Ranked: The worst summer signings in the Premier League thus far
With the dreaded September international break upon us, now is as good a time as any to take stock of the Premier League season so far. Indeed, after highlighting the best-rated summer signings of the new campaign in the top-flight, we flip the script and assess the five worst-rated new arrivals of those to register more than 90 minutes of action this season, including those whose loan moves have been made permanent…
5. Sokratis (Arsenal) - 6.27 rating
Arsenal’s performances under Unai Emery have been indifferent so far to say the least. After opening defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea, the Gunners recovered to beat West Ham and Cardiff, but both victories were far from convincing. Arsenal are one of six teams yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season with Sokratis not having the desired effect at the back following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund.
The Greek centre-back has struggled with the pace of the Premier League in his opening four appearances and has been booked twice for his troubles. He’s committed more fouls (4) than he has made tackles (3) so far this season and has won just six of 13 contested aerial duels, a poor aerial success rate of just 46.2%. Given his underwhelming displays, it’s no wonder the 30-year-old has gained a WhoScored.com rating of 6.27.
4. Adama Diakhaby (Huddersfield) - 6.09 rating
Joining for a reported £10m from Monaco, Adama Diakhaby made the move to Huddersfield with a big reputation behind him. The 22-year-old may have featured sporadically last season, with just 10 of his 22 league appearances coming from the off, but he still scored two and assisted three for the French side. However, the youngster has struggled for consistency on the back of his move to the John Smith’s Stadium.
Diakhaby’s two league starts this season came in draws with Huddersfield and Everton as he failed to have the desired impact, both from the off and off the bench. Admittedly, he and Huddersfield endured a baptism of fire to kick off the campaign as the Terriers faced Chelsea and Manchester City, but with just two successful dribbles, zero key passes, zero shots and having been dispossessed six times across 176 minutes of action, Diakhaby has returned a WhoScored.com rating of just 6.09 so far.
3. Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham) - 6.06 rating
Andriy Yarmolenko has been hindered in that all four of his appearances have been from the bench, and to his credit, he looked bright in the Carabao Cup win over Wimbledon, yet the Ukrainian hasn’t been at his match winning best from the bench. In a disjointed West Ham side that currently foot the table, has conceded a joint-league high of 10 goals so far and has netted just twice so far, it’s no wonder their forwards have struggled in the final third.
To his credit, West Ham looked a much-improved side when Yarmolenko was introduced from the bench against Wolves, and it’s feasible to suggest he will be a prominent feature in the side after the international break, but even so, a WhoScored.com rating of 6.06 is the third worst of the Premier League’s new signings this summer. He has mustered just one shot across 107 minutes of action, while just the one successful dribble and two key passes hasn’t helped his, nor West Ham’s, cause thus far.
2. Carlos Sanchez (West Ham) - 5.89 rating
On his first home league start for West Ham, Carlos Sanchez didn’t cover himself in glory, with the Colombian robbed of possession by Ruben Neves that ultimately led to Adama Traore’s late winner in the Hammers’ 1-0 loss to Wolves. Sanchez came to the London Stadium off the back of unimpressive 2018 World Cup, as he was sent off after just three minutes in the 2-1 loss to Japan and conceded the penalty in Colombia’s eventual shoot out defeat to England.
The 32-year-old was brought in as Cheikhou Kouyate’s replacement in the West Ham after the Senegalese was sold to London rivals Crystal Palace, but Sanchez hasn’t done a satisfactory job at shielding the defence. Indeed, he has made just three tackles in three appearances, a poor return for a ball winning midfielder, and is yet to make an interception this season. After his costly mistake against Wolves, which leaves West Ham rooted to the foot of the table, Sanchez has gained a WhoScored.com rating of just 5.89, the second lowest in England’s top tier this term.
1. Ben Hamer (Huddersfield) - 5.84 rating
After Jonas Lossl’s commendable debut campaign at Huddersfield, it was then odd to see summer arrival Ben Hamer immediately instilled as their number one at the start of the season. While Huddersfield had to navigate meetings with Chelsea and Manchester City to start the season, Hamer did his long-term starting chances more harm than good before being forced off early on in the 0-0 draw with Cardfiff with a knee injury.
Hamer conceded nine goals against Chelsea and City, two of which were a direct result of errors committed by the summer arrival. It remains to be seen whether he will reclaim his spot between the sticks once he recovers from injury, but with a WhoScored.com rating of just 5.84 so far this season, the 31-year-old hasn’t enjoyed of the best of starts in a Huddersfield shirt, with that score the worst in the Premier League so far.
