Wayne Rooney names Xhaka and Ekitike as Premier League’s best signings

Wayne Rooney has named Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka and Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike as the two standout signings of the Premier League season, singling out both for their impact and influence during the 2025/26 campaign.

Speaking after Ekitike’s latest goalscoring display for Liverpool, Rooney argued that no other new arrivals have shaped games as consistently as the pair — despite their teams facing very different challenges across the season.

Wayne Rooney was reflecting on Liverpool’s win over Newcastle, in which Hugo Ekitike scored twice to take his league tally to 10 goals in 21 appearances.

But it was Ekitike’s overall profile — rather than just his output — that impressed Rooney, who paired him with Granit Xhaka when asked about the league’s best recruitment.

“Ekitike and Xhaka at Sunderland have probably been the two best signings in the Premier League,” Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show.

“I really enjoy watching Ekitike play. His second goal [against Newcastle] in particular was brilliant — it reminds me of Romário. A little toe-poke goal, but it’s instinctive.”

Rooney added that Ekitike’s versatility separates him from conventional forwards.

“He’s not a number nine, he’s not a number 10. He drifts out wide, he gets on the ball, brings players into the game and he can score goals. He’s got a bit of everything.”

Rooney’s admiration for Xhaka is not new. The former Arsenal midfielder has transformed Sunderland’s midfield since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, quickly becoming the heartbeat of Régis Le Bris’ side.

Earlier this season, Rooney went even further when discussing Sunderland’s recruitment.

“I feared for Sunderland at the start of the season,” he said last year.

“But the signings have been excellent. The energy and the quality they are playing with — it’s been very detailed from the owner and the manager.

“Xhaka has to be the signing of the season. I thought going into Sunderland he could struggle and that it wouldn’t be a good signing, but he has been incredible.”

That admission underlines how dramatically Xhaka has exceeded expectations on Wearside.

Xhaka is currently sidelined with an injury, though Sunderland remain confident of a relatively short absence. Head coach Régis Le Bris recently provided an update.

“Yes, he’s doing well,” Le Bris said. “He will have another assessment in around one week and from that point, we’ll see where he is to define the next stage of rehabilitation. So it should take probably three more weeks.”

Even during his absence, Xhaka’s influence on Sunderland’s structure and tempo remains obvious — a point Rooney’s comments only reinforce.

Rooney’s assessment cuts against easy narratives. One player has starred for the defending champions; the other has reshaped a newly ambitious Sunderland side. The common thread is impact, not reputation.

For both clubs, it also validates summer recruitment strategies that were questioned at the time. In Xhaka’s case especially, scepticism has been replaced by authority — the clearest sign that a signing has truly landed.