The 10 best signings in Europe’s top five leagues this season | OneFootball

It’s been a season to remember and one where several summer signings have been key protagonists of the campaign. The best signings this season have not necessarily been the most expensive, with unearthed gems and bargain buys featuring in our best of 2024/25.

We’ve ranked the 10 best signings in Europe’s top five leagues this season

10. Hugo Ekitike – PSG to Eintracht Frankfurt (£13.75m)

Eintracht Frankfurt have quite the record when it comes to nurturing strikers. Andre Silva, Luka Jovic, Sebastien Haller, Randal Kolo Muani and Omar Marmoush have all passed through the German side before being sold on for huge fees.

Hugo Ekitike looks next in line. The Frenchman has found his feet in Frankfurt after a sporadic opportunities at PSG. He’s netted 19 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions and is already attracting interest from Europe’s top teams. Frankfurt will demand the cheque is a big one.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s ridiculous record of selling strikers for big profit

9. Charles De Ketelaere – AC Milan to Atalanta (£21m)

Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Charles De Ketelaere’s time at AC Milan is a case in point. The Belgian midfielder failed to score in 40 appearances for the Rossoneri but has shone since joining Atalanta on an initial loan deal.

That transfer was made permanent last summer and Atalanta have reaped the rewards. He’s got 11 goals and 11 assists this season, for a side still dreaming of a maiden Scudetto success.

8. Joao Neves – Benfica to PSG (£50m)

After Luis Enrique decided Manuel Ugarte was not the right fit, PSG returned to Portugal to snap up Joao Neves ahead of Premier League competition.

The 20-year-old has been outstanding, for a side still unbeaten in Ligue 1 and into the Champions League quarter-finals. His partnership with Vitinha is a terrifically tenacious tandem, while Neves has offered four goals and nine assists alongside his off-the-ball work.

With Ugarte heading to Manchester United for a similar fee, it’s been a one-in, one-out with huge upside for PSG.

7. Michael Olise – Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich (£45m)

Michael Olise had never played European football before this season. He’s taken to it with absolute ease, after leaving Crystal Palace for Bayern Munich last summer.

Olise has scored 13 goals and created 11 more, while he celebrated a first international goal for France with a fabulous free-kick during March’s break. A superstar-in-waiting, if he isn’t already.

6. Victor Osimhen – Napoli to Galatasaray (loan)

The shock transfer of the season. When it became clear that Victor Osimhen was to leave Napoli, a transfer to one of Europe’s elite seemed inevitable. Negotiations with Chelsea and Al Ahli failed to find a breakthrough and Galatasaray swooped in after the closure of the European windows.

Even on loan, Osimhen is arguably the biggest signing in Turkish football history. This, after all, is a player valued at €100m, in a league whose transfer record was set at just €19.5 million last summer.

Galatasaray might have won the league regardless of Osimhen’s arrival, but he’s delivered on his big billing. It’s 26 goals in 30 appearances for the Nigerian, who is the league’s leading scorer.

5. Dean Huijsen – Juventus to Bournemouth (£12m)

Questions must be asked inside Juventus headquarters. Despite Dean Huijsen’s impressive loan spell at Roma, the defender was allowed to leave for Bournemouth for just £12m last summer.

In the Premier League, he’s enhanced a reputation as one of Europe’s best up-and-coming centre-backs. The 19-year-old has shone in a team pushing for Europe and was recognised with a Spain debut this month. It would be a huge surprise if his £50m release clause was not activated this summer.

4. Nikola Milenkovic – Fiorentina to Nottingham Forest (£12m)

Last season, Nottingham Forest were shipping goals from set pieces at an alarming rate. The summer saw Nuno Espirito Santo seek to fix that issue, signing a Serbian man-mountain from Fiorentina to defend their box.

It’s proven to be a masterstroke, with Milenkovic a towering presence in the Premier League’s most improved team. His no-nonsense defending has complemented the highly-rated Murillo perfectly, with Forest closing in on a shock Champions League qualification.

3. Moise Kean – Juventus to Fiorentina (£11m)

Moise Kean was in danger of becoming a talent of unfulfilled potential but a summer change of clubs has changed the narrative.

A bit-part player at Juventus, he’s become the main man at Fiorentina. The 25-year-old has scored 20 goals in all competitions this season, reclaimed his place in the Italy side, and sits second for goals scored in Serie A. For a fee of just £11m, that’s immense value.

2. Matteo Retegui – Genoa to Atalanta (£23m)

Gianluca Scamacca’s ACL injury might be remembered as the sliding doors moment in Matteo Retegui’s career.

Atalanta’s need for a replacement tempted the Italian side into the transfer market, with £23m spent to sign the Genoa forward. Retegui had scored just seven league goals during his debut season with Genoa but has proven to be the perfect fit in Bergamo.

He’s scored 25 goals for Gian Piero Gasperni’s side and is the runaway leader in the race to be Serie A’s top scorer. Just over 18 months ago, Retegui was a relatively unknown 23-year-old playing his club football in Argentina.

Now, he’s the first-choice forward for Italy and closing in on joining Azzurri icons including Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero as a Capocannoniere award winner. What a rise.

1. Kylian Mbappe – PSG to Real Madrid (free)

It’s not often that arguably the world’s finest footballer becomes available on a free transfer.

Sure, to call Kylian Mbappe a free transfer is a stretch given the gargantuan wages and signing-on fee involved in the deal, but you get the point.

Real Madrid did not pay a transfer fee for a player who has 31 goals and counting and could be the face of their project for the foreseeable future.

Read – Real Madrid’s best ever free transfers

See more – The 10 best defensive midfielders in the world right now

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