Morgan Rogers just became the most expensive English player of all time. Chelsea paid $117 million for him, and now the club is holding its breath. Will he turn into the next Eden Hazard? Or the next Philippe Coutinho?
This summer alone, Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali also went for nine figures. But we’re not judging them yet. Give them a few games first. The eight players below though? We’ve seen enough to rank them already.
Eden Hazard. Real Madrid. It went bad fast.
Everyone thought Hazard at $100 million was a steal. He’d lit up the Premier League for years. Then he showed up to Real Madrid preseason overweight. His body started breaking down immediately. He missed more games in his first season in Spain than he did in seven seasons at Chelsea. Over four years, he never played in half of Real’s league matches. Seven goals in 76 appearances. That’s it. Some people call him Real Madrid’s worst signing ever.
Philippe Coutinho. The Liverpool cash machine.
Barcelona tried to buy Coutinho all summer 2017. Liverpool said no three times. Coutinho even put in a transfer request. Barcelona came back in January 2018 with $106 million plus $36 million in add-ons. They ended up paying all of it. Coutinho flopped so hard that Liverpool actually got a bonus check when Coutinho won the Champions League — with Bayern Munich, on loan. He scored twice against Barcelona in the semifinals. That’s brutal.
Alexander Isak. The Newcastle man who checked out.
Liverpool paid around $125 million for Isak. Neither club will confirm the exact number. Newcastle might want to shout it from the rooftops because right now it looks like they won that deal. Isak basically stopped trying before the transfer. He didn’t train for two months. Once he got to Liverpool, it showed. Injuries piled up. Four goals in 22 games. His worst season since 2017-18. Arne Slot took most of the blame. Now Andoni Iraola is in charge and Liverpool is hoping he can turn it around. He could hardly be worse.
Jack Grealish. Three Premier League titles. Still a question mark.
Grealish has medals coming out of his ears. Three Premier League titles. A Champions League. An FA Cup. But he spent last season on loan at Everton. He never really found his old Aston Villa form under Pep Guardiola. City usually spent around $60 million on players. They blew up their transfer record for a guy who played like a maverick. Guardiola loves control and patterns. Grealish is chaos. Pep might have been curious. But maybe he should have seen this coming. With Guardiola gone and a Pep disciple in charge? Grealish’s future in Manchester looks thin.
Florian Wirtz. The slow burner.
Liverpool signed Wirtz and Isak last summer for over $100 million each. Wirtz struggled too but it’s harder to call. He went 13 games with no goals or assists. Then he had six goal involvements in eight games. Then he finished the season with one goal and one assist from February onward. He created chances though. Ninth in the league for chances created. But 81st for big chances created. That’s tied with Diogo Dalot. Liverpool needs more this season.
Enzo Fernandez. The guy who keeps looking at Madrid.
Fernandez spent two and a half years at Chelsea openly flirting with Real Madrid. He got suspended for crossing a line. He shows flashes of brilliance — running from deep, causing chaos. But the chaos follows him. Last season he was one of the faces of Chelsea’s collapse. Standing and staring at angry fans during a loss at Brighton. That image summed it up. Now he wants Real Madrid to come get him. Does Florentino Perez want to pay more than Chelsea’s record $107 million fee? Doubtful. Fernandez has already shown he’ll do what it takes. This summer could get interesting.
Moises Caicedo. The one that actually worked.
Chelsea has no worries here. Caicedo chose Chelsea over Liverpool in 2023 and he’s been exactly what everyone expected. He already signed a new contract through 2033. He says he wants to become a Chelsea legend. So far so good.
Declan Rice. Arsenal’s bargain at $130 million.
Arsenal fans joke they got Rice half price. He moved from West Ham in 2023 and the team’s growth matches his own. He’s one of the best midfielders in the world now. He dragged Arsenal through a title race win. The price tag looks like a deal. But the guy is exhausted. He played 69 games for club and country last season. He barely got a break before 2026-27 started. Can he keep going?
Leave a Comment