The Premier League's opening weekend is done. These five expensive signings failed to justify their price tags in their first outings, though one weekend is a small sample to judge any player.
Updated on Apr 30, 2026
3 min readThe Premier League's opening weekend is done. These five expensive signings failed to justify their price tags in their first outings, though one weekend is a small sample to judge any player.
€23 million for a striker with eight goals in 76 Premier League appearances is a difficult number to justify. Burnley manager Scott Parker said Broja needs more work before he's match-ready, which is not an encouraging sign for a club with survival ambitions.
Broja has a significant injury history, so the cautious approach makes sense, but the goalscoring record raises questions regardless of fitness. At his output level, the signing looks better suited to Championship football than a relegation fight in the Premier League.
A free transfer looks cost-effective on paper, but Brentford's summer was already damaging before Henderson arrived. The club lost Bryan Mbeumo, Christian Nørgaard, and Mark Flekken in the same window, then opened with a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Henderson, now 35, came on for just over 20 minutes and looked short of match fitness. He brings experience and leadership, but those qualities only go so far when a squad is being rebuilt from significant departures.
Liverpool's €125 million signing had a quiet debut in a 4-2 win over Bournemouth. Hugo Ekitike scored twice and assisted once, Mohamed Salah got on the scoresheet, and Wirtz left little impression before being substituted.
The player who replaced him, Federico Chiesa, scored the final goal. Wirtz will have more opportunities to settle, but Liverpool's attacking depth means his time in the team won't be guaranteed if results stay flat.
Madueke started on the bench and had just over 30 minutes to make an impression. At 23, he has time to develop, but 13 Premier League goals in 68 appearances at Chelsea didn't build a strong case for a €56 million outlay.
Arsenal supporters are still waiting to see what separates him from cheaper alternatives. A slow start won't have helped answer that question.
Manchester United paid an estimated €85 million for Benjamin Šeško, then started Mason Mount ahead of him in their opening fixture. Šeško watched from the bench as United used Mount in a false nine role.
Whether that reflects Ruben Amorim's assessment of Šeško or a tactical experiment, the Slovenian international will need to force his way into the team through performances. Amorim has shown he's willing to leave expensive players out, so the pressure on Šeško to produce is already real.
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