Eleven of the best Premier League debuts

The opening weekend of the 2025/26 season featured some eye-catching performances by new Premier League players. Here, Ben Bloom looks at some of the competition's best-ever debuts.

Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City)

Wolves 0-4 Man City, 16 August 2025

While Erling Haaland scoring two goals was a familiar sight, strikes from new boys Reijnders and Rayan Cherki ensured Man City had two players find the net on their Premier League debut in the same match for the first time in 18 years.

Box-to-box midfielder Reijnders, as summer signing from AC Milan, impressed from the outset at Molineux and stole the show with a goal and assist.

Reijnders' memorable display

Cherki was only given 17 minutes off the bench, but the recent arrival from Lyon scored from outside the box, to round off a comprehensive win on the eve of his 22nd birthday.

Cherki's brilliant debut goal

Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool)

Liverpool 4-2 AFC Bournemouth, 15 August 2025

Bought by the Premier League champions to replace Darwin Nunez, former Eintracht Frankfurt forward Ekitike wasted no time in displaying his capabilities in front of the Anfield faithful, scoring the first of Liverpool’s four goals with a composed finish eight minutes before half-time.

Ekitike's first PL goal

The Frenchman then set up Cody Gakpo soon after the break, becoming only the second Liverpool player ever to claim a goal and assist on his Premier League debut.

After causing all sorts of problems for the Bournemouth defence, Ekitike received a standing ovation when he was substituted on 71 minutes.

Erling Haaland (Man City)

West Ham United 0-2 Man City, 7 August 2022

Haaland effectively had his pick of any club in the world when he left Borussia Dortmund, so anticipation could not have been higher when he chose Man City.

He showed exactly why by scoring both goals in a facile win over a lacklustre West Ham side, scoring from the penalty spot and adding a second soon after the hour.

"He’s a guy with incredible talent," said Pep Guardiola afterwards. "He was born to score goals."

Within five games, Haaland would score two hat-tricks, on his way to a Premier League record of 36 goals in the season.

Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

Man Utd 3-2 Arsenal, 28 February 2016

Rashford’s professional career began with a truly extraordinary four-day period in early 2016 when the 18-year-old burst onto the senior stage in stunning fashion.

Having scored twice in the UEFA Europa League against Midtjylland on his first-team debut – replacing George Best as Man Utd’s youngest-ever scorer in European competition – Rashford followed up with two more goals and an assist in his first Premier League game to help the Red Devils beat Arsenal.

Man Utd manager Louis van Gaal described Rashford’s performance as "fantastic".

Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Wigan Athletic 0-2 Chelsea, 19 August 2012

Hazard had shone for some time in France when Chelsea brought him to London and handed him a Premier League debut against Wigan.

The Belgian provided the assist for Branislav Ivanovic’s opener after just two minutes, and then won the penalty for Frank Lampard to add a second goal five minutes later.

"He showed all his qualities," said Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo. "It was a pleasure to watch him."

Three days later, Hazard would provide two more assists in his first home Premier League match.

Michu (Swansea City)

Queens Park Rangers 0-5 Swansea, 18 August 2012

Michu had scored an impressive 17 goals from midfield for Spanish side Rayo Vallecano the season before joining Swansea and he immediately continued his scoring streak.

If a goalkeeping error aided his initial 25-yard opener against QPR, there was no such element of fortune about his second strike when he placed a beautiful first-time effort into the top corner from the edge of the box. He also hit the crossbar between his goals.

The Spaniard described his Premier League debut as "sensational", adding: "This is the way I dreamt it would be in this adventure."

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Manchester City 4-0 Swansea City, 15 August 2011

Aguero was given just 31 minutes to make his mark on his Premier League debut after a big-money move from Atletico Madrid and boy, did the substitute seize his chance.

It took the Argentinian only nine minutes after coming on to score his first goal, which he then followed by providing a wonderful flicked assist for David Silva. Not yet finished, Aguero added his second goal – and City’s fourth – with a 25-yard strike in stoppage time.

It was a spectacular debut, from a man who would go on to score 184 Premier League goals and 260 in all competitions for Man City, putting him 114 goals clear at the top of the club's all-time goalscorers list.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd)

Man Utd 4-0 Bolton Wanderers, 16 August 2003

The football world did not yet know that Ronaldo would become one of the all-time greats when he came off the bench in the second half of Man Utd's season opener against Bolton in 2003.

The hosts were 1-0 up at that point, but evolved into an entirely different outfit after Ronaldo’s introduction, with his scintillating performance inspiring three more goals.

Man Utd legend George Best described it as "the most exciting debut performance I’ve ever seen", adding: "There have been a few players described as ‘the new George Best’ over the years, but this is the first time it’s been a compliment to me."

Watch some of the best Premier League debuts

Ruud van Nistelrooy (Man Utd)

Man Utd 3-2 Fulham, 19 August 2001

Van Nistelrooy had been on the cusp of moving to Man Utd a year earlier, only for a serious injury to delay matters until the following summer.

Belatedly, the Dutchman did head to Old Trafford and spared the champions’ blushes against newly-promoted Fulham on the opening day of the season.

The visitors twice went ahead but Van Nistelrooy scored two goals in three minutes to secure victory. He would go on to score 23 league goals that season, including in a run of eight consecutive games at the turn of the year.

Fabrizio Ravanelli (Middlesbrough)

Middlesbrough 3-3 Liverpool, 17 August 1996

Middlesbrough pulled off quite the coup when they secured the services of Ravanelli, just a couple of months after the Italian had scored to help Juventus beat Ajax in the UEFA Champions League final.

His impact was instant, scoring a wonderful hat-trick on the opening day of the season as Middlesbrough came from behind on three separate occasions to draw 3-3 against Liverpool.

Middlesbrough would go on to make history as the first team to make both major cup finals (FA Cup and EFL Cup) while also suffering relegation, prompting Ravanelli's departure after one season.

Jurgen Klinsmann (Tottenham Hotspur)

Sheffield Wednesday 3-4 Spurs, 20 August 1994

When Klinsmann arrived in north London, he did so with a reputation as a diver, which the Sheffield Wednesday fans were quick to remind him of in their opening game of the season.

Ever the joker, Klinsmann embraced the mockery when he scored Spurs’ fourth goal and duly celebrated by diving head-first to the ground. It was an act that won him fans across the country.

However, his maiden Premier League outing did not last much longer, as he departed the pitch on a stretcher after a clash of heads that knocked him out.