A review of the hit rate on the signings made by the 20 clubs of Premier League for the 2016/17 season. We identified 190 signings for the first-team squad; 184 are included in the hit-rate calculation. Signings that did not earn relevant minutes during the season are classified as unsuccessful, except for youth investments (under 23 years old), classified separately and outside the count (6 cases, flagged in the appendix). Hit-rate scoring: successful signings count as a full point; fair ones, half a point.
Club ranking by hit rate
| Club | League position | Signings | Evaluated | Successful | Fair | Unsuccessful | Hit rate % |
|---|
| 1º | Manchester United | 6º | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| 2º | Arsenal | 5º | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 67% |
| 3º | Chelsea | 1º | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 60% |
| 4º | Everton | 7º | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 57% |
| 5º | Burnley | 16º | 22 | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 55% |
| 6º | Swansea | 15º | 8 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 50% |
| 7º | Liverpool | 4º | 6 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 50% |
| 8º | Stoke City | 13º | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| 9º | Crystal Palace | 14º | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 45% |
| 10º | West Brom | 10º | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 42% |
| 11º | Middlesbrough | 19º | 24 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 33% |
| 12º | Hull City | 18º | 22 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 32% |
| 13º | Manchester City | 3º | 7 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 25% |
| 14º | Bournemouth | 9º | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25% |
| 15º | Tottenham | 2º | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25% |
| 16º | Watford | 17º | 14 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 23% |
| 17º | Southampton | 8º | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 21% |
| 18º | Sunderland | 20º | 12 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 21% |
| 19º | Leicester | 12º | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 17% |
| 20º | West Ham | 11º | 11 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 14% |
Successful signings count as a full point; Fair ones (median performance), half a point; Unsuccessful ones, zero. The difference between Signings and Evaluated are the youth investments (under-23), listed in the appendix. The full list for each club is in the appendix at the end.
The 5 best-performing signings
| Player | Club | Minutes | G+A | Avg rating |
|---|
| Zlatan Ibrahimović | Manchester United | 2437 | 17+5 | 7.33 |
| Christian Benteke | Crystal Palace | 3137 | 15+2 | 7.14 |
| Sadio Mané | Liverpool | 2240 | 13+5 | 7.24 |
| Paul Pogba | Manchester United | 2608 | 5+4 | 7.66 |
| Álvaro Negredo | Middlesbrough | 2877 | 9+4 | 6.99 |
Methodology
Only genuine signings for the first-team squad are considered (academy promotions, loan returns and internal moves are excluded). The performance of each signing is measured by the player's output over the season — minutes on the pitch, goal involvement and average match rating — in comparison with the other players in the competition.
Appendix — Signings by club
Full list of the signings identified, with each player's figures for the season.
* Youth investment (under 23 years old, no game time in the season) — classified separately, outside the hit-rate calculation.
** Matches and minutes counted across the fixtures analysed by the team.
Arsenal (4 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Granit Xhaka | 32 | 2486 | 2 | 2 |
| Shkodran Mustafi | 26 | 2275 | 2 | 2 |
| Lucas Pérez | 11 | 265 | 1 | 0 |
| Takuma Asano * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bournemouth (4 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Jack Wilshere | 27 | 1912 | 0 | 2 |
| Jordon Ibe | 25 | 1057 | 0 | 0 |
| Nathan Aké | 10 | 733 | 3 | 0 |
| Bradley Smith | 5 | 272 | 0 | 0 |
Burnley (22 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Matthew Lowton | 36 | 3240 | 0 | 2 |
| Stephen Ward | 37 | 3232 | 1 | 1 |
| Tom Heaton | 35 | 3150 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Keane | 35 | 3150 | 2 | 1 |
| Ben Mee | 34 | 3015 | 1 | 0 |
