How this summer’s big money striker signings have fared so far – and how do they compare?

The summer transfer window was dominated by talk of big money striker signings.

Several clubs strengthened with the addition of an expensive centre-forward, or more than one in some cases. Alexander Isak got his long awaited move to Liverpool for £125m with Newcastle replacing the Swede with Germany youngster Nick Woltemade for £69m.

The Reds had already moved to bring in Hugo Ekitike earlier on in the summer for £79m.

Meanwhile, Arsenal opted for Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres in a £63.5m deal over Benjamin Sesko, who instead joined Manchester United from RB Leipzig for £74m.

But how have they got on so far? We’ve compared each of their starts…

Alexander Isak

Games played: 6

Goals scored: 1

Isak’s long running transfer saga came to an end on the final day of the window when he completed his switch to Liverpool, but he has since had a slow start at his new club.

Having not played any club football this season prior to his move, Arne Slot has been keen to carefully manage his fitness and he has played just 312 minutes across all competitions.

He scored his first goal for the club in the EFL Cup win over Southampton but, perhaps understandably, has still been way off his best compared with the standards he set at Newcastle.

Slot will hope he can kick on after the international break now he is starting to have a run of games. There has been patience with him given his lack of pre-season preparation but that likely will not last for much longer and Liverpool certainly need him to start scoring given their recent run.

Viktor Gyokeres

Games played: 10

Goals scored: 3

Gyokeres arrived at Arsenal with the pressure of being the answer to Mikel Arteta’s problems last season, where a lack of depth and injuries up top ended up costing his side.

After scoring twice in his second league game for the club against Leeds, one of which was a penalty, Gyokeres has added just one more goal since, against Nottingham Forest, and has not scored in the last six games.

Besides the goals, Gyokeres’ physical presence and running in behind has undoubtedly benefitted his team-mates by offering an additional threat to Arsenal’s attack. But he has yet to consistently deliver what was hoped when he signed.

According to FBref, Gyokeres has taken only the joint 13th highest number of shots in the Premier League this season with 14 and his four shots on target are only enough to rank him joint 20th among all players in that metric. That works out at 2.19 shots per 90 minutes (32nd) and 0.62 shots on target per 90 minutes (49th).

The stats do show Arsenal are getting the ball to him in dangerous areas too. According to Fbref, Gyokeres has had the third most touches in the penalty area this season with 43, behind only Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland.

There will be concern by his lack of impact in big games too. He failed to manage a shot in the games against Man City and Liverpool.

An injury to Kai Havertz has meant there has been more pressure on Gyokeres to deliver and while he has ultimately contributed to a side which sits top of the Premier League at present, he will probably need to do more for the Gunners to stay there, and his team-mates can certainly do a better job of finding his runs.

But there have been signs, such as the win over Leeds, where he showed what he can do. Arteta has spoken of the need for him to adapt to his Arsenal team-mates, and for them to adapt to him, and the hope will be that he becomes more impactful with time.

Benjamin Sesko

Games played: 8

Goals scored: 2

Arsenal opting for Gyokeres meant Sesko instead headed to United as another addition to Ruben Amorim’s new-look frontline.

He was left on the bench for the first three Premier League games of the season with Amorm urging patience with the striker after arriving in a new country. His performances as a substitute were underwhelming to say the least, though Amorim was keen to point to a lack of fitness and game time as a reason for that.

But there have been more positive signs of late. He has scored in each of the last two games heading into the international break, in the loss to Brentford despite not playing all that well, and win over Sunderland, the latter with his only shot of the game.

His goal against Sunderland was very encouraging, an instinctive first-time volley from a few yards out after showing great movement to get in front of the defender.

But he has failed to consistently impact games since his arrival at the club. He struggled in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, managing just one shot and having the fifth fewest touches in the game despite playing 80 minutes.

Amorim will hope that Sesko can build on his first United goals and become more of a threat when he returns from international duty.

Nick Woltemade

Games played: 7

Goals scored: 4

Signed as Isak’s replacement, Woltemade had big shoes to fill but has done a fine job of it so far.

He has scored three goals in his first four league games, one of which was a penalty, as well as netting in the Champions League win over Union Saint-Gilloise. Though the latter was somewhat fortunate with Sandro Tonali’s effort hitting the big German before going in.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given his 6’6 frame, two of Woltemade’s three league goals have come with his head, against both Wolves and Arsenal. Newcastle have shown a clear willingness to put crosses into the area and it has paid off.

He has not been a persistent threat but has made the most of his chances. FBref data shows he has had just six shots in the league so far this season. His goal to shot ratio of 0.33 is among the highest in the league.

Eddie Howe has described the forward’s skillset as unique, and it is not normal to see a player so big be so elegant. There is a long way to go but Woltemade’s start is massively encouraging.

Hugo Ekitike

Games played: 9

Goals scored: 4

Having been Liverpool’s starting striker at the beginning of the campaign, it now looks as though the young Frenchman will be sharing the minutes with his new team-mate Isak.

He made a good start to the season, scoring three in his first five games in the Premier League. Like team-mate Cody Gakpo, he has shown himself to be a real threat when coming in off the left-hand side on to his stronger right foot and is very difficult to stop.

He has been clinical with the shots he has had, only shooting ten times in the league this season per FBref, four of which were on target. Unlike some of the others on the list, he is not as much of a penalty box striker with FBref data showing he has had just 13 touches in the opposition area. He is more comfortable having the ball played into his feet before he can turn and run at defenders.

Things have taken a turn for the worse lately, however. After scoring his side’s winner in the EFL Cup game over Southampton, Ekitike was shown a second yellow card and sent off, having earlier been booked for punching the ball away despite only coming on as a substitute.

It was a sign of immaturity from the youngster, who was then suspended for the game against Crystal Palace, which Liverpool lost. He was also left on the bench in favour of Isak for Liverpool’s latest defeat to Chelsea and his drop off, having also failed to impact the game much in the Champions League loss to Galatasaray, has coincided with his team’s bad run of form.

Boss Arne Slot will be hoping the 23-year-old can show the sort of form he did right at the start of the campaign following the international break, and there is certainly plenty to be encouraged about.