Attacking players make all the headlines in world football, and the transfer market is no exception. The most expensive and desirable players – the players seen as being the ones who can change the destiny of a club- are the forwards, especially the goal-scorers.
But history has proven that the right defensive-minded transfers can be just as influential to a team building a dynasty, whether that’s an expensive acquisition like Virgil van Dijk’s move from Southampton to Liverpool or a more under-the-radar buy like Inigo Martinez helping Barcelona return to prominence in European football last season.
With the summer 2025 transfer window reaching its final weeks, let’s rank the top 10 defensive transfer signings of the mercato thus far. It’s no surprise to see the Premier League dominating the list, but a certain La Liga giant and two distinct Saudi Pro League clubs were there to spoil the Premier League party, too.
10. Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool
Jeremie Frimpong is a “defensive” player in a very loose sense of the word, and the former Bayer Leverkusen star won’t be an every game starter for Liverpool next season since the club is high on youngster Conor Bradley, who proved his meddle in the Champions League by shutting down the mighty Kylian Mbappe.
A Bundesliga champion and Europa League finalist, Frimpong is proven at the European level and is one of the best attacking fullbacks in the game, playing the position like a winger, because, well, that’s also a comfortable position for him.
Adept at creating chances and even scoring goals, Frimpong is coming off a down year for Leverkusen but still had 10 goal contributions. In the previous two seasons, he had at least 15 goal contributions back-to-back.
At 24, Frimpong is only just entering the prime of his career, and he ended up being a solid buy at a slight “buy low” point, with Liverpool spending a reasonable 40 million euros on the Dutchman.
9. Adrien Truffert to Bournemouth
Adrien Truffert is a more low key fullback addition in the Premier League, but the Frenchman is also quite good at creating chances with deadly crossing delivery and dogged determination on both ends of the pitch.
For well under 25 million pounds, Bournemotuh are getting one of the top fullbacks from Ligue 1 and a best-kept secret kind of player. Truffert once had six assists in a league season for Rennes and is coming off a solid defensive season with 1.8 tackles per game and just 0.5 dribbles completed allowed per match.
8. Diego Coppola to Brighton
The best player on Hellas Verona last season, Diego Coppola has jumped ship to the Premier League to compete for a starting spot on a Brighton side that is now loaded with defensive options.
Brighton already had Jan Paul van Hecke and Lewis Dunk as starters, and now they have Coppola and Olivier Boscagli after this transfer window. Coppola is highly underrated and was one of the best shutdown center backs in Serie A alongside Napoli’s championship-winning signing Alessandro Buongiorno.
Last season, the 21-year-old Italian international averaged 1.9 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game with 0.4 dribbles completed allowed per contest. He looks like he could be the next breakout superstar in Brighton.
7. Jonathan Tah to Bayern Munich
For a fee of just two million euros, Bayern Munich were able to finagle a transfer with Bundesliga title rivals Bayer Leverkusen for the signing of their captain and key defensive leader, Jonathan Tah.
The previously undefeated Tah has been a solid fixture in the Bundesliga for about a decade in Leverkusen now, and with Real Madrid and Barcelona among the heavyweights interested in him, Bayern did well to secure the signing of the most consistent German center back in the world.
Tah is a totally different profile from the center backs Bayern have had over the last few years, including last year’s talented but oft-criticized starters Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano.
Although the German defender won’t be immune to the inane criticisms of the press at FC Hollywood, even the most critical of his often boring playing style have to admit that his security on the ball and vision off it will be a welcome and calmer change of pace to the Bayern defense next to, in particular, the occasionally chaotic Upamecano.
6. Nathan Zeze to Neom SC
It’s remarkable that the second-most promising center back in Ligue 1 from last season is in the Saudi Pro League before he turns 21 when the top dog, Abdukodir Khusanov, ended up moving to Manchester City in the winter.
Nathan Zeze could have easily been worth signing by Man City’s Premier League title rivals Liverpool instead, and they were indeed among the clubs interested in the 20-year-old Nantes star.
Instead, Zeze heads to the newly promoted Saudi Pro League side Neom SC, who have been given a lot of room to sign players by the government this summer, for the mere pittance of 20 millino euros to Nantes.
