The summer of 2025 felt like a striker auction that never stopped, the sort of transfer window where every major club convinced itself that the final missing piece sat somewhere in the centre-forward market and the only solution was to spend heavily until that void disappeared.
Five clubs with enormous expectations and even larger budgets all came to the same conclusion. Chelsea wanted a new focal point. Arsenal had grown tired of improvising with false nines and hybrid forwards. Manchester United needed fresh blood up front. Newcastle were forced into a replacement signing they never wanted to make. Liverpool, never satisfied with standing still, decided they needed two.
The result was a wave of striker signings that collectively swallowed hundreds of millions of pounds. Every one of them arrived with enormous reputations, serious price tags and the same underlying promise that their goals would justify the investment.
Reality in the Premier League always moves faster than the marketing brochure.
8 months into the campaign, the league table has taken shape, the initial excitement has faded, and the numbers have started to reveal who has actually delivered. 29 matches into the season provide a fair sample size for evaluating forwards, particularly when the metric used focuses on the thing they are ultimately judged by.
For players who cost £50 million or more, that measurement becomes even more relevant. The transfer fee does not care about context. Clubs pay that money expecting difference-makers, forwards who tilt matches and change seasons.
Goals per 90 minutes offer one of the cleanest ways to evaluate the impact of these strikers so far. Raw totals can mislead, especially for players who split time between the bench and the starting XI. The rate of scoring paints a clearer picture of who has been delivering when they actually step onto the pitch.
From frustrating beginnings to immediate success stories, here is how every major Premier League striker signing from the summer of 2025 ranks so far this season.
7. Liam Delap | Chelsea
Fee: £30 million | 20 apps, 1 goal, 0 assists | Goals per 90: 0.12
It is a harsh reality for Liam Delap that, despite being the most affordable name on this list at £30 million, he has arguably been the most frustrating to watch in a Chelsea shirt. Arriving from a relegated Ipswich side where he had been a beacon of hope with twelve goals, the logic was that he would provide the physical, “old school” grit to balance out the more continental flair at Stamford Bridge.
Instead, he has looked like a man trying to navigate a maze in the dark, struggling to adapt his direct, counter-attacking instincts to the possession-heavy demands of the London club.
The statistics are damning for a player who was supposed to be the direct competition for the starting spot; one goal in 19 appearances is a return that would have most strikers looking over their shoulders toward the exit door.
While he possesses the raw power and the academy-bred technical foundation to succeed, his link-up play has been nonexistent, often seeing attacks break down as soon as the ball reaches his feet. A pass accuracy hovering around 66% is simply not of the standard required for a side that wants to dominate the ball, making him look more like a square peg in a round hole with every passing week.
Compounding his on-field struggles was a hamstring injury in August that robbed him of a pre-season rapport with his teammates, and a rash red card against Wolves in the cup that further stunted his momentum. He has been forced to feed on scraps in the final minutes of games, watching from the bench as fellow signing Joao Pedro makes the art of goal-scoring look effortless.
At 23, there is time to salvage this, but right now, Delap is the definitive basement-dweller of the summer striker class, a player whose aggressive style is currently an active hindrance to his team’s rhythm.
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6. Alexander Isak – Liverpool
£125 million | 16 appearances | 3 goals | 1 assist | Goals per 90: 0.24
Liverpool shattered their transfer record when they signed Alexander Isak, a deal that looked logical on paper and almost excessive in execution, considering the club had already committed £79 million to Hugo Ekitike earlier in the same window.
The logic was simple. Liverpool sought to maintain their attacking edge while refreshing the forward line, and Isak had already demonstrated in black-and-white stripes that he could thrive in England. His two seasons at Newcastle produced 52 goals across competitions, performances that combined elegance, composure and ruthless finishing in a way that made him one of the most admired strikers in Europe.
Clubs across the continent were monitoring him closely. Liverpool just moved fastest.
