Five new English Premier League signings to watch

MANCHESTER – English Premier League clubs were slow to splash their cash in the early months of the transfer window but business has picked up ahead of the start to the new season on Aug 16.

Here are five major signings aiming to justify their price tags.

Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal, £42 million)

The Gunners beat off stiff competition from Serie A giants Juventus to land the Italian defender for £42 million (S$71.1 million) following his impressive 2023-24 season for Bologna.

The 22-year-old was also a shining light in Italy’s otherwise pitiful defence of the European Championship in June.

However, it is unclear where he will fit into Mikel Arteta’s team.

Arsenal boasted the best defence in the Premier League last season, keeping 18 clean sheets and conceding only 29 goals in 38 games.

Comfortable on the ball and striding out from the back, centre-back Calafiori can also play on the left.

But he has shone for club and country as a centre-back so he could pose a threat to Gabriel Magalhaes’ place alongside William Saliba at the heart of the defence.

His arrival certainly boosts Arteta’s wealth of defensive options as Arsenal aim to end a 21-year wait to win the title.

Pedro Neto (Chelsea, £54 million)

Neto is so far the standout signing from another chaotic window at Stamford Bridge, after the Portugal winger’s transfer from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Yet he faces stiff competition just to get into the side with Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke among the other wingers available to Enzo Maresca.

Cole Palmer – by far Chelsea’s best player last season – is expected to drift inside from a starting role on the right.

Neto has shone in flashes since joining Wolves in 2019 but has also been blighted by injury problems that put other suitors off.

Matthijs de Ligt (Manchester United, £38.5 million)

Dutch international de Ligt has been reunited with Erik ten Hag, who helped the centre-back rise to fame at Ajax Amsterdam as a teenager.

After big-money moves to Juventus and then Bayern Munich, de Ligt’s career has stalled as he fell out of favour for both club and country over the past year.

“Erik ten Hag shaped the early stages of my career, so he knows how to get the best out of me,” he said.

The 25-year-old’s arrival is just part of a defensive overhaul as United have also recruited French teenager Leny Yoro and de Ligt’s Bayern teammate Noussair Mazraoui.

But Yoro is set to miss the first three months of the season, giving de Ligt the chance to nail down his place with a bright start.

Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur, £55 million)

Spurs are hoping Solanke can fire them back into the Champions League and maybe even end their trophy drought since 2008.

Fresh from his best scoring season, netting 19 times in the Premier League for Bournemouth, the 26-year-old Englishman would become Tottenham’s record signing if the add-ons are met in a deal that can rise to £65 million.

Solanke had brief spells at Chelsea and Liverpool earlier in his career, but has come of age during five years at Bournemouth.

“He’ll be a great fit for us. He gives us some things we’ve been missing the last 12 months,” said Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, whose team finished fifth in his first season in charge.

Spurs did not sign a replacement when Harry Kane departed a year ago. Now the pressure is on Solanke to fill those shoes.

Niclas Fullkrug (West Ham United, £27 million)

The signing of German international Fullkrug has been the highlight of a busy summer for West Ham.

A battering ram of a centre-forward, the 31-year-old is a huge fan favourite in his homeland, with many calling for him to start ahead of Arsenal’s Kai Havertz at Euro 2024.

After spending his peak years rising through the ranks of German football at Hannover 96 and Werder Bremen, Fullkrug scored 15 goals in his sole season at Borussia Dortmund to help them reach last season’s Champions League final. AFP