With all of Europe's top 5 leagues having been in operation for at least 3 games, it seems a good time to evaluate the new signings that have made the best starts to their respective tenures at their new clubs.
WhoScored investigates the top rated players from each league who were transferred during the summer window, with some eye-catching performances from some of the big money movers. We will establish just why the 5 players analysed have achieved such high scores.
Premier League
Sergio Aguero
Manchester City (from Atletico Madrid)
Argentine forward Sergio Aguero was seemingly bought by big spenders Manchester City as a premature replacement for Carlos Tevez, who looked set for pastures new having stated a desire to leave. Last season's captain has since retracted said desire and pledged his commitment to the club, but his public unrest has come at the expense of a starting berth. With compatriot Aguero in such fine form, it may be some time until Tevez can re-establish himself as a regular at the Etihad.
The 23-year-old was signed from Atletico Madrid ahead of the new season but didn't feature in any of the sides warm up matches, including a Community Shield defeat to United. Instead he was thrust into action in the season opener against Swansea, stealing the show from the bench with a quickfire double and an assist.
Aguero hasn't looked back since and alongside target man Edin Dzeko, has flourished in his first 5 matches, starting all 4 in the league since his cameo debut. The second game he played, in the 3-2 win over Bolton, is the only league appearance he has made without scoring, netting one against Spurs, two against Fulham last time out and a hat-trick the week before in the 3-0 win over Wigan, giving him a tally of 8 goals in 5 games.
Remarkably this feat has been topped by Wayne Rooney, with 9, meaning he is not top goalscorer, nor is he City's best ranked player, behind David Silva and Edin Dzeko. However, his average rating of 8.13 is the best of any new signing to have made 3 or more appearances in the league, ranking 5th in the division overall.
His fantastic assist against Swansea remains his only lay of, despite completing 1.4 key passes per game. His hefty goal tally has come from a hugely threatening 3.6 shots per game, while he has also completed 1.2 dribbles per match. If there is one facet of his game that he needs to work on, it is his ability to hold onto the ball having been dispossessed twice as many times as any other City player with 3.6 per game.
Ligue 1
Javier Pastore
PSG (from Palermo)
Perhaps the most surprising transfer of the summer saw hot prospect Javier Pastore, wanted by the likes of Chelsea, make the switch from the Serie A to Ligue 1 with PSG. The 22-year-old was speculated to have cost the French club around €40m, carrying a huge burden on his shoulder with such a price tag. The Argentine was given time to settle in his new surroundings with a niggling injury somewhat teasing the PSG fans before an eventual debut against Valenciennes from the bench.
The new signing had just over 30 minutes to impress but couldn't make a significant impact in the 2-1 win. He started the next game against Toulouse and showed just what he can do, setting up 2 goals in the 3-1 away win, arguably the side’s best result of the season thus far.
Next time out he starred against Brest, picking up the WhoScored man of the match award having netted the only goal in a 1-0 win over Brest, adorning himself to the fans on his full home debut. The Argentina international netted once again in the league next time out, scoring the goal which sparked a comeback having gone down to two early shock goals from promoted Evian. His two goals and two assists have seen him pick up an average rating of 7.40 from WhoScored, making him Ligue 1's best new signing.
This rating is tied for 5th in the league overall and leads the way for Palermo. His creativity has been his main asset to his new club, creating 2.2 chances per game as well as posing a significant goal threat with 1.8 shots per game. 2 successful dribbles per game is a joint team high with fellow new boy Jeremy Menez, while 1 accurate through ball per game is way ahead of the rest, with the 22-year-old proving his ability to cut open the oppositions defence.
Bundesliga
Ryan Babel
Hoffenheim (from Liverpool)
The German Bundesliga's top rated newcomer according to WhoScored ratings is Ryan Babel. After joining Hoffenheim from Liverpool the Dutchman escaped a tough spell with the Reds that saw him fail to establish himself as a first team regular. Still only 24, Babel has been highlighted as a top prospect from Holland, emerging as one of Ajax's many teen prodigies before making the move to England. After the switch to Anfield proved somewhat unprofitable for both player and club, Babel sought a move elsewhere and found his new home in Germany with Hoffenheim in a deal believed to be worth around £6m.
