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The 2020-21 Premier League witnessed high-voltage drama on the final matchday of the season.
While Manchester City and Manchester United were confirmed to finish in the top two (in that order) before Matchday 38, the battle for Champions League places was an enticing one. Liverpool finished third, while ten-man Chelsea sneaked into the top four despite losing, as Leicester City squandered a lead to lose to Tottenham Hotspur and slip to fifth.
Many summer signings had fruitful campaigns in the 2020-21 Premier League. A case in point was West Ham United, who made smart investments in last summer and reaped rich dividends in the form of a top-six finish.
On that note, let’s take a look at the five Premier League summer signings that exceeded expectations in the recently-concluded 2020-21 edition of the competition.
#5 Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota pleasantly surprised one and all with his stellar performances at Anfield after a £40 million transfer from Wolves.
The Portuguese was brought in as a backup to ease the pressure off the trio of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. Despite missing around three months of the Premier League season due to injuries, Jota notched up 19 appearances for Liverpool, scoring nine goals.
Jota proved his worth in the Champions League, too, scoring a hat-trick against Atalanta in the group stage of the competition. He netted goals against Arsenal, Manchester United and Leicester City in his debut Premier League season with the Reds.
The 24-year old featured mainly as a substitute this season, making 14 appearances off the bench.
One of Jota’s most memorable Premier League moments this season was his brace against Arsenal after coming off the bench. Coming on in the 61st minute, Jota broke the deadlock three minutes later, which spoke volumes of the youngster’s tremendous potential and pedigree.
#4 Edinson Cavani
Edinson Cavani has been one of the best no. 9s in the game in the last decade or so. After a slow start, he continued his fine goalscoring form at Old Trafford too.
The Uruguayan featured mainly in a substitute in the first half of the Premier League season. But he worked his way into Manchester United’s starting XI, scoring five goals from the bench.
Cavani equalled the record for the most goals (5) scored by a substitute in a Premier League season, matching the tally of his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In 26 Premier League appearances, including 13 off the bench, Cavani was Manchester United’s third-highest goalscorer in the 2020-21 Premier League. The 34-year-old registered 16 goals and six assists in all competitions, including ten strikes and three assists in the Premier League.
The Uruguayan striker registered an xG (expected goals) of 11.2 across all competitions, which was third-best by a United player during the season, just behind Fernandes and Rashford. Undoubtedly, Cavani was United's best summer signing of the season.
#3 Vladimír Coufal
Premier League club West Ham made some of the smartest moves in the 2020 summer transfer window. They signed the likes of Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen and one of their stars this season, Vladimír Coufal.
The Czech Republic international made the move to West London from Slavia Prague, along with former teammate Tomas Soucek. While Soucek had previous loan spells at the London Stadium, this was Coufal’s first season in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, the 28-year-old looked assured in West Ham’s backline and adapted quickly to Premier League football. Coufal emerged as one of the first names in West Ham’s team sheet, playing 97% of the Hammers’ Premier League minutes in 2020-21.
In 34 Premier League appearances, Coufal played a key role in helping his team keep nine clean sheets; he also notched up seven assists along the way. With a crossing accuracy of 26% and 35 accurate long balls in the Premier League season, Coufal was one of the best attacking full-backs in the English top flight in 2020-21.
#2 Edouard Mendy
With Kepa Arrizabalaga, the world's most expensive goalkeeper, enduring a wretched 2019-20 campaign, Chelsea were in desperate need of a reliable shot-stopper.
Kepa was wildly inconsistent and prone to errors, which meant he fell out of favour under Frank Lampard at the start of the 2020-21 Premier League campaign. Chelsea made a move for Stade Rennais goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who had previously spent the 2014-15 season without a professional contract and the subsequent campaign in the French fourth division.
Much to their delight, the Blues reaped massive returns on their investment. The Senegalese kept 24 clean sheets in 44 appearances in all competitions. Mendy conceded just 30 goals in his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge, an average of 0.68 goals per match.
The 29-year-old made 31 appearances for Chelsea in the 2020-21 Premier League season, playing a key role in the Blues’ top-four finish by keeping 16 clean sheets. Only Manchester City custodian Ederson (19) kept more clean sheets in the competition than Mendy, but the former played five more games than the Senegalese.
#1 Wesley Fofana
After a stellar 2019-20 campaign with Saint-Etienne, Wesley Fofana ventured to English shores by arriving at Leicester City on a £31.5 million transfer.
The little-known Fofana emerged as one of Premier League’s best full-backs, notching up 28 league appearances in his debut season in English football. The 20-year old displayed immense composure in Leicester’s backline and proved equally adept in the opposition third.
In the 2020-21 Premier League, Fofana played a part in the Foxes keeping six clean sheets and registered a stellar 73% tackle success rate.
The young Frenchman completed over 60 passes per game in the Premier League, doing so with an 88% pass success rate. Fofana also tallied over 75% accuracy while sending down 75 accurate long balls in the league. The 20-year old also accumulated 51 tackles and 61 interceptions.
After signing the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante over the years, the Leicester City scouting team unearthed another gem in the young Wesley Fofana.
