Two months into 2026/27, seven of the 19 summer transfers we analysed are scoring higher than they did last season and seven are scoring lower, with five still short of the 240 league minutes we need for a fair read. Johan Manzambi (8.7), Elliot Anderson and Rodri (both 8.6) lead the list. Bradley Barcola, Mamadou Sangaré and Christos Tzolis have found the move harder.
The Full Table
| Player | Apps | Mins | G + A | Avg rating | Score so far | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johan ManzambiFreiburg → Aston Villa · £59.5m | 5 | 323 | 2 + 2 | 7.17 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| Elliot AndersonNottingham Forest → Man City · £116m · Deep Playmaker | 8 | 608 | 0 + 1 | 7.32 | 8.6 | 8.8 |
| RodriMan City → Barcelona · Elite Deep Playmaker | 9 | 607 | 1 + 0 | 7.56 | 8.6 | 8.4 |
| Leandro TrossardArsenal → Beşiktaş · £17m | 7 | 565 | 1 + 1 | 7.43 | 8.4† | 7.0 |
| Morgan RogersAston Villa → Chelsea · £117m · Inside Forward | 8 | 703 | 4 + 1 | 7.47 | 8.2 | 6.2 |
| Cristian RomeroTottenham → Atlético Madrid · £34.2m | 6 | 435 | 1 + 0 | 7.51 | 8.2 | 9.0 |
| Enzo FernándezChelsea → Man City · £125m | 6 | 458 | 1 + 0 | 7.30 | 8.0 | 7.7 |
| Ezri KonsaAston Villa → Arsenal · ~£50m+ | 7 | 551 | 1 + 0 | 7.08 | 7.9 | 6.9 |
| Chema AndrésStuttgart → Brighton · £22m | 5 | 344 | 1 + 1 | 7.04 | 6.5 | 7.9 |
| Christos TzolisClub Brugge → Arsenal · £34m | 5 | 365 | 0 + 1 | 6.90 | 6.2 | 8.9† |
| Mamadou SangaréLens → Brentford · £41m | 8 | 495 | 0 + 1 | 6.75 | 5.7 | 8.1 |
| Bradley BarcolaPSG → Liverpool · £123m | 6 | 425 | 0 + 2 | 6.68 | 5.7 | 8.3 |
| Amar DedićBenfica → Newcastle | 6 | 454 | 0 + 2 | 6.55 | 5.0 | 6.8† |
| Brennan JohnsonCrystal Palace → Everton · Swap | 8 | 406 | 0 + 0 | 6.30 | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| Bruno GuimarãesNewcastle → Arsenal · £75m | 6 | 239 | 2 + 0 | 7.23 | Too early | 8.5 |
| Gabriel JesusArsenal → Barcelona · ~€10m | 6 | 199 | 3 + 0 | 6.92 | Too early | 5.3 |
| Dwight McNeilEverton → Crystal Palace · Swap | 5 | 194 | 0 + 0 | 6.34 | Too early | 4.5 |
| Carlos BalebaBrighton → Man Utd · £70m | 3 | 177 | 0 + 0 | 6.54 | Too early | 4.8 |
| Danny WelbeckBrighton → Chelsea · Undisc. | 6 | 118 | 0 + 0 | 6.57 | Too early | 6.0 |
Fees as reported in our original analysis. Darker blue = higher Score. Archetypes are shown only for players past 600 league minutes.
Past 600 Minutes: The First Archetypes
Morgan Rogers, Chelsea: Inside Forward
Four goals and an assist in eight league games, 703 minutes, 14 key passes and 13 of 23 dribbles completed. Rogers is the first of our 19 to pass 600 minutes, and the app now reads him as an Inside Forward with a Score of 8.2, up from 6.2 at Villa. Part of that jump is the comparison group: this season he's measured against attackers, last season against midfielders, and his Passing (7.2) and Ball Carry (8.0) grade far higher against forwards than they did against midfielders (1.1 and 5.6). He scored in four of his first six games and has gone two without a goal since. In August we asked whether he could replace Enzo Fernández's goals. Four league goals to Enzo's one at City says yes so far.
Elliot Anderson, Manchester City: Deep Playmaker
Same archetype as at Forest, same level. Anderson has made 610 passes at 91% accuracy, won 57 of his 90 duels (63%) and added 15 tackles and 11 interceptions. Passing 9.8, Duels 9.6 and Ball Carry 9.5 put him at 8.6, against 8.8 last season. His one assist came in the 3-0 win at Anfield. The £116m was paid for this profile, and it has travelled intact.
Rodri, Barcelona: Elite Deep Playmaker
We said in August that Rodri is a Barcelona player. Nine league games in, he has made 740 passes at 94%, with 17 tackles and 12 interceptions, and scored his first Barcelona league goal against Real Betis. His Passing composite is a perfect 10.0 and his Defensive 8.7, and the app now grades him an Elite Deep Playmaker, a step up from the Deep Playmaker label he carried at City. His Score of 8.6 is up from 8.4, and his 607 league minutes are already more than a third of last season's 1,513.
Flying Starts
Johan Manzambi, Aston Villa
The highest Score on the list, 8.7, and the best output per minute: two goals and two assists in 323 minutes, with ten shots and seven key passes. Chance Creation 9.6, Goal Threat 9.7 and Ball Carry 9.1 all sit in the top band for Premier League midfielders. The honest caveat is the sample: five appearances, and a Passing composite of 2.1 that will need to come up as the minutes build. Our August piece called him the centre of Villa's rebuild, and the start backs that up.
