Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and the 15 best signings of the 2023-24 European season so far - ranked

Prior to his move to PSV this summer, Dest had endured a disastrous few years. He never fully convinced at Barcelona and a loan move to AC Milan last season ended prematurely after he failed to prove his worth to Stefano Pioli.

Fortunately for Dest and the U.S. men's national team, he has managed to find some form since returning to the Netherlands, the country where he made a name for himself at Ajax. Operating mainly as a left-back, the 23-year-old has been an important figure in PSV's staggeringly-good start to the campaign.

Peter Bosz's side have won each of their opening 16 Eredivisie fixtures, romping to a healthy lead at the top of the table, and also secured progression to the Champions League last-16, where Dest is set to square off against international team-mate Gio Reyna.

After helping Inter reach an unlikely Champions League final while on loan from Lazio last season, the Nerazzuri opted to hand Acerbi a permanent contract in the summer. The club have been rewarded handsomely for their decision, too.

Despite now being in his mid-30s, Acerbi remains one of the most dominant centre-backs in Serie A, and his composure at the heart of the backline is a big reason why the Nerazzurri boast the best defensive record in Europe. The fact that he cost Inter so little only further underlines what an intelligent signing he was.

Openda was hot property at the end of last season after plundering 21 Ligue 1 goals for Lens as they mounted an unlikely title challenge. Despite interest from across Europe, the Belgian would end up signing for RB Leipzig, who were reeling from the loss of offensive talisman Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea at the time.

Openda soon made Die Roten Bullen forget about their former hero, though, netting in three of his side's opening four Bundesliga matches. The goals have kept on coming since then, both domestically and in the Champions League.

The 23-year-old netted a fine European brace against Manchester City in November, a performance which sparked rumours that several Premier League clubs were interested in signing him in the near future.

With many of their Premier League rivals investing poorly in the goalkeeping department this summer, Tottenham will be feeling smug at having snapped up Vicario from Empoli in June. Whereas Manchester United's Andre Onana, Arsenal's David Raya and Chelsea's Robert Sanchez have all attracted headlines for the wrong reasons in recent months, the Italian has been a unflappable presence between the sticks for Spurs, with Ange Postecoglou restoring the feel-good factor in north London.

Anyone who's been paying attention to Vicario's career over the past few years will not be surprised at how well he's taken to life in England, with Jose Mourinho describing him as "the best goalkeeper in the world" after Roma's ill-fated meeting with him last season. With this in mind, it's surprising that more clubs weren't smart enough to come in for him in the summer - but their loss is proving to be Tottenham's gain.

Vicario is not the only intelligent signing Tottenham made in the summer. Following Leicester City's shock relegation, Maddison was on the market and it soon became clear that Spurs would be the ones to secure his services.

He's been a perfect fit for Postecoglou's new style, taking up the creative mantle from the departing Harry Kane and embodying the Australian's hard-working style off the ball. Maddison managed three goals and five assists in his opening 11 Premier League appearances before an untimely injury halted his progress. Getting him back as soon as possible will be vital if Spurs are to secure a top-four finish this season.

For a concerning six-month period, it appeared as though Isco's career at the top level - or any level for that matter - could be at an end. After an acrimonious, mid-season exit from Sevilla, the former Real Madrid man had a move to Union Berlin fall through in January 2023. After that, no clubs came calling until Real Betis snapped him up on a free transfer this summer.

It's proved to be a great decision for both parties, with Isco starring since returning to La Liga. He's barely missed a minute of action for Los Verdiblancos as Manuel Pellegrini's side have positioned themselves as top-six contenders. Isco has acted as his new team's creator-in-chief, racking up Man-of-the-Match awards and playing with a smile on his face again. It's been great to see.

Recent history suggests that spending big on one star is not the most intelligent recruitment strategy. However, this summer, several players have bucked this trend. One of those is Rice, who's already had a truly transformational impact at Arsenal.

The Gunners manically fought off competition from Manchester City to sign the West Ham captain in the summer and their perseverance is paying off. Not only is Rice regularly dominating games from midfield, he's also chipped in with some vital goals - something that likely wasn't in his remit when he arrived at the club. Yes, he was expensive - but sometimes you've just got to bite the bullet and cough up like Arsenal did.

Savio's story is a uniquely modern one. He is the highest-profile player in Europe who is currently contracted not to one team, but to a multi-club ownership group. City Football Group's flagship side is, of course, Premier League champions Manchester City. But their sprawling web of control extends across the globe; from Italy to Australia and from Spain to the United States.

Two clubs they have stakes in are Troyes and Girona - and this relationship is helping fuel one of the most interesting tales in football this season. The latter have romped to the top of La Liga this campaign, with Savio - who's on loan from French second-division side Troyes - being their key attacking performer.

The livewire Brazilian teenager has proved impossible for Spanish defences to handle, and while his story is far from a fairy tale, from a purely footballing perspective, Girona were very smart to secure his signature in the summer.

