Genius or scouting flaw? Why top Premier League clubs sign wingers who don’t score goals
Genius or scouting flaw? Why top Premier League clubs sign wingers who don't score goals. Why top Premier League clubs sign wingers who don't score goals10hRyan O'Hanlon2026 Ballon d'Or: Full men's, women's shortlists, host city change, more40mChris WrightMLS Power Rankings: Griezmann catapults Orlando into the playoff picture1dJoe LoweryNWSL Power Rankings: Washington leaps to top spot as Gotham, San Diego slip up1dArianna CasconeArsenal show Chelsea, Premier League who's boss; Inter the team to beat in Serie A1dGabriele MarcottiArsenal too familiar, Man United underwhelming: Lessons from WSL's opening weekend8hEmily KeoghTransfer rumors, news: Arsenal set for Rice talks to ward off Real Madrid interest5hESPNPutellas to Bayern; Paralluelo to Arsenal: Women's transfers we wish we'd seen1dYash ThakurChelsea are on the rise, but Arsenal remain kings of Premier League2dMark Ogden and James OlleyAnother game, more dropped points: Are Man United still a work in progress?
What happened
After Messi and Ronaldo proved wingers can do more than cross the ball, why are Premier League clubs paying so much for so little production? Among players classified by Transfermarkt as wingers, Premier League clubs have spent at least €40 million in transfer fees on 23 different players over the past three seasons. Why don't Premier League clubs care about goals anymore? Skip to main content Skip to navigation Genius or scouting flaw? Premier League teams seem like they've forgotten what their wingers are supposed to do.
The return of wingers who can't score goalsThe state of winger play in 2026 is best summed up by Manchester City's move for Iliman Ndiaye. The problem, though, is that the 17-minute video contains almost every goal that Ndiaye has scored in the Premier League over the past two seasons.
The wider picture
For as much as the Premier League has been modernized, hierarchical decision-making structures have been built, data has washed over the game, and the two greatest soccer players of the 21st century proved otherwise: clubs just can't quit it. 2dBeth LindopPremier League VAR review: Should Forest's goal have stood vs. Man United should put WSL on notice4dTom HamiltonTrue-cost ranking: The 50 most expensive Premier League transfers this summer4dRyan O'HanlonplayAre Arsenal building a Premier League dynasty? (1:03)Ryan O'HanlonSep 8, 2026, 03:57 AM ETCloseRyan O'Hanlon is a staff writer for ESPN. com.
The 26-year-old, French-born, Senegalese international is one of the best dribblers in the Premier League, if not the world. In the Premier League last season, 96 qualifying players put up better per-minute attacking numbers. Here's the list, ordered by the size of the fee:When scouting a player, there's a lot of noise behind the conversion of shots into goals and passes into goals. At the very least, when you're a Premier League team and you see a winger breaking that threshold, you should give the player a deeper look.
If we ignore the four wingers who moved from outside of Europe's Big Five top leagues, then we're left with 19 players.
What has been reported
Among players with at least 900 minutes of game time, 53 different Premier League players got there last year. 75 take-ons per 90 in the Premier League last season. Clubs have been much quicker to act on this data than they ever were with any of the numbers and models that attempt to connect themselves to scoring and preventing goals. It doesn't matter if these players don't score goals, rarely catch passes, or can't shoot straight. 3dAndy DaviesYamal already has 50 goals for Barcelona!
Depending on where you look and when, crosses get turned into goals somewhere between 1% and 3% of the time. So many dominant games from wingers ended up being exercises in frustration — his team would feed him the ball, he'd keep beating his man, and then the cross would inevitably lead to nothing. These types of wingers had never really existed before, but now they were more important than anyone else.
What happens next
Explosive athleticism, beguiling footwork, cannon-powered finishing, and lots of dribbling leading directly to goals. 25 non-penalty goals+assists per 90 minutes with the Toffees. He isn't the only expensive winger who dribbles past defenders for fun, blows up YouTube, and fails to turn it into goals, though. Expected goals and assists does a much better job of showing just how dangerous a player was around the goal since they take into account every shot and every pass a player makes.
Among the actual wingers who got consistent playing time, we're left with three — out of 19 — who were able to dribble past their defender and turn it into above-average production. And it's not even clear that the production — you know, the part where you turn your play into goals — drove any kind of premium. Enough teams have spent lots of money on these highlight-reel-but-no-end-product wingers over the past three seasons that it has to mean something.