After two fairly ineffectual performances in his sides league and home league debuts against Hannover and Dortmund respectively, Babel has really found his feet, with Hoffenheim benefiting to climb to 4th in the league. He netted his first goal in the division, proving to be third time lucky, against Augsburg in a 2-0 win that saw him pick up an impressive 8.63 rating. Despite failing to make an impact next time out against Werder Bremen in a 2-1 home defeat,
Hoffenheim, and in particular Babel bounced back, with the new signing grabbing a brace in the 4-0 rout at Mainz. A perfect 10 rating from WhoScored came courtesy of a contribution that included 4 shots and 8 successful dribbles, as well as 3 tackles in that game alone.
Babel continued his fantastic form in October, netting again in the 3-1 win over Wolfsburg to earn an average rating of 7.71 from his 6 starts. This ranks Babel as the 5th best player in the league to have started at least 3 games, behind teammate Firmino. Despite producing 1.3 key passes per game he has failed to register an assist though he has beenclinical in front of goal with his tally of 4 coming from 2 shots per game. His standout figure is undoubtedly a successful 4.3 dribbles per game though, like Aguero, he has been costly in possession at times, being tackled 3.2 times a match.
La Liga
Cesc Fabregas
Barcelona (from Arsenal)
If any doubted Cesc Fabregas' ability to return to Barcelona and perform to the European Champions exemplary standards it has taken less than a month for the Spaniard to prove them wrong. In one of the busier 10-minute debuts you'll see the former Gunner played a part in Lionel Messi's 88th minute winner in the Spanish Super Cup against fierce rivals Real Madrid before being victim of a Marcelo taken that saw the Brazilian dismissed and a lengthy touchline brawl break out.
The 24-year-old went on to make his first start in a friendly against Napoli, scoring within 30 minutes in an eventual 5-0 rout. Fabregas had to make do with a place on the bench in the UEFA Super Cup final with Porto but ensured that he won his 2nd trophy back in Spain within as many weeks and one more than he ever did at Arsenal. Another goal in another 10-minute cameo saw him kill off the tie late on in a 2-0 victory.
Back-to-back goals helped to cement a place in the starting line-up for Barca's La Liga opener against Villarreal in which Fabregas starred with a goal and an assist. The ex-Gunner has gone on to start all of Guardiola's side's 4 matches in the league, netting in every one and picking up a total of 4 assists along the way. Unsurprisingly such a start has seen Fabregas reach an average WhoScored rating of 8.60; the best in the league ahead of the masterful Messi.
Amazingly, Cesc Fabregas' 4-goal tally in the league has come from just 6 shots while his same figure of assists have come from 10 key passes already. A mammoth 81.5 passes per game has come with a Barca-esque standard of 87% accuracy whilst he has also carved open defences with 1.3 through balls a match.
Serie A
Andrea Pirlo
Juventus (AC Milan)
While long-term employers AC Milan judged the vastly experienced Andrea Pirlo as unworthy of a contract extension beyond one year, Juventus were bold enough and showed enough faith in the Italian to take him on for two. The aging Italian has never been blessed with the pace, or even the energy that many would assume is required to make it in today's game, but his unparalleled understanding of the game and craft in midfield has seen Juventus repaid for their show of faith and left AC Milan fans scratching their heads as to why they let the 32-year-old leave on a free.
Pirlo has started all 3 of Juventus' league games thus far after the first week of the season was postponed. Having shown no signs of fatigue, Pirlo has played every minute of the Juve's matches thus far and shone in their opening game at a fantastic new stadium, picking up 2 assists in a 4-1 win over Parma.
He then put in a solid performance in a 1-0 away win at Siena before starring, picking up the WhoScored man of the match award and a third assist of the season despite a disappointing 1-1 draw with Bologna. His consistent high quality displays have earned the Italy international an average rating of 8.13 thus far; the third best total from WhoScored in the entire division and the best of any new signing in Italy.
2 shots per game haven't yielded any goals thus far for the veteran playmaker, who has picked up an understandably high pass accuracy of 87%; the key facet to Pirlo's game for the entirety of his established career. 2.3 key passes per game has led to his 3 assists this season and is a team high but perhaps the most surprising figure is an excellent 2 successful dribbles per game, down to his intelligence and ability on the ball.