Zeze averaged 2.1 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game for a lower-level Ligue 1 side, often cleaning up the danger to keep the tide at bay. He has a lot of potential, so while this is a big gain for Neom, it’s a loss for fans who wanted to see him develop in a bigger league in Europe.
5. Theo Hernandez to Al-Hilal
Theo Hernandez is still arguably the best left back in the game, but he leaves the dumpster fire that was 2024/25 AC Milan for Al-Hilal, coached by former rival manager Simone Inzaghi of Inter Milan fame.
Hernandez is the latest ambitious splash from an Al-Hilal side that took the world by storm at the beginning of the Club World Cup tournament, playing up with giants Real Madrid under Inzaghi.
The French left back is an even bigger coup for Saudi Arabia than Zeze, as the 27-year-old left back is an icon in his prime and somehow sest the deep pockets of Saudi just 25 million euros; they actually signed him for less than his market value of 35 million euros.
4. Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid
Real Madrid 100 percent had to sign a new center back this offseason, because they could not afford to go into another season with their main three center backs being the ill-disciplined Raul Asencio, the overrated Antonio Rudiger, and the fully declined David Alaba.
Obviously, Eder Militao is by far the best center back on the Real Madrid roster, but the Brazilian international is coming off a torn ACL in his other knee, so it’s hard for Real to count on him 100 percent until they see him healthy for an extended period and performing at the top level again.
That’s what made signing Dean Huijsen even more important for Real Madrid. Huijsen was one of the best center backs in the Premier League last season and is a national team level starter for Spain, yet he is still just 20 years old.
Real Madrid had to pay 50 million pounds to activate Huijsen’s release clause from Bournemouth, but that was honestly a bargain. Huijsen is intelligent beyond his years in reading the game and passing, and he and Militao could form the best partnership in Spain if all goes as planned.
3. Cristhian Mosquera to Arsenal
Meanwhile, Arsenal brought in a top young center back from La Liga for 15 million euros, and Cristhian Mosquera is worth double, if not triple, that, especially when you factor in where he could be in his development within the next three to five years.
Mosquera is only 21 years of age, but he was already one of the best and most refined central defenders in La Liga last season – and the Spanish top flight has plenty of intelligent defenders to go around.
The former Valencia star averaged 2.4 combined tackles and interceptions per game with an infinitesimal 0.2 dribbles allowed per match for the Bats last season while completing 91.2 percent of his passes. He’s going to be a stud for Arsenal, there’s no question about it.
2. Olivier Boscagli to Brighton
There’s also no question that Brighton know a thing or two about recruiting the right profiles on the transfer market, and it looks like the Seagulls have hit another home run with Olivier Boscagli, who set them literally nothing in transfer fees on the market.
Boscagli was the most underrated free agent defender this summer, even moreso than Tah. All the top clubs slept on him, and Brighton profited by scooping up a starting-caliber player for free.
Last season, the 27-year-old Frenchman averaged 1.5 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game for PSV in the Champions League, allowing just 0.4 dribbles per game. He’s proven himself at the highest level and is in the prime of his career, ready to be a dream of a third center back for the Gulls.
1. Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid
Trent Alexander-Arnold would have been free, but Real Madrid threw in an extra 10 million euros to have him ready for the Club World Cup. It didn’t work out for Madrid, who embarrassed themselves again on the big stage this season even with a new manager, but the extra experience with his teammates and potentially more prize money from staying longer wtih TAA didn’t hurt.
Dani Carvajal’s ACL tear made the gamble on TAA a no-brainer, and while Alexander-Arnold’s massive wages and injury history could blow up in Madrid’s face as he nears 30, like it did with another certain Premier League superstar about five years ago, there’s no reason to doubt the former Liverpool legend.
Alexander-Arnold is a generationally great creator on the right-hand side with his early deliveries into the box. He will have crosses on a platter for Kylian Mbappe and Co., and Madridistas will hope that the Frenchman and best friend Jude Bellingham will be game enough to take advantage. They’ll also hope that Alexander-Arnold proves the doubters wrong about his defending – and gets the right amount of help from center backs Militao and Huijsen.
No matter how you spin it and no matter how much the red flags underneath. the surface may scare you, 10 million euros for one of the most talented fullbacks in the game and a rare technical talent is a steal and undoubtedly the biggest splash of the summer in the back four.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2011. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has contributed to sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. Joe’s work has appeared in ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling, respectively.