European Signing of the Season: Luis Diaz, Marcus Rashford and GOAL's top 20 transfers of 2025-26 - ranked

One year ago, Joaquin Panichelli was finishing up his season in the Spanish Segunda Division for Mirandes; now, were it not for a heart-breaking knee injury suffered in March, he may well have been preparing to represent Argentina at the World Cup following a breakthrough season for Strasbourg.

Signed from Alaves after netting 20 times while on loan at Mirandes, Panichelli hit the ground running in France, and was the top scorer in Ligue 1, with 16 goals from his 27 appearances before injury ended his campaign prematurely. He had added a further four goals in other competitions as Panichelli's form led to reports linking the 23-year-old with moves to Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.

Antoine Semenyo was one of the outstanding players through the first half of the Premier League season, and so when it emerged that the Ghana international's contract at Bournemouth included a release clause that could be activated early in the January transfer window, English football's elite made their interest known.

Manchester City eventually won the race, and Semenyo barely skipped a beat despite the step up in class and pressure to perform. He netted seven goals in his first 12 games for Pep Guardiola's title-chasers, and while he was unable to maintain that rate of scoring through to the end of the campaign, he remained an ever-present in the City line-up. His sublime flick to decide the FA Cup final wasn't bad, either.

Joao Pedro was always going to struggle to maintain the electric start to life he made as a Chelsea player at the Club World Cup, but the ex-Brighton forward did continue to be a thorn in the side of Premier League defences during his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.

He managed to net 20 times across all competitions, finishing fifth in the English Golden Boot race with 15 successful strikes to his name, while his excellent hold-up play and direct dribbling have adhered him to fans to the point that he was named Chelsea's Player of the Year. All that makes it even more puzzling as to why he wasn't named in Brazil's squad for the World Cup this summer.

It's fair to say that Endrick's Real Madrid career has not gone to plan as yet, an the Brazilian's time at the Bernabeu hit a nadir during the first half of the season as he managed just 11 minutes of La Liga action under Xabi Alonso. It became clear that some time away from the Spanish capital would benefit the former boy wonder, and Endrick chose a loan move to Lyon in January to reignite his career.

A hat-trick against Metz in just his third appearance made global headlines, and Endrick continued to be a difference-maker through to the completion of the campaign, scoring a total of eight goals while providing eight assists across his 24 appearances in all competitions. Endrick's contributions helped fire Lyon into next season's Champions League and earned him a Brazil recall for the World Cup.

If you haven't been keeping up with Ligue 1 this season, then Esteban Lepaul may well be a new name to you, but the striker has been turning heads in France during a remarkable campaign for Rennes. The 26-year-old has climbed his way through the leagues in recent years to reach the top-flight, and ended the 2025-26 season as the division's top scorer, netting 21 times to finish five goals clear of his nearest challengers.

Signed from Angers in late August, Lepaul set out his stall by scoring against his former club on his debut, but it his form in the closing weeks of the season that has seen his profile skyrocket, as Lepaul bagged 12 times in his final 14 games of the season to fire Rennes to a sixth-placed finish and Europa League qualification.

After relaunching his career during his short loan spell at Aston Villa last season, Marcus Rashford needed to kick on again in 2025-26 if he was to avoid fading into obscurity amid his fall from grace at Manchester United. Joining a Barcelona team with an already stacked attack was, then, a risk, but one that paid off handsomely for the England forward.

Though not a consistent starter, Rashford rarely let Hansi Flick down on his way to finishing his season in Catalunya with 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. The 28-year-old averaged a direct goal contribution every other appearance, and so it should come as no surprise that the Blaugrana are seriously considering making Rashford's move permanent.

After turning down the chance to join Liverpool in the summer of 2024, Martin Zubimendi eventually landed in the Premier League 12 months later, joining Arsenal despite a last-ditch effort from Real Madrid to keep the midfielder in Spain. Zubimendi immediately formed half of one of the best central duos in the top-flight alongside Declan Rice as he provided energy and intelligence to the Gunners' engine room.