| George Boyd | 36 | 2844 | 2 | 1 |
| Jeff Hendrick | 32 | 2695 | 2 | 1 |
| Andre Gray | 32 | 2267 | 9 | 3 |
| Scott Arfield | 31 | 2104 | 1 | 0 |
| Sam Vokes | 37 | 2055 | 10 | 3 |
| Ashley Barnes | 28 | 1775 | 6 | 2 |
| Dean Marney | 21 | 1770 | 1 | 2 |
| Steven Defour | 21 | 1078 | 1 | 3 |
| Jóhann Guðmundsson | 20 | 994 | 1 | 2 |
| Robbie Brady | 14 | 716 | 1 | 2 |
| James Tarkowski | 19 | 556 | 0 | 0 |
| Ashley Westwood | 9 | 550 | 0 | 0 |
| Jon Flanagan | 6 | 359 | 0 | 0 |
| David Jones | 1 | 87 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Bamford * | 6 | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| Lukas Jutkiewicz | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Pope | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chelsea (6 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| N'Golo Kanté | 35 | 3139 | 1 | 1 |
| David Luiz | 33 | 2956 | 1 | 0 |
| Marcos Alonso | 31 | 2694 | 6 | 3 |
| Michy Batshuayi | 20 | 239 | 5 | 1 |
| Eduardo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cristian Cuevas * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Crystal Palace (10 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Christian Benteke | 36 | 3137 | 15 | 2 |
| Andros Townsend | 36 | 2526 | 3 | 4 |
| James Tomkins | 24 | 1976 | 3 | 0 |
| Luka Milivojević | 14 | 1227 | 2 | 0 |
| Jeffrey Schlupp | 15 | 997 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Mandanda | 9 | 810 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick van Aanholt | 11 | 714 | 2 | 0 |
| Mamadou Sakho | 8 | 687 | 0 | 0 |
| Mathieu Flamini | 10 | 269 | 0 | 0 |
| Loïc Rémy | 5 | 131 | 0 | 0 |
Everton (7 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Ashley Williams | 36 | 3158 | 1 | 3 |
| Idrissa Gueye | 33 | 2685 | 1 | 1 |
| Maarten Stekelenburg | 19 | 1684 | 0 | 0 |
| Mason Holgate | 18 | 1371 | 0 | 1 |
| Morgan Schneiderlin | 14 | 1059 | 1 | 0 |
| Yannick Bolasie | 13 | 1028 | 1 | 4 |
| Enner Valencia | 21 | 708 | 3 | 1 |
Hull City (22 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Sam Clucas | 37 | 3188 | 3 | 1 |
| Andrew Robertson | 33 | 2736 | 1 | 2 |
| Ahmed El-Mohamady | 33 | 2520 | 0 | 2 |
| Curtis Davies | 26 | 2137 | 0 | 2 |
| Tom Huddlestone | 31 | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| Robert Snodgrass | 20 | 1712 | 7 | 3 |
| Jake Livermore | 21 | 1673 | 1 | 1 |
| David Marshall | 16 | 1440 | 0 | 0 |
| Abel Hernández | 24 | 1428 | 4 | 3 |
| Andrea Ranocchia | 16 | 1329 | 2 | 2 |
| Alfred N'Diaye | 15 | 1277 | 1 | 0 |
| Adama Diomandé | 22 | 1169 | 2 | 0 |
| Kamil Grosicki | 15 | 1146 | 0 | 3 |
| Oumar Niasse | 17 | 1095 | 4 | 1 |
| Lazar Marković | 12 | 1011 | 2 | 0 |
| David Meyler | 20 | 954 | 1 | 0 |
| Ryan Mason | 16 | 928 | 1 | 0 |
| Dieumerci Mbokani | 12 | 763 | 0 | 1 |
| Markus Henriksen | 15 | 633 | 0 | 0 |
| Omar Elabdellaoui | 8 | 616 | 0 | 0 |
| Evandro | 11 | 576 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Keane | 5 | 282 | 0 | 0 |
Leicester (6 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Islam Slimani | 23 | 1279 | 7 | 4 |
| Ahmed Musa | 21 | 753 | 2 | 0 |
| Ron-Robert Zieler | 9 | 753 | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Hernández | 4 | 326 | 0 | 0 |
| Nampalys Mendy | 4 | 271 | 0 | 0 |
| Matty James | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Liverpool (6 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Georginio Wijnaldum | 36 | 2975 | 6 | 9 |
| Joël Matip | 29 | 2456 | 1 | 0 |
| Sadio Mané | 27 | 2240 | 13 | 5 |
| Ragnar Klavan | 20 | 1408 | 0 | 0 |
| Loris Karius | 10 | 900 | 0 | 0 |
| Marko Grujić | 5 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
Manchester City (7 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| John Stones | 27 | 2013 | 0 | 0 |
| Claudio Bravo | 22 | 1969 | 0 | 0 |
| Leroy Sané | 26 | 1786 | 5 | 3 |
| Nolito | 19 | 778 | 4 | 2 |
| İlkay Gündoğan | 10 | 709 | 3 | 1 |
| Gabriel Jesus | 10 | 650 | 7 | 4 |
| Pablo Marí * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Manchester United (4 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Paul Pogba | 30 | 2608 | 5 | 4 |
| Zlatan Ibrahimović | 28 | 2437 | 17 | 5 |
| Eric Bailly | 25 | 2060 | 0 | 0 |
| Henrikh Mkhitaryan | 24 | 1349 | 4 | 1 |
Middlesbrough (24 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Ben Gibson | 38 | 3420 | 1 | 1 |
| Álvaro Negredo | 36 | 2877 | 9 | 4 |
