected a strong team campaign, but Rangel’s individual numbers did not suggest a goalkeeper ready to make a major impact on the international stage.
The World Cup, however, told a very different story. Rangel started all five of Mexico’s matches, playing 437 of a possible 450 minutes, and produced numbers far beyond his domestic baseline.
Per Machine Football’s tournament tracking, he faced 2.01 shots on target per 90 and made 1.46 saves, conceding just 0.55 goals per 90. His expected-goals-saved figure of 0.85 across the tournament shows he prevented almost a goal more than he should have done, given the quality of chances faced.
He was also composed in possession, completing 91% of his passes and 80% of his goal kicks, while coming off his line 0.91 times per 90 to deal with danger.
Four of Mexico’s five matches ended in clean sheets, an 80% rate that more than doubled his best full-season domestic return.
The numbers were backed up by moments of individual quality. Against South Korea, Rangel produced one of the saves of the group stage, using his foot to deny a close-range header before recovering instantly to claw away the rebound and preserve Mexico’s second consecutive clean sheet.
That contrast is exactly what makes Rangel an intriguing profile. His club numbers have yet to reflect the level he reached on the international stage, suggesting a goalkeeper whose ceiling may be higher than his domestic record indicates.
Verdict: For clubs searching for a high-upside option, the World Cup offered evidence that there could be more to unlock. Hull City and Newcastle United are on the hunt for a keeper.
Right-back: Alex Freeman, 21 (Villarreal, USA; True Value: £7.25m)
Alex Freeman of the USA(Image: Getty Images)
USA defender Alex Freeman’s father, Antonio, won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. The younger Freeman, though, has forged his own path – breaking through with Orlando City before earning a January move to Villarreal, where he is yet to nail down a spot or register a domestic goal involvement.
The World Cup told a different story entirely. He started all five of the USA’s matches, playing 100 minutes against Belgium, 110 against Bosnia-Herzegovina, 105 against Australia – where he scored – and 103 against Paraguay, where he assisted.
Across those 441 minutes he won 5.7 duels and completed 6.9 progressive passes per 90. A goal, an assist and elite ball-winning numbers from right-back all inside the same tournament – this was a genuine breakout for a 21-year-old still finding his feet at club level.
Freeman’s numbers from MLS last year suggest he won’t have to wait too long to make that next step. From 27 starts at Orlando City in the regular season 2025, Freeman bagged six goals from right-back while laying on three assists for his teammates, also making more touches in the opposition box (132) than any other full-back in the division.
Verdict: So which Premier League side actually needs him? David Moyes’s Everton ranked in the 36th percentile for offensive duels won and 29th for defensive duels last season, a side losing individual battles at both ends of the pitch. Freeman’s all-round game, not simply his ability to overlap, looks like a direct answer to that problem.
Right centre-back: Jhon Lucumi, 27 (Bologna, Colombia; True Value: £21.2m)
Colombia’s Jhon Lucumi facing Portugal(Image: Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images/Shutterstock)
Classed as an ‘Enforcing 4’ by the Machine Football model, Lucumi is an old-school defender focused on winning duels rather than dictating games in possession.
The World Cup provided the perfect test of that profile. Colombia started him in all five matches, including the full 127 minutes of their penalty-shootout defeat to Switzerland.
Across 538 minutes he completed 91.7% of his passes and won 1.7 aerial duels per 90 at a rate of 72.7%, combining composure with remarkable durability. With Lucumi at the heart of their defence, Colombia conceded one goal over the course of their five-game run to the round of 16, managing a four-game streak of clean sheets.
Lucumi was a regular starter in Serie A for Bologna last season and demonstrated a knack for sweeping up effectively, with his 5.23 recoveries per 90 higher than 95% of other centre-backs in the division.
Verdict: Where does that profile find a home? Xabi Alonso has only just arrived at Chelsea, but the Blues’ lack of physical prowess was there for all to see last season, and it didn’t improve as the managers changed.
Under Enzo Maresca, the manager that oversaw most of the minutes, they ranked in the 27th percentile for aerial duels and 14th for defensive duels. Under Liam Rosenior, who took over next, both numbers got worse. Caretaker Calum McFarlane’s brief spell saw aerial duels fall further still.
Three managers, one problem which none of them managed to improve. Lucumi’s profile targets it directly.
Left centre-back: Facundo Medina, 26 (Marseille, Argentina; True Value: £19m)
Facundo Medina in the World Cup final(Image: Getty Images)
Lionel Scaloni gave left-footed centre-back Facundo Medina just 162 minutes at the World Cup, starting him against Cape Verde before bringing him off the bench in the World Cup final.
Even so, Medina completed 86.4% of his passes, including in the biggest match of the tournament, and won 63.6% of his duels.
Such a low tournament sample size is an obvious caveat, and Medina also only started 16 games in Ligue 1 last season. Despite that, he possesses a quality on the ball that could make him a solid option as a centre-back-left-back hybrid for a Premier League side.