The former Real Sociedad star also managed to chip in with five goals, and though he seemed to run out of gas down the stretch, leading to him losing his place in the line-up for the final weeks of the campaign, he was still able to appear in every match of Arsenal's title win while sitting out only two games of their run to the Champions League final.

It was scarcely believable when news broke that Paris Saint-Germain were ready to listen to offers for Gianluigi Donnarumma last summer. The Italy international's heroics had played a huge role in Luis Enrique's side winning the Champions League, and so while Donnarumma doesn't match Pep Guardiola's typical style of goalkeeper, bringing him to the Etihad for a knock-down fee was an offer that was too good for Manchester City to turn down.

Donnarumma has admittedly had some sticky moments with the ball at his feet and struggled at times when pressured from set-pieces, but from a shot-stopping perspective he has been unmatched upon his arrival into the Premier League. He ranked first for both save percentage (72.9%) and goals prevented (5.8) in the English top-flight, while only Golden Glove winner David Raya bettered his 15 clean sheets.

The bar that a Manchester United goalkeeper needs to clear for fans to get behind them has admittedly been lowered in recent years, but that shouldn't take away from what Senne Lammens has produced during his debut campaign at Old Trafford. Preferred to Emiliano Martinez when the Red Devils were weighing up their options towards the end of the summer window, Lammens handled the step up from Royal Antwerp with relative ease despite his lack of top-level experience.

The 23-year-old exuded confidence to the United defence while he coped particularly well with the barrage of set-pieces that modern day 'keepers have to deal with in English football. From a shot-stopping perspective, meanwhile, he ranked second for goals prevented (4.4) behind only Gigi Donnarumma.

Before joining Lens in the summer of 2025, Florian Thauvin had spent two pretty respectable seasons at Udinese following a short spell in Mexico with Tigres. An experienced head, Thauvin was expected to bring leadership and help set the standards for Pierre Sage, but the ex-Marseille man delivered so much more.

Thauvin ended the campaign with 14 goals and 10 assists to his name as Lens gave Paris Saint-Germain a scare in the Ligue 1 title race before capping a memorable campaign by ending their 27-year trophy drought and capturing the Coupe de France. Thauvin, who earlier in the campaign had earned himself a France recall, both scored and assisted in the win over Nice in the final.

Tottenham fans haven't had much to smile about over the course of a dismal season in north London, but the performances of on loan defender Luka Vuskovic for Hamburg at least offer some hope for the future. The 19-year-old was immense as the newly-promoted side steered well clear of relegation trouble, with Vuskovic rewarded for his performances with a place in the Bundesliga's Team of the Year.

Not only did he prove to be a dominant presence at centre-back, Vuskovic lived up to his billing as a prolific scorer of goals by finding the net six times, the most by a defender in Germany's top-flight. Spurs must hope that reports of interest from Barcelona and others in Vuskovic does not materialise into anything concrete as they prepare to welcome the Croatia international into their first-team ranks.

Luka Modric might have turned 40 in September, but you hardly would have known watching him pull the strings for AC Milan this past season. Having been allowed to leave Real Madrid as a free agent, Modric chose to continue his storied career at San Siro and became one of the driving forces behind the Rossoneri's title tilt for much of the campaign.

Both the range and accuracy of Modric's passing remain at the highest level, and he was certainly not to blame for Milan's late-season collapse that saw them not only fall out of Scudetto contention, but also left them out of the Champions League qualification places.

The task of replacing Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting CP was likely to be a tall order, but no one seemed to tell Luis Suarez. Signed from Granada after finishing as the top scorer in Spain's second tier in 2024-25, Suarez stepped into Gyokeres' shoes and immediately set about trying to match the Swede's sensational rate of scoring in Lisbon.

Colombia international Suarez ended the campaign with 38 goals in all competitions, including 28 in just 32 league appearances, as well as eight assists. Just like they did with Gyokeres, Sporting seem to have found a gem playing outside of the top-flight and are reaping the rewards.