The price reached £125 million, a fee that immediately placed him among the most expensive players in Premier League history and guaranteed that every touch, miss and goal would carry more weight than usual.
What followed has been one of the most frustrating opening chapters imaginable.
Isak arrived at Anfield under unusual circumstances after a summer dispute with Newcastle that delayed his preseason preparation and ultimately left him short of match sharpness when the competitive fixtures began. Liverpool granted him time to regain fitness, though patience always wears thin quickly when a player arrives with a 9-figure transfer fee attached to his name.
His first appearances showed flashes of the player Newcastle supporters had adored. The movement remained intelligent. The ball control remained silky. The finishing touch, however, was missing more often than expected.
A lone goal in a cup tie against Southampton offered brief relief, though league goals remained elusive. Seven matches passed before he finally scored in the Premier League against West Ham, a moment greeted with relief inside Anfield as much as celebration.
Strikers often need one goal to unlock a run of confidence. That felt like the moment when Isak might finally settle.
Then everything collapsed.
Liverpool’s match against Tottenham just before Christmas delivered the sort of moment that can alter a season and sometimes a career. Isak opened the scoring with the composure that once defined him, sliding the ball calmly past the goalkeeper and celebrating what looked like the beginning of a revival.
Seconds later, he was lying on the turf in agony after a collision with Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven during the follow-through.
The diagnosis confirmed the worst fears. A broken leg ended his winter and potentially much more.
In pure statistical terms, the numbers already looked underwhelming before the injury. Three goals in sixteen appearances left him with the lowest goals-per-90 ratio among this group, a startling outcome considering the enormous expectations surrounding the move.
Context matters here. Fitness issues slowed his integration, and the injury robbed him of any chance to rebuild momentum. Football seasons, however, do not pause for circumstances.
Liverpool spent £125 million expecting a leading man.
Instead, they have a striker watching from the treatment room while another new signing leads the line.
5. Nick Woltemade – Newcastle United
£69 million | 42 appearances | 10 goals | 3 assists | Goals per 90: 0.31
Replacing a player like Alexander Isak was never going to be simple, though Newcastle found themselves forced into that position when Liverpool came calling with an offer too large to ignore.
The club moved quickly, identifying Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade as the most intriguing candidate on the market. At 6’6” with an unusual blend of height, technical skill and surprising mobility, Woltemade had produced a breakout campaign in Germany that yielded 17 league goals and caught the attention of several Premier League scouting departments.
Newcastle moved quickly and most aggressively, paying £69 million to secure the German striker and hand him the responsibility of replacing one of the league’s most elegant forwards.
The early signs looked promising.
Woltemade began his Newcastle career with a surge of goals that instantly endeared him to the supporters at St James’ Park. 6 goals across his first 11 appearances suggested the transition from Bundesliga to Premier League might be smoother than expected, and his towering frame quickly became a focal point for crosses, long balls, and chaotic penalty area scrambles.
Fans quickly gave him a nickname that spread across social media and terraces alike. “Big Nick” became shorthand for the sort of presence Newcastle had rarely possessed in recent years.
Those early weeks in September and October felt like the start of something substantial.
Then the season began to shift around him.
Injuries across the Newcastle squad gradually eroded the attacking structure that had initially supported Woltemade’s strengths. Wide players disappeared from the lineup. Midfield creativity diminished. The service into the box slowed considerably.
Suddenly, the towering striker looked isolated.
Matches passed where he barely touched the ball in dangerous areas. His body language grew more frustrated with each passing week, particularly as the goals dried up during the winter period. Strikers often depend heavily on rhythm, and Woltemade’s early momentum slowly evaporated as Newcastle struggled collectively.
Rumours emerged during February suggesting the German had grown unsettled, reports that indicated he might be open to a move away, less than a year after arriving. Whether those whispers carry genuine weight or not, the frustration in his performances has been difficult to ignore.
Eddie Howe responded with a tactical experiment that few supporters expected.
