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Ranking the best Premier League signings this summer

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As is tradition at this time of year, Premier League clubs made several record signings to improve their squads. Based on value and individual need, here are the top 10 signings of the summer transfer window.

10. Fabian Delph to Everton

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  • Reported fee: £8.5 million
  • Position: Midfielder
  • Age: 29

What's not to like about this deal? The fee is negligible, and the experience Delph brings as a Premier League winner is invaluable. The 29-year-old should lay a solid foundation in midfield alongside new teammate Andre Gomes. If needed, he can offer his expertise at left-back, as he did to considerable success at Manchester City. Even though Delph was ultimately deemed surplus to requirements by the Premier League champions, there's no doubting he has the quality to provide Everton a lift.

9. Tyrone Mings to Aston Villa

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  • Reported fee: £20 million
  • Position: Center-back
  • Age: 26

It's worth questioning whether Villa would've been promoted without Tyrone Mings. The 26-year-old, who joined the club in January on loan from Bournemouth, was a colossus at the back, making more starts in his first four months with Villa than he had in the previous four years at Bournemouth. It also helps to have John Terry at arm's distance: The former Chelsea defender, now an assistant at Villa, has offered important counsel to Mings.

8. Moise Kean to Everton

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  • Reported fee: £25 million
  • Position: Forward
  • Age: 19

Kean sees a lot of himself in Everton, a club on the up that showed tremendous ambition in the transfer window. The 19-year-old arrived from Serie A champions Juventus with huge margins for growth and, even at his tender age, a pedigree of success. With key goals down the stretch last season - including the winner in a tightly contested match against Milan - Kean helped the Bianconeri win their eighth straight domestic title. He's a lethal finisher, a fantastic dribbler, and quick on the counter - traits that should make him a hit in the Premier League.

7. Tanguy Ndombele to Tottenham

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  • Reported fee: £55 million
  • Position: Midfielder
  • Age: 22

Ndombele has the distinct honor of being Tottenham's first signing in a year and a half. Spurs finalized the deal in short order to give the 22-year-old ample time to adjust to his new outfit. He's now expected to provide the kind of runs and strength in midfield that made Mousa Dembele such an invaluable member of Mauricio Pochettino's squad. Dembele's departure in January left a hole that Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama couldn't fill, and Tottenham clearly understood that they needed a dynamic holding midfielder to compete for trophies. They ended up paying a club-record fee to get their man.

6. Sebastien Haller to West Ham

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  • Reported fee: £45 million
  • Position: Forward
  • Age: 25

Haller is the solution to West Ham's goalscoring woes. For more than a decade, the Hammers tried and failed to find a reliable striker. Andy Carroll, Nikica Jelavic, Simone Zaza, Jonathan Calleri, and Lucas Perez all came and went without a trace, but Haller is different. He proved himself at Eintracht Frankfurt, contesting headers, scoring goals, and laying on assists. An all-action striker, the 25-year-old buries the chances he gets and is well worth the reported club-record fee.

5. David Luiz to Arsenal

Stuart MacFarlane / Arsenal FC / Getty
  • Reported fee: £8 million
  • Position: Center-back
  • Age: 32

After looking far and wide for defensive reinforcements - RB Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano and Juventus' Daniele Rugani were pursued - Arsenal eventually found one right across town. David Luiz is a sensational signing and a clear upgrade over Shkodran Mustafi, the error-prone defender whose days at Arsenal are surely numbered. No other Gunners defender possesses Luiz's ball-playing skills and nobody in the squad has as much personality. He also has a good rapport with manager Unai Emery, who coached the Brazilian briefly at Paris Saint-Germain in 2016, and a fine understanding of Premier League football. For all of his goofiness, there lies a good player in Luiz.

4. Youri Tielemans to Leicester City

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  • Fee: £40 million
  • Position: Midfielder
  • Age: 22

Leicester's chances of breaking into the Premier League's top six are much greater with Tielemans in the squad. He made an instant impact on loan last season, and now that he's joined on a permanent basis, manager Brendan Rodgers can truly build something special. Tielemans' vision and distribution complement Wilfred Ndidi's hustle and defensive nous. Rodgers can also count on Tielemans to spark the attack and create opportunities from deep-lying positions. The manager wants to play more attacking football than the club is used to, and Tielemans will be a key part of that transformation.

3. Giovani Lo Celso to Tottenham

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  • Reported fee: £55 million
  • Position: Midfielder
  • Age: 23

In just one window, Tottenham managed to completely overhaul their midfield, bringing in two pivots of high quality who can execute manager Pochettino's frenetic football. Lo Celso is a fantastic buy in more ways than one. Spurs convinced Real Betis to sign an initial loan deal with an option to buy, which should give the club some breathing room if and when UEFA's financial watchdog stops by to sniff around. Lo Celso in his own right is an excellent player who took a huge step forward last season in a more attacking role, scoring an incredible 16 goals across all competitions.

2. Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal

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  • Reported fee: £72 million
  • Position: Winger
  • Age: 24

Arsenal maximized the funds at their disposal to make a series of fantastic signings - and Pepe tops the lot. That the Gunners won his signature is a coup in itself. Teams with much deeper pockets, including Manchester United, were linked with the 24-year-old winger, but the north London side was quicker to the deal. Lille reportedly agreed to accept payment in installments, which allowed Arsenal to stay within their much-ballyhooed £45-million budget. Now they have another exciting player in attack. The thought of Pepe combining with the speedy Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the disciplined Alexandre Lacazette is tantalizing.

1. Rodri to Manchester City

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  • Reported fee: £62.8 million
  • Position: Midfielder
  • Age: 23

Few signings are as perfect as this one. City found Fernandinho's ideal replacement in Rodri, a ball-playing midfielder with a high IQ and fantastic distribution skills. It takes a very technical player to run a midfield as complex and intricate as Pep Guardiola's, and during his first semi-competitive appearance Sunday in the Community Shield, Rodri showed he can handle the responsibilities. In fact, he looked completely comfortable at the base of midfield, like he had been playing under Guardiola for years. Fernandinho has done an impeccable job - he's one of the manager's favorites for a reason - but the time has come to pass the baton. Rodri is the present and future.

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