Diego Costa and the 12 Most Impactful Summer Premier League Signings
With 12 goals in 14 games, Diego Costa has wasted no time in making a big impression on the Premier League. But who else, signed over the summer, has made a significant impact in the top flight?
In this slideshow, we pick our top 12 signings from the summer 2014 transfer window and rank them from 12-1, according to who we think has been most effective for their respective new clubs.
Players who are currently on loan are not included in the list.
Agree with our choices? Disagree? Let us know below.
12. Lukasz Fabianski, Swansea City
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Lukasz Fabianski left Arsenal as a free agent over the summer, after spending seven years with Arsene Wenger's side.
During his time in north London, the goalkeeper made just 78 appearances for the Gunners and his exit garnered few headlines. Yet Fabianski has quietly made an excellent addition to Swansea City, following Michel Vorm's departure to Tottenham Hotspur.
Wenger has since revealed that he would have liked to keep the 29-year-old, telling Arsenal.com, "I didn't want to let him go, he was at the end of his contract. We didn't sell the player but when you get to 27 or 28 and you're not a regular first choice, you can understand that a player wants to go."
Having featured in all-but-one top-flight fixture this term, Fabianski's seven clean sheets are bettered only by Southampton's Fraser Forster, who has eight.
Additionally, the commanding keeper's total of 45 saves over 16 games and a claim success rate of 98 percent see him with the highest performance score of any Premier League goalkeeper on Squawka.
Rejuvenated now that he is no longer playing second fiddle to Wojciech Szczesny, Fabianski is having an impressive campaign. Signed for free and with the No. 1 shirt now his own, he could be one of the most underrated big-impact signings of the season.
11. Jack Colback, Newcastle United
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When Newcastle United were conducting their summer transfer activity, most of the focus was set on their imports from Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie, in the shape of Remy Cabella, Emmanuel Riviere, Siem de Jong and Daryl Janmaat.
However, the arrival of Jack Colback on a free transfer from Sunderland is arguably the most successful of them all.
The Newcastle-supporting midfielder—who joined the Black Cats as a 10-year-old—has been excellent for Alan Pardew's side, where he has been in the starting XI in all-but-one game this season. Colback was outstanding against Chelsea on December 6, as Newcastle inflicted the Blues' one and only defeat in the league this term.
Dubbed the "Ginger Pirlo" by England manager Roy Hodgson (h/t Louise Taylor in the Guardian), the 25-year-old received his first senior England call-up in August. With a pass accuracy of 89 percent, Colback has created 24 chances for his side in 2014/15 which, at the time of writing, is more than anyone else at the club.
10. Fraser Forster, Southampton
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One of three Southampton players in this slideshow, goalkeeper Fraser Forster has had a tremendous impact on his new side, since signing from Celtic for £10 million.
The England international currently boasts more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the league, with eight in 17 games. On a par with table-topping Chelsea—who welcomed Thibaut Courtois back from Atletico Madrid this season—Southampton have conceded just 13 goals this season.
Of course, these figures can also be credited to Southampton's strong defence, but in several key fixtures Forster has impressed—most notably with his Man of the Match performance against Arsenal on December 3, after which the Guardian's Barney Ronay asked:
"How many excellent games does it take before perceptions begin to shift and it becomes more widely accepted that Forster, for all his lack of caps and shampoo-flogging glitz is simply an excellent goalkeeper, on balance perhaps the best England have right now?
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It's Forster's first season as an active player in the Premier League and he's undeniably one of the division's best. The keeper who kept the most clean sheets in the Scottish Premier League for the last three seasons has turned in some immense performances and is making quite the impact on the south coast.
9. Enner Valencia, West Ham United
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The £13.2 million that West Ham United shelled out to bring Enner Valencia to Upton Park this summer looks like a bargain.
The former Pachuca striker—along with fellow new arrivals Diafra Sakho, Alex Song, Cheikhou Kouyate, Carl Jenkinson and Morgan Amalfitano, to name a few—has helped to transform West Ham this season, morphing the side's style of play into an attractive, attacking brand of football, boosting their confidence and seeing the Hammers head into Christmas fourth (fourth!) in the Premier League.
Valencia impressed at the World Cup over the summer, where he bagged three goals for Ecuador in the group stage. Since arriving in east London, he's not only scored three and assisted two, but he has also added much-needed pace and a relentlessly high work rate into the Hammers' XI.
As West Ham manager Sam Allardyce told ESPNFC.com in October:
"Valencia and Sakho—I don't think they really know what they have done yet. I don't think they really know how good they have been. They have just come here, they want to play football and I don't think they realise what such a big impact they have made and the rest of the team has been lifted by those two.
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8. Dusan Tadic, Southampton
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A number of new Southampton players can be lauded for the impact they have had at the club, since arriving at St. Mary's ahead of the 2014/15 season.
Deserving a great amount of praise is Dusan Tadic, who was brought in to replace Liverpool-bound Adam Lallana over the summer and has taken to Premier League football with ease.
Last season's top assist-maker in the Eredivisie with FC Twente, the Serbian has provided seven assists and scored one goal in 16 games for Ronald Koeman's side. According to Squawka, Tadic has created a total of 47 goalscoring opportunities in his time in the English top flight.
The 26-year-old's versatility has seen him deployed on the left wing, right wing and in an attacking midfield position. A run of losses, against Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Burnley and a game on the sidelines against Everton sees Tadic lower in this slideshow than he would have been one month ago. However, expect to see lots more of Tadic's creative skills in action as the season progresses.
Not only one of the most impactful players at Southampton, Tadic could well end the season as one of the best in the Premier League.
7. Graziano Pelle, Southampton
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Top scorer for Feyenoord over the last two seasons, Italian striker Graziano Pelle has been an undisputed hit in the Premier League with Southampton.
