The 10 most expensive English transfers of all time and how they have fared: Maguire, Grealish, Sterling…

While Premier League clubs would love to sign as much homegrown talent as possible, English players don’t come cheap sadly.

English players now have an added premium to their price tag as clubs have to fulfil a quota of homegrown players in their squad every season.

“I would like to sign English players because I think there is only one criteria and that’s quality in combination with the price,” Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said earlier this year.

“It looks like English players are quite expensive. It’s a fact you cannot deny. In the end, it’s about quality.”

We’ve taken a look at the 10 most expensive transfers involving English players and how they fared after making the move.

10. John Stones 

One of Pep Guardiola’s first signings at Manchester City, Stones joined the club in a £47.5m deal after winning plenty of plaudits at Everton.

The centre-back made some high-profile mistakes during a difficult debut season in 2016/17, but he bounced back and was one of City’s standout performers in the ‘Centurion’ season.

He’s often had spells out of the team due to Guardiola’s rotation but has still made over 200 appearances for the club and is a four-time Premier League winner.

9. Raheem Sterling 

Sterling burst onto the scene at Liverpool but made an acrimonious exit and moved to Manchester City in a £49m deal in 2015.

The England international left Anfield in pursuit of silverware and went on to win four Premier League titles, five League Cups and an FA Cup at City.

He also scored 131 goals in 339 appearances for the club and developed into one of the best wingers in the world under the tutelage of Guardiola.

8= Raheem Sterling 

After a seven-year spell at the Etihad Stadium, Sterling decided to pursue a new challenge and completed a £50m move to Chelsea.

The 27-year-old has performed well during a turbulent start to the 2022/23 season, registering four goals and an assist in his first nine appearances for the club.

8= Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Wan-Bissaka enjoyed a brilliant breakthrough season with Crystal Palace in 2018-19, culminating in his £50m move to Manchester United.

The right-back enjoyed a promising debut season at Old Trafford and established himself as one of the best one-on-one defenders in the Premier League.

But it soon became apparent that he lacks the technical ability and attacking prowess to be a modern full-back for a top-six side.

The 24-year-old currently finds himself on the fringes of Erik ten Hag’s team after being usurped by Diogo Dalot and has been linked with a return to Selhurst Park.

8= Ben White

Despite only having one season of top-flight football under his belt, White did enough to convince Arsenal that he was worth £50m in the summer of 2021.

The transfer fee took a lot of people by surprise and a disastrous debut against Brentford on the opening day of the 2021/22 season didn’t do much to silence the critics.

But the 24-year-old turned things around and has gone from strength to strength at the Emirates, helping fix Arsenal’s leaky defence.

“Well, he has certainly made progress, I would say, and congratulations to him and Mikel (Arteta) and the staff there because he’s taken a step,” former Brighton boss Graham Potter said.

“When we made the sale we thought that would happen because he’s a good age, a good person, a good player with good qualities. I think Arsenal deserve credit. They identified him, they paid the fee and then they recognised what it was that they wanted. And they’ve used it well.

“They got off to a shaky start in terms of a defeat in the first game of the season against Brentford but I think from then he’s grown and grown and you can see his quality and what he brings to the team.”

8= Ben Chilwell

Chelsea splashed the cash in the summer of 2020 after their transfer ban was lifted and spent £50m to sign Chilwell from Leicester City.

The left-back impressed under both Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel and finished his debut campaign with a brilliant performance in the Champions League final win over Manchester City.

But he spent most of the 2021/22 season on the sidelines due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury and now faces competition from Marc Cucurella, who recently joined Chelsea from Brighton in a £60m deal.

4. Kyle Walker

Walker’s impressive displays at Tottenham caught Guardiola’s attention and earned him a £53m move to Manchester City in 2017.

Despite getting sent off on his home debut, he’s more than justified the price tag and cemented his status as one of the best right-backs in Europe.

The 31-year-old has also played an integral role in City’s success, helping them win four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups and the FA Cup.

3. Jadon Sancho

After a prolonged transfer saga that lasted over 18 months, Sancho finally completed his £73m move to Manchester United in the summer of 2021.

The winger had a difficult debut season at Old Trafford and failed to replicate the performances he had produced at Borussia Dortmund, registering just five goals and three assists in 38 appearances in all competitions.

He’s shown signs of improvement under Erik ten Hag but still looks set to miss out on a place in the England squad for this year’s World Cup.

2. Harry Maguire 

Eyebrows were raised when Manchester United spent £80m on Maguire in 2019 and made him the world’s most expensive defender.

He initially helped shore up United’s defence and was rewarded with the captain’s armband in January 2020. But his form nosedived in the 2021/22 season, and the centre-back became a figure of ridicule after making a series of calamitous errors.

The England international has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford and is currently behind Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez in the pecking order.

1. Jack Grealish

After being heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in 2020, Grealish left Aston Villa a year later and joined Manchester City in a £100m deal.

The 27-year-old won the Premier League title in his debut season but has struggled to find his feet at City, registering just six goals and four assists in 2021/22.

“I think I deal with pressure well, but I do feel like I can start playing a lot better,” Grealish admitted in September 2022.

“I probably haven’t been playing at the top of my game since I’ve moved to City, but I think I’ve shown glimpses of it and over the next two months especially I’m just going to try to get my head down as much as I can, work so hard, and hopefully good things will happen.”

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