Doku's tricky dribbling on the left flank of Man City's attack had a huge impact on the technical side. Man City had to change their style of play somewhat to take advantage of Doku's ability. Great, but Man City were knocked off the top spot, in the big picture.
Declan Rice (middle) is considered one of the successful signings in the Premier League this season.
Another website's vote is also worth a look: Maddison, along with teammates Pedro Porro, Guglielmo Vicario, and Micky Van de Ven, are all in the top 6 most successful signings in the Premier League to date. This is a special success for Tottenham, although it is unclear whether it is due to coach Ange Postecoglu or the transfer department (Postecoglu himself is also the new coach).
Finally, the two teams currently leading the Premier League, Liverpool and Arsenal, both have great contributions from Dominik Szoboszlai and Declan Rice. Assuming Man City fail to defend their title, there is a high possibility that Liverpool or Arsenal will be crowned champions. In such a situation, Szoboszlai or Rice will be the number 1 candidate for the title of "most successful contract of the season".
Declan Rice (right) helps strengthen Arsenal's midfield
In short, these are all successful transfers. But which is the best?
Szoboszlai cost £60m. That was actually the price of his buyout clause from RB Leipzig. Liverpool activated this clause right after the end of last season, and Szoboszlai immediately trained with his new team. The story shows: Liverpool were determined to buy Szoboszlai at all costs and what he has shown this season is exactly what coach Jurgen Klopp had prepared. There is no luck or coincidence in this success. The contract named Szoboszlai therefore deserves to be ranked above all others, except… Declan Rice!
The common point between Doku, 4 excellent new recruits at Tottenham, and Cole Palmer (Chelsea), is that they all have transfer fees that are not too high (above or below 40 million pounds). Doku costs 55 million pounds, but considering Man City's wallet, that is only an affordable price. Success is great, but the opposite is also... nothing to lose.
Jeremy Doku (right), Man City's new signing this season
Buying cheap but using it is always a success, but it is the "nothing to lose" type of success. Buying at a high price but still deciding to buy, and using it in a great way, is the most admirable type of success. Remember: we are talking about football - a field where there is no rule of "you get what you pay for", nor any specific measure of star quality. Liverpool are commendable for decisively buying Szoboszlai. But Arsenal are even more admirable, buying Rice for £100 million (a club record, Rice became the most expensive English player ever). The higher the risk, the more admirable the decision. As for expertise, there is no need to introduce Rice's success this season.
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