Revisiting the 10 most expensive summer signings of 2024 one year on

Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United all made very expensive signings in the summer of 2024 – but how did they fare?

With an unprecedented amount of money sloshing about in the game right now, football clubs from around Europe certainly weren’t shy of splashing the cash this time last year.

We’ve turned back the clocks 12 months and have checked out the top 10 most expensive deals and assessed how they have done since.

10. Michael Olise

Having been close to joining Chelsea in 2023, it was Bayern Munich who eventually snapped up Olise from Crystal Palace for a fee of €53million.

Making the right-wing spot his own under Vincent Kompany, Olise’s talents came to the fore in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League.

With 17 goals and 21 assists in all competitions, the France international has handled the pressure well in Munich and earned Vincent Kompany’s trust.

9. Dani Olmo

Having graduated from La Masia, Olmo made Barcelona see what they were missing after leaving them to join Dinamo Zagreb and then RB Leipzig.

After winning Euro 2024 with Spain, Barca coughed up €55million to bring the midfielder back home.

Olmo was forced to wait to make his debut due to a registration issue, which reared its head again in January.

Despite the off-the-pitch issues, the midfielder thrived for Barcelona last season. His 10 goals and four assists in La Liga helped Barca wrestle the title from Real Madrid and he was brilliant in the Champions League too.

8. Teun Koopmeiners

Koopmeiners went public back in March 2024 to confirm that he wanted to leave Atalanta.

The Netherlands midfielder, previously linked with Liverpool, had made himself a star in Serie A after three excellent seasons with the club and helped them win the Europa League before leaving.

After months of speculation and fraught negotiations, plus the obvious transfer request, Juventus stumped up €58.4million for his services.

The 27-year-old was a mainstay in Juve’s midfield, making 44 appearances for the side that was distinctly underwhelming last season.

Koopmeiners only scored five goals, compared with 15 in his last year at Atalanta. Both player and club have work to do.

7. Amadou Onana

Onana was courted by Manchester United, but the Everton midfielder ended up joining Aston Villa last summer for €59.35million instead. This was probably a wise decision.

The 23-year-old is a real presence in central midfield and has the physical capabilities to play Unai Emery’s style of football, although he is yet to truly explode at Villa Park.

6. Joao Neves

PSG weren’t renowned for their transfer market prowess, but the signing of Neves from Benfica last summer helped change all that.

The 20-year-old may only be 5ft 7in, but makes up for his lack of stature with tenacity and technical ability.

Costing just shy of €60million, the midfielder was superb as PSG swept all before them in Ligue 1 and won their first Champions League trophy too.

Neves was also part of the PSG squad that reached the Club World Cup final and helped Portugal win the Nations League too.

“He adapts perfectly to my idea of the game: his style of play, his physical strength, his intelligence, his relationships with his teammates,” PSG boss Luis Enrique said last September.

“He has one important characteristic: he doesn’t lose the ball.”

5. Moussa Diaby

Diaby’s move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad for €60million was one of the main reasons why Aston Villa could afford to splash the cash on Onana.

The forward surprised many with his decision to leave the Premier League at the age of 25, but things have gone pretty well so far.

He racked up five goals and 15 assists in the Saudi Pro League last season as Al-Ittihad won their 10th league title.

Playing alongsideKarim Benzema, Steven Bergwijn and Houssem Aouar, Diaby has been a creative lynchpin in a trophy-winning side.

4. Pedro Neto

Chelsea won the race to sign Neto from Wolves last summer, paying €60million to add the Portugal international to their stockpile of wingers.

Competing with scores of other forwards, Neto’s hard-working style saw him preferred by Enzo Maresca and helped Chelsea win both the Conference League and the Club World Cup.

While nine goals and nine assists is a pretty modest return, Neto will back himself to improve on those numbers this season.

QUIZ: Can you name Chelsea’s 25 most expensive signings in history?

3. Leny Yoro

Yoro’s €62million price tag lumped him with a huge amount of instant expectation at Manchester United, with Rio Ferdinand among those to compare the young centre-back to the second coming of Jesus Christ.

United had stolen Yoro from underneath the noses of Real Madrid to further inflate his reputation, but injury meant he didn’t even make his debut for months.

Finishing 15th and losing the Europa League final didn’t flatter Yoro, but talent was obvious even in a struggling side.

2. Dominic Solanke

Solanke became Tottenham’s record signing – and the biggest transfer in the Premier League – last summer when he left Bournemouth for €64.3million.

Despite Spurs’ league struggles last year, finishing 17th, Solanke generally looked the part and scored nine goals in 27 Premier League appearances.

But it was his five goals in the Europa League, including crucial strikes in the quarter and semi-finals, that helped Spurs win their first trophy since 2008.

More will be expected of Solanke under Thomas Frank this year, but his first year at the club was satisfactory.

1. Julian Alvarez

Many fans were surprised to see Pep Guardiola sell Alvarez to Atletico Madrid last summer, even though Manchester City received €75million for the striker.

The Argentina international recorded 36 goals and 17 assists in 103 games for City and Guardiola had to fork out for Omar Marmoush in January to replace this output.

Out in Spain, Alvarez scored 29 goals for Atleti last season but failed to win silverware.

The last image of his first campaign for the club was that infamous double-hit penalty against Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 penalty shoot-out.

But we’re backing him to bounce back this year, given his flawless career to date.

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