Rather than persist with Woltemade as an isolated striker, the manager began deploying him deeper in midfield, hoping his height and technical ability might offer something different in central areas. William Osula moved ahead of him as the primary forward while Woltemade attempted to adjust to an unfamiliar role.
The experiment has produced more confusion than clarity.
Woltemade’s physical profile does not naturally suit the relentless running required of Premier League central midfielders, and his attacking instincts appear dulled when positioned so far from goal. The striker who once looked dangerous in the penalty area now spends large stretches of matches chasing play rather than influencing it.
10 goals across 42 appearances represent a respectable return for a player adapting to a new league, though the goals-per-90 metric reveals a more modest reality when accounting for the minutes played.
Newcastle expected a centre-forward capable of leading their attack for years.
At the moment, they have a talented but unsettled footballer still searching for a defined role within the system.
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4. Benjamin Sesko – Manchester United
£73.7 million | 26 appearances | 9 goals | 1 assist | Goals per 90: 0.42
Few young strikers carried as much online mythology as Benjamin Sesko before arriving in England.
For years, the Slovenian had existed somewhere between genuine prospect and Football Manager legend, the kind of towering forward whose highlight clips and statistical projections convinced supporters he might become the next great European striker.
RB Leipzig provided the stage for that reputation to grow. Three consecutive seasons with more than 18 goals suggested the raw potential was beginning to solidify into consistent production.
Manchester United, searching for long-term stability in the centre-forward position, decided the time had come to take the gamble.
The £73.7 million fee reflected both belief in his future and urgency within the club’s recruitment strategy. United had rotated through attacking options for several seasons without finding a dependable focal point, and Sesko represented the kind of physical, direct striker many supporters believed the squad lacked.
The early months under manager Ruben Amorim proved challenging.
Sesko started regularly but struggled to influence matches in the way the coaching staff expected. His movement occasionally appeared disconnected from the midfield supply, while the physical intensity of Premier League defenders created problems he had not encountered so consistently in Germany.
17 appearances produced only a single goal.
Criticism arrived quickly, some of it excessive and premature considering the striker’s age and adjustment period. Even so, the pressure inside Old Trafford rarely allows young forwards extended patience.
Then the managerial situation changed.
Amorim departed, and Darren Fletcher temporarily stepped into the dugout, bringing a simpler attacking approach that seemed to free Sesko’s instincts. In Fletcher’s first match, the striker scored twice against Burnley, goals that restored belief both within the squad and in the stands.
Another goal followed soon after, and suddenly the conversation surrounding Sesko began to shift.
Michael Carrick’s eventual appointment unexpectedly accelerated that revival. Rather than immediately reinstalling the Slovenian as a permanent starter, Carrick began introducing him from the bench, allowing the striker to attack tired defences with fresh energy.
The impact was dramatic.
4 goals in 5 appearances arrived despite Sesko playing only 158 minutes during that stretch. Each cameo carried the same pattern: quick movement into space, powerful finishing and a visible surge of confidence.
Supporters quickly revived a familiar nickname.
“Ole Gunnar Sesko” began circulating among fans, a playful reference to the club legend whose reputation was built on decisive contributions from the bench.
Statistically, the goals-per-90 figure places him comfortably above several peers on this list. Nine goals from limited minutes demonstrate the efficiency United hoped to see when they invested heavily in his potential.
The challenge now involves translating that efficiency into consistent starting performances. When Sesko played ninety minutes against Newcastle recently, the goals disappeared again, and the rhythm looked less convincing.
Carrick faces an intriguing dilemma. The striker has proven devastating in short bursts yet less reliable across full matches.
Development rarely follows a straight line, particularly for a 22-year-old learning the pace and brutality of the Premier League. The tools remain obvious. The next step involves turning flashes into consistency.
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3. Viktor Gyökeres – Arsenal
£54.8 million | 38 appearances | 15 goals | 3 assists | Goals per 90: 0.49
Gyökeres arrived in North London carrying one of the most eye-catching scoring records in European football.
