Five big summer signings who aren't playing much
Carlo Garganese
- Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
- 4 min read
The summer of 2022 proved to be arguably the most remarkable transfer window in football history.
The Premier League smashed all kinds of transfer records, spending more money on new players than in any previous transfer window.
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Across Europe, there were three players who moved for over €100 million in the form of Darwin Nunez, Aurelien Tchouameni and Antony.
Elsewhere, there were numerous other big-money and high-profile transfers.
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But not all of these players have shone so far.
Indeed, some have barely played at all.
We take a look at five notable signings who aren’t getting much game time right now.
Casemiro (Man Utd)
Manchester United made the signing of a top-class central midfielder their summer priority and had initially targeted Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona.
When that deal wasn’t possible they instead turned to Real Madrid legend Casemiro, who they paid over €70m for.
However, so far the Brazilian has barely featured at all. He is yet to make a single Premier League start, only appearing three times as a substitute for a total of 51 minutes.
His only start was in the Europa League.
Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax)
Big things were expected of Ryan Gravenberch when Bayern Munich shelled out €25m plus add-ons for the midfielder from Ajax this summer.
However, Gravenberch has yet to start a game in the Bundesliga, despite Bayern Munich’s struggles.
He has played just 105 minutes across five substitute appearances, also failing to start in the Champions League.
Gravenberch admitted recently he is unhappy with his lack of playing time: “Honestly, yes I am unhappy,” he said.
“You want to play, but the manager picks other players. I have to accept it but it’s difficult. I was hoping for more minutes but I have to stay calm.”
Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern)
Another big, young Dutch signing who is struggling so far is Matthijs de Ligt.
Bayern Munich completed the signing of the Dutch international for a fee of more than €80m from Juventus this past summer.
It was hoped that De Ligt would realise his potential in Munich after stagnating during three years in Turin.
So far, he has not pushed on. He has started only half of Bayern’s games and is not currently considered a first-choice player by Julian Nagelsmann after some shaky displays.
Franck Kessie (Barcelona)
Barcelona completed the signing of free agent Franck Kessie on a four-year contract this summer following the midfielder's departure from Milan.
Kessie’s decision to join Barcelona already raised doubts before the season started due to the sheer abundance of talent in midfield at Camp Nou.
With the likes of Pedri, Gavi, Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong present, it was always going to be difficult for Kessie to nail down a first-team place.
And so it has proven as he has started just one La Liga game, plus three appearances from the bench for a total of 83 minutes. He has started once in the Champions League, also, scoring one goal.
Arthur Melo (Liverpool)
Arthur Melo was far from a ‘big signing’ for Liverpool as he arrived at Anfield on loan for the season.
He was a last-minute signing due to an injury-crisis in the Liverpool midfield.
It is believed that Jurgen Klopp was never that keen on signing Arthur and so it has proven.
Despite barely any midfielders being available to Klopp, Arthur has only featured for 13 minutes – this arriving as a late sub when Liverpool were already losing 4-1 to Napoli.
