The Premier League's £3.19BILLION summer gamble: Which of the top 11 big-money signings are paying off for Man United, Liverpool and Co?

One thing that was not in short supply for Premier League clubs this summer was money.

By the time the transfer window had drawn to a close late on September 1, Premier League spending had soared to a record-shattering £3.19billion on new signings.

That figure - more than Bundesliga, LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A clubs spent combined - included Liverpool spending £415m, Chelsea spending £285m, Arsenal splashing out £255m and Manchester United dropping £216m on new faces.

But have the top 11 - Joao Pedro and Martin Zubimendi both cost £60m - most expensive signings hit the ground running? And how do they rank? Daily Mail Sport takes a closer look…

1. HUGO EKITIKE (£79m, Liverpool)

Top of the pile is a player that has not missed a beat since coming to England for an enormous price tag of £79m.

A flurry of early goals saw Ekitike become the first player since Daniel Sturridge in January 2013 to score in his first three Liverpool appearances.

Ekitike racing out the blocks in front of goals totally removed any headroom for scrutiny on whether the young Frenchman could hack English football.

Four goal involvements from six Premier League games shows he's absolutely ready for the demands of the English top flight.

He has answered the call during a tough start to the season for Liverpool and he has presented Arne Slot with a dilemma given he is playing better than striker competition Alexander Isak.

Ekitike offers so much in his build-up play, runs the channels really well and is clinical in front of goal. A big win for Liverpool's recruitment team.

2. NICK WOLTEMADE (£69m, Newcastle United)

Filling the shoes of Alexander Isak - prior to the souring of his relationship with supporters - was never going to be an easy task but Nick Woltemade looks ready to take on the challenge.

The way in which he thrashed a penalty into the corner on Sunday against Nottingham Forest showed that Woltemade wants the spotlight and pressure that comes with leading the line at one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League.

That goal means he is only the third Newcastle player to score in their first three league games at St James' Park after Alan Shearer (96/97) and Les Ferdinand (95/96). Pretty esteemed company to be keeping this early on in the North East.

Newcastle United were labelled as idiots by Bayern Munich board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge for paying £69m for Woltemade.

The truth is, Woltemade is a unique profile of player that looks like he's only just scratching the surface under Eddie Howe.

If his current trajectory continues, there will be plenty of idiots when it comes to the Woltemade move but it won't be Newcastle, it will be those who missed out on him.

3. MARTIN ZUBIMENDI (£60m, Arsenal)

Watching Martin Zubimendi play football feels a real treat.

Mikel Arteta had been searching for another piece of the puzzle in midfield and he looks to have found it in Zubimendi, a player who casually glides through games and yet still dominates his opponent.

To underline his growing importance in this title-chasing Arsenal side, Zubimendi played more line-breaking passes (11) than any other player on the pitch against West Ham - and two would go on to result in goals.

'We knew that he had the quality but to do that, to fulfil the role immediately in a big club like this one, surrounded by players with the opposition that you face every week, very difficult to do and I think he's going in the right trajectory and helping the team a lot,' Arteta said of Zubimendi, who has been nominated for back-to-back Arsenal Player of the Month awards.

4. EBERECHI EZE (£67.5m, Arsenal)

Arsenal's new No 10 feels like one of the most important signings of the summer in terms of the Gunners feeling previously like they were one piece away.

Even with fitness concerns over captain Martin Odegaard, the arrival of Eze, and the start he has made, has injected positivity into Arsenal.

His versatility appealed to Mikel Arteta and he has already played as a No 8 midfielder since joining from Crystal Palace, a role he may have to get used to if Odegaard is sidelined for the foreseeable.

Despite not scoring yet in the Premier League for Arsenal, all the fundamentals are right there: dribbling, speed, passing range, mentality, the lot.

'I've only just started at Arsenal and I feel like I'm being pushed and my mind is being stretched, and for me that's where I want to be,' Eze said recently.

'Mikel just considers details that you are just not. He sees me out on the training pitch and says something that I haven't even thought about or considered, and the moment I apply it and put it in to practice I realise the difference it makes. That's the type of person you want to work with because you are going to get the best out of yourself.'

Invest in Arsenal Eze stocks now.

5. BRYAN MBEUMO (£71m, Manchester United)

Despite having just one goal and one assist from seven Premier League games so far, much of what Bryan Mbeumo has done well extends well beyond the numbers.

The eye test with Mbeumo is a huge positive for Ruben Amorim and his staff with the £71million summer signing from Brentford a threat in every game they have played.

His assist for Mason Mount's opener versus Sunderland means that Mbeumo has been directly involved in more goals this season (3) than any other Manchester United player.

'If you look at Bryan, in those moments when we are struggling, you feel a different guy compared to the rest of the team,' Amorim said of the Cameroonian recently.

The United shirt doesn't weigh heavy on Mbeumo like it has many of his predecessors - Jadon Sancho and Antony two examples.  

6. VIKTOR GYOKERES (£64m, Arsenal)

A signing that appears to have split the fanbase in terms of whether or not it has been value for money so far.

Arsenal have been crying out for a recognised centre forward for some time now in a bid to secure Arteta a Premier League title.

Gyokeres is doing a lot of work off the ball to open things up for team-mates but his lack of goals in big games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle United has raised the alarm in some quarters.

