Transfer Deadline Day has always been pure drama. Before Fabrizio Romano’s Here we go era turned it into a stream of notifications, the final hours of the window felt like cinema.
Twists, shocks, last-minute deals — and sometimes heartbreak — made it the ultimate rollercoaster for football fans.
Some transfers flopped. Some were unforgettable. And a select few changed the Premier League forever.
Here’s the countdown of the 10 best Deadline Day signings in Premier League history.
Ranking the Best Deadline Day Signings in Premier League History
10. Cristiano Ronaldo – August 2021 (Juventus → Manchester United)
When news broke that Cristiano Ronaldo was leaving Juventus, Manchester City looked like his next destination. But in true Deadline Day fashion, Manchester United swooped in to bring him home.
Ronaldo’s return lit up Old Trafford. His brace against Newcastle on debut reminded fans why he was still world-class.
He finished that season with 24 goals in all competitions — impressive for a 36-year-old.
The fairytale ended badly after a fallout with Erik ten Hag and that explosive Piers Morgan interview, but for a moment, it felt like football nostalgia at its finest.
9. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – January 2018 (Borussia Dortmund → Arsenal)
Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign Aubameyang for over £50m, and he delivered instantly. Pacey, ruthless, and clinical — Auba quickly became the Gunners’ main man.
He won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2019, fired Arsenal to an FA Cup win in 2020, and carried the club through difficult years.
Things ended sourly with disciplinary issues, but for his peak years, Aubameyang was one of the most lethal strikers in the league.
8. Dimitar Berbatov – September 2008 (Tottenham → Manchester United)
The 2008 summer Deadline Day was chaos: City signed Robinho, Fellaini’s hair arrived at Everton, and United fought City for Berbatov.
Despite Spurs accepting City’s bid, Berbatov refused, telling them he only wanted United. Sir Alex Ferguson personally picked him up at the airport.
Berbatov’s elegance on the ball and ice-cool finishing made him a cult hero at Old Trafford. He won two Premier League titles and gave fans some of the silkiest hat-tricks ever seen.
7. Carlos Tevez & Javier Mascherano – August 2006 (Corinthians → West Ham)
This was pure Deadline Day madness. Tevez and Mascherano, two of Argentina’s brightest stars, landed not at United, Chelsea, or Arsenal — but at West Ham.
The transfers caused huge controversy, involving third-party ownership that was technically illegal.
Mascherano barely featured before leaving for Liverpool, but Tevez became a hero, scoring the crucial goals to keep West Ham up and relegating Sheffield United in the process.
6. Hugo Lloris – August 2012 (Lyon → Tottenham)
Tottenham’s best-ever Deadline Day signing. For just £8m, Spurs secured one of Europe’s top goalkeepers.
Lloris went on to captain the club, lead them to a Champions League final, and win the World Cup with France in 2018.
With over 440 appearances, he became a modern Spurs legend and one of the best goalkeepers of the Premier League era.
5. Mesut Özil – August 2013 (Real Madrid → Arsenal)
For years, Arsenal fans were told money was tight after building the Emirates. Then, Deadline Day 2013 changed everything.
The Gunners signed Mesut Özil for £42.5m, shocking the football world and even upsetting Cristiano Ronaldo, who didn’t want Madrid to sell him.
Özil never hit his Real Madrid heights, but at his peak in North London, he was unplayable. Vision, passing, creativity — he gave Arsenal the superstar they had craved.
4. Cole Palmer – September 2023 (Manchester City → Chelsea)
Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea spent £40m on Cole Palmer, a City academy product with just a handful of senior games. But Palmer proved everyone wrong — fast.
In his debut season, he scored 27 goals and assisted 15, winning Chelsea’s Player of the Season and England’s Player of the Year.
By 2025, he was the face of the club, guiding Chelsea back into the Champions League and starring in their FIFA Club World Cup triumph against PSG.
What looked like a gamble turned into a generational signing.
3. Claude Makelele – August 2003 (Real Madrid → Chelsea)
Florentino Pérez once dismissed Makelele as unimportant. Chelsea knew better.
Signed for £16.8m, Makelele transformed Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea into a winning machine.
His intelligence, positioning, and defensive work defined the “Makelele role,” a position named after him.
Without him, Chelsea’s dominance in the 2000s simply wouldn’t have happened. He remains one of the smartest Deadline Day signings in football history.
2. Luis Suárez – January 2011 (Ajax → Liverpool)
On the same day Liverpool blew £35m on Andy Carroll, they quietly signed Luis Suárez from Ajax for £22m. One was a disaster. The other was sensational.
Suárez’s three-and-a-half years at Anfield were electric — skill, goals, chaos, and controversy rolled into one.
His 2013/14 season (31 goals, 17 assists) is still one of the best single campaigns in Premier League history.
He didn’t win the title, but he left as one of the greatest strikers the league has ever seen.
1. Wayne Rooney – August 2004 (Everton → Manchester United)
The undisputed king of Deadline Day deals.
Manchester United splashed £27m on an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney — a record fee for a teenager at the time. The hype was huge.
The debut hat-trick against Fenerbahçe showed he was worth every penny.
Rooney went on to become United’s all-time top scorer, a five-time Premier League champion, and a Champions League winner.
This wasn’t just a great Deadline Day signing. It was one of the greatest signings in Premier League history.
FAQs
Who was the best Premier League Deadline Day signing ever?
Wayne Rooney to Manchester United in 2004 tops the list, as he became the club’s all-time leading scorer.
Has Deadline Day ever produced bad transfers?
Absolutely — for every Suárez or Rooney, there’s an Andy Carroll or Radamel Falcao flop.
Why do clubs wait until Deadline Day?
Sometimes deals drag due to negotiations, finances, or waiting for other moves to happen — creating that last-minute chaos fans love.
Conclusion
Deadline Day has given us panic buys, shocking flops, and legendary signings. But as this list shows, sometimes those frantic final hours deliver history-defining moments.
From Rooney’s teenage move to United to Suárez lighting up Anfield and Palmer’s Chelsea rise — Deadline Day will always be football’s greatest theatre.