An absolutely classic Bayern Munich transfer, the Bundesliga champions wasted no time in securing the signing of Bayer Leverkusen captain Jonathan Tah upon the expiration of his contract last summer, and the Germany defender has taken to live at the Allianz Arena with relative ease.

Tah has formed a strong centre-back partnership with Dayot Upamecano, and while those at the other end of the pitch for Bayern have dominated the headlines, Vincent Kompany's double winners wouldn't have been able to have the success they had without the defensive solidity that Tah helped inspire.

Joan Garcia caused controversy when he took the decision to leave Espanyol for their hated local rivals Barcelona last summer, but any concerns that the criticism he faced would impact the goalkeeper's performances were quickly put to bed as Garcia established himself as the outstanding goalkeeper in La Liga with a string of decisive displays.

The 25-year-old conceded just 21 goals in 30 appearances as Hansi Flick's side successfully defended their domestic title. Garcia also ranked first in the Spanish top-flight for clean sheets (15), save percentage (77.9%) and goals prevented (10.2), which in turn forced him into the conversation regarding who should be La Roja's starting 'keeper at the World Cup.

Few transfers were more surprising last summer than Granit Xhaka's decision to leave Bayer Leverkusen and join newly-promoted Sunderland - with even Leverkusen boss Erik ten Hag caught out by the Switzerland international's switch to Wearside. The Black Cats knew they had pulled off a coup and immediately handed Xhaka the captain's armband. He has not let them down.

Xhaka has led from the front for Regis Le Bris' side, bringing top-level experience to a squad that was light on leaders following their promotion via the play-offs. His passing remains elite, while his tally of six assists was bettered by just eight players in the entire league. Off the ball, he ranked in the top five percent among midfielders for both blocked shots and clearances, highlighting the key role he has played at both ends of the pitch in helping earn Europa League qualification.

Yan Diomande arrived at RB Leipzig last summer for a fee of €20 million despite having only made 10 first-team appearances for Leganes. He will likely leave the Red Bull Arena 12 months later for close to five-times that amount after a superb season that culminated in Diomande being named Bundesliga Rookie of the Year.

The 19-year-old thrilled fans with his fearless dribbling and eye for the spectacular on his way to finishing the campaign with 13 goals and 10 assists in all competitions. Diomande's form went a long way to securing a return to the Champions League for Leipzig, and it's easy to see why Liverpool and PSG are battling it out to sign the Ivory Coast international ahead of the World Cup.

As January signings go, few could ever have been more impactful than Donyell Malen. The Netherlands forward joined Roma on loan from Aston Villa as Gian Piero Gasperini tried to find an attacking edge to go with the mean defence that he had quickly established in the Italian capital, but even the Giallorossi's coach couldn't have predicted how well Malen would take to life at Stadio Olimpico.

The 27-year-old scored 14 goals in just 18 Serie A appearances to catapult Roma into third place and secure a return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Despite only arriving halfway through the campaign, Malen finished joint-second in the race for Capocannoniere, behind only Lautaro Martinez.

Rayan Cherki arrived at Manchester City with question marks over his attitude and whether such a flamboyant individual could function as part of a Pep Guardiola team. And while he hasn't always been the first name on the teamsheet at the Etihad, Cherki has proven to be one of the most thrilling players to watch anywhere in the Premier League during his debut season.

Only record-breaker Bruno Fernandes provided more Premier League assists than the 12 Cherki managed, while he added four more in other competitions as well as scoring 10 goals. It's clear, then, that the France international will be a key figure for Enzo Maresca following Guardiola's resignation. At just 22, his best years are still ahead of him.

Oh how Liverpool must regret their decision to let Luis Diaz leave last summer! The Colombia winger admittedly wanted out of Anfield, but seeing how he has flourished at Bayern Munich has to be painful for those back on Merseyside, especially considering the contrast between Diaz's successful season and the struggles Arne Slot's side faced in defending their Premier League title.

As part of a flying front three in Bavaria, Diaz scored 26 goals and laid on 19 assists across all competitions on his way to earning Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal winners medals. He was truly electric to watch at times while opposition full-backs were given nightmares by his quick feet and devastating dribbles.