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Once the price is paid and a player is bought, teams can only hope that they hit the ground running and do not turn out to be an absolute disappointment. High-profile, big-money signings invite much scrutiny and footballers find themselves under the cosh pretty soon after making a famous transfer.
But that comes with the territory. Part of why clubs pay the big bucks for players is that they expect such individuals to come in and perform at a high level without much hassle.
On that note, let's take a look at five new signings who have disappointed in the Premier League so far.
#5 Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)
It would be too much to expect Nicolas Jackson to be a prolific goalscorer for Chelsea already. His tally of 13 goals from 38 appearances across all competitions for Villarreal in the 2022-23 season was impressive for a 22-year-old, but it is not too encouraging for a club of Chelsea's stature.
As such, expecting him to shoulder the responsibility of scoring goals largely by himself at Chelsea feels like a huge ask. Jackson has got off to a very ordinary start to life at Stamford Bridge, scoring just one goal in four Premier League appearances so far.
The Senegal international has not looked sharp in front of goal and is already guilty of squandering several good chances for his side. Chelsea's narrow 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest prompted their manager Mauricio Pochettino to call for his forwards to be more clinical in front of goal.
Speaking to the press after the game, Pochettino said:
"Today, we created chances. We were not clinical enough in the last third. We should score if we want to win, make one mistake and concede."
#4 Mason Mount (Manchester United)
If dropping two forgettable performances in his first two competitive outings in a Manchester United shirt wasn't enough, things have gotten even worse for Mason Mount now.
United's new €64 million signing is expected to be out at least till the end of September after picking up an injury in the loss against Tottenham Hotspur.
His performances in the games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Spurs were lackluster. Mount failed to provide any kind of solidity in midfield and was easily rushed into making mistakes in the final third as well.
He should be looking to revive his career this season at Manchester United but the early signs have hardly been encouraging.
#3 Andre Onana (Manchester United)
Manchester United seemed to have traded one set of vices off for another as far as their goalkeeping department is concerned. While Andre Onana's passing and distribution have been quality and a huge upgrade on David de Gea's, the new United goalkeeper's shot-stopping has left a lot to be desired.
In fact, Onana has made only a handful of quality saves so far. Some of the goals he has conceded have been borderline laughable.
In United's 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest, Taiwo Awoniyi gave Forest the lead as early as the second minute. Despite being called into a one-on-one situation, Onana kept hugging the goalline and gave Awoniyi the freedom of the box and all the time he needed to put the ball in the back of the net.
His weak attempt to keep the ball out at the near post led to Declan Rice's injury-time winner for Arsenal on September 3. Onana subsequently did nothing to make things difficult for Gabriel Jesus' goal a few minutes later after the striker had made it inside the area.
He has conceded eight goals in four Premier League games and it's been a rather disappointing start to life at Old Trafford for the Cameroon international.
#2 Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)
Despite all his talent, €116 million always looked like too much money to spend on Moises Caicedo. He is only 21 and moving to a club of Chelsea's stature with the pressure of a hefty price tag was going to be an intimidating proposition.
Caicedo's performances in Chelsea's shirt have not been good so far. He has been poor in midfield and turned in forgettable performances in their losses against West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.
#1 Kai Havertz (Arsenal)
Premier League fans can't be too shocked about this after watching Kai Havertz struggling at Chelsea. There were questions asked about what role Havertz was going to play at his new club Arsenal when they roped him in earlier this summer.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta still seems to be figuring that out and it has certainly not helped the Germany international's case.
He seems to slow things down in attack for the Gunners. It was his misplaced pass that led to Marcus Rashford opening the scoring for Manchester United in Arsenal's latest outing on September 3.
He also missed an absolute sitter prior to that when he simply failed to make proper contact with the ball inside the United box. In four Premier League appearances so far, the 24-year-old has failed to make any goal contribution.
Arsenal will hope that Havertz can sort out his problems soon or it won't be long before he looks like a €75 million mistake.
