Marcus Rashford, Luis Diaz & the top 10 signings of the 2025-26 European season so far - ranked

The Christmas period is upon us, which means we are somehow already more or less at the midway point of the 2025-26 football season. As many of Europe's leading leagues pause for the winter break, it's time to take stock and reflect on four scintillating months of action. It's also the opportune moment to assess those players who completed transfers across the continent in the summer, now that they have a decent sample size of games under their belts.Premier League clubs once again blew the rest of Europe out of the water with their spending in pre-season, shelling out a combined £3 billion ($4bn) on new arrivals - obliterating the previous record of £2.36bn ($3.16bn) that was set back in 2023. English champions Liverpool dominated the headlines, making the three most expensive signings of the entire window in Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.However, we've seen once again in the early stages of the new campaign that you don't always need to pay the big bucks for a deal to pay off handsomely, with the chances of any given transfer being successful notoriously slim. Indeed, sometimes you don't have to spend a penny.But across the continent, who are the summer movers who have had the biggest and most unexpected impact for their new employers? Below, GOAL ranks the 10 very best signings of the European season so far:Many rival fans and pundits accused Newcastle of late-window desperation when they finally made their second outfield signing of what was a highly frustrating summer in mid-August, with central defender Thiaw arriving from AC Milan. Fast-forward four months, though, and it looks like a very shrewd piece of business.The German has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, swiftly becoming an ever-present in a staunch rearguard alongside a combination of Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn and even being lauded as one of the best centre-backs in the division. Indeed, the Magpies had the third-best defence in the English top-flight through 17 games, based on total expected goals conceded (18.8).While it was presumed he would just warm the bench, Thiaw has become a key player - dominating in the air, demonstrating his ball-playing ability and even chipped in with a brace against Everton in late November.It was difficult to overstate the significance of Marcus Rashford's loan to Barcelona when the Manchester United outcast rather surprisingly headed to Catalunya in the summer. There was a genuine case to argue that the 27-year-old was in the last-chance saloon for a career at the very highest level. Thankfully, though, it is an opportunity he has seized with both hands.While there is fierce competition for places in an attacking unit that also features vice-captain Raphinha, the timeless Robert Lewandowski and wonderkid Lamine Yamal, among others, Rashford has capitalised on an early-season injury to the former to make himself a key figure. Operating more like an out-and-out winger, he has racked up seven goals and 11 assists in 24 games across all competitions, with manager Hansi Flick branding his mentality "perfect".So far, Barcelona have been vindicated in their contentious decision to brutally relegate long-term No.1 Marc-Andre ter Stegen to third-choice goalkeeper and spark a feud with their club captain in the summer, thanks to the form of the new man between the sticks, Joan Garcia.The 24-year-old has shone so far, producing a number of fine saves that have helped the Blaugrana rise to the top of La Liga - including a point-saving display against Rayo Vallecano and outstanding showing against Villarreal in their final match of 2025. He boasts an impressive save percentage of 79 and while his six clean sheets in 12 league games speak for themselves. Intriguingly, Ter Stegen has now recovered from a long-term back injury, but Flick has confirmed that Garcia is still his No.1.Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingMartin Zubimendi's debut season at Arsenal won't necessarily be remembered for individual statistics, but the Spain international has had a transformative effect on the players around him - none more so than Declan Rice. The 26-year-old has anchored the Gunners' midfield adeptly, bringing his invaluable combination of ball-playing ability and bite in the challenge, which has crucially allowed the England man - previously pigeonholed as a defensive midfielder - to thrive in a more box-to-box role.Rice has already professed his love of playing alongside Zubimendi, and as he adapts seamlessly to the demands of English football it feels as though we are witnessing the beginning of an all-time Premier League midfield partnership, with Mikel Arteta's side on track to claim the title.Already a Bundesliga stalwart, there was never really any doubt that