From Sancho to Haaland: Ranking last 69 Bundesliga signings in the Premier League | OneFootball

We’ve ranked every Bundesliga signing made by Premier League clubs since the summer of 2021 (every single one would be quite ridiculous and far too much work), with recent arrivals Nick Woltemade, Xavi Simons, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike now added.

The question is: is the Bundesliga tax real? The standard certainly seems to be improving, though Wirtz’s early struggles might convince Premier League clubs to think twice before spending huge sums on German prospects.

Another question is: what is Bundesliga tax? It’s when Premier League clubs overpay for players from Germany who struggle to adapt to English football’s pace and physicality. It happens more often than it really should. And RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande could be next.

From the completely pointless and overpaid to Erling Haaland via some genuine gems, here is our ranking of all 69 Premier League players to arrive from the Bundesliga since the 2021 summer transfer window.

Ranking every Bundesliga signing made by Premier League clubs since 2021

69) Jadon Sancho (Manchester United)

After being chased by United for over a year, Sancho became a shell of the player who registered 89 goal contributions for Borussia Dortmund. He is now at Aston Villa after an underwhelming loan spell at Chelsea last term.

68) Naouirou Ahamada (Crystal Palace)

We are not convinced this guy actually exists. He somehow made 31 appearances for Palace before joining Auxerre for nothing in January.

67) Sasa Kalajdzic (Wolves)

The big Austrian is still a Wolves player. Kalajdzic is on his second loan, this time at LASK, after playing for Frankfurt for six months in 2024. The poor guy did his ACL on his Wolves debut and has managed only 13 Premier League appearances since 2022.

66) Omar Richards (Nottingham Forest)

Richards spent last term on loan at sister club Rio Ave and has made zero appearances for Forest.

65) Jamie Gittens (Chelsea)

Gittens could probably be even lower, but he’s got plenty of time to prove himself at Chelsea.

64) Niclas Fullkrug (West Ham)

Why did West Ham sign Fullkrug? Oh, because they are West Ham.

63) Giovanni Reyna (Nottingham Forest)

Forest signed Reyna on loan for the second half of 2023/24 and he didn’t do much at all.

62) Ozan Kabak (Norwich)

After an underwhelming loan spell with Liverpool, Kabak managed to get another bite at the Premier League cherry. This time around, he helped Norwich get relegated.

61) Merlin Rohl (Everton)

His brother Fig is much better.

60) Jonah Kusi-Asare (Fulham)

You’d be forgiven for not knowing this guy exists.

59) Max Weiss (Burnley)

Three cup appearances. Zero clean sheets.

58) Milot Rashica (Norwich)

Joined after a decent spell at Werder Bremen, but he could not adapt to life in England and joined Galatasaray on loan a year after moving to the Canaries.

57) Kevin Mbabu (Fulham)

Fulham signed Mbabu for a measly £4m and barely played him.

56) Mahmoud Dahoud (Brighton)

There were some tips for Dahoud to be the bargain of 2023/24. He wasn’t.

55) Eric da Silva Moreira (Nottingham Forest)

Just had his Rio Ave loan cut short.

54) Wout Weghorst (Burnley)

Couldn’t fill Chris Wood’s boots and helped relegate Burnley after six years in the top flight.

53) Orel Mangala (Nottingham Forest)

Mangala joined from Stuttgart and managed two goal contributions in 27 league matches in 2022/23. Forest got themselves out of a PSR pickle by selling him to Lyon, who then gave him to Everton for the season.

52) Konstantinos Mavropanos (West Ham)

Superb for Stuttgart. Average, then poor, for West Ham.

51) Xavi Simons (Spurs)

We expected so, so much more from Simons.

50) Benjamin Sesko (Manchester United)

We’ll group three big-money signings together here, as the jury is still very much out. The early signs are mostly negative, but Sesko’s brace against Burnley could be the start of something. Let’s see if Michael Carrick can get a tune out of him.

