The Premier League signing who have a point to prove this season
Raheem Sterling’s deadline-day move to Arsenal is one of several transfers that occurred in the last transfer window.
The top Premier League clubs did not splash the cash so much, with Liverpool only signing Federico Chiesa and Manchester City also resisting the temptation to be too active.
Both clubs and other top sides in the Premier League could have done better, but that does not include Manchester United and Chelsea, who plashed the cash and seemed to both have an unlimited supply of talent.
Chelsea offloaded Sterling only to sign Jadon Sancho from Manchester United, and the Blues’ spending spree under their current owners continues to attract more attention than the team’s results.
Several top players changed clubs in the last transfer window in a bid to play more games and help their teams sell more Premier League tickets.
Some of the new signings settled early enough to help their clubs impress in the league in August; others are still getting up to speed in understanding their new teams' demands.
The dynamics around football clubs are changing, and some teams are happy to make serious changes to their squad every summer.
When new stars arrive, many old players are usually sacrificed, and sometimes, a new manager comes through and wants stars who fit his style of play.
This also leads to the displacement of some players to accommodate the new manager’s favourites.
Several stars moved clubs to find space or because a bigger club called them in the last transfer window.
As we enjoy the start of the season and look forward to the team that can top the league standings by the end of September, we will consider the new signings who have a point to prove this season.
Raheem Sterling, Arsenal
One of the surprise transfers of the last transfer window was Sterling’s move from Chelsea to Arsenal on deadline day.
Before the last day of the transfer window, Mikel Arteta had clarified that Arsenal was not planning to sign Sterling, even though Chelsea asked him to find a new home.
However, things changed quickly on deadline day as the former Manchester City star was still looking for a new home.
Arsenal loaned Reiss Nelson to Fulham, which allowed them to sign Sterling on loan and pay half his salary.
Sterling has struggled from the final season of his time at Manchester City through his spell at Chelsea. He needs to prove he remains good enough at Arsenal.
Jadon Sancho, Chelsea
Chelsea made Sterling surplus to requirements in the last transfer window, only to snap up Jadon Sancho just before the window closed. This decision prompted us to ask what has happened at Chelsea.
The winger was a terrific Borussia Dortmund player, prompting Manchester United to bring him to England in 2021.
The attacker struggled at United, and after a public fallout with Erik Ten Hag last term, he spent the start of 2024 on loan at BVB.
His fine form inspired them to reach the final of the Champions League, where they lost to Real Madrid.
Most fans believed he would become a key player at United, but that was not to be. After spending time mostly on the bench at the start of this season, he moved to Chelsea.
By succeeding at Stamford Bridge, Sancho will prove he is not the problem at Manchester United.
There are question marks over his attitude and application, but Enzo Maresca seems confident that he can get the best out of the attacker.
Dominic Solanke, Tottenham
Spurs did not replace Harry Kane last season after he made a big-money move to Bayern Munich and Richarlison failed to score the goals that they needed to qualify for the Champions League.
This summer, they knew they needed a better striker and signed Solanke from Bournemouth for a club-record £65million.
Solanke was one of the top scorers in the Premier League last season and several top clubs wanted to sign him.
Tottenham have bet a lot of money on the striker and he need to perform and make them forget about Kane.
He may not score as much as the England captain, but he needs to score goals to make fans who buy Tottenham tickets enjoy coming to watch them.
Joao Felix, Chelsea
Felix enjoyed a loan spell at Chelsea in the second half of the 2022/2023 season and he wanted to return to the club last term.
However, Mauricio Pochettino was the manager at the time and had no interest in working with the Portugal star, so he went on loan to Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid and Chelsea have now found an agreement and he is back in London on a permanent basis, will he meet expectations?
When Felix broke through at Benfica, he had the world at his feet and he was considered one of the best youngsters in the world.
However, his move to Atletico Madrid affected his development as a player because they play a defensive style of football.
Chelsea is a more attacking team and Felix must prove that he can cut it at a top club in England and the Blues will hope he helps them sell more match tickets this term.
Eddie Nketiah, Crystal Palace
Nketiah struggled for game time at Arsenal and even when he does well in a game, there was no guarantee that he would play the next one.
He was behind the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz during his time at Arsenal.
After playing very few games last term, he took a chance on himself to move to Crystal Palace where he hopes to get more game time.
Nketiah is a record goalscorer for the England U21 team and the striker has failed to translate that form to senior football.
He will be eager to show what he can do for Crystal Palace tickets buyers in this campaign with the trust of his manager.
Matthijs de Ligt, Manchester United
The best spell of De Ligt’s career came at Ajax when he worked under Erik Ten Hag who had discovered him for the famous Dutch club, so it makes sense that they have been reunited at Manchester United.
He left for Juventus in 2019 and moved to Bayern Munich in 2022, the defender has still not met expectations, considering the huge promise he showed at the start of his professional career.
Manchester United ticket buyers will be delighted to have him in their squad and hope he brings the glory days back.
Federico Chiesa, Liverpool
Chiesa became Liverpool’s only signing of the summer just before the transfer window closed and the Italian has a point to prove.
He won Euro 2020 as the best player in the competition and then broke his leg at Juventus under a new manager who likes defensive football.
For three seasons under Max Allegri, Chiesa struggled for form, although injuries also troubled the winger.
The Old Lady decided to cut their losses on him this summer and he is now looking to revive his career at Liverpool.
He became Arne Slot’s first signing and Liverpool’s only summer signing, so he will want to play as many games as possible and score some important goals too, which will justify the decision to rescue him from his spell at Juve.