Creativity is a rare strength for a centre-back, yet Medina ranks in the 97th percentile globally — a genuinely elite reading regardless of position. A regular for Marseille, he also sits in the top 5% for passing accuracy and is classified as a Complete 4 in Machine Football’s category of player styles.
Verdict: That passing profile is exactly why Arsenal stand out as a potential destination. Despite their miserly defensive record at home and in Europe, Mikel Arteta’s side’s defensive duels stats were not great. However, that reflects dominance rather than a weakness.
Arsenal simply keep the ball so effectively that opponents have fewer opportunities to engage them in defensive battles.
Arsenal already have a squad built around that identity. William Saliba and Cristhian Mosquera are both classified as Complete 4s – the same archetype as Medina — so his appeal is not that he introduces something unfamiliar, but that he provides a more polished, ready-made version of a profile Arteta already trusts.
Facundo Medina’s solidity, technical ability and tactical flexibility could make him a good fit for Arsenal or Crystal Palace(Image: Machine Football)
Given Arsenal already have two left-footed defenders who can play both wide and centrally in Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie, though, a club like Nottingham Forest could also suit Medina – where he would be expected to feature on the left of Oliver Glasner’s back three in a role similar to the one Marc Guehi played at Crystal Palace.
Left-back: Ghislain Konan, 30 (Gil Vicente, Ivory Coast; True Value: £1.5m)
Ivory Coast’s defender Ghislain Kona(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Ghislain Konan started three of four Ivory Coast matches on their run to the round of 16, averaging 7.7 progressive passes and 2.4 crosses per 90.
That’s genuine attacking output from a left-back in a side that reached the knockout rounds. Konan was also a regular starter for Gil Vicente in Portugal’s top flight last season, and no full-back in the division made more dribbles (1.72) or recoveries (5.68) per 90.
Konan combines experience with attacking intent, and would suit a side who like to bypass central areas and create down the flanks.
Verdict: Which side could that be? Frank Lampard’s Coventry City are a no-nonsense sort of side that completed the second-most crosses per 90 last season while ranking just fourth for possession, despite storming to the Championship title with 95 points.
Konan could provide experience and quality for a side who will be mainly focused on survival.
Right defensive midfielder: Lamine Camara, 22 (Monaco, Senegal; True Value: £40m)
Senegal’s Lamine Camara against Iraq(Image: AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The highest-profile player on this list so far, Machine Football ranks Camara in the top 5% globally for his attacking contribution value, rare creative numbers for a holding midfielder.
The 22-year-old started for Senegal against France, Norway and Iraq at the World Cup, registering an assist in the latter, before appearing from the bench against Belgium.
Even as the Lions of Teranga struggled going forward, Camara averaged 3.4 interceptions per 90 across 288 minutes and registered a highly-impressive 0.32 expected assists per 90 from the base of midfield.
Camara was one of the stand-out midfielders in Ligue 1 last season with Monaco, proving his World Cup was no fluke. A combative and press-resistant player with plenty of quality on the ball, Camara is equally adept at sweeping up loose balls in midfield as he is putting opponents under pressure – making 7.68 recoveries per 90 and winning possession in the final third 1.02 times per 90.
Lamine Camara is an all-rounder in midfield whose creativity has only grown – could be be a coup for Fulham or is he already set for a top club?(Image: Machine Football)
Verdict: The best fit for that skill set turns out to be Fulham. They ranked in just the 13th percentile for dribbling and 10th for offensive duels won last season, among the weakest ball-progression numbers in the Premier League.
Camara’s passing range and composure address exactly that – while he would also add much-needed steel to a high-pressing, possession-focused team such as Liverpool.
Left defensive midfielder: Gustavo Puerta, 22 (Racing Santander, Colombia; True Value: £8.3m)
Gustavo Puerta of Colombia vs Switzerland(Image: Curtis Wong/SPP/Shutterstock)
A genuine value story, Puerta was playing in Spain’s Segunda Division last season, yet at 22 already ranked in the top 5% for output at that level. His playing style combines control, progression and defensive awareness.
Colombia clearly trusted him with more than a bit-part role. Puerta started every match of their World Cup campaign and was never substituted, including the full 130 minutes of their penalty-shootout defeat.
Across 519 minutes, he completed 92.4% of his passes and averaged 2.4 interceptions per 90, showing remarkable composure for a 22-year-old.
At club level, he helped Racing Santander to a league title and automatic promotion last season as their midfield controller, making a team-high 1.2 interceptions and 57.3 passes per 90, while no other Racing outfielder made more recoveries than Puerta’s 6.4 per 90.
Verdict: On this evidence, where would he do most good? Michael Carrick’s Manchester United side ranked in just the ninth percentile for offensive duels and 18th for dribbling last season and are a side more focused on getting the ball to their creator-in-chief, Bruno Fernandes.
Puerta’s calmness in possession and ability to move the ball through the lines of midfield could help with that, at a fraction of the cost of a comparable player from a bigger league.