49) Nick Woltemade (Newcastle)

After a decent start, Woltemade is looking more Fullkrug than Mario Gomez. His hold-up play can be delightful, but he looks increasingly limited. £73m is also a lot of money.

48) Georginio Rutter (Leeds)

His January 2023 signing was a big mistake in Leeds’ relegation battle. They needed experience, and it showed. Rutter excelled in the Championship and is now doing well at Brighton. That Championship form is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

47) Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea)

Nkunku arrived with huge expectations for £51m, but injuries halted him immediately. Despite his Leipzig brilliance, he was never able to establish himself as a regular starter at Chelsea.

46) Amine Adli (Bournemouth)

Adli will have to improve on his one goal in 19 games after Bournemouth lost Antoine Semenyo.

45) Sebastiaan Bornauw (Leeds)

Not a bad player, but is being linked with a return to Germany already.

44) Armel Bella-Kotchap (Southampton)

The young German impressed us early on after making the move from Vfl Bochum. After a strong start, the wheels fell off the Southampton bus and they were relegated. That early promise was premature.

43) Marc Roca (Leeds)

Struggled whenever he didn’t have Tyler Adams next to him. But only cost £8m.

42) Jacob Bruun Larsen (Burnley)

Burnley have signed this guy twice. First on loan for 2022/23 and then permanently after returning to the top flight for 2025/26. He’s only getting one inclusion, though.

41) Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)

Not the best start, is it? For £100m, expectations were huge. But Wirtz is just 22 and clearly improving. His goal against Barnsley was a belter.

40) Mathys Tel (Tottenham)

Supposedly a wonderkid, but looks nothing of the sort, though Spurs’ environment hasn’t helped. Watch him bang them in elsewhere.

39) Lukas Nmecha (Leeds)

Not bad for a free transfer.

38) Ademola Lookman (Leicester)

Scored six in 26 league games, including the goal that ultimately denied 92-point Liverpool the title.

37) Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa)

After an underwhelming debut season, Diaby left for Saudi Arabia. Villa essentially broke even.

36) Adam Aznou (Everton)

Everton fans want to see him play more. Come on, Moyeseh…

35) Jordan Beyer (Burnley)

Burnley bought Beyer from Borussia Monchengladbach after a solid season on loan, helping them earn promotion up to the Premier League. Hasn’t played all season.

34) Donyell Malen (Aston Villa)

Malen cost over £21m in January, then saw Marcus Rashford take his Champions League spot. He’s now off to Roma.

33) Jeremie Frimpong (Liverpool)

Not really a right-back, is he? Bloody rapid, though.

32) Pascal Gross (Brighton)

The German has literally just returned to Brighton.

31) Wataru Endo (Liverpool)

Endo is a solid rotational option but Arne Slot never plays him.

30) Leon Bailey (Aston Villa)

Signed from Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen for a cool £25m in 2021, Bailey failed to hit the heights expected of him in his first year for Villa. We said ‘2023/24 is his last chance to prove himself at Villa Park’ and he did just that. Bailey was fantastic. But he’s now at Roma.

29) Josh Sargent (Norwich)

Sargent has turned out to be a great signing for Norwich, but Championship Norwich, not Premier League Norwich.

28) Mark Flekken (Brentford)

We are now on to the players who did/are doing just fine. They are very hard to separate.

Flekken did well for Brentford. He was not outstanding but not bad by any stretch.

27) Omar Marmoush (Manchester City)

Marmoush instantly looked like a very special player, but his minutes have been limited this season. Semenyo’s arrival won’t help him. That £59m fee is aging worse by the week.

26) Lutsharel Geertruida (Sunderland)

One of many decent summer signings made by the Black Cats.

25) Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United)

For £15m, Mazraoui has been a solid addition.

24) Brajan Gruda (Brighton)

Brighton paid £25m for the young German, who is beginning to show why on a more frequent basis.

23) Marcel Sabitzer (Manchester United)

Signed on loan for the second half of 2022/23, Sabitzer filled a gap for Erik ten Hag and should have been signed permanently for £15m.

