The Premier League has been home to some of the biggest stars in the world.

Most clubs pride themselves on being able to nurture and grow talented youngsters into world-beaters but in reality, many have bought big-name players from elsewhere.

But who are the greatest signings in top-flight history? Well, ESPN have attempted to answer that question, by ranking the top 50. 

To do that, they set out certain criteria - which was: 

  • Players must have been purchased while the club was in the Premier League
  • Players must have established themselves in senior football before joining
  • Loans have been excluded
  • Only accomplishments at the Premier League club count towards the rankings

Does all that make sense? Good. Let's jump into ESPN's 50 greatest Premier League signings of all-time. 

50) Darren Anderton | Tottenham (Signed from Portsmouth for £2.4m, 1992)

49) Wilfried Zaha | Crystal Palace (Signed from Man Utd for £3.5m, 2015)

48) Teddy Sheringham | Tottenham (Signed from Nottingham Forest for £2.8m, 1992)

47) Paolo Di Canio | West Ham (Signed from Sheffield Wednesday for £2m, 1998)

46) Luka Modric | Tottenham Hotspur (Signed from Dinamo Zagreb for £18.9m, 2008)

45) Lucas Radebe | Leeds United (Signed from Kaizer Chiefs for £338,000 with Phil Masinga, 1994)

44) Sadio Mane | Liverpool (Signed from Southampton for £37.1m, 2016)

43) Robin van Persie | Arsenal (Signed from Feyenoord for £4.1m, 2004)

42) N'Golo Kante | Leicester City (Signed from Caen for £8.1m, 2015)

41) Diego Costa | Chelsea (Signed from Atletico Madrid for £34.2m, 2014)

40) Raheem Sterling | Manchester City (Signed from Liverpool for £57.3m, 2016)

39) Freddie Ljungberg | Arsenal (Signed from Halmstad for £4.1m, 1998)

38) Xabi Alonso | Liverpool (Signed from Real Sociedad for £14.4m, 2004)

37) Claude Makelele | Chelsea (Signed from Real Madrid for £18m, 2003)

36) Juninho | Middlesbrough (Signed from Sao Paulo for £5m, 1995)

35) Yaya Toure | Manchester City (Signed from Barcelona for £27m, 2010)

34) Andy Cole | Manchester United (Signed from Newcastle for £8.6m and Keith Gillespie, 1995)

33) Jay-Jay Okocha | Bolton (Signed from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, 2002)

32) Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | Manchester United (Signed from Molde for £2.3m, 1996)

31) Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City (Signed from Wolfsburg for £68.4m, 2015)

30) Ashley Cole | Chelsea (Signed from Arsenal for £6.7m and William Gallas, 2006) 

29) Fernandinho | Manchester City (Signed from Shakhtar for £36m, 2013)

28) Pablo Zabaleta | Manchester City (Signed from Espanyol for £7.8m, 2008)

27) Robert Pires | Arsenal (Signed from Marseille for £8.8m, 2000)

26) Alan Shearer | Newcastle (Signed from Blackburn for £18.9m, 1996)

25) Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool (Signed from Inter Milan for £11.7m, 2013)

24) Petr Cech | Chelsea (Signed from Rennes for £11.7m, 2004)

23) Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United (Signed from PSV for £25.7m, 2001)

22) Michael Carrick | Manchester United (Signed from Spurs for £24.5m, 2006)

21) Nemanja Vidic | Manchester United (Signed from Spartak Moscow for £9.5m, 2006)

20) Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool (Signed from Southampton for £76.2m, 2018)

19) Gianfranco Zola | Chelsea (Signed from Parma for £5.6m, 1997)

18) Luis Suarez | Liverpool (Signed from Ajax for £23.9m, 2011)

17) Mohamed Salah | Liverpool (Signed from Roma for £37.8m, 2017)

16) Gareth Bale | Tottenham (Signed from Southampton for £13.2m, 2007)

15) Vincent Kompany | Manchester City (Signed from Hamburger for £7.7m, 2008)

14) Alan Shearer | Blackburn Rovers (Signed from Southampton for £4.1m, 1992)

13) David Silva | Manchester City (Signed from Valencia for £25.9m, 2010)

12) Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal (Signed from Inter Milan for £10.1m, 1995)

11) Rio Ferdinand | Manchester United (Signed from Leeds United for £41.4m, 2002)

10) Didier Drogba | Chelsea (Signed from Marseille for £34.7m, 2004)

9) Roy Keane | Manchester United (Signed from Nottingham Forest for £7.7m, 1993)

8) Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United (Signed from Sporting Lisbon for £17.1m, 2003)

7) Wayne Rooney | Manchester United (Signed from Everton for £33.3m, 2004)

6) Eric Cantona | Manchester United (Signed from Leeds United for £1.6m, 1992)

5) Eden Hazard | Chelsea (Signed from Lille for £31.5m, 2012)

4) Sergio Aguero | Manchester City (Signed from Atletico Madrid for £36m, 2011)

3) Patrick Vieira | Arsenal (Signed from AC Milan for £4.8m, 1996)

2) Frank Lampard | Chelsea (Signed from West Ham United for £14.4m, 2001)

1) Thierry Henry | Arsenal (Signed from Juventus for £14.5m, 1999) 

What a list of players that is. It's actually very hard to argue with ESPN naming Henry as the greatest Premier League signing of all-time. 

After all, he achieved so much in north London, firing the Gunners to their 'Invincibles' season while winning five other major honours. 

But there are some questionable rankings. The all-time top scorer - Shearer - is only fourth on the list, while Chelsea legend Drogba somehow only makes 10th. 

Of course, rankings like these are all down to opinion and ESPN have outlined their criteria - so their list is easily justified.