Jonathan Tah would slot seamlessly into the Bayern Munich backline having joined the Bavarian giants at the end of his contract with Bayer Leverkusen in June, where he was club captain. Forming a staunch partnership with Dayot Upamecano, who has looked back to his best, the Germany international has brought a new-found stability to Bayern's backline with his ball-playing ability and dominance in the air. He's also popped up with a couple of handy goals.He was a mountain in the statement Champions League win over holders Paris Saint-Germain when Bayern were down to 10 men, making 11 clearances, three interceptions, two tackles, one block and three recoveries. The best part for Die Roten? He didn't cost them a penny.Few could have predicted the direction Granit Xhaka's career would go in when the divisive midfielder left Arsenal in 2023, and his incredible form at Sunderland has been almost as surprising as his unbeaten Bundesliga title win at Bayer Leverkusen in 2023-24. Seen as a real coup in the summer, the Switzerland star has been a true leader of men on the pitch for the Black Cats having taken the armband this season, embodying the relentlessness and spirit that has been the backbone of the club's early-season success under Regis Le Bris.Xhaka's influence on his side is clear: he has led the way in assists, chances created, touches, successful passes, duels won, possession won and distance covered - all at the age of 33. If Sunderland go the distance and secure a top-half finish or perhaps even European football, it will be largely down to him.You just knew Luka Modric would be suited to Italian football, even at the ripe old age of 40. It was AC Milan who capitalised when the Croatian icon became a free agent in the summer at the end of his glittering, era-defining, 13-year stay with Real Madrid, and he has been an ever-present at the base of the Rossoneri midfield ever since.Modric has drawn on all his experience and limitless class to play a key role in Milan's surge into a Scudetto fight this season, following a lowly eighth-placed finish in Serie A last time around. He has started every league game so far in 2025-26 and played the full 90 minutes in 13 out of 15 matches, showing ridiculous energy levels for someone his age still operating at the highest level. Forza Luka Modric.Remember Florian Thauvin? Well, at the age of 32, he has been the standout new signing in Ligue 1 this season. After a nomadic few years that has taken him to Mexico and Italy, the former Newcastle and Marseille star returned to his homeland in the summer to join Lens. Back in Ligue 1, the France international is proving to be a crucial part of an unlikely title push with Les Sang et Or, who were remarkably top at Christmas ahead of Paris Saint-Germain and their infinite riches.A player reborn, Thauvin has been Lens' creator-in-chief - collecting two Player of the Month awards already this season while providing seven goal contributions in 16 games so far. He's even earned a recall to Didier Deschamps' France squad after a six-year absence.Yann Diomande has been a revelation for RB Leipzig this season, and signing the Ivorian teenager looks like a typically shrewd piece of business by the Red Bull Group; the 19-year-old cost just €20m (£17.5m/$23.5m) when he arrived from Leganes in the summer, and the Bundesliga club already look set to make a handsome profit on their investment.Head coach Ole Werner's decision to switch Diomande from the left to the right flank in October has proven to be transformative, yielding a ridiculous 10 goal involvements in his last nine games before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, including a second-half hat-trick against Eintracht Frankfurt. A rapid, dazzling dribbler who clearly has an eye for goal, he is already being touted as a target for some of Europe's leading clubs - but Leipzig will be in no rush to let him go.Boy, how Liverpool must be regretting allowing Luis Diaz to leave in the summer (a decision largely motivated by his wage demands), albeit the fee that they generated helped them to strengthen in other areas. That said, he has far outshone new Reds arrivals Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz since swapping Anfield for the Allianz Arena, making a flying start to life at Bayern Munich.Diaz has been in absolutely scintillating form in Germany, where he is certainly benefitting from the Bundesliga's looser defending and the spaces that are left to exploit. As a pacey, direct winger, that is where he shines after all. The Colombian has 14 goal contributions in as many league games, including five in three games to launch his career in his new surroundings.Bayern look certain to win the league title, and are certainly contenders for the Champions League, too. If Diaz continues in this vain and claims some silverware, he will be in the Ballon d'Or conversation.