Executive Summary
29%
Clubs' average hit rate
In total we identified 210 real signings by the clubs of Premiership in the 2025/26 season — academy promotions, loan returns, internal moves and transfers that never went through are excluded. Of these, 200 are included in the hit-rate calculation; 10 are youth investments (under-23 with no game time), classified separately. Signings without relevant minutes in the season count as unsuccessful.
League Analysis
Champions Celtic posted a hit rate of 50% on signings (13 evaluated), holding 4th place in the accuracy ranking. The bottom four in the table had an average hit rate of 6% on signings — below the league average (29%), highlighting the link between recruitment quality and sporting performance.
Rangers leads the accuracy ranking with 62% and Dunfermline closes the list with 0%. p. over the clubs' decisions).
Club Ranking
| Club | League position | Signings | Evaluated | Successful | Fair | Unsuccessful | Hit rate % | SigningLab* |
|---|
| 1 | Rangers | 3º | 17 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 62% | 76% |
| 2 | Hibernian | 5º | 13 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 58% | 75% |
| 3 | Heart Of Midlothian | 2º | 14 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 58% | 69% |
| 4 | Celtic | 1º | 13 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 50% | 85% |
| 5 | Motherwell | 4º | 12 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 46% | 83% |
| 6 | Kilmarnock | 10º | 21 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 33% | 81% |
| 7 | Aberdeen | 9º | 15 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 30% | 87% |
| 8 | Dundee Utd | 7º | 15 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 27% | 100% |
| 9 | Livingston | 12º | 28 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 22% | 88% |
| 10 | Falkirk | 6º | 22 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 20% | 91% |
| 11 | ST Mirren | 11º | 14 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 15% | 85% |
| 12 | Dundee | 8º | 13 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 12% | 92% |
| 13 | Partick | 13º | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0% | 100% |
| 14 | Arbroath | 15º | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% | 100% |
| 15 | Dunfermline | 14º | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% | 100% |
* SigningLab: hit rate of SigningLab’s verdicts (recommend or not recommend) on each club’s evaluated signings, projected at the time of signing.
The difference between Signings and Evaluated are youth investments (under-23 with no game time in the season), classified separately. Signings without relevant minutes are unsuccessful (Did not deliver).
Season Highlights
The ten signings with the greatest technical impact of the season, according to the Player Impact Score (PIS).
| Player | Club | Pos | Min | G+A | Avg rating | Rating | SigningLab |
|---|
| Emmanuel Fernandez | Rangers | D | 2267 | 5+0 | 6.00 | Excellent |
| Elliot Watt | Motherwell | M | 2900 | 6+3 | 7.56 | Excellent |
| Benjamin Nygren | Celtic | F | 2545 | 16+5 | 7.16 | Excellent |
| Kieran Tierney | Celtic | D | 2515 | 6+8 | 6.89 | Excellent |
| Marc Leonard | Heart Of Midlothian | M | 1124 | 1+3 | 7.63 | Excellent |
| Stuart Findlay | Heart Of Midlothian | D | 3029 | 5+1 | 7.16 | Excellent |
| Miguel Freckleton | ST Mirren | D | 3285 | 4+1 | 6.92 | Excellent |
| Jamie McGrath | Hibernian | M | 2399 | 8+4 | 7.07 | Excellent |
| Andreas Skov Olsen | Rangers | F | 498 | 1+3 | 4.13 | Good |
| Elijah Just | Motherwell | M | 2698 | 7+7 | 6.91 | Excellent |
Methodology
Club assessment — the universe of signings
The report considers exclusively genuine signings for the first-team squad, identified by the player's effective incorporation into the group between seasons. Excluded from the universe are: academy promotions, loan returns, internal administrative moves and transfers recorded but never completed. The aim is to measure the quality of market decisions — and those alone.
Player Impact Score (PIS)
Each evaluated signing receives a score from 0 to 100 that combines four observable technical dimensions: individual performance (average match ratings over the season), output (goals, assists and decisive actions adjusted for game time), collective performance (starting status and correlation with the club's results) and availability (volume of matches, adjusted for interruptions). High-impact players with reduced game time are promoted through an alternative efficiency criterion.
Outcome classification
The rating tiers are: Excellent and Good (successful signings — a full point in the index), Fair (intermediate performance — half a point) and Below expectations / Did not deliver (unsuccessful signings). Two categories sit outside the calculation, for distinct reasons: Injury (a serious injury prevented a fair assessment) and Investment (an under-23 player with low game time — the return depends on development and cannot be counted for or against the club in this cycle). Signings that did not reach relevant game time in the season are classified as unsuccessful, reflecting the sporting cost of the decision.
A note on scope
This is SigningLab's public, simplified model, developed for transparent retrospective market assessment. SigningLab's commercial solutions for partner clubs use a substantially larger set of variables and dedicated predictive mechanisms, and are not fully reflected in this document.
Appendix — Signings by club
* Youth investment (under-23, no game time in the season) — outside the hit-rate calculation.
