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Last summer Premier League clubs spent over €1b on new transfers. Some of it was certainly money well spent, with the likes of Cole Palmer, Alexis Mac Allister and Declan Rice flourishing in their new colours this season. However for some players, for various reasons, it just hasn’t worked out. The pressure of signing for a Premier League club is higher than ever, such is the scrutiny that comes with any wrong move after a high profile transfer. Social media has only heightened that feeling in recent years.

There’s many reasons behind a player failing to make an impact at his new club. Injuries, suspensions, or lack of form can all do it. Here at Transfermarkt we have calculated the most expensive players signed to the Premier League last summer based on their transfer fee and the number of minutes they have played in the league this season, to work out which players have cost their clubs the most per minute played. There are some mind-boggling results, with two players even costing their clubs over €1 million per Premier League minute they have played this term.

The Most Expensive Summer 2023 Transfers Based On Cost Per Premier League Minute Played

20. Tino Livramento - 1,033 minutes - €36k cost per minute

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Southampton to Newcastle - €37.2m (Players who have played 0 minutes or been on loan this season not included)

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19. Rasmus Højlund - 1,900 minutes - €39k cost per minute

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Atalanta to Manchester United - €73.9m (Last updated Apr 25, 2024)

2/20

18. Declan Rice - 2,871 minutes - €41k cost per minute

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West Ham to Arsenal - €116.6m

3/20

17. Ryan Gravenberch - 978 minutes - €41k cost per minute

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Bayern Munich to Liverpool - €40m

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16. Jérémy Doku - 1,401 minutes - €43k cost per minute

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Rennes to Manchester City - €60m

5/20

15. Moisés Caicedo - 2,360 minutes - €49k cost per minute

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Brighton to Chelsea - €116m

6/20

14. Josko Gvardiol - 1,789 minutes - €50k cost per minute

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RB Leipzig to Manchester City - €90m

7/20

13. Harvey Barnes - 646 minutes - €68k cost per minute

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Leicester to Newcastle - €44m

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12. Matheus França - 224 minutes - €89k cost per minute

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Flamengo to Crystal Palace - €20m

9/20

11. Kevin Schade - 277 minutes - €90k cost per minute

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Freiburg to Brentford - €25m

10/20

10. Matheus Nunes - 624 minutes - €99k cost per minute

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Wolves to Manchester City - €62m

11/20

9. Lesley Ugochukwu - 267 minutes - €101k cost per minute

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Rennes to Chelsea - €27m

12/20

8. Sandro Tonali - 440 minutes - €145k cost per minute

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AC Milan to Newcastle - €64m

13/20

7. Mason Mount - 432 minutes - €149k cost per minute

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Chelsea to Manchester United - €64.2m

14/20

6. Christopher Nkunku - 317 minutes - €189k cost per minute

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RB Leipzig to Chelsea - €60m

15/20

5. Youssef Chermiti - 66 minutes - €189k cost per minute

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Sporting to Everton - €12.5m

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4. Tyler Adams - 109 minutes - €247k cost per minute

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Leeds to Bournemouth - €26.9m

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3. Jurrien Timber - 50 minutes - €800k cost per minute

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Ajax to Arsenal - €40m

18/20

2. Deivid Washington - 11 minutes - €1.45m cost per minute

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Santos to Chelsea - €16m

19/20

1. Roméo Lavia - 32 minutes - €1.94m cost per minute

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Southampton to Chelsea - €62.1m

20/20

The most expensive Premier League signings per minutes played this season

Just to make things clear, we haven't included signings who have been on loan at any point this season or the four players signed last summer who haven’t played a single minute for their new clubs. Leading the way in first place is the unfortunate Roméo Lavia. Chelsea’s new holding midfielder has been plagued with injuries following his €62.1m move from Southampton last summer. His only appearance of the season came off of the bench against Crystal Palace in late December. He played 32 minutes, before breaking down with a hamstring injury after that game. The Belgian hasn’t played since. That means so far he has cost Chelsea a whopping €1.94m for every Premier League minute he has spent on the pitch. 

In second place is another Chelsea acquisition in Brazilian Deivid Washington. The forward was only signed for €16m (a relatively low fee in today's highly inflated market) but has played just 11 minutes of Premier League football. Unlike Lavia, Washington has been available throughout the season, but at 18 years of age, isn’t yet part of manager Mauricio Pochettino’s plans. He played nine minutes off the bench against Brentford back in October, and came on for two minutes in the 6-0 thrashing over Everton in mid April. Many expected the youngster to go out on loan this season. Washington has cost Chelsea €1.45m per Premier League minute so far.

Taking third spot is another man who has a severe injury to blame. Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber managed just a half of football (50 minutes with added time) before an ACL injury against Nottingham Forest on the opening day cut his season short. The Dutchman cost the Gunners €40m from Ajax, and is now back training and scored a worldie on his return with the Arsenal U21’s this week. Timber has cost Arsenal €800k per minute, but will be hoping to get back on the pitch and rectify that soon.

It has been a similar story for Bournemouth’s Tyler Adams. Signed from Leeds for €26.9m in the summer, the American has played just 109 minutes of Premier League football, costing the Cherries €247k per minute. In fifth is Everton striker Youssef Chermiti who arrived from Sporting for €12.5m last summer, but has only been given 66 Premier League minutes, equating to a cost of €189k per minute. Included in the rest of the top 10 are Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku (€189k per minute), Man United Mason Mount (€149k per minute), Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali who is facing a ban for gambling breaches( €145k per minute),Chelsea midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu (€101k per minute), and finally Man City’s Matheus Nunes (€99k per minute).

That means four Chelsea players are included in the top 10. Between the quad, they have played just 627 minutes of Premier League football. To put that into context, Kai Havertz who Chelsea sold to Arsenal has played 2,279 minutes of Premier League football this season - that's over three times all those Blues players combined. Of course the majority of players on this list have been very unfortunate with injuries, and will be hoping to bounce back as soon as possible. But for the clubs in question its  tough bullet to bite.