Five summer signings who have started with a bang

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 24 Jul 2022 20:57 BST
• 5 min read

We are now approaching the final week of July, which means that many teams are a few weeks into pre-season and have already played a number of friendlies ahead of the new campaign.

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Pre-season friendlies and tour results should always be taken with a pinch of salt as players are often at different stages of fitness, whilst nothing can replace the intensity of a competitive match.

But there are many lessons to learn from pre-season games – in particular when it comes to the performances of new signings.

We look at five summer signings who have started well at their new clubs.

Raphinha (Barcelona)

Much has been said about Barcelona’s free spending this summer, given the fact that the club are over €1 billion in debt.

Barca have spent over €100 million on Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, as well as bringing in Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen.

It is Raphinha who has stole the show so far, with two goals in two games on the tour of the United States. This included a stunning winner in the Clasico victory over Real Madrid as he lashed in a left-footed rocket from outside the area in the top of the net.

Erling Haaland (Man City)

Erling Haaland always scores. So it will have come as no surprise that the Norwegian star found the back of the net on his Man City debut on Saturday.

Haaland slid in to steer the ball home from Jack Grealish’s cross to give Man City a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.

It was exactly the kind of goal from inside the box that City’s strikers have failed to score in recent years. And it is why Haaland is likely to be the bargain of the summer after City paid just €60m for him from Borussia Dortmund.

Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal)

The striker that Haaland replaced at Man City, though, has been on fire so far at his new club.

Gabriel Jesus left City to join Arsenal, who have been crying out for a top striker of their own in the past couple of seasons.

The Brazilian has had a fantastic impact, already scoring four goals in pre-season for an Arsenal team that has won all five of their friendlies. This includes an impressive 4-0 thrashing of Chelsea on Saturday, in which Jesus bagged the opening goal.

Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)

There were many eyebrows raised when Liverpool decided to spend €100m on Benfica striker Darwin Nunez this summer.

These eyebrows raised further when Nunez was rather quiet in his first two pre-season matches against Man Utd and Crystal Palace.

However, Nunez showed exactly what the fuss was all about with a stunning four goals in one match in the 5-0 thrashing of Leipzig on Thursday. Expect the Uruguayan to score goals galore this season.

Federico Bernardeschi (Toronto)

Federico Bernardeschi was one of the most attractive free transfers available this summer after his contract expired at Juventus.

The Euro 2020 winner decided to leave Europe, though, in order to join MLS team Toronto FC.

He joined up with fellow Italy international Lorenzo Insigne and both players enjoyed dream debuts on Saturday.

Bernardeschi scored one and made one, while Insigne got an assist in a 4-0 thrashing over Charlotte in an MLS clash.