Every Premier League new boy rated on their opening day debut.
This summer has seen the usual influx of activity and some clubs have made some genuinely shrewd acquisitions. With the Premier League kicking off on Saturday, fans got their first chance to take a look at some of their new heroes in closer detail, and we have listed below all of the new stars that featured for their new clubs on the Premier League’s opening day.
Arsenal
Mathieu Debuchy – The Frenchman showed that he is willing to venture down the flanks, but needs time to prove that he is capable of filling the boots left by Bacary Sagna. Grade: C
Calum Chambers – The youngster picked up a soft booking for needlessly bringing down Fraser Campbell, but looked confident and assured for the majority of the game. Grade: B
Alexis Sanchez – Provided the excellent chip for Laurent Koscielny’s goal, but was accused of trying to hard as the game wore on. Grade: B
Aston Villa
Aly Cissokho – Liverpool fans warned Villa that Cissokho is useless, but he showed that’s not the case with a solid defensive display and adventurous runs down the wing. Grade: B
Kieron Richardson – The former England international thrived in a more central role and even provided Gabriel Agbonlahor with a golden scoring opportunity which was spurned. Grade: B
Philippe Senderos – Looked solid and assured next to Ron Vlaar, and saved Brad Guzan’s blushes towards the end. Grade: B
Crystal Palace
Martin Kelly – Looked composed and performed his attacking and defensive duties with consistent intent. Grade: B
Brede Hangeland – Did well to peel away to nod the opening goal, but then undid that good work by losing Laurent Koselny for the equaliser. Grade: C
Frazier Campbell – Isolated for much of the game, but did well to hold the ball up when he was involved. Grade: C
Hull City
Tom Ince – Drifted and often lacked invention, he will look to repair this in the coming weeks. Grade: D
Robert Snodgrass – Forced off early with a knee injury, but looked lively before that. Grade: N/A
Andrew Robertson – Kept busy on the left flank, could be a very shrewd acquisition. Grade: C
Leicester City
Leanardo Ulloa – The striker looked menacing throughout and even managed to get himself on the score. Grade: A
Liverpool
Rickie Lambert – Came on late in the game and did his job of unsettling the Saints defence for his new side’s second goal. Grade: C
Dejan Lovren – Some good passing was offset by some crunching tackles, but at times his class shone through. Grade: C
Javier Manquillo – Could have found things difficult after he was booked early on but the right-back defended well and showed enough good moments going forward for a satisfying debut. Grade: B
Manchester City
Fernando – Kept the impressive Remy Cabella in shackles when he cool. Looked solid. Grade: B
Manchester United
Ander Herrera – He was a definite improvement on what the club already have, but his listless teammates let him down as his impact was limited. Grade: C
Newcastle United
Daryl Janmaat – A like for like replacement for Debuchy, had his hands full but will cope well in the Premier League. Grade: B
Remy Cabella – Proved that the links with a move to Manchester United earlier this summer weren’t just flattery as he looked to stretch the City defence and create something with a cheeky chip or deft flick. Grade: B
Jack Colback – Was largely restricted, but will grow into the club. Grade: C
Emmanuel Riviere – Looked tricky, but his influence wore off as the game went on and was subbed before the end. Grade: C
Queens Park Rangers
Rio Ferdinand – Deployed as a sweeper, but let the side down with poor marking as Hull scored the only goal of the game. Grade: D
Steven Caulker – Made a promising debut and will be expected to build upon it and break into the England set up. Grade: C
Jordon Mutch – Showed brilliant energy in the Rangers midfield. Looks to be an excellent signing by Redknapp. Grade: B
Southampton
Fraser Forster – Looked promising though he was beaten twice, but there was nothing he could do about the goals. Grade: C
Ryan Bertrand – Got up and down the flanks regularly, and will certainly benefit from being a first choice player for an entire season. Grade: C
Graziano Pelle – Looked slightly off the pace and was marshalled well by Lovren and Skrtel. Grade: D
Dusan Tadic – Looked threatening throughout and set Nathaniel Clyne on his way to score the equaliser. Grade: B
Shane Long – Missed an absolute sitter, will need to recover quickly. Grade: F
Stoke City
Bojan – The former Barca man looked like the most likely to create chances, but was snuffed out by a tough Villa defence. Grade: C
Phil Bardsley – Dependable, if unspectacular. Could have scored were it not for Brad Guzan’s fast reactions. Grade: D
Biram Mame Diouf – Ran tirelessly, but struggled to do anything of note. Grade: D
Sunderland
Jack Rodwell – Looked rusty and subdued. Was substituted in the second half after an ineffectual performance. Grade: E
Patrick van Aanholt – Looks to be a strong addition as he added energy and a big presence in the left flank. Grade: B
Swansea City
Lukasz Fabianski – Made some good saves and showed no signs of the ‘flappy hands’ that dogged his time at Arsenal. Grade: B
Jefferson Montero – Only had 25 minutes but provided the key cross which led to Swansea’s second goal. Showed good pace. As such, the Ecuadorian appears to be unfazed by the initial transition to the Premier League. Grade: C
Gylfi Sigurdsson – Netted a very satisfying winner on his return to the side, and has quite clearly been missed. Grade: A
Bafetimbi Gomis – Only featured briefly towards the end, he teamed up well with Sigurdsson well to torment the United back line. Grace: C
Tottenham Hotspur
Eric Dier – Scored a striker’s quality goal to win the game after switching from the centre to the right after a red card for Kyle Naughton. Grade: A
West Bromwich Albion
Andre Wisdom – Looked unconvincing in possession and often got caught out. Grade: D
Craig Gardner – Will prove to be a good signing as he came close to scoring against his former club. Grade: B
Sebastien Pocognoli – He’s got a thunderous left boot and that showed on the occasions he did take aim at Sunderland’s goal. He looks ready-made for the Premier League. Grade: C
West Ham United
Chiekhou Kouyate – Started brightly but faded after the break. Booked. Grade: C
Aaron Cresswell – Looked solid on his Premier League debut and displayed good decision making. Could do nothing to stop Eric Dier scoring the winner. Grade: B