An outrageous Premier League XI that cost less than £125m Enzo Fernandez | OneFootball

Manchester City have broken their transfer record on the signing of Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea for an eye-watering £125m.

True, it’s a summer in which Elliot Anderson has cost Manchester City £116m and Sandro Tonali has cost Tottenham £92.5m. But there is still value to be found at the cheaper end of the scale.

To emphasise the point, we’ve assembled an XI of Premier League stars signed for less than £125million put together.

GK: Emiliano Martinez (£7m)

Of all the cash Chelsea have splashed this summer, they might not have made a shrewder signing than Martinez.

Signing one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League for £7m is savvy business, even if Martinez is 34 now.

Claims of him being the very best goalkeeper in the world always felt a tad exaggerated, but there’s no doubting he’s a massive upgrade on Robert Sanchez.

RB: Nordi Mukiele (£9.5m)

Sunderland went on a bit of a spending spree last summer after promotion to the Premier League. Safe to say it worked, with not just survival but European qualification secured by the end of it.

Mukiele was among their best value-for-money signings at £9.5m, becoming a useful option at right-back or centre-half.

CB: Fabian Schar (£3m)

Newcastle have got eight years of service out of Schar, making their £3m investment in him look even more of a bargain.

Activating his Deportivo release clause was a shrewd move by the Magpies. He has since played more than 200 times in the Premier League.

CB: Murillo (£15m)

It felt like Nottingham Forest had a scattergun approach to transfers in the years after their Premier League comeback, but their radar was finely tuned when they spotted Murillo.

Bringing the Brazilian to the Premier League from Corinthians when he was still only 21, Forest have since benefited as he’s flourished into a regular starter.

LB: Adrien Truffert (£11m)

You’d have thought Bournemouth might have struggled to replace Milos Kerkez last summer, but they actually went and found someone who did even better.

Truffert featured in all 38 of their Premier League games last season, settling in instantly after his arrival from Rennes.

CM: John McGinn (£2.8m)

Aston Villa were still in their Championship wilderness years when they took a chance on McGinn, signing him from Hibernian.

One year later and Villa were back in the big time. Fast forward three more years and McGinn became their captain. And another four years after that, he was lifting the Europa League trophy.

What a journey it’s been.

CM: Granit Xhaka (£17.3m)

Back to Sunderland’s summer business from 2025 we go and Xhaka had to be the pick of the bunch.

He’s the most expensive signing in this XI but £17.3m for a player of his quality and experience, in today’s market, was a bargain.

Xhaka immediately became Sunderland’s leader in midfield and was a huge driving force for them last season.

RW: Ismaila Sarr (£12.5m)

Sarr could have been the subject of a much more expensive move this summer had Liverpool agreed a deal with Crystal Palace for his signature.

But a Palace player he remains, having joined the club from Marseille in 2024.

With 33 goals across all competitions from his first two seasons at Selhurst Park, he’s been good value for money for a winger.

CAM: Mikkel Damsgaard (£12.5m)

This is season five of Damsgaard’s Premier League career and what a buy he’s been for Brentford.

One of the Premier League’s underrated attacking midfielders, he doesn’t get loads of goals but he makes up for it with plenty of assists.

LW: Kaoru Mitoma (£2.5m)

The cheapest player in this lineup, Mitoma’s stock has fallen a bit over the past year or so, but there’s no disputing that £2.5m was an absolute bargain for him.

Brighton have enjoyed his talents for four years now, with Mitoma proving to be an excellent dribbler capable of scoring a few goals too.

ST: Jean-Philippe Mateta (£9m)

Strikers are usually the players who cost the big bucks, but Crystal Palace got one for relatively cheap when they signed Mateta.

He’s become a reliable goalscorer for them over the past few seasons, but things went a bit sour this summer when he tried to leave on a free.