The transfer window just gone reached outlandish heights, seeing Premier League clubs splash the cash in order to strengthen their teams. Through inflation, and certain deals having knock-on effects on others, £50 million has become the new £30 million in the sense that that is what you must pay to land a fairly decent player, when the latter fee probably did the trick a few years back.
And with the market so extortionate nowadays, it makes it even more impressive when clubs are able pull off a smart bit of business that may well prove to be a bargain as the season goes on.
Despite the absurdity we have seen in the summer window thus far, there have been a number of notable bargain transfers wrapped up by sides in the English top tier - and so we've picked out some of the best.
Sead Kolasinac
Named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season last term, Arsenal snapped up the bullish Bosnian defender on a free transfer and his early performances would suggest the Gunners have landed themselves an absolute bargain. Physically imposing and composed on the ball, Kolasinac was superb in the Community Shield against Chelsea after replacing Per Mertesacker, and impressed again in the opening Premier League game against Leicester. At 24, he's a very, very astute purchase.
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Javier Hernandez
The former Manchester United man has returned to the Premier League with West Ham and staggeringly, becomes the 32nd striker to have signed with the Hammers since 2010. Though Slaven Bilic's side will need to provide him with much better service than they've been giving him, 'Chicharito' is a born goalscorer and in the current market, £16 million for a player who should score a minimum of 15 goals a season is a tidy bit of business.
Pablo Zabaleta
As well as securing the signing of Hernandez, West Ham also drafted in Pablo Zabaleta on a free transfer after the popular Argentine full-back left Manchester City after nine years at the Etihad Stadium. While his best years are behind him, the 32-year old brings a wealth of experience and just like he was at City, will be a firm fans favourite in East London.
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Nathaniel Chalobah
Fair play to Chalobah at 22 for opting to move on from Chelsea permanently in search of a regular football. And Watford, a club he has been loaned out to on two occasions, snapped him for £5 million, which is a very good deal in the current market. He's already been called up to the England national team by Gareth Southgate, who worked with him when in charge of the Under 21's, and if he continues to impress, he could well become a regular in the Three Lions fold.
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Jermain Defoe
While Bournemouth are paying a 34-year old Defoe a fairly substantial salary in his second spell at the club, the fact the Cherries got him on a free following Sunderland's relegation to the Championship balances things out. He scored 15 times for the league's worst team last season and given that he's a proven goalscorer at this level, playing in a good footballing side under Eddie Howe, you'd fancy Defoe and Bournemouth to be a good fit.
Pascal Gross
Brighton have smashed their transfer record three times this summer with the arrivals of Australia's No.1 goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, PSV midfielder Davy Propper and Colombian international Jose Izquierdo, but their most impressive bit of business is arguably landing playmaker Pascal Gross for an undisclosed fee. Playing for relegated Ingolstadt last term, he was the most creative player in the Bundesliga and set up 95 chances - more than any other player in the league.
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Harry Maguire
In a window of utter absurdity in the market, Harry Maguire to Leicester City for £17 million actually looks a decent deal. The Sheffield United youth product has been outstanding at the heart of the Foxes backline in his first three outings and has deservedly got himself a call-up to the England squad as a result. He should prove to be a great, wholly necessary addition to Leicester's defence.
Sandro Ramirez
Everton have spent big bucks in order to assemble a squad that can seriously challenge for a top four spot, with Ronald Koeman splashing the cash on the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Michael Keane, Davy Klaassen and Jordan Pickford. But their best bit of business could well prove to Malaga striker Sandro Ramirez, who scored 16 goals in all competitions last season. The 22-year old's price is a reported £5.25 million, which may well be touted as an absolute steal in the coming years.
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Jese Rodriguez
Stoke's transfer business hasn't exactly set the world alight but the Potters have done very well to land PSG winger Jese Rodriguez on a season-long loan. The former Real Madrid man, who won two Champions Leagues in the Spanish capital, has come unstuck in his career at present but he's made an encouraging start to life in England and scored the winner against Arsenal a couple of weeks back.
Dominic Solanke
The Under 20 World Cup winner and Golden Boot winner's price tag hasn't been officially decided yet, with a tribunal arranged to determine how much Liverpool will owe Chelsea for Solanke. Expected to be somewhere between £3 million and £10 million, it's a tidy deal that Liverpool have pulled off for a talented, young, homegrown striker who has been supplying the goals in pre-season, and gives Jurgen Klopp another option up top.
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Will Hughes
The Football Manager wonderkid has been linked with a move to the Premier League for a number of years now, but it's Watford who have provided him with top-flight football, with the Derby youth product becoming the Hornet's first signing of the summer for a reported £8 million fee. A technically excellent midfield player, the 22-year old has the potential to form a quietly impressive partnership with England Under 21's teammate Nathaniel Chalobah at club level, and in Marco Silva, is playing under a manager who will encourage him to express himself.
Grzegorz Krychowiak
With the loan signing of Polish international Grzegorz Krychowiak, West Brom really have completed one of the deals of the summer. The 27-year old, who made his name in football thanks to a series of all-action displays in the middle of the park for Sevilla, where he spent two seasons and won the Europa League back to back with the Andalusian outfit, is a solid defensive midfielder and it's a real coup for Tony Pulis to have drafted him in from PSG for the season.
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Renato Sanches
West Brom have competition for the best loan signing of the summer, though, as Swansea's temporary signing of 2016 Golden Boy winner Renato Sanches is pretty special. The 20-year old struggled at Bayern after his big £27.5 million switch from Benfica, making just six starts in the Bundesliga last term. He attracted strong interest from the likes of AC Milan, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United by Swans boss Paul Clement, former assistant at the Allianz Arena has used his relationship with Carlo Ancelotti to great effect by bringing the midfielder to the Liberty Stadium.
What do you make of our list? Have we missed anyone out?
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Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football, Transfers, Premier League