The summer of strikers in the Premier League is threatening to turn into a painful winter. English clubs have spent big on some of Europe’s most exciting strikers ahead of the 2025-26 season, but most have struggled to live up to the hype so far.
Liverpool broke the British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for £125m, roughly equivalent to the combined fee paid by Manchester United for Benjamin Sisko and Arsenal for Viktor Gjukeris after both had been heavily linked with a move to England for several months.
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The trio entered the November international break with just six league goals between them, and with some of their supporting players impressing even brighter. Liverpool also brought in Hugo Ekiteki from Eintracht Frankfurt, Chelsea brought in Joao Pedro from Brighton & Hove Albion, and the arrival of Nick Voltimade from Stuttgart helped Newcastle make up for the loss of Isak and a turbulent summer.
In total, the cost of these six forwards could amount to around £471m. This group made headlines during a record summer of spending in the Premier League, surpassing £3bn in a single window for the first time. So why didn’t the first months go as planned?
Alexander Isaac
This situation may have been oversimplified. The addition of one of the best strikers, at the peak of their form, to the team that won the league title in 2024-2026, has led many to believe that Liverpool are favorites to repeat the feat this season. After 11 games, Liverpool sit in eighth place, eight points behind leaders Arsenal, who might have made a concerted effort to sign Isak themselves had they thought he was available, before turning their attention elsewhere.
Only Mohamed Salah (47) had more goals and assists in the league last season than Isak’s 29, making Liverpool’s appeal clear. Issac is too talented to get the benefit of the doubt right now, not least considering the mitigating factors. The fact that he would not need time to adapt to the new league was made up for by the protracted nature of his move, as he trained by himself for several weeks while Newcastle played strongly following his departure. The 26-year-old only completed his transfer on deadline day and then needed a proper ‘preparation period’ before he was ready to start.
Liverpool had to balance their obvious desire to integrate such an expensive player into the squad with the knowledge that his checkered injury history makes rushing him a risk. Isak actually suffered a thigh injury against Frankfurt last month. Sources told ESPN that at least two other clubs interested in Isak this summer had doubts about Isak’s durability, especially for the reported fee, and Liverpool may have had the idea of rotating Isak and Ekitiki to help protect against injury concerns.
It is also clear that widespread instability at Liverpool has not helped Isak and the struggles of other new signings, most notably Florian Wirtz. Manager Arne Slot is looking for his best XI. So far, Isak has played just 253 minutes in the league across four matches, with his only shot on target coming in last month’s defeat at home to Manchester United when he sent it clean.
Liverpool have yet to figure out how to play to their strengths. Isak is sure to improve, and Liverpool need him to go fast.
1:33
Is Cisco the right striker for Manchester United?
Gap Marcotti assesses whether Benjamin Sisko should move to Manchester United amid links with the Premier League club.
Benjamin Sisco
There was some surprise that after signing Brian Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, United directed their limited funds towards centre-forward when central midfield looked like an obvious area of need.
Arsenal extensively scouted Sisko and held talks with his agent, but ultimately decided to pursue the more experienced and proven option in Geukeres. Newcastle were also interested as it became clear that Isak would push hard to leave, but Sisko still opted to join United. His two league goals – against Brentford and Sunderland – were close-range, opportunistic strikes and came from a total of seven shots on target in 618 minutes in 11 appearances.
To some extent, the 22-year-old is a victim of the uncertainty surrounding United’s squad. Ruben Amorim’s side lacked creativity last season, and their new attacking line will take some time to adapt. Sources suggest that Sisko is working hard behind the scenes, voluntarily extending training sessions while United work out how to get the best out of the Slovenian international, whom Amorim described as a “control freak”.
In the same press conference last week, Amorim said “he has more potential than I was thinking,” strongly suggesting there were differing views internally on Cisco’s ability before signing him. The sources added that United believe that internal data indicates that Cisco’s work without the ball is better than Rasmus Holjund, who was sent to Napoli on loan.
However, Cisco looked worryingly lacking in confidence in crucial moments. Micky van de Ven is one of England’s quickest midfielders, but Cisco lacked conviction when set up by Mason Mount during the second half of United’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, failing to get a clean shot wide as van de Ven recovered. He was then pictured leaving the field on crutches with a knee complaint, and although United played down the seriousness of the injury, any absence would delay the launch his England career appears to need.
Time is on Cisco’s side at the moment, but the pressure will mount when Amorim’s attacking options become limited with Mbeumou and Amad Diallo departing for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations.
