At the halfway point of the 2020-21 campaign, Goal evaluates how the game's top summer signings are getting on

At the end of a coronavirus-hit transfer window, Goal catalogued the biggest deals around Europe. Now, as we reach 2021, it's time to take a look at how those signings are faring for their new clubs. Getty20Nelson Semedo | Barcelona to Wolves | £27.5m/$35m

Wolves chairman Jeff Shi hailed the arrival of a "world-class player from a world-class club" when they took advantage of Barcelona's financial problems to land Nelson Semedo during the off-season.

The versatile Portugal right-back, who can also play on the wing, is already a first-team regular at Molineux, but fans may have been expecting a bit more from Semedo, an attack-minded player who has yet to register a single goal or assist, and created just nine chances.

At the halfway point of the season, Semedo does not look like an adequate replacement for Matt Doherty, who joined Tottenham in August.

AdvertisementGetty19Ollie Watkins | Brentford to Aston Villa | £28m/$36m

Eyebrows were raised when Aston Villa broke their transfer record to take Ollie Watkins out of the Championship, but the 24-year-old striker is already looking like an inspired signing.

Watkins has scored eight goals in all competitions, including a fine hat-trick in a sensational 7-2 rout of Premier League champions Liverpool, and is now being touted as a future England international.

Getty Images18Francisco Trincao | Braga to Barcelona | £28.3m/$37m

Barcelona announced the signing of Francisco Trincao back in January, but the move did not become official until July 1.

In a sense, the Blaugrana are still waiting for the Portugal international to truly arrive at Camp Nou. Trincao has made 19 appearances in all competitions but has no goals and just one assist to his name.

In the winger's defence, he has been afforded just four starts by Ronald Koeman and, at 21, he still has time to prove his worth. However, it is worth noting that the Pedri has made a much bigger impact in Catalunya this season and is three years younger than Trincao…

Getty17Hakim Ziyech | Ajax to Chelsea | £33.5m/$44m

Chelsea moved quickly to snap up Hakim Ziyech, agreeing a deal with Ajax for the Morocco international shortly after January transfer window shut.

His debut was then delayed by an injury picked up in pre-season, but the attacking midfielder proved to be worth the wait, scoring two goals on his first two starts for the Blues.

However, Ziyech has been once again sidelined with a hamstring problem and his return cannot come soon enough for under-pressure manager Frank Lampard, as Chelsea just do not look anything like as threatening without their chief creator on the pitch.