With 19 Barclays Premier League goals in his first season at Blackburn Rovers, Roque Santa Cruz looks a bargain at £3.5million. In eight years at Bayern Munich, he averaged just five goals a season, but it now seems the 26 year-old has found a league with the style and pace to suit his own, writes Claire Harmer. 

Speaking after the Paraguayan scored twice against Derby County in last season's penultimate match, former Rovers manager Mark Hughes said: "His goals and performances speak for themselves. It's good that in his first season he has made so much of an impact."

With that ringing endorsement, it is no surprise that Hughes believes the striker is a better signing than Liverpool's Fernando Torres. "I think Roque was better value," said Hughes. "He was exactly what we needed. We got a great deal."

Fernando Torres left Atletico Madrid, the club he played for since the age of 11, last July saying: "A new beautiful adventure begins for me and I hope that with work and effort I can be among the best players."

The £26million man has certainly proved to be just that. At only 23, he has been a sensation at Liverpool. Forming a strong partnership with Reds captain Steven Gerrard, the Spaniard scored 24 Barclays Premier League goals, an impressive record bettered only by Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo.

His strike at Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the season saw him break the record of the most league goals scored by a foreign player in a debut English season - previously held by Ruud Van Nistelrooy with 23. The week before, he scored his eighth consecutive home league goal, against Manchester City, to equal Roger Hunt's club record. All in all, he scored 32 goals, but with 23 of those coming at Anfield, he will be looking to score more on the road next term.

"I had him as a 15-year-old kid and he scored goals every single week," said Harry Redknapp. "Hopefully he will bring us goals." With Jermain Defoe's arrival at Portsmouth, Redknapp once again proved his astuteness in the transfer market.

After a stop-start first half of the season with Tottenham Hotspur, Defoe made his £7.5million move in January, immediately becoming a hit with Pompey fans when he scored on his debut against Chelsea. He continued to impress, becoming the first Portsmouth player to score in his first five home matches. In 12 appearances he scored eight goals but, being cup-tied, experienced the disappointment of missing out on an FA Cup winners' medal.

His reward for an excellent end to the season was a call-up to the England side, where he scored twice in the win over Trinidad and Tobago. No doubt he will be eager to pick up next season where he left off, as the South-Coast side head to Europe looking to add to their trophy collection.

The relatively unknown Sagna joined Arsenal from Auxerre in July for £6.1million and made a solid start to his new life in the Barclays Premier League, making 29 appearances for the Gunners in his debut season at right-back.

He settled quickly into the Gunners defence, and his back-to-basics approach to defending was a major factor in Arsenal topping the table for so many months last season.

His superb first term saw him named in the PFA Team of the Year and earn a contract extension, keeping him at the Emirates Stadium until 2014. The modest Frenchman acknowledged his achievements: "I've tried to give my absolute best," he says. "Working hard has brought results."

When Phil Jagielka moved from Sheffield United to Everton for £4million he became the most expensive player ever to leave the Blades. Speaking of his new signing last July, David Moyes said: "He will bring competition for places and versatility."

Even Moyes may have been surprised at just how versatile the 25-year-old proved to be, as the midfielder-come-full-back spent most of the season playing as a centre-half.

Joseph Yobo's departure to the African Cup of Nations gave Jagielka the chance to claim a place in Everton's line-up. He forged a strong partnership with Joleon Lescott, later with Yobo, to help Everton through a hectic league and cup season, which saw them reach the semi finals of the Carling Cup and the last 16 of the UEFA Cup. Jagielka's performances caught the eye of England coach Fabio Capello and he earned his first full cap against Trinidad and Tobago in June.

Martin Petrov joined Manchester City last summer for £4.7million as part of the influx of new boys brought in by former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. His settled quickly at Eastlands after his move from Atletico Madrid, rapidly proving his worth with an influential role in City's 2-0 win away to West Ham United on the season's opening day.

He made 34 appearances, scoring five goals and setting up nine others. The Bulgarian winger impressed consistently throughout the season, making the most of his tremendous pace and physical attributes to shrug off defenders and make crucial runs up field.

The excitement was palpable around Old Trafford early last summer as Manchester United announced the signings of two of the Portuguese league's hottest prospects. The double swoop of Nani and Anderson cost the club more than £30m, but Brazil international Anderson appears to have been well worth his share of the fee as he sparkled in his debut English season.

The 19-year-old was given his big chance in October, filling in for the injured Paul Scholes. The breathtaking performances that followed led to Sir Alex Ferguson calling his starlet the world's best young player.

"The boy has definitely got something special," said Ferguson. "There was an urgency to get him once we'd scouted him. The reports we were getting were saying that he was the best young player in the world."

Having spent the two previous seasons plying his trade with Southampton in the Championship, Kenwyne Jones arrived at Sunderland with a point to prove. Tipped as the next Didier Drogba by Saints manager George Burley, the £6million Trinidad and Tobago international made his Black Cats debut against Manchester United in early September and scored his first Sunderland goal a fortnight later, in the 2-1 victory over Reading.

He made 33 appearances in the Barclays Premier League, scoring seven goals. Despite a fairly low goal return, his work ethic earned him high praise from manager Roy Keane.

"You often find the top strikers are not team players, they're just about goals," Keane said. "But Kenwyne isn't. In my eyes, he's the best striker in the Premier League." Jones has the opportunity to improve on his goal tally next season after being confirmed the club's designated penalty taker.

Nigerian international Yakubu began repaying his £11million transfer fee just 10 minutes into his Everton debut, when he scored in the 2-1 win against Bolton Wanderers in September. His switch from Middlesbrough made him Everton's most expensive ever signing, but he proved to be worth every penny as he scored a career-best 21 goals, becoming the first Toffees player to score more than 20 goals in a season since Peter Beardsley in 1992.

David Moyes has praised the striker, suggesting that much of Everton's good progress this season has been down to him. "He's scored 21 goals... an incredible total," said Moyes. "How important were those goals for us? It may have been the difference between finishing where we did or elsewhere."