After an eventful Premier League season which saw battles for the title, European qualification, and top-flight survival, the richest league in the world welcomed plenty of new players to English football this season.
While some big money moves did not work out, there were more than a few who caught the eye, having a big say at both ends of the table.
Here, Sports Mole looks back at 10 of the finest signings made over the course of the 2022-23 season.
10. Alex Moreno
© Reuters
Starting off the list is one of a number of breakout signings who went under the radar and surprised many with his performances this season - Alex Moreno of Aston Villa.
After an awful start to the season, Villa sacked Steven Gerrard and replaced him with Villarreal manager Unai Emery, who had an instant impact on the side.
Having not been a big fan of Lucas Digne when the two were at Paris Saint-Germain together, Emery decided to bring Moreno in from Real Betis in January, and the left-back hit the ground running, almost instantly becoming a regular starter.
Registering three assists, Moreno was a key cog in the Villa machine that surged up the table, taking them from relegation candidates to eventual European qualifiers, after Emery collected 49 points in his 25 games in charge.
9. Nick Pope
© Reuters
The most improved side during the 2022-23 Premier League were undoubtedly Newcastle United, finishing fourth and securing Champions League football just over 12 months after being in a relegation battle for large parts of last season.
After Burnley's relegation a year ago, goalkeeper Nick Pope left for a cut price, and Newcastle were quick to tie him down, and he played a crucial role in their top-four finish.
While the signings of Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes last January played a huge part in their success too, further work that was done to their defence in the summer helped Newcastle to have the joint-best defensive record in the league this season.
Only Manchester City could match Newcastle's tally of just 33 conceded over the course of the campaign, as the Magpies kept 14 clean sheets, with Pope present for all of them.
© Reuters
Nottingham Forest were extremely scattergun in their approach during the summer transfer window on their return back to the Premier League, but the signing of Morgan Gibbs-White ultimately proved to be a masterstroke in them staying up.
Gibbs-White was on the losing side as Forest beat Sheffield United in the Championship playoffs last season, but having been one of the standout players in the division, Steve Cooper opted to bring the creative midfielder in for a club-record fee.
Gibbs-White was instrumental in keeping Forest up in their first season in the top flight for 23 years, scoring five and assisting eight goals for a team that only netted 38 across the whole season.
The vast majority of those goal contributions came in the latter stage of the season too when Forest were fighting for their lives, with the 23-year-old helping the club to 11 points from their final six games.
© Reuters
Arsenal took everybody by surprise by emerging as title challengers to Manchester City this season, and the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko from their eventual conquerors played a big role in their impressive season.
After having won four Premier League titles at the Etihad, Zinchenko decided to move on, and he was part of the Arsenal side that led the way this season almost all the way through, until an untimely collapse late in the season saw City pounce.
The Ukrainian was a regular starter at left-back, keeping Kieran Tierney out of the side almost all season, as his leadership skills alongside his quality on the pitch was certainly a key component of Arsenal fighting at the top.
Despite one or two poor performances during Arsenal's difficult spell in April, Zinchenko's season as a whole was very successful, guiding the club into the Champions League for the first time since 2016.
© Reuters
Another side which vastly overachieved their pre-season expectations were Fulham, and that was largely down to some fantastic business in the summer transfer window.
Andreas Pereira struggled to make the grade at Manchester United after joining as a teenager, and following numerous underwhelming loan spells around Europe and in Brazil, Fulham took a chance on the 27-year-old.
It proved to be a resounding success, as Pereira contributed to 10 goals across the season as Fulham eased to a top-half finish, despite starting the season as one of the favourites to go down.
A very nasty-looking ankle injury ended Pereira's season early, and Fulham will be desperate to have their influential attacking midfielder back before the start of the next campaign.
© Reuters
It was Manchester City's year yet again as they clinched a third consecutive Premier League title, and for all their wonderful attacking talent, the signing of Manuel Akanji proved to be a fine bit of business for the champions.
Despite being a regular starter at Borussia Dortmund for four-and-a-half years, Akanji's move to City went under the radar, but he turned out to be one of the most important players to Pep Guardiola this season.
His versatility has been of great use to the side and Guardiola's dynamic way of setting the team up, with Akanji being comfortable playing on either flank, as well as in the centre of a back three or a back four.
The Swiss defender has featured in 46 games for the club so far this season, and he is likely to play a part in the FA Cup and Champions League finals still to come for City.
© Reuters
Manchester City are the only other club to have two players on this list along with Fulham, and that is testament to the Cottagers excellent transfer strategy implemented last summer.
The signing of Joao Palhinha looked impressive from the very start, given his experience already as a Portugal international, but he took to the Premier League seamlessly with his combative and intelligent style of play.
Despite spending big, Fulham had failed to stay up in their last three Premier League campaigns, but Palhinha was a class apart in an impressive side that threatened the European places for long periods of the season.
Along with Willian and Bernd Leno, who also both arrived last summer and had great seasons, Fulham look equipped to challenge in the top half against next season, especially if they can keep hold of the likes of Palhinha.
© Reuters
The signing of Pervis Estupinan last summer perfectly encapsulates why Brighton & Hove Albion are arguably the best run club in England.
After losing Marc Cucurella to Chelsea for £60m, Estupinan was quickly lined up as the Spaniard's replacement, coming in from Villarreal for just over £15m.
While Cucurella has struggled at Stamford Bridge, Estupinan has flourished on the South Coast, with his lung-busting runs forward offering an excellent outlet from left-back.
After already registering five assists for the season, Estupinan popped up with a goal in Brighton's emphatic 3-0 win at the Emirates over Arsenal - one of the many eye-catching results that earned them European qualification for the first time in the club's history.
2. Casemiro
© Reuters
After two woeful defeats to Brighton and Brentford to start the season, Manchester United decided to go big, and made one of the headline signings of the summer by bringing in Casemiro from Real Madrid.
Instantly there was a dramatic upturn in fortunes, as United went on to seal a top-four spot and a major honour, by winning the EFL Cup at Wembley, with Casemiro's dominant presence in midfield proving a key factor.
Erik ten Hag's side then did not lose a single domestic home game after the Brighton defeat for the rest of the season, and they still have an FA Cup final to come.
Casemiro's influence was most notable when he was not on the pitch, as two red cards for violent conduct meant he missed seven domestic matches during the season, and the Red Devils looked much inferior without him, losing to Newcastle, drawing at home with Leeds United, and being very fortunate to beat a nine-man Fulham in the FA Cup.
© Reuters
What more can be said about the Premier League's top scorer, player and young player of the season?
Erling Braut Haaland arrived with a big reputation and big hype to live up to, and he certainly did just that - as breaking the all-time Premier League record for goals in a season was one of a number of accolades Haaland picked up this season.
Haaland's league tally of 36 had never been achieved before, even during the 42-games-per-season era, and his overall total of 52 across all competitions is a new club record, as the Norwegian was not too far away from beating Dixie Dean's all-time English record of 62.
With the FA Cup and Champions League finals to come, Haaland's season could get even better if he can lead City to the treble, but there is no doubting he is already one of the best overseas signings English football has ever seen.
