Mikel Merino, Dean Huijsen and the top 10 Premier League signings of the 2024-25 season - ranked

Omar Marmoush is the only January signing to earn a spot on this list, which is testament to how quickly the Egyptian striker has settled into his new surroundings at Etihad Stadium. The 26-year-old has successfully transferred his prolific form in the first half of the season at Eintracht Frankfurt to Manchester City, scoring seven goals in his first 15 Premier League appearances, including a stunning hat-trick in a 4-0 rout of Newcastle.

In the long term, Marmoush will be City's replacement for Julian Alvarez given his ability to play in multiple attacking positions and penchant for exploiting the half-spaces, but he's proven he can lead the line effectively, too, in the injury-enforced absence of Erling Haaland. It also bodes well that Marmoush has performed at such a high level despite City suffering a serious drop-off as a collective, which has been noted by Pep Guardiola.

"He arrived in the middle of the season and in a moment when we are not good," the City boss said in April. "Sometimes when you come when everything is fluid and everything is fine it’s easy to adapt. But coming when the team is not playing good, that is a big credit." It's safe to say we can expect great things from Marmoush next season - just don't mention the FA Cup final!

Bournemouth broke their transfer record to sign Evanilson after seeing Dominic Solanke depart for Tottenham, and the former Porto striker has since done a fine job of filling the England international's boots. The Brazilian has scored a respectable 10 league goals for the Cherries to date, but that number would surely have been higher had he not been sidelined with a broken foot for the first two months of 2025.

Evanilson has been in superb form since returning to full fitness, netting five times in nine starts, including Bournemouth's late winner at Arsenal. Andoni Iraola has pulled off yet another impressive recruitment win with Evanlison, who is a fine finisher and target man capable of spearheading the Cherries' attack for years to come.

"He is a top-class striker. He knows where the back of the net is and is going to get goals," former West Ham and Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker told BBC Radio 5 Live's 'Football Daily' podcast after watching Evanilson shine at the Emirates. "Great movement in the box, a great natural finisher and old-school striker. He's just gone from strength to strength since coming to Bournemouth."

Evanilson is certainly one of the main reasons Bournemouth have a chance of cracking the Premier League's top 10, and he will surely now have one eye on a Brazil call-up for the 2026 World Cup.

Ismaila Sarr didn't exactly light up the Premier League when he was at Watford, but it was clear that the Senegal international had plenty of potential. He started to unlock it at Marseille last season, which convinced Crystal Palace to lure the electrifying forward back to England, and he's since slotted seamlessly into Oliver Glasner's attack-minded set-up.

Sitting in behind Eagles No.9 Jean-Philippe Mateta, Sarr has linked up to great effect with Eberechi Eze, racking up 13 goal contributions in the top flight. Palace have looked more dangerous than ever thanks to Sarr's late runs into the box, and his ability to dribble through defences at rapid speed has been vital in the transition.

Sarr's end product has improved dramatically, as further evidenced by the fact that no other Palace player has created more big chances this term. It seems that Sarr has found his spiritual home, and if he can keep improving at this rate, Glasner's side should be setting their sights on fighting for a European berth in 2025-26.

The 2023-24 season was a forgettable one for Celta Vigo, who finished 13th in La Liga for the second time on the bounce, but Jorgen Strand Larsen was the one real bright spark. Wolves bought into Norwegian's talent after seeing him plunder 13 goals in the Spanish top flight, and he's since managed to equal that total in the Premier League with two games still to go.

Matheus Cunha has taken most of the credit for keeping Wolves above the drop zone, but Strand Larsen has only scored two fewer league goals than the Brazilian, and his hold-up play has been exceptional at times. He works as hard as anyone in the team off the ball, too, much to the delight of his manager Vitor Pereira.

The Wolves boss said in April: “My striker must be a fighter. Must be someone who is the first one to start defending and, of course, the responsibility is not only to score goals. He [Strand Larsen] has this spirit and this character, he’s a player that I like the profile of.”

It has been reported that the Molineux club can make Strand Larsen's loan move permanent for £23m ($31m) this summer, which will surely be a priority for Pereira, especially as Cunha continues to be linked with a move to Manchester United.

Palace endured a nightmare start to the campaign after losing a host of key players, including Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen and Jordan Ayew, and it took a while for their new signings to adapt, including Andersen replacement Maxence Lacroix, who was one of the standout centre-backs in the Bundesliga last season at Wolfsburg.

Lacroix has, though, gradually been able to make a similar impact in the Premier League playing in the heart of a three-man defence alongside Marc Guehi and Trevor Chalobah. He's been central to Palace's resurgence since November, even pitching in with a fine goal in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

The Frenchman is among the fastest players in the league (which aids his superhuman powers of recovery), has a high footballing IQ and rarely misplaces a pass. Lacroix's commanding aura is one of the main reasons Oliver Glasner's side have become such formidable opponents, and the top clubs will inevitably start to circle for the Palace star if he continues to thrive at Selhurst Park.

