Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and the 11 most disappointing Premier League signings of the 2025-26 season so far - ranked

Tottenham have gradually lost their status as one of the Premier League's 'Big Six' since selling Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in 2023, with the likes of Richarlison, Dominic Solanke and Mathys Tel all unable to fill the void upfront. There was hope that Randal Kolo Muani could buck that trend after his summer loan switch from Paris Saint-Germain, with the France international having plundered eight goals in an eye-catching temporary spell at Juventus last term, but he has been equally as toothless as his new team-mates.

Kolo Muani has drawn a blank in each of his first 11 Premier League outings, and while he scored a brace in a 5-3 defeat to parent club PSG in the Champions League, he has otherwise offered practically zero penetration as a central striker, or when asked to play out wide.

The Frenchman is an impressive physical specimen, but doesn't have the killer instinct or technical skill to be a truly elite attacker, and under-fire boss Thomas Frank certainly can't rely on him to reignite Spurs' hopes of a push for European qualification.

Jamie Gittens racked up 17 goal involvements for Borussia Dortmund in a breakthrough 2024-25 campaign to attract the attention of Chelsea, earning widespread praise for his unpredictability in one-v-one situations, being blessed with the pace and two-footedness to bamboozle defenders. But the fearless version of Gittens has been replaced by a meek, unimaginative one at Stamford Bridge, and he finds himself playing second fiddle to Alejandro Garnacho, who the Blues spent £12m ($16m) less on in the summer.

Perhaps bogged down by the pressure of his £52m ($70m) price tag, Gittens now sits on the fringes of matches instead of imposing himself. The 21-year-old did produce a Player-of-the-Match turn in Chelsea's thrilling 4-3 Carabao Cup win over Wolves, complete with a stunning winning goal, but has been almost completely ineffective in the Premier League, registering only two assists in 16 appearances.

Gittens was particularly poor in a 2-2 draw at Brentford back in September, as he managed just 17 touches before being hauled off for Cole Palmer early in the second half. There's still no question about his talent, but it's far too easy for opposing teams to mark him out of the game right now, and his chances of booking a spot in England's World Cup squad are fading fast.

Thierno Barry was chosen to be the lead striker for Everton to begin their Hill Dickinson Stadium-era after recording a combined 15 goals and assists for Villarreal in La Liga last season, and expressed his determination to emulate two of the club's modern-day icons, Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku, in his first official interview, before insisting, "I'm not scared to play here".

However, fear has been an obvious driver in the France Under-21 international's very slow start to life on Merseyside. There is no faulting Barry's work rate; he ran himself into the ground to help Everton beat Manchester United with 10 men at Old Trafford and valiantly played for 20 minutes with a dislocated shoulder in a home win against Fulham, but he's only found the net two times in his first 21 appearances in all competitions.

That impotency in front of goal stems from a lack of composure and an inability to protect the ball. Everton have only scored 20 goals in the Premier League since Barry's arrival, the joint-worst record out of the top 16 clubs, which is in no small part because of the 23-year-old's failings as a poacher and target man, leaving Moyes with no choice but to scour the market for new No.9 options in January.

Gittens is in danger of treading the same path as Jadon Sancho, who also shone at Dortmund before losing all his confidence in the Premier League. Manchester United sent Sancho out on loan for the third time in the summer after Chelsea paid a penalty fee to get out of an obligation to buy him outright, this time to Aston Villa, where he has continued to flitter between underwhelming and completely ineffective.

Villa reportedly agreed to cover 80 per cent of Sancho's insane £350,000-per-week wage packet, which has been a total waste so far, because he has gone 15 games without recording a single goal involvement. A lively appearance off the bench in Villa's 2-1 win at Chelsea last weekend served as a reminder of what Sancho is capable of, but the hunger that underpinned his success at Dortmund still appears to be absent.

Sancho's attitude has also come under scrutiny again, most notably after he suffered the indignity of being subbed on and off again when Villa beat Man City at home in October. The 25-year-old has a huge six months ahead of him before his contract at United expires, and unless he rediscovers his lost spark quickly, Villa won't hand him the opportunity to extend his stay in the Premier League.

