Jadon Sancho, Noussair Mazraoui & the 10 best signings of the 2024-25 Premier League season so far - ranked

Everton's decision to sign former Sheffield United star Iliman Ndiaye from Marseille is already paying off, with the 24-year-old looking right at home in English football once again. Ndiaye was electrifying in the Championship for the Blades, and has been similarly influential in the Premier League, albeit without scoring as many goals.

The Senegal international only has two to his name from 15 appearances for Everton so far, which is mainly because Sean Dyche has predominantly used him on the left wing instead of as a No.10. Despite that, he's still managed to become an instant fan favourite.

Ndiaye drags the Toffees up the pitch at every opportunity, always showing impeccable balance and control despite carrying the ball at great speed, with former Everton defender Phil Jagielka recently comparing him to a futsal player. Ndiaye thrives in one-on-one situations and his link-up play is top-notch, while he is also one of the hardest workers in the team off the ball.

Everton have admirably recovered from a poor start to the season, and with Ndiaye giving them an X-factor in the final third, Dyche's team really should be aiming for a top-half finish.

Brighton smashed their transfer record to sign Georginio Rutter from Leeds, with head coach Fabian Hurzeler describing him as a forward with the "capabilities to get fans off their seats." He has so far lived up to that billing, striking up a strong understanding with Danny Welbeck and Joao Pedro that has reaped great rewards for the Seagulls as they have re-emerged as contenders for European qualification.

Rutter has only scored twice and laid on three assists, but he's been a constant menace with his mesmerising dribbling and incisive passing, and has also been crucial to Brighton's counter-press. “He's a guy who doesn't need goals to believe in himself and I think he has had a great impact," Hurzeler said in October.

Rutter has brought versatility to the Seagulls' attack and at just 22 years of age, there is still so much more to come from the Frenchman.

Palace endured a nightmare start to the campaign after losing a host of key players, including Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen and Jordan Ayew. 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 is now starting to make a similar impact in the Premier League, though, playing in the heart of a three-man defence alongside Marc Guehi and Trevor Chalobah. Saturday's 5-1 home defeat to Arsenal was a major setback for the Eagles, but they'd only lost one of their previous nine games across all competitions, with Lacroix 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 makes him almost impossible to dribble past, has a high footballing IQ and rarely misplaces a pass. Lacroix has claimed that "teams fear playing Palace" despite their low position in the table, and it's hard to argue. His commanding presence alone makes Oliver Glasner's side formidable opponents, and they should comfortably avoid the drop if he keeps improving at such a rapid rate.

Jadon Sancho is one worst signings in Manchester United's history, which was confirmed when Chelsea signed the winger on loan with an obligation to buy at the end of August. United paid £73m ($92m) to sign Sancho from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, and he never came close to justifying that fee, failing to even earn a regular place in the starting XI amid a series of fallouts with the club's former manager Erik ten Hag.

But there has never been any doubts over his talent. A confident Sancho can be a major asset for any team, which he proved by playing a vital role in Dortmund's run to the Champions League final after returning to the club on loan last season. He has continued in a similar vein at Stamford Bridge, recording five goal contributions in 11 Premier League appearances.

Sancho has been in and out of the team under Enzo Maresca due to the huge strength in depth Chelsea have in attack, but he's looked back to his dazzling best when he has played, most notably in a thrilling 4-3 win at Tottenham that saw him run Pedro Porro ragged, and could earn a recall to the England squad if he continues on his current trajectory.

Facundo Buonanotte made his senior debut for reigning world champions Argentina in June last year aged just 18, and went on to appear in 36 games across all competitions for Brighton in 2023-24. It was something of a surprise, then, when the Seagulls loaned Buonanotte to newly-promoted Leicester City in August, but the deal was accompanied by a new contract that ties the teenager to the Amex Stadium until 2028.

It may have been a risk, but Brighton wanted to accelerate Buonanotte's development at a club where he is guaranteed to start almost every game, and it's already paying off. The former Rosario Central midfielder has scored four goals, including a brilliant solo winner against Bournemouth, and laid on two assists in his first 14 Premier League outings for the Foxes.

Buonanotte has provided a touch of class going forward that could be the difference between Leicester staying up or going down. He's a risk-taker with an elegant left foot who carries the ball with confidence and opens up defences with his passing range. If the Argentine ace continues to shine in the second half of the season, Brighton could be fielding offers from top clubs across Europe for his services next summer.

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 have found life back in the Premier League tough, as most fans expected, but they still have a chance of survival because they have a deadly weapon up front in Delap. The 21-year-old has hit a respectable six goals in 16 games for Ipswich so far in 2024-25, including a superb brace in a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, leading former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy to tell 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's been essentially serving as a one-man battering ram for Ipswich, and City may just be regretting letting him go amid their current crisis.

Manchester United are destined to be in the bottom half of the Premier League table at Christmas for the first time in their history. New head coach Ruben Amorim is slowly bringing a new identity to the squad, but United are still paying for Sir Jim Ratcliffe's decision to overstay Erik ten Hag's welcome, and there will no doubt be more misery to come between now and May.

But Ten Hag did get one thing right: Noussair Mazraoui has been one of the few bright sparks for United since his arrival from Bayern Munich, delivering consistently solid performances despite being asked to play in several different positions.

"He knows how to attack, he’s very technical, he’s very good defensively and he’s very good one-on-one," Amorim said at the start of the month. "He’s a modern player. I think he’s the future of our team."

Amorim could well be right. Mazraoui is in the prime of his career at 27 and finally seems to have found a home at Old Trafford after two frustrating years with Bayern. The Moroccan is setting the standard in a poor United team, and there is reason for optimism if the rest of the squad follows his example in the second half of the season.

Losing Joao Palhinha to Bayern Munich in the summer felt like a devastating blow for Fulham, who turned to Sander Berge to fill the boots of a man who had established himself among the Premier League's best defensive midfielders in his two seasons at Craven Cottage. Berge was part of the Burnley squad that suffered relegation in 2023-24, too, so understandably there wasn't much excitement among the Fulham fanbase when the 26-year-old put pen to paper on a five-year contract in August.

But Berge has exceeded all expectations. Fulham actually look like a much better team with Berge, and their position of ninth in the table reflects that. According to DataMB, no midfielder has a higher win rate for duels than Berge in the Premier League this term, and his ability to break up play in the middle of the park has been vital to Fulham's improvement.

The 26-year-old also kick-starts a lot of attacks for Marco Silva's side, bursting through the lines elegantly while always picking the right pass. The physically imposing midfielder is proving himself as a master technician who covers every blade of grass, and is the driving force behind Fulham's surprise push for the European spots. Berge did, however, limp out of Fulham's draw with Southampton due to an ankle injury, which Silva will be praying doesn't keep him out for too long.

Newcastle were forced to sell Elliot Anderson to 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 five assists from 16 league games in a Forest shirt. Anderson only needs to add goals to his game to become a complete all-rounder, and senior England recognition could well fellow for the supremely talented youngster.

Milenkovic is not just the best signing of the 2024-25 Premier League season so far, 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 19 goals in 17 games this time around - only Liverpool and Arsenal 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 chipped in with two goals already for Forest, who have a real shot of staying in the hunt for a top-four finish 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.