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The summer transfer window in 2017 was one of the most historic transfer windows of all time. It witnessed the world record transfer fee being smashed once again with the move of Neymar Jr. from FC Barcelona to PSG for an astonishing €222 million.
A number of high profile signings such as Ousmane Dembele (Borussia Dortmund to FC Barcelona), Romelu Lukaku (Everton to Manchester United), Alvaro Morata (Real Madrid to Chelsea) and Nemanja Matic (Chelsea to Manchester) kept everyone engrossed in the proceedings.
We have now arrived in December and can evaluate the impact these signings have had since moving on.
Note: The following list is not based on transfer fees but has been compiled on the basis of sheer impact the players have had on their respective clubs.
#5 Kyle Walker
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City won 11 out of 11 games at the start of last season and suddenly faltered midway, eventually ending up trophyless.
Pep knew he needed reinforcements in defense and brought in Kyle Walker despite his high price tag. The right-back was brought in from Tottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of £50m. He made an immediate impact at City, proving to be the missing cog in Guardiola’s system which relies heavily on playing out from the back.
Walker has been consistent in defense and has averaged 1.5 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game. He has been excellent with his crossing as well and has 5 assists to his name. Owing to Walker’s exploits, City have been defensively solid this season, conceding only 12 goals in 19 games.
#4 Paulinho
Even the most die-hard Barcelona fan could not have dreamed of the impact Paulinho has had at Barca since joining the Catalans for €40 million from China, a move that was highly criticized by the Camp Nou faithful who were reeling from the loss of Neymar Jr and the club’s failure to land Marco Verratti and Philippe Coutinho.
Paulinho though has answered his critics in style and has established himself as a first-team regular under Ernesto Valverde. Paulinho is a key component of the 4-4-2 formation and has developed an almost telepathic link up with Lionel Messi.
A high-scoring box-to-box midfielder, Paulinho has netted 6 league goals this season which is surprisingly more than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann, Alexis Sanchez and Karim Benzema.
#3 Simone Zaza
The fact that Valencia are third in the La Liga (above the likes of Real Madrid and Sevilla) largely boils down to the brilliant form of Simone Zaza and the tactics of newly-appointed manager Marcelino. Zaza has had a resurgence of sorts and currently sits 4th on the La Liga goalscoring charts with 10 goals to his name. The figure is extremely impressive for someone who had below-par spells at West Ham and Juventus.
Moving from Juventus to Valencia for a reported fee of €16 million, Zaza has impressed one and all at the Mestalla with his physicality and hold-up play which allow his fellow strikers to attack more fluently. The icing on the cake came against league minnows Malaga when Zaza surprised everyone by scoring a hattrick in less than 10 minutes, resulting in a 5-0 home win.
#2 Mohamed Salah
Liverpool’s club record purchase has proved to be one of the signings of the season so far. The Egyptian has been sensational in attack since his €50 million (including add-ons) move from AS Roma in the summer and was voted the Premier League Player of the Month for November 2017.
Salah’s ability to cut in from the right wing and shrug off challenges to hold the ball is one of the key aspects of his game. The fact that he presses higher up the pitch (an extremely important aspect of Jurgen Klopp’s build up) and has an almost telepathic link up with Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mane has made him a fan favorite.
Salah is currently the Premier League's second-highest goalscorer with 15 goals this season and became the first player to have scored more than 20 goals for Liverpool since Luis Suarez. Looking at the way Salah is progressing, we may well be in for a treat in 2018.
#1 Neymar
The world’s most expensive player has been nothing short of sensational for the Parisians following his staggering €222 million move from Barcelona in the summer. It comes as a matter of no surprise that PSG sit pretty at the top of Ligue 1 with 16 wins in 19 games and finished group leaders in the Champions League with five wins in six games.
The only aspect where the Brazilian needs to reflect upon is his relationship with fellow players. While he has a great understanding with most of his teammates, there was an outburst of emotions with striker Edinson Cavani over a penalty in a 2-0 victory over Lyon.
However, with a total of 17 goals and 12 assists in all competitions this season, Neymar looks all set to guide PSG to the Champions League title which has eluded them in the past, a feat which could go a long way in realizing his personal ambition of winning the Ballon d'Or.
Honourable Mentions: Kylian Mbappe (on loan), Romelu Lukaku, Alvaro Morata and Serge Aurier