His lack of a proper pre-season is clearly having an impact and Kai Havertz's injury means he is perhaps playing more than Arteta planned for early on.

He has three goals across all competitions this season - one of which was a penalty - and it's safe to say more is expected.

'I think Viktor's playing really, really well,' team-mat Bukayo Saka said after the win over West Ham.

'There's no doubt he's going to score goals. What he's bringing to this team, us as his team-mates, we're so grateful for what he does - how he holds the ball, how he makes the runs, the threat he gives us.

'He's a big part of the reason why we're winning these games. His goals will come. We know that, we believe that and we believe in him. I don't think there's any doubts. He's still up, he's still happy and he's still giving his best every game.'

Until he does, the detractors won't go away. Gyokeres still has plenty to prove.

7. JOAO PEDRO (£60m, Chelsea)

Scoring five goals in five pre-season games for Chelsea ensured the Joao Pedro hype train left the station at super speed.

But the truth is, Pedro has gone missing in games far more than he has been in them in the Premier League this season.

Five times this season - all when he has played as a No 9 - he has failed to register a single shot on target, playing at least 73 minutes in all of those games.

He has five goal involvements in the league this season - two goals and three assists - which is why he is above the players ranked lower, even if three of those goal involvements came in the same game versus West Ham.

Pedro's form should spike in the right direction when Liam Delap returns to fitness and Pedro can go back to playing in his preferred No 10 role.

Playing centre forward is hurting the player and the team as he continually loses a match-leading number of duels, as happened against Manchester United and Brighton.

Play in his correct possession and Pedro will come good.

8. BENJAMIN SESKO (£73.3m, Manchester United)

Leading the line for Manchester United, and the amount of scrutiny that comes with it, is a not a task for the weak.

At 22, coming to a new league and into a team that has struggled badly for the past 12 months, it's even trickier.

But Sesko has shown no signs at all of wilting under that spotlight as he made it back-to-back Premier League goals at the weekend when he converted for 2-0 against Sunderland.

Sesko is one of the easiest targets for ridicule but for those who watch him closely, intense criticism is way off the mark. 

His link-up play, particularly with Mbeumo, looks very promising but he knows as well as anyone that he will mostly be judged a success or failure by many based on his goal return and not his neat and tidy hold-up play.

'There's loads to come,' he told MUTV at the weekend.

'I'm still getting used to it more and more to read the players, to be connected with them even more. I believe I can be even better and I will try to show that.'

9. ALEXANDER ISAK (£125m, Liverpool)

A thoroughly underwhelming start at Liverpool for Alexander Isak is one laced with caveats.

His hold-out against Newcastle United in pre-season - his own doing, no sympathy here - appears to have had a knock-on effect to his performances.

Isak is yet to score a Premier League goal for Liverpool this season from 181 minutes of action and given his record £125m price tag, mockery will come with every passing minute that run continues.

The Swede is not up to speed and is playing for a team that doesn't yet know how to best integrate him into the side, much like Florian Wirtz (we're coming on to him). Isak knows too that his current performances are way off the level we have come to expect.

'I feel good. I've been working hard to get back to my best,' Isak told LFC TV after losing at Chelsea. 

'Still working to get back to my best form but it was good to play out there again today. I was hoping for a different result but we keep working. I'm very excited for the whole season ahead.'

10. MATHEUS CUNHA (£62.5m, Manchester United)

The signing of Matheus Cunha was an absolute priority for Ruben Amorim and Manchester United in the summer.

Amorim loves him and the 'crazy' type of character that he adds to the dressing room.

But by Cunha's lofty standards, his start to life at Manchester United is still waiting for his 'I've arrived' moment.

Injuries haven't helped, taking a short time out of the side after going down against Burnley, and he is yet to record a goal or assist through 6 games and 351 minutes of Premier League football.

His versatility appeals given he can play wide left, as a striker, or deeper in midfield, but it is taking Cunha a bit of time to work out how to best co-exist in similar spaces occupied by Bruno Fernandes.

Has a real battle on his hands to be a starter with Mason Mount's form ascending.

11. FLORIAN WIRTZ (£116m, Liverpool)

Bottom of the class… and by some distance.

Wirtz is not a bad player - that's obvious when you move clubs for £116million.

But in a bid to get him into this team, Liverpool's side has lost balance and, ultimately, lost its way.

Gary Neville labelled Wirtz as 'immature' against Chelsea, Jamie Carragher urged Arne Slot to drop the Germany international and Wayne Rooney has also stuck the boot in.

Wirtz has been a big disappointment largely because the manager is not setting him up to succeed. He is picking the ball up too often in his own half and has shown in Germany he is far more effective out wide than playing the central attacking role Slot has him playing.

The biggest criticism that can be levelled against Wirtz is that he looks to have been caught out by the speed and physicality of the Premier League after coming in from the Bundesliga.

'When I have the ball, I might be lacking a little bit,' he said in a recent Sky Sports Germany interview.

'That it will simply come step by step, as I play more games, get fitter, be able to do things more easily, and then, when I have the ball, be fit enough and recovered enough to push hard.'

There is no sugarcoating this has been a bad start and the pundit pile on hasn't helped… but Wirtz must now help himself to kickstart his Liverpool career before the season gets away from him.