| Adam Clayton | 34 | 2806 | 0 | 2 |
| Marten de Roon | 33 | 2777 | 4 | 0 |
| Adam Forshaw | 34 | 2700 | 0 | 1 |
| Stewart Downing | 30 | 2212 | 1 | 3 |
| Antonio Barragán | 26 | 2196 | 0 | 0 |
| Calum Chambers | 24 | 2160 | 1 | 1 |
| George Friend | 24 | 1960 | 0 | 2 |
| Fábio | 24 | 1849 | 0 | 0 |
| Gastón Ramírez | 24 | 1549 | 2 | 3 |
| Adama Traoré | 27 | 1535 | 0 | 1 |
| Christian Stuani | 23 | 1361 | 4 | 0 |
| Bernardo Espinosa | 11 | 975 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Ayala | 14 | 917 | 1 | 0 |
| Brad Guzan | 10 | 900 | 0 | 0 |
| Rudy Gestede | 16 | 525 | 1 | 0 |
| Viktor Fischer | 13 | 438 | 0 | 3 |
| Emilio Nsue | 4 | 322 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Bamford | 8 | 281 | 1 | 0 |
| Adlène Guédioura | 5 | 135 | 0 | 0 |
| Albert Adomah | 2 | 121 | 0 | 0 |
| David Nugent | 4 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Kike Sola | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Southampton (7 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Nathan Redmond | 37 | 2907 | 7 | 1 |
| Pierre-Emile Højbjerg | 22 | 1299 | 0 | 0 |
| Sofiane Boufal | 24 | 1101 | 1 | 0 |
| Manolo Gabbiadini | 11 | 731 | 4 | 0 |
| Jérémy Pied | 4 | 126 | 0 | 0 |
| Martín Cáceres | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex McCarthy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Stoke City (5 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Bruno Martins Indi | 35 | 3147 | 1 | 0 |
| Joe Allen | 36 | 2936 | 6 | 2 |
| Ramadan Sobhi | 17 | 848 | 0 | 1 |
| Saido Berahino | 13 | 721 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilfried Bony | 10 | 690 | 2 | 0 |
Sunderland (12 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Didier N'Dong | 31 | 2519 | 1 | 0 |
| Jason Denayer | 24 | 1878 | 0 | 0 |
| Adnan Januzaj | 25 | 1629 | 0 | 3 |
| Papy Djilobodji | 18 | 1577 | 0 | 0 |
| Javier Manquillo | 20 | 1428 | 1 | 0 |
| Victor Anichebe | 18 | 1216 | 3 | 0 |
| Bryan Oviedo | 10 | 849 | 0 | 0 |
| Steven Pienaar | 15 | 808 | 0 | 0 |
| Darron Gibson | 12 | 641 | 0 | 0 |
| Donald Love | 12 | 607 | 0 | 1 |
| Paddy McNair | 9 | 354 | 0 | 0 |
| Joleon Lescott | 2 | 123 | 0 | 0 |
Swansea (8 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Fernando Llorente | 33 | 2453 | 15 | 1 |
| Alfie Mawson | 27 | 2430 | 4 | 0 |
| Tom Carroll | 17 | 1388 | 1 | 2 |
| Martin Olsson | 15 | 1253 | 2 | 0 |
| Jordan Ayew | 14 | 863 | 1 | 3 |
| Mike Van der Hoorn | 8 | 661 | 1 | 0 |
| Borja Bastón | 18 | 547 | 1 | 0 |
| Luciano Narsingh | 13 | 410 | 0 | 3 |
Tottenham (5 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Victor Wanyama | 36 | 3015 | 4 | 1 |
| Moussa Sissoko | 25 | 902 | 0 | 2 |
| Vincent Janssen | 27 | 832 | 2 | 2 |
| Georges-Kévin N'Koudou | 8 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| Pau López * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Watford (14 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Younès Kaboul | 22 | 1825 | 2 | 0 |
| Daryl Janmaat | 27 | 1615 | 2 | 1 |
| Tom Cleverley | 17 | 1441 | 0 | 2 |
| Abdoulaye Doucouré | 20 | 1359 | 1 | 0 |
| M'Baye Niang | 16 | 1254 | 2 | 2 |
| Roberto Pereyra | 13 | 1040 | 2 | 2 |
| Camilo Zúñiga | 21 | 813 | 1 | 0 |
| Christian Kabasele | 16 | 767 | 2 | 0 |
| Adrian Mariappa | 7 | 561 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaac Success | 19 | 505 | 1 | 1 |
| Mauro Zárate | 3 | 206 | 0 | 0 |
| Costel Pantilimon | 2 | 81 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenedy * | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Brice Dja Djédjé | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
West Brom (6 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| Allan Nyom | 32 | 2637 | 0 | 2 |
| Matt Phillips | 27 | 2193 | 4 | 8 |
| Nacer Chadli | 31 | 2147 | 5 | 5 |
| Jake Livermore | 16 | 1303 | 0 | 0 |
| Marc Wilson | 4 | 255 | 0 | 0 |
| Brendon Galloway | 3 | 248 | 0 | 0 |
West Ham (11 signings)
| Player | Matches** | Minutes** | Goals | Assists |
|---|
| André Ayew | 25 | 1440 | 6 | 3 |
| José Fonte | 16 | 1405 | 0 | 0 |
| Sofiane Feghouli | 21 | 1038 | 3 | 3 |
| Arthur Masuaku | 13 | 971 | 0 | 1 |
| Håvard Nordtveit | 16 | 956 | 0 | 1 |
| Robert Snodgrass | 15 | 838 | 0 | 2 |
| Jonathan Calleri | 16 | 537 | 1 | 0 |
| Simone Zaza | 8 | 460 | 0 | 0 |
| Ashley Fletcher | 16 | 354 | 0 | 0 |
| Álvaro Arbeloa | 3 | 256 | 0 | 0 |
| Gökhan Töre | 5 | 239 | 0 | 1 |