Crystal Palace and Leicester City had a great summer transfer window, while the likes of Brentford and Everton were shrewd but smart with their summer acquisitions.
After the comprehensive work put into ranking the Top 10 players from each of the four key positions, it is time I rank the clubs and their respective summer signings for the 2021/22 Premier League season.
In this second instalment, I’ll be taking a look at the summer signings made by the following clubs: Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Leicester City and Leeds United, and rank them based on how they have fared and what impact they have had so far this season.
In the first part, I discussed all the summer signings made by the following clubs: Arsenal, Burnley, Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa and Chelsea.
Among the five clubs, Crystal Palace were the busiest as they signed as many as six first-team players, while the likes of Everton were quite shrewd in the transfer market, spending just £1.8m on transfer fee for four signings.
Leicester City, yet again, had a solid window, bringing in five new faces, while Leeds United, too, reinforced key areas on the pitch.
Please note the alphabets associated with the list as given below –
A – Excellent signing
B – Great signing, star potential
C – Decent start, will only grow from here
D – Shaky start, but will come good
E – Average signing
F – Poor signing, likely to flop
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the transfer tier ranking list for the aforementioned Premier League clubs.
Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher has been one of the signings of the season. Playing under Patrick Vieira, the west Londoner has hit new heights following his impressive loan spell with West Bromwich Albion last season.
In 14 appearances, the 21-year-old has already amassed 7 (4 Goals + 3 Assists) goal contributions, which is the highest among all English midfielders this season — a testament to his great run with the Eagles.
Gallagher has also racked up 5 big chances created so far, with 1.7 key passes/90’. Moreover, Conor possesses a great work ethic, which is evident with his defensive stats; he averages 2.7 tackles/90’ and 6.2 ground duels won.
Guéhi has played every single minute for the Eagles so far, scoring two goals (against Burnley and Aston Villa), while keeping four clean sheets so far this season. The 21-year-old is a ball-playing centre-back who is averaging 57 passes completed/90’ (87%) while losing possession just 9 times/90’.
In his 12 appearances — only 7 of which have been starts — Édouard has scored thrice, while providing solid defensive cover for a forward. The Frenchman also has great pace while possessing crisp link-up abilities.
However, Olise has seen much of his game-time from the bench this season. He has featured in 11 league games, but 9 of them have been off the bench, with him averaging 27 minutes per game.
The young playmaker, though, has still managed to score once and provide two assists in his short cameos for the club. Both talent and temperament are there for Olise to succeed. If given time and properly nurtured, he definitely has it in him to make it to the top.
And what a signing he has been for the Toffees, having scored thrice and assisted twice in 15 league games so far this season. Playing down the right flank under Rafa Bentínez, Townsend has been a constant threat in front of goal, drifting into the half-spaces and capitalising from there.
Apart from his creative numbers — which have been impressive and consistent (creating two big chances and providing 1.9 key passes on average) — Townsend provides enough defensive cover with 1.8 tackles/90’, 0.8 interceptions/90’ and 5.1 ground duels/90’ (won).
The 25-year-old Denmark international has started 11 of the 12 league matches he has played so far this season and has helped the Eagles keep 4 clean sheets, which is a massive improvement from last season.
Just like Guéhi, Andersen is of a similar profile — a ball-playing centre-back. However, there is always an air of “error-proneness” to his game, which we saw against Leicester City when Kelechi Iheanacho dispossessed him and scored while Palace were trying to play out from the back.
Next up, we have three Brentford players, who thus far have looked pretty decent and have been integral to the Bees’ solid start to the campaign.
In those 7 matches, Brentford lost just twice — against Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City. In his absence, on the other hand, the club lost to both Burnley and Norwich City, while drawing 3-3 against Newcastle United.
Once he returns from his hamstring injury, one can expect Ajer to shore up Brentford’s recent defensive slump.
Wissa has been somewhat of a “super-sub” for the Bees so far this season, scoring against the likes of West Ham United and Liverpool. The Frenchman has come off the bench seven times this season, playing an average of 15 minutes per game.
Moreover, Wissa has scored three in two starts in the League Cup. Thus, given time, Yoane Wissa can certainly be one of the vital cogs in the Brentford setup come the end of the season.
Playing the role of a pivot, Onyeka averages 21.33 pressures/90’ and 1.4 tackles/90’, which puts him around the 90-percentile mark.
However, despite his defensive duties, Onyeka is adept in recycling possession and progressing the play forward as well, with 2.7 progressive passes/90’. The 23-year-old recently registered his first assist of the season against Newcastle United and will look to add more end-product to his game over the winter period.
The 25-year-old has started in 14 of Everton’s 15 Premier League games, scoring five and assisting two so far this season. Creativity-wise, Gray has averaged 1.3 key passes/90’, while creating three big chances so far.
Furthermore, the former Leicester City player has also averaged 2.1 shots/90’ in the absence of Everton’s target man, Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The Dominican Republic international has featured in 10 league games so far this season. We are all aware of Leeds’ defensive woes this term, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that Firpo has just one clean sheet from those 10 fixtures.
However, Firpo has been a decent offensive outlet, creating 2.4 shot-creating actions while playing 3.6 progressive passes and averaging 3.02 touches in the opposition’s penalty box.
This season, Harrison has just managed to register 1 assist in 12 league games and has been less involved, with much of the attack being overloaded down that right flank.
However, based on his performances from last season, the 25-year-old cannot be ruled out just yet, with 23 games still left in the league season.
However, bringing in one of Southampton’s prized jewels doesn’t mean all has gone rosily for the Foxes. The 29-year-old has started four and has come off the bench thrice after joining Leicester City, but the Foxes have failed to record a single clean sheet in any of those games, while also conceding a penalty against Brighton earlier on in the season.
I have two more Leicester signings to name, who have a lot of potential and produced consistent performances last season — albeit in a different league — but have failed to set the Premier League alight so far this season. Patson Daka and Boubakary Soumaré were two of the hottest prospects in Europe, and Leicester City were able to rope in both.
However, with the 34-year-old still producing stellar performances at this stage of his career, the Zambian has found it hard to get into the Premier League squad at the Foxes’ legend’s expense. The 23-year-old did score his first PL goal in a memorable 4-2 victory against Manchester United, though, while also scoring four in a match against Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Europa League.
Much like the other Leicester City signings, Soumaré’s first few months with the club haven’t been easy, with the Frenchman recording just one assist in 12 league appearances so far. But with a settled backline, we will get a better picture of where both Leicester and Soumaré stand.
Moreover, James’ game has become one-dimensional, with him running behind the defenders and looking to either score or lay the ball for someone in a better position. In his 14 appearances for Leeds, James has scored once and has provided one assist.
However, in his four starts so far this season, the 32-year-old has put in rather disappointing performances in all of the games. Bertrand has failed to stamp his authority both offensively and defensively; Leicester have looked vulnerable and have been unable to keep a single clean sheet with him out on the pitch.
The Bosnian has played just one league game this season, in which he conceded three goals against Sean Dyche’s Burnley. He has also played a couple of League Cup fixtures but has failed to keep a clean sheet in any of them.
The 32-year-old has started five games and has come on as a substitute thrice in the Premier League so far this season, but he has failed to register a single attacking output in more than 600 minutes of playing time.
In terms of metrics, there is nothing impressive to talk about, apart from Rondón’s aerial prowess, which grants him a percentile of 91 with 3.1 aerial duels won/90’.
Hughes has been included in the matchday squad nine times, while on other occasions he hasn’t even travelled with the team.
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