Alexander Isak became a British record transfer fee in the summer, but history shows that it will be difficult for these signings to win the Premier League title, and that is Liverpool’s expectation.
Big prize money comes with high expectations, but too often in the Premier League the most expensive players don’t deliver the ultimate prize. Not all top clubs are spending record amounts of money to rise to second or third place.
But some of the most lucrative moves in recent years have failed to take the club to the top of English football. Liverpool completed a British record transfer when they signed Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.
Just a few weeks later, Alexander Isak broke his own record when he arrived from Newcastle for £125m. The Swede, who is regarded as one of the world’s best strikers, is under pressure to ensure Liverpool remain top of the table.
History has shown that, at least in recent years, even the most expensive contracts often fail to win titles. In fact, if you look at the 10 most expensive transfers to the English side, you will see that only two players have won Premier League winners’ medals, but even they have struggled to reach the heights expected.
They are Jack Grealish and Darwin Nunes. The former Aston Villa star boasts three titles and few would argue that his £100m move to Manchester City was justified. Nunez left Liverpool in the summer, three years after joining from Benfica for £85 million, with more frustration than success.
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Isaac wants success more than setbacks. He joined a team that seemed to be on the upswing last season, but not so much the first few weeks of this season. Already, Arne Slott is under pressure to find a way to get the best out of the Swede, with much discussion about how to get the most out of him and a host of quality players in Liverpool’s rich attacking line-up.
It was Isak, not Wirtz, who surpassed Enzo Fernandes’ British record transfer fee. The Argentine joined Chelsea from Benfica just months after winning the World Cup. In Qatar, he was named the best young player of the tournament and immediately attracted a lot of attention.
Fernandes moved to Stamford Bridge in January 2023 for a then-record fee of £105 million. He has only qualified for the European Conference League and the Club World Cup so far. Teammate Moises Caicedo joined just a few months later for £100m.
At the time, he signed a contract that could rise to a record sum of £115 million. He forms a great partnership with Fernandes in midfield, but the pair are yet to become Chelsea’s title contenders.
One man who has proven to be a big hit is Declan Rice. He was a £100m investment by the Gunners and, after a number of good years at West Ham, he left for Arsenal for a total of £105m including add-ons. The English midfielder is currently regarded as the best player in the league in his position.
He has enjoyed some great moments for the north Londoners but is yet to achieve the title he and his teammates covet. In his two years at Arsenal they have finished twice on both occasions but currently sit top of the table at the early stages of the season.
Chelsea spent a club-record £97.5m to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club from Inter Milan in 2021, while Roman Abramovich was still signing a big contract. He was seen as a striker who could lead Thomas Tuchel’s side to the title.
He scored a goal on his debut and there were early ominous signs, but his form soon declined and he faced public criticism from his manager. The Belgian then headed to Napoli, where he once again won the Serie A title, but definitely missed out on the title in England.
Most expensive English autograph session
1. Alexander Isak to Liverpool – £125m
2. Florian Wirtz to Liverpool – £116m
3. Moises Caicedo to Chelsea – £115m
4. Enzo Fernandes to Chelsea – £105m
5. Declan Rice to Arsenal – £105m
6. Jack Grealish to Man City – £100m
7. Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea – £97.5m
8. Paul Pogba to Man United – £89m
9. Darwin Nunez to Liverpool – £85m
10. Anthony to Manchester United – £82m
Paul Pogba briefly held the title of world’s most expensive player when he returned to Manchester United. He was Jose Mourinho’s signature player when he took over at Old Trafford in 2016. But it was far from a match made in heaven between the Frenchman and the Red Devils.
He won two trophies in his first season in Manchester, but then left with nothing and nothing for the next five years. Anthony’s move from Ajax in 2022 is one of the biggest mistakes in top flight history, but it will certainly come at a high cost. Needless to say, he and United never came close to winning the Premier League title.
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