The Premier League have seen many transfer records broken and rewritten by some of the top clubs in the top flight.
Soccernet takes a close look at some of the top 10 Premier League transfers…
Harry Maguire (Leicester City to Manchester United)
Maguire became the most expensive defender in the history of the Premier League after Manchester United paid a whooping sum of £80m to sign him.
The England international scored five goals in 76 appearances for Leicester. Manchester United and will be hoping to fix the Red Devils backline when the team begin their campaign against Chelsea.
Paul Pogba (Juventus to Manchester United)
Manchester United shattered the Premier League transfer record when they signed former player, Paul Pogba from Juventus in a deal worth £89m.
Pogba played under Sir Alex Ferguson as a youngster before leaving the club in a bid to play regular football. However, after enjoying an excellent season with Juventus in the Serie A, Jose Mourinho decided to re-sign him.
No doubt, Pogba has garnered plaudits from numerous football experts for his passing and dribbling skills.
Romelu Lukaku (Everton to Manchester United)
The Belgian striker was the cynosure of all eyes during his spell at Everton, where he was banging in the goals. Signed from Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku became the ‘poster boy’ of former Toffees manager, Roberto Martinez with his strong display in the attack.
However, in 2017, Manchester United were forced to splash £75m on Lukaku as a replacement for departed Wayne Rooney despite criticisms from some football pundits.
Interestingly, he was quick to humble his critics with back-to-back commendable performances. At the end of the 2017-18 season, he had bagged 27 goals and nine assists. Nevertheless, Manchester United had a fairly disappointing campaign which drew to a close without any silverware.
Virgil van Dijk (Southampton to Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk became the most expensive defender of all-time when Liverpool shelled out £75m to acquire him from Southampton in the winter transfer window of 2018.
Since his arrival, he has been a key player for The Reds and helped the team to claim the UEFA Champions League last season.
Prior to his transfer, Liverpool was beset by major defensive problems, which the Dutchman has solved to a great extent. Van Dijk is a sturdy defender with the technical know-how of attacking due to his aerial prowess, which has made him a potential goal-threat from the set-pieces.
Alisson Becker (Roma to Liverpool)
Six months after breaking the bank for Van Dijk, Liverpool also smashed the world-record fee for a goalkeeper when bringing in Alisson from Roma for a fee of £67m
The Brazilian goalkeeper played a crucial part leading to Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League victory last season with some beautiful saves.
Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk to Manchester United)
Acquired from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth £61.2m, however, Fred failed to hit the spotlight for Manchester United in the Premier League last season.
The Brazil midfielder penned a five-year deal at Old Trafford, with an option to a further year, and cited the chance to work under Mourinho as an “opportunity not to be missed”.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal)
After banging in the goals for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang became the sought-after striker in the transfer market.
The Gabonese international joined Arsenal during the deadline day January transfer window in 2017, where he netted 10 goals in 13 appearances for the London club.
Riyad Mahrez(Leicester to Manchester City|)
After four failed bids in the January transfer window, Premier League champions Manchester City finally completed the signing of Mahrez from Leicester for a club-record £60m. A key member of Leicester’s shock title triumph in 2015/16, the Algerian provides Pep Guardiola with another attacking option as the club chase glory at home and in Europe.
Ángel Di María (Real Madrid to Manchester United)
Another record signing (£59.7m) by Manchester United in 2014 under former manager, Louis Van Gaal from Real Madrid, Di Maria inherited the Cristiano Ronaldo’s number 7 jersey with lots of pressure mounting on his head.
However, the Argentine underwent a majorly disenchanting season at the Old Trafford before moving to Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in 2015.
At the end of the season, Di Maria was billed by many football pundits and journalists as the worst signing of the season.
Alvaro Morata (Real Madrid to Chelsea)
Morata was one of the key reasons of Chelsea’s uninspiring season in which they dropped to fifth in the Premier League and consequently, failed to qualify for the Champions League.
The 25-year-old kicked off his debut season at Stamford Bridge in an admirable fashion, scoring seven goals in seven appearances for The Pensioners. Nevertheless, in the latter half of the campaign, he saw himself falling down the pecking order with Antonio Conte losing faith in the Spaniard.
In the 48 appearances he made, Morata was only able to manage a disappointing tally of 15 goals.