It could easily be argued that all of Liverpool's summer signings have been duds, outside of Hugo Ekitike, but it feels like a toss-up between Alexander Isak and Milos Kerkez for the title of worst of the bunch. The latter was one of the star performers for Bournemouth last term in the left-back role under Andoni Iraola, and he went straight into Slot's line up for the Reds' season opener against his former club.

The chance to make a solid first impression went begging, though, as Kerkez struggled to contain Antoine Semenyo and received a booking for a wild lunge on Adam Smith before being hooked on the hour mark. He has been equally erratic in the majority of his subsequent 22 appearances for Liverpool, with Premier League icon Gary Neville even going as far as to claim that the "naive" 22-year-old "looks like a youth-team player".

It certainly appears that Kerkez has not fully gotten to grips with Slot's tactical demands just yet, too often getting caught out of position and panicking with the ball at his feet. He has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, but the jury is still very much out on whether he can be Andrew Robertson's long-term successor.

Viktor Gyokeres was supposed to be the final piece in the title puzzle for Arsenal; a natural goal-scorer with the physical capabilities to lead the line for Mikel Arteta's side for years to come. The Sweden international hit 39 league goals for Sporting CP last term, more than any other centre-forward in Europe's top eight divisions, with six of those coming in eight Champions League appearances, and Arsenal saw off competition from Manchester United to land the former Coventry City star's signature.

But the step up from the Liga Portugal to the Premier League has been too great for Gyokeres. A modest return of five goals from his first 17 league outings for Arsenal paints an accurate picture of a man struggling to fit into Arteta's system. He helps to create space in the final third with his runs off the ball, but has shown very little poise on it, often losing possession cheaply and squandering gilt-edge chances by taking too many touches.

Gyokeres is clearly not on the same technical level as Arsenal's other attackers, and doesn't offer much in the air either, which is perhaps most concerning considering Arteta's increased emphasis on dead-ball situations. With Gabriel Jesus now back from long-term injury, Gyokeres faces a fight to stay in the team as the Gunners push for silverware across multiple fronts.

Instead of going all out for Premier League-proven frontman Ollie Watkins, whom Aston Villa were reportedly prepared to part with for £60m ($81m) in the summer, Manchester United paid an extra £14m ($19m) to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig. The Slovenia international did hit 21 goals in his final season in Leipzig, but only 13 came in the Bundesliga, and United were taking a big risk by investing so much in a 22-year-old with minimal practice under his belt at the highest level, just as they did with Rasmus Hojlund back in 2023.

Sesko holds the ball up better than Hojlund and provides more of an aerial threat, but is an equally raw finisher, as frustrated United fans have quickly learned this season. For all of his good work in the Red Devils' build-up play, Sesko has looked too hesitant in front of goal, which is why he has only scored twice in his first 16 games for the club.

Injuries have disrupted his rhythm, but the former Leipzig ace has a long way to go before he can be considered the finished article. Sesko is one for the future, not the ready-made goal machine United needed, and the club's decision to go for potential over experience again could end up costing them a top-four finish.

It's fair to say that Nottingham Forest would not have qualified for Europe for the first time in 30 years without Anthony Elanga. The former Manchester United winger scored six and set up another 11 in an outstanding 2024-25 campaign, forming one-third of a highly efficient front three alongside Chris Wood and Callum Hudson-Odoi. All that prompted Newcastle to swoop and make Elanga their third-most expensive signing ever in the summer window.

Maintaining those standards under the bright lights of St James' Park has proven extremely difficult for Elanga, though. Indeed, he's still waiting for the first goal of his Newcastle career 25 matches in, and has only one Premier League assist to his name. The Swede is having to share minutes on the right flank with Jacob Murphy, and even head coach Eddie Howe has admitted that his end product has not been good enough.

