Top 10 most expensive midfielders of summer transfer window so far

Stefan Bienkowski

• 5 Aug 2021 17:50 BST
• 4 min read

New Atletico Madrid signing Rodrigo de Paul is currently the most expensive midfielder in this summer’s transfer window so far.

The Argentine talent made the move from Udinese in mid July to the Spanish capital for a reported fee of €35 million and to date his transfer has yet to be matched across Europe’s top divisions.

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De Paul signed a contract with Atleti that is set to run until 2026 and is likely to force the Spanish club into selling some central midfielders that are now surplus to requirement.

The second most expensive midfielder in this summer’s transfer window is none other than Brazilian player Gerson, who made a move from Flamengo to Marseille for €25m this summer.

The 24-year-old talent returned to Brazilian football in 2019 after a three-year spell in Italy at Florence and Roma and is now set to take another stab at European football.

Following Gerson in third place is new Brighton signing Enock Mwepu, who joined the Premier League side from RB Salzburg for a fee of around €23m.

Mwepu enjoyed a thoroughly impressive campaign in Austria last season, picking up no less than 10 goals and seven assists in 45 games for his former club and will now look to test himself in the English top flight.

In fourth place we have a player that technically made his move last year but has only now confirmed his permanent move to his new club.

Weston McKennie, who came through Schalke’s youth academy after joining the club in 2016 from Dallas Academy, moved to Juventys on loan last season and made his move permanent after the Serie A giants paid €20.5m for the player’s signature.

In fifth place is another exciting addition to this season’s Premier League with Leicester City’s signing of French defensive midfielder Boubakary Soumare.

The 22-year-old talent was an intrical part of Lille’s Ligue 1 success last season and will now be looking to add to his trophy haul with a move to the Foxes for around €20m.

Next on our list is another player that has technically been playing for his new club for some time, in RB Leipzig left-sided midfielder Angelino.

Although the former Manchester City player can also play at left-back, he’s often found on the left side of midfield and due to his performances in the Bundesliga earned himself a €18m move to the German club this summer.

In seventh place we have another exciting prospect for the Premier League in Albert Sambi Lokonga.

It remains to be seen how much game time the former Anderlecht star will get at Arsenal this season, but a transfer fee of around €17.5m suggests Mikel Arteta may have plenty of intention to take advantage of Lokonga’s talents.

The eighth player on the top 10 most expensive midfielders in this summer’s transfer window is Hamed Junior Traore, who has joined Sassuolo from Empoli for a fee of €16m.

The attacking midfielder is just 21 years old, offers plenty of promise and may end up being a long-term replacement for Sassuolo star Manuel Locatelli.

In ninth place is none other than Danilo Pereira, who made the move from Porto to Paris Saint-Germain this summer after an eventful Euro 2020 with the Portugal national team.

At 29 years of age, Danilo should be a useful squad player for the French giants and as such demanded a transfer fee of €16m.

And last, but certainly not least, on our list is new Porto signing Pepe, who joined the club from Gremio this summer for a fee of around €15m.

At 24 years of age, it remains to be seen what Pepe will bring to the Portuguese giants this season and whether his fee will be considered excessive or a bargain.