The latest research conducted by OLBG has delved into the financial landscape of Premier League teams concerning their investments in fresh attacking players. The study meticulously analyzed the significant expenditures made by various clubs during the summer transfer window and scrutinized the corresponding goals and assists these acquisitions have contributed to their teams’ performances within the initial 11 games of the season.
However, the findings have brought unwelcome news for Manchester United, a club that expended approximately £120m on new attacking talent. Despite this considerable financial outlay, Manchester United’s recent signings have failed to register any goals or assists in the Premier League, spotlighting the club as the least efficient in extracting value from their new attacking acquisitions, particularly former Chelsea player Mason Mount and 20-year-old striker Rasmus Hojlund.
This lack of attacking prowess has exacerbated the woes of Manchester United, which is grappling with its worst start to a season in six decades, leading to fervent calls for the resignation of manager Erik ten Hag.
The study further underscores Manchester’s recent derby defeat, where Manchester City clinched a 3-0 victory, amplifying the disparity in performance as City’s Erling Haaland netted his 11th goal of the season—nearly matching Manchester United’s entire team goal tally throughout the 11 games.
Notably, other clubs have also faced challenges with their attacking signings. Everton, Bournemouth, Fulham, and Crystal Palace have seen no goal contributions from their summer acquisitions, despite significant expenditures. Conversely, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Luton Town, Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur showcase varying degrees of success in terms of extracting value from their new attacking players, with the latter emerging as an unexpected success story despite significant spending.
Here is the rest of the study:
For clubs whose new signings have scored and contributed to goals, Arsenal were found to have received the least value for money from their £65m signing Kai Havertz. The German international has so far only contributed one goal and an assist at a cost of £32.5m per goal contribution to the club.
Newcastle United spent a combined £45m on Harvey Barnes and Yankuba Minteh, and quickly sent the Gambian out on loan, which means that Barnes’ single goal and assist resulted in a cost of £22.5m per goal contribution.
Nottingham Forest were shown to have signed the best value players, having spent around £32.9m on attacking players Chris Wood, Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who have collectively contributed eight goals this season at a cost of around £4.1m per goal.
Luton Town were the smallest spenders on attackers in the summer transfer window, paying around £6.5m for Tahith Chong and Jacob Brown, which has resulted in one goal so far after Chong scored against Liverpool this weekend.
The third best return on attacking investment is Manchester City, who spent around £52m on their signing Jérémy Doku. The Belgian winger has so far scored two goals and assisted five others, contributing seven goals overall at a cost of £7.4m each.
Next was Aston Villa, which spent a club-record fee of more than £47m for Moussa Diaby, who has delivered three goals and three assists so far, averaging £7.9m per goal contribution.
Surprisingly, despite spending around £127m, the second largest amount on new attacking players, Tottenham Hotspur emerged as the fifth-best value for players.
The team has enjoyed a resurgence of sorts following the appointment of their new manager, “Big Ange” Postecoglou, who has made a number of astute signings this season, including attacking midfielder James Maddison from Leicester for £40m.
Having contributed five assists and three goals for the club, Maddison has increased his value by 51% to £60.5m. Coupled with two goals made by teammate Dejan Kulusevski, and an assist by Brennan Johnson, Tottenham have so far spent £10.5m per goal contribution.
The ten teams with lowest cost per goal contributions from attackers signed in the summer
| Team | New attacking signing goal contributions | Total spend on attacking players | Cost per goal contribution |
| Nottingham Forest | 8 | £32,946,000 | £4,118,250 |
| Luton Town | 1 | £6,589,200 | £6,589,200 |
| Manchester City | 7 | £52,020,000 | £7,431,429 |
| Aston Villa | 6 | £47,685,000 | £7,947,500 |
| Tottenham | 12 | £126,842,100 | £10,570,175 |
| Brighton | 3 | £32,252,400 | £10,750,800 |
| Sheffield United | 2 | £22,672,050 | £11,336,025 |
| Chelsea | 10 | £151,725,000 | £15,172,500 |
| Burnley | 3 | £46,861,350 | £15,620,450 |
| Wolverhampton | 3 | £48,552,000 | £16,184,000 |