Elanga possesses the speed and agility to beat any marker, but his decision-making has let him down so far on Tyneside, much as it did when he was on the books at Old Trafford. Although it's still too early to say that Newcastle have thrown £55m ($74m) down the drain, the 23-year-old could soon find himself permanently relegated to the bench if his output doesn't improve, especially while Howe's side continue to languish in the bottom half.

Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Mason Greenwood were the only two players to outscore Arnaud Kalimuendo in Ligue 1 last season, as the Frenchman notched 17 in 33 games despite mostly feeding on scraps in a mediocre Rennes side that ultimately finished 12th. That alerted a host of big clubs, and Nottingham Forest thought they'd pulled off a serious coup after winning the race for the 23-year-old's signature, tying him to a five-year deal.

Kalimuendo has scored two Europa League goals for Forest since then, but has otherwise made absolutely no impact. The Paris Saint-Germain academy graduate only received cameo appearances in the Premier League under Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou, and he's not yet earned Sean Dyche's trust either, even though Chris Wood has been unavailable since mid-October due to injury.

Igor Jesus, who also moved to the City Ground in the last transfer window, has taken Wood's spot while Kalimuendo has continued to freeze on the bench, with it reported that the ex-Rennes star could leave in January amid interest from Eintracht Frankfurt. Kalimuendo has only played 82 minutes of Premier League football as Forest have toiled for form under three different managers, so it is harsh to judge him this soon, but he has clearly not shown enough quality to make the grade.

Harvey Elliott picked up a Premier League winners' medal at Liverpool last season, but his contribution was minimal, as he only made two starts in the competition under Slot. The 22-year-old made no secret of his desire to go elsewhere for regular football, and after playing a star role in England's successful U21 European Championship title defence in the summer, he secured what looked like an ideal transfer to Aston Villa.

It was a unique season-long loan deal that came with an obligatory £35m ($47m) purchase clause if Elliott appeared in 10 Premier League games, but incredibly, Emery has only used him on four occasions to date, with his sole start coming in a 3-1 win over Fulham, in which he was substituted at half-time. Elliott hasn't seen a single minute of action for Villa since their Europa League clash with Feyenoord on October 2, having effectively been bombed out of Emery's squad.

The situation is not going to change, either, as the Villa boss confirmed last month: "He is on loan playing with us, but he is not definitely adding to us with a permanent contract. Hopefully we can get the best for him and the best for us. I respect him as a player and as a person. He is training well, but we have one circumstance with him." Elliott cannot even try to find a new club in the winter window, because he played in Liverpool's away clash with Newcastle back in August, and FIFA rules prohibit players from appearing for more than two sides in one season.

He is essentially trapped in a nightmare that is guaranteed to stretch on until next summer. It's a sad state of affairs for a player with so much talent, but Elliott obviously blew his one small chance to impress Emery, and with no safety net at Anfield while Slot is still at the helm, his future is now shrouded in uncertainty.

Alexander Isak to Liverpool was the definition of a 'sure thing' on paper. The Swede scored 54 Premier League goals across his three seasons at Newcastle, and fired the club to Carabao Cup glory, solidifying his standing as one of the most deadly frontmen on the continent. 

Liverpool had to break their transfer record (for the second time in the summer after the capture of Florian Wirtz) in order to get Isak, but £125m ($169m) initially felt like a bargain for a 26-year-old who had been such a talismanic presence at St. James Park. Unfortunately, though, the Reds didn't get the deal over the line until deadline day, as Newcastle made Isak pay for effectively going on strike to force the move in an ugly saga that spoiled his legacy at the club.

As a result, he did not benefit from a pre-season to get into peak physical condition, and had to wait until mid-September to make his debut. Isak has since racked up 16 appearances for Liverpool, but has only delivered three goals and has yet to play a full 90 minutes. He has looked a shadow of his best self, and has just started another long fitness journey after fracturing his leg in Liverpool's 2-1 win at Tottenham.

To make matters worse, Hugo Ekitike, another summer newbie, has largely excelled to become Slot's first-choice centre-forward. The Dutchman has said Isak could return by the end of February, but it will now take a miracle for him to save what has been a disastrous debut year at Anfield.