With the second of the international breaks this season underway, Premier League watchers can pause and assess their club’s fortunes with just over a quarter of the season completed.
While some clubs, such as Tottenham and West Ham, could be seen to be overachieving after high-profile summer exits, others – like Chelsea and Manchester United – have made sluggish starts to the season, despite recruiting heavily over the summer.
But not all signings are created equal – and some have settled more quickly than others.
Here, Mail Sport runs the rule over which players have hit the ground running since their summer move, and which stars still have a lot to prove.
Tottenham sit top of the table after some shrewd recruiting on the pitch and in the dugout
Manchester United’s new goalkeeper Andre Onana has made a difficult start to the season
DOMINIK SZOBOSZLAI
In recent memory, Liverpool has only had one legendary player wear the No. 8 shirt, but the Hungarian is quickly establishing that the team will have another one soon. Since joining Anfield, the midfield player has excelled and nearly eclipsed fellow midfield addition and World Cup champion Alexis Mac Allister in traction.
Szoboszlai, who has already made eight Premier League games, is already one of Klopp’s undroppables. He has demonstrated excellent skills both on and off the ball and has traveled around 90km in total.
Goals have followed solid midfield performances, one of which was a magnificent strike in a 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over Leicester.
Although it’s a bit early to draw too many parallels with Steven Gerrard, Szoboszlai has been a key contributor to Liverpool’s exciting start to the campaign.
RATING: 8/10
Dominik Szoboszlai has already garnered comparisons to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard
JAMES MADDISON
After the news of Leicester’s relegation on the final day of last season was confirmed, it was assumed it was only a matter of time before Maddison was snapped up by a Premier League side.
A little more surprising has been his immediate impact at Tottenham, where the midfielder has had a starring role in Ange Postecoglou’s north London revolution.
Premier League Player of the Month in his first at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Maddison has been lightning-quick to form an impressive partnership with Son Heung-min and has looked every bit the playmaker Spurs had been crying out for.
James Maddison (centre) was outstanding in the north London derby for new club Tottenham
The 26-year-old has scored twice in the Premier League, assisting five more, but as impressively, he has looked commanding in midfield and played an assertive role in his first-ever north London derby, which saw Spurs leave the Emirates with a point for only the second time since 2016.
RATING: 9/10
MICKY VAN DE VEN
Tottenham’s undefeated record at the top of the table is due to a lot of factors outside Postecoglou’s arrival. The club made good business during the summer transfer window, luring Micky Van de Ven from Wolfsburg in a £43 million move in addition to luring Maddison to North London.
The defender has been making an impact in a revamped Spurs defense, and on Saturday he scored his first goal in new colors during the team’s hard-fought victory over Luton at Kenilworth Road.
The Dutch player has adapted to life in north London quickly, as evidenced by his performances against Liverpool at home and Arsenal away. In the latter match, Van van Ven bravely covered Salah as Tottenham unexpectedly defeated a top-four opponent.
Along with his rapid alliance with Cristian Romero, the 22-year-old has strengthened Spurs’ defense, and with him there, the team’s dominance may continue.
RATING: 8/10
Micky van de Ven has made an impressive start to life at Spurs following his £43m move
DECLAN RICE
Few people thought that Arsenal was really overpaying for the England midfielder when they broke their transfer record to acquire him for £105 million from West Ham. However, in almost every game since he took the pitch, Rice has shown that he is worth every penny.
Rice’s leadership qualities in the engine room have been invaluable, and his most recent appearance demonstrated to Manchester City what they were missing when Arsenal defeated Pep Guardiola’s team at the 13th attempt. The Gunners already have a capable captain in Martin Odegaard.
Rice has shown his strength even under pressure; in Arsenal’s most recent Champions League match against Lens, he was one of the few players to play with consistency.
As one of the few players able to contain an explosive Maddison, the 24-year-old’s substitution off during the north London derby left the Gunners looking noticeably depleted.
RATING: 9/10
Declan Rice made the £105million switch from West Ham to Arsenal over the summer
JAMES WARD-PROWSE
It is undeniable that West Ham has shown shrewdness in the post-Rice age by rescuing Ward-Prowse from the relegated club, even though Gareth Southgate may have decided to permanently ignore the former Southampton midfielder.
With six assists and two goals already under his belt since moving north, the set-piece specialist has adapted to life at the London Stadium with ease.
When the Hammers played TSC Backa Topola in their Europa League opener, David Moyes stated of Ward-Prowse, “He’s made big contributions in all the games.” The start has been great. In every way, he is a team member. He runs, does the work, and is in excellent shape. He works in multiple fields.
But maybe Ward-Prowse can dedicate himself fully to his new club without the distraction of international duty. Given his arrival, West Ham has made a strong start to the season. If they can maintain their pace in the top half, Southgate will certainly be considering the player’s skills.
RATING: 8/10
In his stead, the Hammers salvaged James Ward-Prowse from Luton and gained a set-piece ‘specialist’, in the words of David Moyes
And those who have struggled…
ANDRE ONANA
For good reason, Erik ten Hag’s #1 priority was the former Inter Milan goalkeeper.
The Dutch manager wasn’t the only one who thought highly of the Champions League finalist after watching him progress through the ranks of Ajax’s academy and eventually make it to the first team; in fact, he was the one who thought he was the perfect choice to succeed David de Gea, who had a difficult farewell season at Old Trafford.
However, everything is forgiven for those same supporters who demanded the Spaniard’s dismissal: Onana’s Manchester debut has been, to put it mildly, sobering.