22) Tyler Adams (Leeds)

Leeds made some questionable signings before their relegation season, but Tyler Adams was a rare good one. The American international joined Bournemouth after his single year at Elland Road made it clear that he is far too good for the Championship.

21) Matthijs de Ligt (Manchester United)

We don’t think De Ligt was that bad for Man United last season. A decent player who has had more managers than hot dinners.

20) Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool)

Liverpool paid a lot of money for this guy. The early signs are good. But does he have world-class potential?

19) Hwang Hee-chan (Wolves)

You know what you will get from Hwang, but he has been poor for too long now.

18) Moussa Niakhate (Nottingham Forest)

One of 400 signings made by Nottingham Forest before 2022/23, Niakhate left Mainz – where he was captain – to take on his first challenge in England.

Niakhate was pretty solid for Forest but not a £27m player, we don’t think. That is what they got for him from Lyon after costing a measly £8m.

17) Chris Richards (Crystal Palace)

Richards joined Palace for around £10m in July 2022 and has been pretty solid whenever called upon.

16) Joao Palhinha (Spurs)

Palhinha is brilliant at what he does, but he’s pretty limited in possession. Spurs need a dictator, not a destroyer. What is Conor Gallagher?

15) Anton Stach (Leeds)

This guy is top. What a signing.

14) Taiwo Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest)

His goals in 2022/23 are the reason Forest are in Europe, not the Championship and a lot of debt.

13) Demarai Gray (Everton)

Everton got Gray for a measly £1.5m and he did not live up to that price tag. In a good way, this time.

12) Stefan Ortega (Manchester City)

City landed Ortega on a free transfer in the summer of 2022. As far as back-up goalkeepers go, the German is one of the best in the world. And as far as third-choice goalkeepers go, he might be the greatest of all time.

11) Kevin Schade (Brentford)

Brentford paid around £20m to sign the 24-year-old from Freiburg and, after a difficult spell with injuries, Schade has kicked on. He recorded 11 goals and two assists in the Premier League last term.

10) Manuel Akanji (Manchester City)

Nobody really expected much from Akanji when he joined from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, but he quickly proved he is a top player.

9) Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace)

Replacing Joachim Andersen was always going to be difficult, but Palace did exceptionally well with Lacroix. He makes the potential loss of Marc Guehi a little less scary.

8) Micky van de Ven (Tottenham)

Van de Ven’s pace is frightening. He can defend as well, which helps.

7) Granit Xhaka (Sunderland)

What a signing Xhaka has been for Sunderland. We were reluctant to put such a recent arrival in the top five, but we came close here.

6) Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)

Szoboszlai was disappointing before Slot came along. He was crucial in Liverpool’s Premier League title win and has been their best player in a turbulent 2025/26 campaign.

5) Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool)

Konate has had his injury troubles, but there’s no doubt that £36m for him has been a big bargain. That said, his form in an unpredictable Reds team this season has been very questionable.

4) Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace)

Mateta cost close to £10m in January 2022 after an initial loan and took a while to get going, but when he did, bloody hell, he became difficult to stop.

He is loving life under Oliver Glasner, finishing the 2023/24 season with 16 league goals after scoring two in his first 19 appearances in 2022/23 and eight in 77 overall. He then bagged 14 in 2024/25 and helped Palace win the FA Cup.

3) Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool)

Liverpool wanted Martin Zubimendi and, after failing to convince him to leave Real Sociedad, stuck with Gravenberch. He quickly blossomed into one of the best deep-lying midfielders in Europe.

2) Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)

Big, big money for Gvardiol (£77m) but he will be worth it in the long run.

1) Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

City should do business with Dortmund more often. Akanji has been excellent, Ilkay Gundogan’s £21m move in 2016 turned out to be one of the best signings in the club’s history, and Haaland has been…ridiculous.

Signed to win City the Champions League, he did just that at the first attempt as his new team completed the Treble. A whopping 52 goals in 53 games in his debut season was a simply outrageous return.

He now has one of the biggest contracts in world football after City tied him down for 115 months. Cheeky.