The 2023 summer transfer season still has weeks, at least in the Premier League. But we have already seen quite a few high-profile transfers that, although won’t break any records, are still promising developments that will surely impact the performance of the teams that operated them. So, without further ado, here are the top 10 most expensive summer football transfers in 2023, so far.

Matheus Cunha and Min-Jae Kim

Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha has played in Switzerland, Germany, and Spain so far, and spent the first half of the year on loan with Wolverhampton, in the Premier League. With the summer transfer window, the Wolves made it permanent.

There are very few South Korean footballers who made a name for themselves in Europe – Min-Jae Kim is one of them. After playing with a couple of local teams, he did a stint in China, followed by a season in Turkey. Next, he spent a year in Serie A, and now, he went on to play in Bundesliga, with champions Bayern Munich.

Both clubs paid EUR 50 million to have their new players.

Rúben Neves

Rúben Diogo da Silva Neves made his professional debut with Porto, followed by a six-year stint with Wolves. Now, in turn, he will continue in a much less-known but very generous league – he’ll play at the Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal, as a result of a EUR 55 million transfer.

Manuel Ugarte

The 22-year-old Uruguayan defensive midfielder left his home for Portugal at the age of 20. Since then, he played with Primeira Liga clubs Famalicão and Sporting CP before being discovered by the richest French club, Paris Saint Germain. The Ligue 1 champion paid around EUR 60 million to have him.

Christopher Nkunku

Christopher Nkunku is a French footballer of Congolese descent, born in Lagny-sur-Marne. He made his professional debut with Paris Saint Germain, then spent four years at RB Leipzig, in the Bundesliga. This summer, Chelsea FC paid around EUR 60 million to have him.

Sandro Tonali

Tonali made his debut at AC Milan in 2021, helping the team win the Serie A with his technique and playing style. And, aside from catching the eye of everyone using the top betting apps in South Africa, he also caught the eyes of football pundits in Italy, and the scouts at Newcastle United, who signed him for around EUR 64 million.

Mason Mount

Mason Mount stood out of the crowd as a youngster, helping England win the U19 European Championship in 2017. Since then, he earned the Chelsea Player of the Year title, and played in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup. His time at Chelsea came to an end this year when Manchester United signed him for around EUR 64 million.

Dominik Szoboszlai

As a youth player, Szoboszlai went from a smaller team in his native town to the Austrian second-league club Liefering. From there, he moved to RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig. He left Red Bull but he kept the Red: he was signed by Liverpool this summer in a transfer worth around EUR 70 million. This made him the most expensive Hungarian footballer in history.

Kai Havertz

Havertz started playing football at the age of four, slowly progressing from Alemannia Mariadorf to Bayer Leverkusen. In four Bundesliga seasons, the young forward scored 36 goals in 118 league games. He then left for Chelsea, where he stayed for three seasons. And this year, he’ll continue with Arsenal, with the Gunners paying around EUR 75 million to have him.

Jude Bellingham

Bellingham made his debut in Birmingham, but his time there was short: after just a season, he was grabbed by Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. But three seasons and 12 goals later, the 20-year-old midfielder got the offer of his life (so far): Real Madrid signed him for more than EUR 100 million.

Declan Rice

The most expensive player of the 2023 summer transfer season so far is Declan Rice, the 24-year-old English defensive midfielder. Rice trained with Chelsea and West Ham, and spent the last eight seasons with the latter, accumulating more than 200 appearances. The new season will find him at Arsenal: the Gunners spent over EUR 116 to improve their defence with the player.

Final words

The 2023 summer transfer season is far from over. So, there can still be high-profile transfers – but we don’t expect them to happen. Most of the biggest players that would warrant much more expensive transfers have either left as free agents (like Messi) or have years left of their contracts (like Mbappé). So, if nothing changes, these will remain the most expensive footballers in 2023. (The Nation)

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