Top 5 value for money EPL signings in 2013-14 so far

1. Dejan Lovren – Lyon to Southampton – £8.5m

Nicola Cortese’s direction of Southampton’s transfer funds hasn’t always worked to great effect, but the £8.5 million stumped up for former Lyon man Dejan Lovren is looking cooler by the match.

Winning 62 of his 100 headed duels and 64% of all tackles, the Croatian has been one of the main components in a Saints defence that hasn’t looked out of its depth against the Premier League big guns this season.

On five occasions, Lovren has won Squawka’s best defence award, being nominated as Man of the Match once and top man in the team another couple of times.

An average of 11 defensive actions per game puts Mauricio Pochettino’s centre-back supreme on a par with some of the English top-flight’s biggest stalwart’s, helping his side into the same conversations that mention “European football.”