The 10 best value-for-money signings of the 2025 summer window

In an era of relentless transfer inflation, any deal above £20 million rarely looks like a bargain. Yet the 2025 summer window still produced a series of signings that, on the basis of price, context and early returns, already stand out as shrewd business for their new employers.

• Roma paid €25m for Mora, an 18-year-old playmaker whose release clause stood at €70m just months earlier.
• Deportivo landed Aubameyang on reduced wages, and the striker has scored five goals in seven league games.
• Schalke spent just €1m on Tanaka, who helped hold Bayern Munich to a goalless draw on his Bundesliga debut.
• Real Betis signed Fran García for £3.2m plus a sell-on clause, adding a defender with over 100 Real Madrid appearances.
• Maitland-Niles scored on his first meaningful outing for Everton and has already begun repaying his transfer fee.

Mora, the Portuguese gem Roma landed at an opportunity price

Paying more than £20 million rarely counts as a bargain, but Roma's move for Mora might be one of the clearest exceptions in recent windows. The Porto playmaker had been tracked by Europe's elite since starring for the club's B-team at 15, and the Portuguese side were bracing for his €70 million release clause to be triggered in the summer of 2025.

That never happened. Under new head coach Francesco Farioli, the teenager fell down the pecking order, and Roma pounced with an offer of €25 million plus a 50% sell-on fee that can be bought out. The project in the Italian capital appealed to Mora, who pointed to Gian Piero Gasperini as a major factor in his decision.

He played a big part in my decision to come here because he likes players with my qualities, and I'm a fan of the way he wants his teams to play.

The early signs are encouraging. Mora netted his first Roma goal against Lecce as the Giallorossi made a flying start in Serie A.

Aubameyang and his scoring revival at Deportivo

Signing a striker of Aubameyang's class and experience for a nominal fee feels like a no-brainer. The former Arsenal and Dortmund man is 37 and has led a nomadic existence since leaving Barcelona: an underwhelming spell at Chelsea, two seasons at Marseille and a year in Saudi Arabia.

His goal return remains impressive, with 44 across the last three campaigns, and he has reportedly accepted a greatly reduced salary to play regular LaLiga football. Deportivo's project looks like the ideal fit, and five goals in seven league games confirm the move is working.

Tanaka, the Japanese engine keeping Schalke competitive

While newly promoted English clubs spent hundreds of millions, the three sides promoted to the Bundesliga invested a combined £7.2m net. Schalke, champions of the second tier, secured several eye-catching loan deals, but holding midfielder Tanaka was their most expensive permanent recruit at just €1m.

The 24-year-old represented a gamble, his only previous German experience coming since January with Fortuna, who were relegated to the third division. Still, his work rate persuaded Schalke's recruitment team, and on his Bundesliga debut his battling qualities helped the club hold Bayern Munich to a goalless draw. He could prove key to keeping Schalke clear of trouble.

Real Betis and Everton fish for cut-price bargains

Real Betis stole a march on several Premier League clubs with the signing of Troy Parrott, who quickly showed his worth with a winner against Real Madrid. The Ireland international cost €20m, and the fee would likely have been higher had he been returning to Spurs rather than heading to Seville. But the real steal may be Fran García, a left-back sold for £3.2m plus 50% of any future sale.

At 27, the Madrid academy product is approaching his prime and brings more than 100 appearances for Real Madrid along with two full top-flight seasons on loan at Rayo Vallecano. Everton, meanwhile, endured a traumatic deadline day that left David Moyes short of depth, but the late arrival of Maitland-Niles has already paid dividends: his late equaliser against Manchester United went some way toward repaying his fee.

Young bets with upside: Vidovic, Reyna, Nazinho and Stroud

Paderborn returned to the Bundesliga by smashing their transfer record to sign Vidovic for €3m. The Croatian playmaker came through the Bayern Munich academy under Julian Nagelsmann but never established himself in the first team. After loans and a permanent return to Dinamo Zagreb, his move back to Germany's top flight represents a calculated risk with obvious potential.

In France, Strasbourg recruited Gio Reyna, a player whose career stalled through injuries and inconsistency after thriving alongside Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland at Dortmund. The American made only four league starts during a single season at Gladbach, but he has already scored for his new club in a 6-2 rout of Troyes. Meanwhile, Monaco secured Nazinho, an attacking left-back developed at Sporting CP who broke out at Cercle Brugge with four goals and eight assists last season.

In England, Hull City moved for Sweden international Stroud, a standout in Mjällby's title-winning season. Manager Sergej Jakirovic highlighted his versatility and running power, and the wide player has quickly become a pacy creative outlet for a hard-working side.

Immediate contributors: Roefs, Jutglà, Truffert and Soler

Sunderland secured European football on the back of Robin Roefs' commanding presence in goal, with the Dutch keeper recording ten clean sheets in 35 league games. Ferran Jutglà made a solid start at Celta with nine LaLiga goals, even if his European impact took longer to arrive before a purple patch in March.

Adrian Truffert settled quickly into Bournemouth's rebuilt defence and helped the club qualify for Europe, earning a recall to the France squad under Zinedine Zidane. Carlos Soler, meanwhile, has found a far more central role at Real Sociedad than he ever enjoyed at PSG, scoring in the Copa del Rey final shootout victory over Atlético Madrid to deliver silverware.