5 Footballers who shined in their Debut Season after a big move
When a player decides to join a new club, we don’t expect him to start dropping top-tier performances in his debut season.
It is not rocket science. The player would’ve to get used to his new environment and teammates. And if he switches league, he would also have to adapt to the intensity of the new league which he joined.
This is why, even some of the best players in the world, struggle to shine in their debut season after switching teams.
However, even with all this in consideration, there are still some players who have shocked football lovers by having an impressive debut season with their respective new clubs.
Without much ado, let’s take a look at five top players who shined in their debut season after a big move:
5. Lisandro Martinez Debut Season At Manchester United
When Manchester United decided to spend £47 million to sign the Argentine center-back from Ajax, it raised plenty of questions.
Because he wasn’t that tall, football critics argued that the move wasn’t going to be a success because unlike, like Lisandro Martinez, most of the top defenders in the Premier League were relatively tall.
However, in his debut season for the club, the Argentine center-back has shown his quality and put to bed the notion that he isn’t cut out for the League.
He was one of Manchester United's best defenders last season. He has gone against some of the best strikers in the Premier League, and his performances have been top-class.
Not only that, but he has since become a regular starter at the club, taking the place of England Captain, Harry Maguire.
In games where he is unavailable, it is always noticeable because the quality and calmness that he usually brings will be missing.
4. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Debut Season At Napoli
Napoli spent just around €10-12 million to sign Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. When you spend such a low fee on a player, you wouldn’t expect him to have an immediate impact on the team.
In his debut season for the club, where he operated mainly as a left-winger, his impact was felt almost immediately. He scored 17 goals and registered 17 assists in 43 games in all competitions for Napoli.
He remained consistent throughout the season and played a considerable role to ensure that Napoli won the Serie A title after a long time of waiting.
Valued around €100m, Kvaratskhelia is said to be one of the best young players in the world today.
3. Robert Lewandowski's Debut Season At FC Barcelona
Robert Lewandowski is an all-round striker who has won numerous trophies throughout his career.
In all the eight seasons he spent at Bayern Munich, he won the Bundesliga title in every one of them and also won the Champions League title.
Even though he was already getting old, Lewandowski still insisted on playing for Barcelona, and though the deal was complicated, he got what he wanted.
At a time when Barcelona was going through a series of financial crisis, it wasn’t easy raising the €45 million fee needed to fund his transfer to the club.
His move attracted many critics who wondered if Lewandowski, who was about to turn 34 at that time, would be able to perform at the highest level needed to succeed at Barcelona.
But even with the amount of pressure on his head, the Polish Striker wasted no time and got the ball rolling as quickly as possible in his debut season at the club.
He scored 23 goals and emerged as the highest goalscorer in the league. He also helped Barcelona clinch their first La Liga title since 2019.
Lewandowski’s primary objective was to score the needed goals for the team, and based on what we saw, he executed this assignment perfectly well in his debut season at the club.
2. Erling Haaland's Debut Season At Manchester City
Erling Haaland joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022 for a transfer fee of £51 million.
His quality wasn’t the question. Having established himself as a prolific goalscorer for Borussia Dortmund during his few years at the club, the surrounding hype was quite high.
What worried critics was whether he was going to be able to replicate that same form in the Premier League.
We have seen several players make a switch from the German Bundesliga, and in most cases, most of these players fail to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League.
Haaland’s debut season for Manchester City was a thing of surprise. Even fans of the club, never expected him to have the kind of impact that he had.
He scored goals for fun, broke numerous Premier League records, and even emerged as the highest goalscorer in the league with 36 goals.
His goals played a key role to ensure that the club finally won the Champions League trophy, which had seemed impossible for them over the years.
He was also instrumental in the team winning both the Premier League title and the FA Cup.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo's Debut Season At Juventus
Having won everything there is to win at Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo decided to switch teams and join Serie A giant Juventus in 2018.
His transfer to the club raised a lot of doubts, and it was quite understandable.
He was 33 years old at that time, so Juventus decision to cough out £88 million to sign the Portuguese striker, wasn’t seen as a good piece of business.
Despite playing in an entirely new league with new teammates and the fact that he had to adapt to a new playing style, Ronaldo proved once again why he is regarded as one of the best in the world.
Even though it took him four games before he finally scored his first goal for Juventus, his overall debut season at the club was considered a giant success.
He scored 28 goals and created 11 assists in 43 games for the club. An impressive performance that helped the club win its eighth successive Serie A title.
Still, in his debut season, Ronaldo equaled Giuseppe Signori's record of the most consecutive away games with at least one goal scored in a single Serie A season.
Ronaldo, who finished as the fourth-highest goalscorer in the league, also won the award for the Most Valuable Player in the Serie A.