Arsenal flop Havertz among Premier League's worst summer signings
With each Premier League side now having played eight matches so far this season, we’ve decided to take a look at the summer signings that haven’t quite yet made the impact expected of them. Newly-promoted Burnley dominate the XI with four representatives, while players from Bournemouth, Brentford, Aston Villa, Everton, Sheffield United, Arsenal and Fulham are also included.
James Trafford (Burnley) - 6.33
After his heroics for England’s U21 European Championship winning side, and an impressive campaign on loan at Bolton last season, Burnley agreed a deal to sign goalkeeper James Trafford from Manchester City for £19m. But only Sheffield United have conceded more goals (22) than Burnley (20) in the Premier League this season, and of the goalkeepers to have faced more than 20 shots so far, Trafford’s save success rate of 57.1% ranks the lowest in the top-flight.
Max Aarons (Bournemouth) - 6.28
Another member of England’s U21 winning side, Max Aarons made the move to the Premier League in the summer in a deal worth up to £12m. Aarons started each of Bournemouth’s first seven league matches, before being taken out of the starting XI after the 4-0 defeat to Arsenal at the end of September. The full-back’s WhoScored rating of 5.04 against the Gunners was his lowest rated of the season so far, and the 11th lowest rated display in the Premier League this term. Andoni Iraola’s side are still searching for their first win of the season, and were most recently beaten 3-0 away to Everton.
Nathan Collins (Brentford) - 6.66
Brentford opted to strengthen their defensive ranks in the summer with the £23m purchase of then Wolves man Nathan Collins. The Republic of Ireland international has started seven of the Bees’ eight matches thus far, with his lowest rated performance (5.71) coming in the 3-1 home defeat to Everton three weeks ago.
Pau Torres (Aston Villa) - 6.67
Since arriving for an initial £33m from Villarreal, Spanish defender Pau Torres has started each of Aston Villa’s last seven league matches. The 26-year-old has helped guide his side to two clean sheets in that time, with his highest rated performance coming in the 1-0 win at Chelsea (7.13), and his lowest in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool (6.15).
38-year-old full-back Ashley Young swapped Aston Villa for Everton this summer in a free transfer, and has started each of the Toffees’ eight fixtures thus far. Young’s lowest rated performances have come in defeats to former side Aston Villa (5.07) and newly-promoted Luton Town (5.28).
With just a year left on his contract at Sheffield United, Burnley chose to make a £15m move for Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge as part of their recruitment drive as they returned to the Premier League. The 25-year-old has so far committed more fouls (7) than he has made key passes (5), with his lowest rated performance coming in the 3-1 home defeat to Aston Villa.
Vinicius Souza (Sheffield United) - 6.58
Sheffield United completed the summer signing of midfielder Vinicius Souza from Belgian second division side Lommel S.K. for around £10m, and the midfielder has so far started seven league games for the Blades. Souza’s lowest rated performance understandably came in the 8-0 home defeat to Newcastle, when he registered a WhoScored rating of 5.94.
24-year-old Germany international chose to swap Chelsea for London rivals Arsenal when the Gunners agreed a fee of more than £67m for his services in the summer. After starting each of Arsenal’s first four league matches, Havertz has lost his place in Mikel Arteta’s first-choice XI, with Fabio Vieira preferred. Havertz’s lowest rated performance so far came in the disappointing draw at home to Fulham, where he returned a WhoScored rating of 6.10.
Luca Koleosho (Burnley) - 6.35
Burnley made the move to sign 19-year-old attacker Luca Koleosho from Espanyol for around £3m in July. Koleosho, who is currently a youth international for Italy, has started seven of the Clarets’ eight matches so far, and provided the assist for Lyle Foster to score against Tottenham in September. His lowest rated display at this stage (5.71) came in the opening day defeat to Manchester City.
After five seasons at Wolves, Mexican striker Raul Jimenez completed a £5m switch to fellow Premier League side Fulham in the summer, in a move to replace the outgoing Aleksander Mitrovic. Since arriving in London, Jimenez has started seven matches under Marco Silva, but is yet to find the back of the net with any of his 11 shots. His lowest rated performance so far (5.80) came in the 1-0 home victory over Luton Town.
Burnley’s fourth and final inclusion in the XI is 22-year-old forward Zeki Amdouni, who made the move to Turf Moor from FC Basel for around £15m. Amdouni has started seven matches for the Clarets, and netted his first Premier League goal in the draw at Nottingham Forest. With a WhoScored rating of 6.16, his performance in the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle is his lowest rated so far.