Ezri Konsa, Arsenal
The biggest mover since September. Konsa's Score so far was 5.8 in our early verdict; it is now 7.9, a full point above his 6.9 at Villa last season. He has played the full 90 in each of Arsenal's last six league games, is passing at 96% (324 passes) and has won 37 of 60 duels (62%). His goal in the 2-0 win over Everton on 24 October came with an 8.45 match rating, his best of the season. In August we were honest that he graded bottom of Arsenal's back line on the composites. He is answering that on the pitch.
Enzo Fernández, Manchester City
A Score of 8.0, up from 7.7 at Chelsea, from 458 minutes. One goal (against Sunderland), 355 passes at 89% and a Passing composite of 9.5. Alongside Anderson, City's two big midfield signings are both scoring 8 or above.
Cristian Romero, Atlético Madrid
Romero has won 29 of 42 duels (69%), is passing at 94% and scored against Alavés. His Score of 8.2 is down on last season's 9.0 at Spurs for one reason: only seven tackles and two interceptions in 435 minutes, which pulls his Defensive composite right down. The duel-winning, the core of our case for him, has travelled.
Leandro Trossard, Beşiktaş
A goal, an assist and 11 completed dribbles in 565 minutes, with Ball Carry at 9.4. His Score of 8.4 is up on 7.0 at Arsenal, but it carries the dagger: he's measured against Süper Lig players now, a Tier 2 league. A player dropping a level should score higher, and he is.
Too Early to Call, But Worth Watching
Five of the 19 are still under 240 league minutes, so there is no Score yet. Four are below; Carlos Baleba, the fifth, has his own section further down.
Gabriel Jesus
Three La Liga goals, against Racing Santander, Getafe and Real Betis. All three of his shots on target have gone in. We called his finishing a small-sample mirage in August, and the sample is still small.
Bruno Guimarães
One minute short of our line. Two goals in six appearances, none longer than 66 minutes, and 26 of 37 duels won. Last season he scored 8.5 at Newcastle.
Dwight McNeil
Five appearances for Palace, no goals or assists yet. The swap with Brennan Johnson has not sparked either player so far.
Danny Welbeck
Six league appearances, five of them 13 minutes or less, and no league shot yet. Last season he scored 13 league goals for Brighton.
Slower Starts
Bradley Barcola, Liverpool
Barcola has played 425 league minutes in six games with no goals and two assists, both in October (against Brentford and Brighton). He has had seven shots and one on target, so his Goal Threat composite is 0.2, against 9.3 at PSG last season. The rest of his game is there: Defensive 8.4 and Chance Creation 8.2, and his 7.41 match rating against Brighton was his best yet. A Score of 5.7 against 8.3 last season is the gap our goal-threat case needs him to close.
Mamadou Sangaré, Brentford
The defensive side has made the step up in full: 25 tackles and nine interceptions in 495 minutes, and a Defensive composite of 9.5. The attacking side hasn't: one assist, four shots and a Goal Threat of 1.9. His minutes also dropped in October, with 38 and 45 minutes in two games before a full 90 against Hull City. A Score of 5.7, against 8.1 at Lens, is down on the 6.5 we published in September.
Chema Andrés, Brighton
A goal and an assist from 344 minutes, and 11 tackles with four interceptions. His Score of 6.5 is below the 7.9 he posted as an Elite Ball Winner at Stuttgart, mainly because his ball-carrying (0.5) and chance creation (3.2) are low for a Premier League midfielder. The defensive base is still there, at 7.5.
Amar Dedić, Newcastle
Two assists, against Tottenham and Crystal Palace, and a Chance Creation composite of 9.4 for Premier League defenders. The defensive side is still light at 1.5, which keeps his Score at 5.0, against 6.8 at Benfica (Tier 2). Same picture as September: the traits we highlighted travel, the defending is the part Newcastle need.
Brennan Johnson, Everton
No league goals in 406 minutes across eight appearances, three shots and none on target. His Score of 3.2 is close to last season's 2.9 across his spells at Palace and Spurs. Johnson and McNeil both remain well below the level either club will want from the winger swap.
Injuries and Returns
Christos Tzolis, Arsenal
Tzolis has a hamstring injury and missed Arsenal's league games on 18 and 24 October. His last league appearance was against Brighton on 19 September, so he is still on the 365 minutes he had in our early verdict. In that time his Chance Creation (9.0) made the step up from Belgium; his Goal Threat (3.7) and Ball Carry (2.0) did not, and his Score so far is 6.2 against 8.9 at Club Brugge. He is also being measured against midfielders this season rather than forwards. Our original analysis flagged the step up from Belgium as the biggest risk, and the injury now delays the answer.
Carlos Baleba: back, and starting
In September, Baleba had not played a league minute for Manchester United after an ankle injury. He made his league debut off the bench against Tottenham on 10 October and has played in each of United's three league games since the international break: 177 minutes in all, with 11 tackles and interceptions and 88% passing. That's too little for a Score.
Chema Andrés, the £22m player Brighton signed to replace him, has nearly double the minutes (344) and a goal and an assist. Round one went to Brighton. Round two has only just started.
The Bottom Line
The three players past 600 minutes, Rogers, Anderson and Rodri, are all scoring 8.2 or higher, and Anderson and Rodri look like the same players in new shirts. Manzambi and Konsa are the risers since September. The two cautions from the summer are still the cautions now: Tzolis's step up from Belgium, now held up by a hamstring injury, and Barcola's goal threat, which hasn't appeared in 425 league minutes. We'll run the numbers again once more of the 19 have passed 600 minutes. In the meantime, every one of these players can be followed live in the app.
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