His transformation at Sporting Lisbon bordered on extraordinary. The Swedish striker had once struggled to secure minutes during his brief stint with Brighton, yet two years later, he had produced 97 goals in 102 appearances for the Portuguese giants.
Numbers like that inevitably travel across scouting departments. Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all tracked him closely, though Mikel Arteta ultimately convinced the player that the Emirates Stadium offered the clearest path forward.
The transfer fee reached £54.8 million with potential add-ons pushing the final cost higher, a figure that represented both faith in his finishing ability and curiosity about whether his unique style would translate to England.
Gyökeres plays football like a battering ram with a finishing touch.
His strengths lie in power, directness and relentless movement toward a goal. He enjoys physical duels with defenders, thrives on through balls into open space and rarely hesitates when a shooting opportunity appears.
Arsenal’s system demanded a slightly different interpretation.
Arteta often requires his striker to participate heavily in build-up play, drifting into midfield areas to combine with attacking midfielders and create space for wide forwards making diagonal runs. That role demands technical precision and positional awareness rather than constant forward momentum.
The adjustment period produced predictable frustration.
Gyökeres occasionally arrived late during counterattacks where Arsenal’s quicker players had already burst ahead. His link-up play looked functional rather than elegant, and the Emirates crowd occasionally grew restless when promising moves broke down around him.
Criticism followed, some of it harsh, considering the tactical learning curve he faced.
Gradually, the striker began to settle.
Goals started arriving against mid-table and lower-ranked opponents, the kind of fixtures where his physicality could dominate defenders who lacked comparable strength. Each finish chipped away at the early doubts surrounding his signing.
The turning point arrived in January.
Gyökeres scored away against Chelsea before following that performance with another important goal during Arsenal’s trip to Milan in the Champions League. Confidence surged, and his presence inside the penalty area suddenly looked far more decisive.
Last week delivered the most satisfying moment yet for Arsenal supporters.
A brace in the North London Derby against Tottenham pushed his season tally to 15 goals across competitions, 10 of those coming in the Premier League. The celebrations carried a sense of relief both for the striker and the supporters who had waited months to see him dominate a major fixture.
Statistically, his goals-per-90 rate places him firmly among the more productive signings of the summer window.
The style remains unspectacular in certain aspects. He rarely glides across the pitch with technical artistry and his link-up play will never resemble that of a creative forward.
What he offers instead is directness and persistence.
Strikers who score regularly often earn forgiveness for their limitations. Arsenal supporters may still grumble about occasional wastefulness, though 15 goals during an adjustment season represent solid value for a player experiencing the Premier League for the first time.
SEE ALSO | 15 Worst January Transfer Window Signings in Premier League History
2. Hugo Ekitike – Liverpool
£79 million | 38 appearances | 16 goals | 6 assists | Goals per 90: 0.54
Liverpool’s decision to sign two expensive strikers in the same transfer window initially looked excessive, particularly when Alexander Isak arrived only weeks after Hugo Ekitike had already been unveiled at Anfield.
Most observers assumed the Frenchman would serve as rotational depth behind the Swedish star.
Arne Slot clearly saw the situation differently.
Ekitike arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt after a breakout season in Germany, where his mixture of speed, technique and intelligent movement had produced 22 goals. Several Premier League clubs had shown interest, though Liverpool moved decisively to secure his signature for £79 million.
What followed has been one of the more pleasant surprises of the season.
From the opening weekend, Ekitike displayed an energy that immediately suited Liverpool’s attacking philosophy. He pressed defenders aggressively, attacked channels with relentless running and demonstrated a calm finishing touch that settled any early doubts about his readiness.
Goals arrived quickly.
Three strikes across his first three competitive appearances created early momentum, and his performances gradually made it impossible for Slot to treat him as merely a supporting option. While Isak struggled with fitness and rhythm, Ekitike seized the opportunity with a series of lively displays that injected pace into Liverpool’s attack.