The Cameroon international was fortunate not to be sent off against Wolves. He made crucial mistakes against Galatasaray and Brenford, and he felt his performance against Bayern Munich, which defeated Ten Hag’s team 4–3, was so poor that he had to come forward and apologize in public.
The former Inter Milan goalkeeper has struggled for form since his summer move from Serie A
‘It’s a difficult situation for me, I let the team down. It’s because of me we didn’t win this game,’ Onana shared after the final whistle.
Mail Sport columnist Chris Sutton went as far as to say that the Manchester club had made a mistake trading in De Gea for Onana but with the comparatively untested Turkish youngster Altay Bayindir the club’s back-up keeper in reserve, the No 1 will have to hope his form improves after the international break to turn around United’s fortunes.
RATING: 2/10
MASON MOUNT
The former Chelsea player kept supporters in both blue and red on tenterhooks as he withheld his next season’s location until June, when he finally revealed that he would be spending £60 million moving from London to Manchester.
However, his time at Old Trafford has not been smooth, filled with setbacks and injury-related issues. After suffering a hamstring injury early in United’s season, the midfielder was sadly sidelined for five games. However, after returning, Mount has not had much of an impact under Ten Hag.
In his first Premier League games, Mount has not registered a goal or an assist, but he did set up Casemiro for a goal in his team’s 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over Crystal Palace, displaying glimpses of the potential that drove his manager to lure him to the north.
Ten Hag’s intentions for the midfielder, who is eager to use him in a more significant role than he did while at Stamford Bridge, may have contributed to some of his current uncertainties. Similar to Onana, adjusting to a United that is experiencing a challenging season filled with problems on and off the field may also be challenging. To live up to his impressive price tag, though, the 24-year-old has a lot more work ahead of him.
RATING: 3/10
Mason Mount’s season so far was shortened by a hamstring injury, but his new club have only seen flashes of his undeniable talents at Old Trafford
£115m Moises Caicedo had a debut to forget but has been improving at Chelsea this season
MOISES CAICEDO
There are many reasons to be happy in SW6 these days, and Caicedo’s growing self-assurance is undoubtedly one of them, but there’s no denying that the £115 million Chelsea player made an unfortunate announcement about his impending move to blue.
The Ecuadorian midfielder, who had been brought in against West Ham in the second half, appeared shaken and overwhelmed as the 10-man Hammers strengthened their hold on the tie and the Blues squandered their advantage at the London Stadium. Caicedo’s dismal debut came to an end when he threw away the penalty that awarded the home team all three points by tackling a former Blue Emerson player.
Nor did he recover right away. In their smash-and-grab victory over Nottingham Forest, Caicedo was largely ineffective and unable to push Steve Cooper’s team off the ball.
Needless to say, Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid, who is starting to appear like a steal for Real Madrid, or Rice, the (new) record signing for Chelsea, have both struggled to make an impact despite their exorbitant price tag.
RATING: 4/10
KAI HAVERTZ
Arsenal fans had long been tracking their club’s priority targets going into the summer window, and Jurrien Timber and Rice were duly secured and signed. But the arrival of Havertz came as a somewhat of a surprise, particularly due to the confusion over where he might fit in Arteta’s set-up.
Kai Havertz has found it difficult to influence events at the Emirates after relocating throughout London.
Fans might not feel any more certain following Arsenal’s season-opening performance. Havertz has been used more centrally and as an offensive midfielder, but he hasn’t been able to establish himself in front of goal. Prior to scoring from the penalty spot in the Gunners’ 4-0 victory over Bournemouth, Havertz had notched a goal or an assist in his first nine games.
L’Equipe even went so far as to give the midfielder a dismal four out of ten for his inattentive performance during his substitution in Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Lens.
Havertz can, however, rise to the big moment, as evidenced by the goal that won him the Champions League. Rejecting criticism, Havertz skillfully assisted Gabriel Martinelli in Arsenal’s thrilling victory over Manchester City at the Emirates after coming off the bench.
RATING: 3/10
NICOLAS JACKSON
It’s not that Jackson is without promise. The Senegal international had a strong pre-season campaign, and features regularly for Mauricio Pochettino, always looking lively. He’s even the Blues’ top scorer, level with Raheem Sterling.
Nicholas Jackson (kneeling) suffered a horror miss during Chelsea’s defeat to Nottingham Forest at close range
After receiving five yellow cards in a row during his fierce debut at Chelsea, the attacker will try to move on.
Despite their three goals apiece, Chelsea is a squad worth billions of dollars, yet they have been unable to buy themselves a goal this season. This is just one aspect of the team’s constant contradiction.
Although Jackson’s workrate is good, his anticipated goal (xG) measure is the most concerning number. With one game less than Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland above him, Jackson is the fourth-ranked player in the league by that metric. However, the striker has been lacking in finishing, and he has already made a number of well-known misses, one of which will probably stick in his memory for a long time—that one against Forest.
Pochettino will be hoping the striker resolves the problem quickly as Chelsea continues to look for the cutting edge to get themselves out of the bottom half of the standings.
Concerns have also been raised about the player’s carelessness. After receiving an eye-raising five yellow cards, Jackson was given a match ban, indicating that he had difficulty getting used to the league’s referees and players’ callous play.Jackson probably learned his lesson, but he and his team were fortunate that Armando Broja, who had just returned from an extended absence, could fill in for him and play a part in the Blues’ 2-0 victory over Fulham.
RATING: 4/10