There a few sights in modern football more gratifying than an attacking wing-back in full flight. Bayer Leverkusen fans have been treated to plenty of this since Xabi Alonso took the managerial reins, with Grimaldo and right-sided counterpart Jeremie Frimpong providing heaps of excitement in Germany.

The Spaniard registered seven goals and five assists in his side's first 12 Bundesliga games, as Leverkusen shot to the top of the table. He's also contributed significantly to their Europa League campaign, with Alonso's side conceding just three times en route to winning all six group games.

Grimaldo has indicated that he's open to returning to Barcelona - the club where he started his career - at some point in the future. And if he keeps turning out performances of this quality, it won't be long until he gets a big move elsewhere. Leverkusen will bank a tidy sum if he is sold, with the 28-year-old having arrived on a free transfer from Benfica in the summer.

Blind has enjoyed an extremely interesting career to date and there's been no shortage of additional intrigue as he enters his final act in Spain this season. After controversially leaving Ajax in December 2022, the former Manchester United man saw out the campaign at Bayern Munich before being snapped up by Spanish surprise package Girona in the summer.

He immediately emerged as the team's most important defender, sitting in the middle of their back three and setting the tone in and out of possession. His experience will be so important in the second half of the season too, as Girona look to continue upsetting La Liga's big boys.

He recently said: "We are not halfway through the season, so it’s too early to think about winning the league, But we are doing incredibly well and have at least now declared that we are going for the top European spots."

Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen are terrific fun going forward, and spearheading their considerable attacking threat is Nigerian striker Victor Boniface. The 22-year-old is already looking like a potentially world-class striker, excelling with his back to goal while also being capable of racing through and finishing from all over the penalty area.

His rapid adaptation to life on the Bundesliga has been surprising, considering he only managed nine league goals for Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium last season, and Leverkusen will sorely miss him when he jets off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria.

Thuram hit free agency in the summer after four productive - if not overly spectacular - seasons at Borussia Monchengladbach. Inter knew they secured a bargain when they snapped him up, but even the most optimistic Nerazzurri fans wouldn't have predicted the Frenchman making such a huge impact in Italy.

In his first 16 Serie A appearances, Thuram has racked up seven goals and nine assists. That is testament to how well he fits Simone Inazaghi's system, with Thuram sparking up a relationship with strike partner and Inter captain Lautaro Martinez that threatens to better the one enjoyed with Romelu Lukaku by the Argentine.

Martinez has already been set up five times in Serie A by his new partner in crime - and that number only looks set to grow as the season progresses.

Clubs across Europe will be cursing their decision not to snap up Guirassy from under Stuttgart's noses this summer. After impressing on loan at the Bundesliga strugglers last season, the Guinean opted to make his move permanent and he's since carved out a reputation as one of Europe's most lethal finishers.

An electric start to the campaign saw him net 10 times in just five matches, and although a hamstring injury has slowed his scoring down considerably since then, he still averaging well over a goal per game in the Bundesliga to close out the year. January will be interesting, with reports suggesting that his release clause is as low as £15.2m ($19.3m).

It's easy to look at all the goals he's scored and conclude that Kane was always destined to be a roaring success at Bayern Munich. But prior to his big-money transfer, the England captain had never ventured outside his comfort zone like this and seemed destined to become a one-club man at Tottenham.

That Kane has been so utterly dominant speaks to his generational talent that perhaps has not always been appreciated as enthusiastically as it should have been in his homeland.

His stats are, to put it crassly, insane. By the time the mid-season break arrived, Kane had netted 20 games in just 14 Bundesliga appearances, while also chipping in with five assists. Add to that seven Champions League goal involvements and it's hard to see how he hasn't made it to the very top of this list...

The only thing that's prevented Kane sealing top spot is a very special 20-year-old from Stourbridge. Years of intense transfer speculation were finally brought to an end when Real Madrid won the race for Bellingham this summer and the former Borussia Dortmund sensation arrived in Spain with plenty of pressure on his young shoulders. And yet, he's still managed to surpass all expectations.

Since rocking up at the Bernabeu, Bellingham has produced a conveyor belt of iconic moments, netting five times through his first five La Liga games - a period which culminated with him scoring a 95th-minute winner against Getafe. A few weeks later, he dragged his team-mates to a Clasico victory over Barcelona, notching a brace that will go down in Madrid history. Bellingham's made light work of the Champions League too, grabbing a goal or assist in each of his side's six group-stage victories.

And his impact extends beyond the pitch. With Bellingham in town, La Liga is as marketable as it's been since the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi - the significance of which cannot be overstated in a world where the Premier League is king. Then there's his iconic celebration, which has been mimicked by a long list of sporting stars across the world over the past few months.

Forget the best signing of the season; Bellingham might just go down as the signing of the decade if he keeps this up!