The 6'4" striker first found the back of the net in his third outing for Ronald Koeman's side, in a 3-1 win against West Ham. In the next five games, five goals and one assist were to follow, as Southampton defied early-season expectations that they would struggle this term.
After scooping the Premier League's award for Player of the Month in September and receiving his first call-up for the senior Italy squad, the goals dried up for Pelle between October 25 and December 3. However, he has since notched two, against Manchester United and Everton, respectively.
With eight goals in 17 starts, Pelle has been one of Southampton's driving forces this season and he is closing in on the total of 13 goals, scored by Rickie Lambert over the course of the 2013/14 campaign.
6. Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea City
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Over the summer, Gylfi Sigurdsson was brought to the Liberty Stadium for the second time in his career, swapping Tottenham Hotspur for Swansea City on a four-year deal.
Previously on loan with the Welsh outfit when at Hoffenheim in 2012, Sigurdsson has been one of his side's best players this season.
The 25-year-old's eight assists are the second-highest in the league, behind Cesc Fabregas with 12. The Icelandic midfielder has also scored twice—the first being Swansea's winner against Manchester United on the opening day of the current campaign and the second the Swans' opener as they fought back to beat Arsenal 2-1 on November 9.
Involved in all-but-one of his side's top-flight games this term, Sigurdsson has played a big part in getting Swansea to their current Premier League position of eighth.
5. Diafra Sakho, West Ham United
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When West Ham signed Diafra Sakho from FC Metz during the summer break, little did we know what a big impact the Senegalese striker would have in the Premier League.
The 24-year-old put away 20 goals in 37 games in the French second tier last season, helping Metz with promotion to Ligue 1. Upon his arrival at Upton Park, he told the club's official website, "I've come here to continue as I was at Metz. I'm going to give it my all, going flat out on the pitch and I think the fans will appreciate that."
He hasn't disappointed.
In Sakho's 11 Premier League games, he has put away seven goals—six of those strikes coming in successive games between September 15 and October 25. Also, he has, according to Squawka, created a total of 12 chances for his side.
Voted Ligue 2 Player of the Season last term and Player of the Month for West Ham in October, Sakho is proving to be one of the buys of the 2014/15 Premier League campaign.
4. Angel Di Maria, Manchester United
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Manchester United paid a record fee to bring Angel Di Maria to Old Trafford in August, the Argentina international telling ManUtd.com that United were "the only club that I would have left Real Madrid for."
And it seems that—so far—£59.7 million was money well spent, with Di Maria making an instant impact for his new side in the Premier League.
In his first six games as a United player, the former Madrid man bagged three goals and four assists, with a further two assists coming against Crystal Palace and Arsenal over the next four fixtures.
Deployed in a number of midfield roles by Louis van Gaal, the 26-year-old appears to have adapted to the rigours of the Premier League with ease and, apart from a run of three games where injury has forced him out of the side, Di Maria has played an essential attacking role for United, for whom he has created 31 chances this term (per Squawka).
3. Diego Costa, Chelsea
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Diego Costa arrived at Stamford Bridge on the back of an impressive, high-scoring season with Atletico Madrid and a terrible, stuttering showing for Spain at the 2014 World Cup.
Luckily for Chelsea, Costa left the poor performances in Brazil and has looked every inch the ferocious striker that scored 36 goals for Atleti (in all competitions) last term.
The 26-year-old announced himself in the Premier League with nine goals in his first seven outings for the Blues, before being ruled out for two games with a hamstring injury.
Since then, a further three strikes sees Costa heading into Christmas second in the league's scoring charts (behind Sergio Aguero), on top of the league and with a very healthy 24 chances created (per Squawka).
Yet to find the back of the net in the Champions League this season, Costa has made a big impact in the Premier League.
2. Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea
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How Arsenal must regret not re-signing Cesc Fabregas when the midfielder parted ways with Barcelona this summer.
Earlier this year, Arsene Wenger claimed that the 27-year-old wanted to rejoin the Gunners who "were not in need of offensive players," as reported by the Guardian's James Riach.
However, with Arsenal turning down first option to buy him, Fabregas joined Chelsea on a five-year deal.
Forced to miss the Blues' tie against Hull City through yellow-card suspension, Fabregas has been in Jose Mourinho's starting XI for every Premier League and Champions League game this term. The level to which he has performed has been outstanding, registering 12 assists in 16 top-flight outings and weighing in with two goals, against Crystal Palace and Stoke City, respectively.
The Spaniard currently boasts the most assists in the division, where he has slipped seamlessly back into Premier League life. As quoted by SkySports.com, Fabregas recently said, "Right now, I am playing some of the best football of my career." We are inclined to agree.
1. Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
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This season, no Arsenal player has shown more desire to win than Alexis Sanchez.
Bought by the Gunners from Barcelona for a fee in the region of £35 million (per BBC Sport), the Chilean has adapted to a foreign league in no time—single-handedly rescuing points for a stuttering Arsenal side on more than one occasion.
In addition to his five assists in the top flight, Sanchez scored in three draws—against Leicester City, Manchester City and Hull City, respectively. He bagged the only two goals of the game in a 2-0 win against Sunderland, followed by a further brace against Burnley and a solitary strike against Swansea in an Arsenal defeat on November 9.
Against Southampton, it was an 89th-minute goal from Sanchez that won all three points for the Gunners on December 3—his 14th goal (in all competitions) this season. Following the victory, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told SkySports.com:
"Alexis is one of the players who had to dig deep, but he still had such desire to fight. He always finds something special to get a goal.
It's difficult to find examples of someone who has settled at a club so quickly. He arrived in July and now it's December. When you look at the number of goals he has and the impact he has on the team, it's fabulous.
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