The Frenchman offers more than finishing.
His dribbling ability allows him to escape tight spaces around the penalty area, while his passing vision has quietly produced six assists during the campaign. Among Liverpool players, he ranks near the top of the chance creation charts, an impressive statistic for a striker initially expected to operate primarily as a goalscorer.
The winter months proved difficult for Liverpool collectively as their title defence faltered, yet Ekitike remained one of the few consistent bright spots in the squad. His willingness to run behind defences created problems even when the midfield struggled to supply him regularly.
By the time Alexander Isak suffered his devastating injury against Tottenham, the hierarchy within Liverpool’s forward line had already begun shifting.
Slot simply could not justify benching the player producing the most dangerous moments.
16 goals across 38 appearances leave Ekitike with one of the strongest goals-per-90 ratios among the summer signings, particularly when factoring in his creative contributions.
For a player who arrived expecting to compete for minutes rather than dominate them, the Frenchman has quietly transformed into Liverpool’s most reliable attacking outlet.
Sometimes the best transfer business happens when expectations start low.
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1. João Pedro – Chelsea
£60 million | 41 appearances | 20 goals | 6 assists | Goals per 90: 0.68
João Pedro arrived at Stamford Bridge with a reputation that had been building silently for years.
Brazilian forwards often carry a certain aura long before their peak arrives, and Pedro had shown flashes of brilliance dating back to his early days with Watford. His blend of technical flair, intelligent positioning and creative instincts suggested a player capable of operating both as a striker and an attacking playmaker.
Brighton provided the platform where that potential truly emerged.
30 goals and 10 assists across two seasons established him as one of the Premier League’s most intriguing attacking talents, performances that convinced Chelsea their long search for a versatile forward might finally have an answer.
The £60 million transfer fee felt substantial but not outrageous in the context of modern striker prices.
Initial reactions among supporters were mixed. Some questioned whether Pedro functioned best as a true number 9 or as a supporting attacker drifting behind the main striker. Others wondered whether his tendency to occupy central creative spaces might overlap awkwardly with Cole Palmer’s role.
There was also another new striker arriving.
Chelsea spent £30 million on Liam Delap during the same window, leading many fans to assume the younger English forward might ultimately become the primary goalscorer.
Eight months later, the comparison looks almost unfair.
Pedro has delivered one of the most complete attacking seasons produced by a new Premier League signing in recent years. 20 goals and 6 assists across 41 appearances highlight a player who contributes in nearly every phase of Chelsea’s attack.
His ability to score different types of goals stands out immediately.
Long-range strikes that bend beyond helpless goalkeepers. Delicate chips when defenders rush toward him. Clinical finishes inside the six-yard box when chaos unfolds in the penalty area. Pedro’s finishing catalogue continues to expand with each passing week.
The Club World Cup provided the first glimpse of what was coming.
Two spectacular goals against Fluminense during his second appearance for the club showcased his technical confidence and set the tone for a season filled with decisive moments.
Chelsea’s early Premier League form remained inconsistent, and managerial turbulence threatened to disrupt the squad entirely when Enzo Maresca departed and Liam Rosenior stepped in to stabilize the project.
The change sparked Pedro’s most explosive run of form.
In the 14 matches since Rosenior took charge, the Brazilian has scored 10 goals and delivered 2 assists while becoming the undisputed focal point of Chelsea’s attack. His hat trick against Aston Villa served as the clearest example of how devastating he can be when confidence flows through the entire team.
Statistically, his goals-per-90 rate stands comfortably above every other striker signed during that chaotic summer.
Chelsea have spent years searching for a number 9 capable of breaking the strange cycle of disappointment surrounding that shirt number.
20 goals into his debut season, he looks increasingly like the player who might finally bring stability to the role.
And among the Premier League’s expensive striker arrivals of 2025, no one has delivered more consistently when measured by the most important statistic of all.