1:48
Arteta: Victor Gyukiris ‘exceptional’ for Arsenal in Burnley win
Mikel Arteta praised Victor Gyukiris’ performance during Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Burnley to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Victor Geukeris
It may be difficult to include Gyokeris here given that he has scored six goals in 14 games – four of them in the league – and Arsenal sit at the top of the table, four points behind Manchester City. Gunners coach Mikel Arteta has repeatedly praised Gyukiris’ all-round contributions, and sources told ESPN that there was an acknowledgment when signing the 27-year-old that they would have to adapt their style to get the best from him. This adaptation process is still underway, and may partly explain why Arsenal’s position at the top of the table has relied on defensive brilliance and set-piece skill rather than fluid football and free goals.
Gyokeris’ four league goals came from eight shots on target in 802 minutes in 10 matches. Those goals came against Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Burnley, as well as a brace in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, both of which scored from close range thanks to luck.
Gyukiris has so far been unable to silence those doubting his ability to close out the biggest games in the way you would expect from someone who scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting Lisbon. The question was always whether this devastating performance would translate to the Premier League. There are signs that might be the case – his link-up play and ability to occupy centre-backs have generally been good – but the killer touch in front of goal has yet to materialise.
Upon signing he was seen as the final piece of the puzzle, the consistent and prolific goalscorer Arsenal had craved for years. The way Arsenal are going now, what he is doing may be enough, but at some point, Gyokeris will likely need to find the back of the net more often to keep his side on track towards the title they crave.
1:52
Marcotti explains why there is a record transfer window in the Premier League
Jabe Marcotti looks at the reasons why Premier League clubs were able to surpass the £3bn mark in transfer spending in the summer window.
How do their starts compare to those of the Premier League greats?
To judge any player – especially those new to the league – after three months is of course premature, but that is the fate that even the best strikers face.
Alan Shearer’s tally of 260 Premier League goals remains the division’s record. He scored seven goals and provided four assists in his first 10 appearances for Newcastle in 1996 after moving from Blackburn Rovers for a world record fee of £15 million.
Wayne Rooney, third on the list with 208, made his debut for Manchester United in October 2004 and scored four goals in his first eight matches. Mohamed Salah, fourth on the list, scored seven goals in his first 10 league matches with Liverpool. Sergio Aguero (VI) scored nine goals in his first 10 matches for Manchester City. The other names cannot be compared fairly, as Harry Kane’s slow start to his Tottenham career has not received the same focus (he’s No. 2 on the list) while Frank Lampard has scored an impressive 177 goals from midfield.
Perhaps encouragement can be taken from Thierry Henry, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Premier League history – he managed just one goal in his first 10 appearances for Arsenal, as his transformation from winger to centre-forward took shape.
Just don’t look at Erling Haaland: since his first 12 games of 2022, he has scored 18 goals for Manchester City.
Haaland sets the standard
There have been promising returns from others. While Liverpool’s pursuit of Isaac reached the end, Ekitiki closed the gap with two goals in his first three matches. Joao Pedro took advantage of joining Chelsea in time to play in the Club World Cup, scoring three goals in that tournament including against Paris Saint-Germain in the final, before adding two more goals in the first three matches of the season. But eight games without goals ended with a victory over Tottenham at the beginning of the month.
Waltmad has scored six goals in 14 appearances for Newcastle, appearing to adapt quicker to the division than many expected and defying the fact that the club had been chasing Ikikitiki and Cisco before eventually settling on the 23-year-old. His impact was made all the more welcome given Newcastle also spent £55m to sign Yoane Wissa from Brentford, but a knee injury suffered days after his transfer means the 29-year-old has yet to make his debut.
Honorary mention should go out to Brentford’s Igor Thiago – he is not a new signing this summer given he joined from Club Brugge for £30m in July 2024 – but injuries have restricted him to just eight appearances. Thiago has scored eight goals in 11 games, a tally bettered only by Haaland, who must have the final say after such a devastating start to the season.
From 11 matches and 948 minutes in the league, Haaland scored 14 goals. This record extends to 28 out of 18 for City and Norway. In fact, in those 18 matches, the only opponents who have stopped him from scoring are Tottenham and Aston Villa. Haaland’s form is a major reason why City can once again challenge for the title this season. Others, at least for now, are playing catch-up.
ESPN’s Rob Dawson and Beth Lindop contributed to this report
