Playing Time of the Most Expensive 2026 Summer Signings

Very few players walk into a new club and immediately become automatic starters. New signings often need time to adapt to different teammates, tactical demands, a new league and unfamiliar surroundings. Injuries, fitness issues, suspensions, competition for places or a gradual integration plan can also limit how much they are used during the first months after a transfer.

Winsportsonline analysed the most expensive transfers of summer 2026, including every player tied at the €60 million cut-off, and compared their league minutes with the maximum number of minutes available at their new clubs.

The differences are substantial. Jan Paul van Hecke has played all of Tottenham’s 810 available Premier League minutes, or 100%, while Gonçalo Ramos has played 891 of a possible 900 minutes for AC Milan, or 99.00%. Crysencio Summerville has recorded 974 of 990 minutes for Al-Hilal, or 98.38%, while Morgan Rogers, Sandro Tonali and Jérémy Jacquet have also played more than 95% of the minutes available to their clubs. At the other end, Ayyoub Bouaddi has played only 177 of Manchester City’s possible 810 league minutes, or 21.85%, while Carlos Baleba has recorded 233 of 810 minutes for Manchester United, or 28.77%.

Key Takeaways:

• Tottenham’s Jan Paul van Hecke is the only player to have played 100% of the available league minutes, followed by Goncalo Ramos at 99.00% and Crysencio Summerville at 98.38%
• Six of the 23 signings have played more than 95% of the available minutes, with Morgan Rogers, Sandro Tonali and Jeremy Jacquet joining the top three
• Ayyoub Bouaddi has the lowest share at 21.85%, while Carlos Baleba is the only other player below 30%
• Seven players have featured in fewer than half of the available league minutes, despite costing a combined €536.1 million
• Morgan Rogers has received the most playing time among the €100m-plus transfers, appearing for 97.90% of Chelsea’s available league minutes
• Enzo Fernandez, the most expensive transfer at €145 million, has played 64.44% of Manchester City’s available league minutes, exactly the median share among the 23 players
• Manchester City show the widest spread among one club’s signings, from Elliot Anderson at 86.17% to Bouaddi at 21.85%

Share of available league minutes played
by the most expensive 2026 summer signings

Six summer signings have played more than 95% of the available minutes

At the top of the ranking, several expensive arrivals have become immediate first-choice players. Jan Paul van Hecke has played all 810 available Premier League minutes for Tottenham, making him the only player in the study with a perfect 100% share. Gonçalo Ramos is only nine minutes short of a full record for AC Milan, with 891 of a possible 900 Serie A minutes, while Crysencio Summerville has played 974 of Al-Hilal’s 990 available minutes.

The same pattern applies to two of the most expensive transfers in the study. Morgan Rogers, signed by Chelsea for €138 million, has played 793 of a possible 810 league minutes, or 97.90%, while Tottenham’s €108 million signing Sandro Tonali has reached 97.41%. Jérémy Jacquet completes the group above 95%, having played 775 of Liverpool’s 810 possible league minutes.

Rogers stands out particularly strongly among the summer’s biggest deals. Of the players who cost at least €100 million, he has by far the highest share of available league minutes. Tonali is the only other nine-figure transfer above 90%, while Elliot Anderson has played 86.17% for Manchester City. Enzo Fernández, Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola are all much closer to the middle of the ranking, with shares of 64.44%, 63.84% and 63.58% respectively.

Manchester City and Tottenham show the widest internal differences

Manchester City account for four of the 23 transfers, joint-most with Tottenham, and spent a combined €445 million on Enzo Fernández, Elliot Anderson, Iliman Ndiaye and Ayyoub Bouaddi. Their playing time varies sharply. Anderson has played 698 of a possible 810 league minutes, or 86.17%, while Ndiaye is close behind at 83.95%. Fernández sits much lower at 64.44%, while Bouaddi is at the bottom of the entire ranking with only 177 minutes and a 21.85% share.

That leaves a gap of more than 64 percentage points between Anderson and Bouaddi despite both arriving at the same club during the same transfer window. City therefore have two of the more heavily used signings in the study and the least-used player overall.

Tottenham show a similarly wide spread. Van Hecke has played 100% of the available minutes and Tonali 97.41%, placing both among the five most-used players in the dataset. Mateus Fernandes is much lower at 55.56%, while Sávio has played only 40.74%. The gap between Tottenham’s most-used and least-used summer arrivals is therefore almost 60 percentage points.

Seven of the 23 signings have played fewer than half of the available league minutes

At the lower end of the ranking, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Carlos Baleba are the only two players below 30%. Bouaddi has played 177 minutes for Manchester City, while Baleba has accumulated 233 for Manchester United, equivalent to 28.77% of the available total.

Below the 40% mark are three more expensive arrivals. Bruno Guimarães has played 37.04% of Arsenal’s available league minutes, Matias Fernandez-Pardo is at 37.65% for Newcastle United and Gabriel Martinelli has reached 39.29% for Al-Hilal. Sávio follows at 40.74%, while Johan Manzambi sits just below the halfway mark at 48.02%.

The middle of the ranking is much more compressed. Maxence Lacroix has played 78.27% of Chelsea’s available league minutes, Tijjani Reijnders is at 77.13% for Al-Qadsiah and Rodri has reached 70.40% for Barcelona. Enzo Fernández, Yan Diomande, Bradley Barcola and Anthony Gordon are separated by little more than four percentage points, while Mateus Fernandes is the final player above 50%.