No. 10: Fares Chaibi, 23 (Eintracht Frankfurt, Algeria; True Value: £12.9m)
Fares Chaibi of Algeria(Image: Xinhua/Shutterstock)
Machine Football classifies Chaibi as a ‘Metronomic 8’, although both club and country typically use him higher up the pitch in a No. 10 role or even on the wing.
Algeria’s usage of the 23-year-old only strengthened that profile. He started all four of Algeria’s matches, played over 100 minutes in all of them and was never substituted, completing 88.8% of his passes despite Algeria conceding eight goals.
In the Bundesliga, Chaibi racked up nine assists for Eintracht Frankfurt last season, creating 0.55 big chances per 90 and winning possession in the final third 0.60 times per 90.
Verdict: The clearest destination for that skill set is Crystal Palace. They produced one of the weakest attacking profiles of any Premier League side last season, ranking just third for offensive duels won. Chaibi’s ability to win his individual battles and convert possession into chances directly addresses that particular shortcoming.
Right winger: Nestory Irankunda, 20 (Watford, Australia; True Value: £13.1m)
Australia’s Nestory Irankunda celebrates scoring his team’s first goal against Türkiye(Image: Getty Images)
Still playing Championship football despite a spell at Bayern Munich after leaving Australia, Irankunda already ranks in the top 5% for both dribbling and attacking output relative to his level.
His World Cup performances showed why he is one of the most intriguing young forwards in the Machine Football database. For Australia, Irankunda scored against Turkiye, assisted against Egypt and completed the full 90 against Paraguay.
Across 285 minutes of action he won 5.7 duels per 90 — a genuinely elite physical number for a 20-year-old winger. That profile is what allows Irankunda to also play as a centre-forward, where he can call upon his combative instincts to make a nuisance of himself and unleash havoc.
Irankunda’s ability to take players on was on full display for Watford last season, completing 2.44 dribbles and winning 2.13 fouls per 90 in the Championship.
Verdict: On the basis of that, Newcastle looks like the obvious destination. They ranked in the 30th percentile for dribbling last season, relying heavily on crosses rather than beating defenders one-on-one.
The right-footed Irankunda could address that effectively with plenty of room still to grow – complementing the Magpies’ new left-footed youngster, Bazoumana Toure, on the opposite flank.
Irankunda has been linked with a move to Sporting CP so Premier League sides would have to act quickly. Everton have also been rumoured with interest.
Left winger: Malik Tillman, 23 (Bayer Leverkusen, USA; True Value: £36.6m)
Malik Tillman celebrates after scoring a free kick against Bosnia (Image: AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Tillman’s World Cup performances were simply too strong to leave him out.
Tillman is probably the best-known player on this list alongside Camara, and he started every USA match through to the round of 16 – scoring against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Belgium and assisting against Paraguay.
Across 415 minutes at the tournament he averaged 0.43 goals, 0.22 assists and 7.6 duels won per 90 – a dangerous combination of output and physicality rarely found together at this level which reflects Tillman’s time spent as a No. 9 in Bayern’s youth ranks.
Tillman scored six goals from just 18 starts for Leverkusen last season, timing his box-crashing runs to perfection, and also won 51.5% of his overall duels along with an eye-catching 63.4% of his aerial ones.
Malik Tillman is a versatile player who can contribute defensively as well as in attack, where his box-crashing runs cause problems for defences(Image: Machine Football)
That physicality would suggest he could thrive in the Premier League, and is backed up by Tillman’s 0.97 interceptions and also 0.97 instances of possession won in the final third per 90.
Verdict: There is no perfect data match here, but Brighton come closest closest. They ranked in the 26th percentile for defensive duels and 22nd for interceptions last season, a system that presses hard without always winning the ball back.
Tillman could help make that press more watertight as well as offering box threat from open play, suiting how Fabian Hurzeler wants his side to play whilst adding something Brighton don’t have already with his physicality and potential usefulness at set pieces.
Striker: Julian Quinones, 29 (Al Qadsiah, Mexico; True Value: £16.2m)
Mexico’s Julian Quinones(Image: AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Few players anywhere matched Quinones for production this year. He ranks in the top 1% globally for both attacking positioning and finishing, scoring 33 goals in 31 Saudi Pro League matches.
How translatable that would be to the Premier League, in theory at least, remains to be seen. As yet, there aren’t really any other examples of Premier League clubs signing high-volume Pro League strikers to compare Quinones to.
But Quinones’ performances up front for Mexico at the World Cup suggest he can be effective even against elite defenders. He started all five of Mexico’s World Cup matches and scored against South Africa, Czechia, Ecuador and England.
His return of 0.82 goals per 90, backed by 2.86 shots per 90, is an elite scoring rate by any standard, and he has matched or overperformed his xG in each of his two seasons in Saudi Arabia.
Verdict: Which side needs a finisher more than anyone? Tottenham ranked in just the 25th percentile for shot volume and 31st for shot quality last season. They create enough chances, but Quinones looks like the sort of striker who finishes them.
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