Liam Delap never got the chance to prove himself at Manchester City, which is a great shame. After graduating from their academy in 2020, the English forward was restricted to just six senior appearances under Pep Guardiola, and understandably sought a way out of the Etihad Stadium in the summer, with Ipswich jumping at the chance to hand him a five-year deal.

The Tractor Boys ultimately did not have enough strength in depth to avoid relegation, but not for the want of effort from Delap. The 21-year-old has scored 12 Premier League goals for Ipswich this seaon despite being starved of service, including a memorable brace in a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa which led former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy to tell the BBC's 'Match of the Day 2' that the youngster is the "obvious long-term successor to [Harry] Kane" for England.

Delap, son of former Stoke City midfielder Rory, certainly has the physical and technical attributes to reach the very top, along with a natural eye for goal. He deserves to remain in the Premier League after serving as a one-man battering ram for Ipswich, with Manchester United and Chelsea reportedly set to engage in a bidding war for the gifted youngster.

Newcastle were forced to sell Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest so they could comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) - a decision that "did not sit well" with Eddie Howe. The Newcastle boss probably feels even worse now, having seen the 22-year-old take his game to remarkable new heights at the City Ground this season.

"He is an amazing talent for such a young player," Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo told Sky Sports in November. "He knows he is good but wants to be better. That is the first step. We are delighted to have him. I think it was a very good deal." That last line is an understatement considering Anderson's price has probably doubled since the summer.

Anderson can play infield or out wide, and Nuno has put his versatility to great use as Forest have transformed from relegation strugglers into Champions League contenders. The England Under-21 international is a progressive dribbler who can open up defences in an instant with his exceptional passing range, hence his haul of six assists to date in a Forest shirt. Anderson only needs to add goals to his game to become a complete all-rounder, and senior Three Lions recognition could well follow.

Mikel Merino was not the sexy signing most Arsenal fans wanted last summer. The former Real Sociedad star arrived at the Emirates on the back of starring for Spain in their triumphant Euro 2024 campaign, but some critics felt Mikel Arteta should have spent big on a new No.9 instead of another midfielder.

However, as it has turned out, Merino has been a bit of both for the Gunners. Injuries limited the 28-year-old's contribution in the first half of the campaign, but he's been arguably Arsenal's most important player in the second, having been pushed into a centre-forward role to cover for long-term absentees Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, and six of Merino's seven Premier League goals for Arteta's side have come since the turn of the year, including a London derby winner against Chelsea.

The former Newcastle man is a skilled technician who reads the game very well, but he has also given Arsenal a new dimension upfront with his ability in the air, and without his versatility, they would likely have been drawn into the scrap for a top-five berth.

"He is so cool, so composed, he just makes the game look so easy and so effortless," former Liverpool and Tottenham star Jamie Redknapp told Sky Sports after being left in awe by Dean Huijsen's display in Bournemouth's away win over Arsenal. "For a 20-year-old to be playing at this level and doing what he is, that’s why he’s coveted by pretty much everyone in Europe. He’s a complete player, this young man."

Redknapp was spot on in his assessment of Huijsen, who has enjoyed a dream debut season at the Vitality Stadium, and Juventus must be kicking themselves for letting him go so cheaply. He has since emerged as the most sought-after young centre-half on the continent, breaking into the Spain national team in the process, and he will return to his homeland on a permanent basis in the coming weeks following the completion of a £50m ($67m) move to Real Madrid that saw the Blancos beat off competition from the Premier League's elite.

Huijsen is an aggressive defender who likes to play out from the back, and his superb distribution has been key to Bournemouth's success this term. He has also proven useful in the final third, as evidenced by his brilliant header to open the scoring at the Emirates, which was his third Premier League goal for the Cherries.

The English media has a habit of overhyping promising young players, but the sky really is the limit for Huijsen, and he has the potential to become a global star at the Bernabeu.

Milenkovic is not just the best signing of the 2024-25 Premier League season; he's one of the best in the competition's entire history, certainly in terms of value for money. Moving to the City Ground from Fiorentina on the back of a stellar Euro 2024 campaign with Serbia, Milenkovic has since forged a rock-solid partnership with Murillo in the heart of the Forest defence that has shut down a host of the division's most deadly strikers.

Forest posted the fifth-worst defensive record in the English top-flight last term, with set-pieces in particular a real weakness, but the 6'4 Milenkovic has completely solved those issues. Nuno's side have conceded just 45 Premier League goals this time around - only five teams have shipped fewer - with Milenkovic cutting out the danger at every turn, both on the ground and in the air.

Labelled a "man-mountain" by Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher, Milenkovic is strong, fast, composed and reads the game brilliantly. The 27-year-old is also a huge threat in the opposing box, having popped up with five league goals for Forest, who still have a shot at Champions League qualification because of his presence alone.

Milenkovic has been nothing short of colossal, and his success makes you wonder why the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham didn't move for him a few years ago when they were linked with his signature.