Aberdeen (15 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Stuart Armstrong | 29 | 2080 | 2 | 5 | Fair |
| Jesper Karlsson | 18 | 1291 | 5 | 0 | Good |
| Adil Aouchiche | 22 | 1280 | 3 | 0 | Fair |
| Liam Morrison | 14 | 1102 | 1 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Marko Lazetić | 32 | 1054 | 4 | 1 | Did not deliver |
| Toyosi Olusanya | 16 | 1043 | 2 | 2 | Fair |
| Dennis Geiger | 12 | 912 | 1 | 1 | Fair |
| Lyall Cameron | 15 | 877 | 0 | 1 | Fair |
| Afeez Aremu | 13 | 635 | 1 | 1 | Fair |
| Nicolas Milanović | 26 | 550 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Per Kristian Bråtveit | 12 | 450 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Tom McIntyre | 3 | 224 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Kusini Yengi | 6 | 185 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Nick Suman | 25 | 90 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Elvis Bwomono | 6 | 30 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Arbroath (4 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Ross Callachan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Taylor Steven | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Luke Kenny * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Investment |
| Callum Penman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Celtic (13 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Benjamin Nygren | 38 | 2545 | 16 | 5 | Excellent |
| Kieran Tierney | 37 | 2515 | 6 | 8 | Excellent |
| Sebastian Tounekti | 29 | 1515 | 2 | 2 | Fair |
| Julian Araujo | 10 | 788 | 1 | 0 | Fair |
| Marcelo Saracchi | 24 | 668 | 1 | 2 | Good |
| Tomáš Čvančara | 10 | 530 | 2 | 1 | Below expectations |
| Kelechi Iheanacho | 15 | 494 | 5 | 0 | Good |
| Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 14 | 425 | 2 | 0 | Fair |
| Shin Yamada | 12 | 243 | 0 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Michel Ange Balikwisha | 12 | 236 | 0 | 1 | Good |
| Chukwubuike Adamu | 6 | 134 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Hayato Inamura | 2 | 90 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Ross Doohan | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Dundee (13 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Drey Wright | 37 | 3006 | 2 | 2 | Fair |
| Ethan Hamilton | 33 | 2956 | 1 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Cameron Congreve | 34 | 2594 | 3 | 6 | Fair |
| Yan Dhanda | 29 | 2154 | 2 | 0 | Fair |
| Callum Jones | 36 | 1309 | 1 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Paul Digby | 25 | 715 | 0 | 1 | Below expectations |
| Brad Halliday | 15 | 674 | 0 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Kieran O'Hara | 32 | 294 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Scott Wright | 10 | 287 | 1 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Emile Acquah | 22 | 282 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Lewis Montsma | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Víctor López * | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Investment |
| Plamen Galabov | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Dundee Utd (15 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Krisztián Keresztes | 37 | 2884 | 3 | 0 | Fair |
| Zachary Sapsford | 38 | 2653 | 9 | 2 | Fair |
| Iurie Iovu | 35 | 2252 | 0 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Amar Ahmed | 30 | 1863 | 8 | 3 | Good |
| Panutche Camará | 29 | 1747 | 0 | 2 | Fair |
| Bert Esselink | 30 | 1631 | 1 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Max Watters | 27 | 1344 | 2 | 3 | Did not deliver |
| Yevhenii Kucherenko | 13 | 1080 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Ivan Dolček | 35 | 1014 | 5 | 2 | Fair |
| Neil Farrugia | 15 | 889 | 0 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Ashley Maynard Brewer | 10 | 868 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Nikolaj Möller | 22 | 785 | 0 | 2 | Did not deliver |
| Julius Eskesen | 30 | 437 | 1 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Johnny Russell | 7 | 162 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Isaac Pappoe | 1 | 83 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Dunfermline (5 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| André Raymond | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Alfons Amade | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Robbie Fraser | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Jefferson Caceres * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Investment |
| Ephraim Yeboah * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Investment |
Falkirk (22 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Brad Spencer | 38 | 3220 | 0 | 2 | Fair |
| Liam Henderson | 34 | 3002 | 1 | 0 | Fair |
| Calvin Miller | 38 | 2902 | 7 | 9 | Good |
| Scott Bain | 32 | 2864 | 0 | 0 | Good |
| Leon McCann | 31 | 2146 | 0 | 3 | Fair |
| Lewis Neilson | 20 | 1283 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Ethan Ross | 31 | 911 | 1 | 1 | Did not deliver |
| Ross Maclver | 18 | 751 | 3 | 1 | Fair |
| Brian Graham | 25 | 731 | 4 | 0 | Fair |
| Nicky Hogarth | 38 | 556 | 0 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Coll Donaldson | 19 | 547 | 0 | 1 | Below expectations |
| Alfie Agyeman | 20 | 543 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Scott Arfield | 18 | 478 | 1 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Sam Hart | 19 | 387 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Aidan Nesbitt | 9 | 95 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Gary Oliver | 17 | 90 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Sean Mackie | 2 | 45 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Ryan Edwards | 8 | 33 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Tom Lang | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Rick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Jamie Sneddon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Eamonn Brophy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Heart Of Midlothian (14 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Stuart Findlay | 34 | 3029 | 5 | 1 | Excellent |
| Cláudio Braga | 38 | 2899 | 14 | 3 | Good |
| Alexander Schwolow | 33 | 2840 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Alexandros Kyziridis | 38 | 2802 | 4 | 7 | Excellent |
| Oisin McEntee | 28 | 2022 | 2 | 3 | Good |
| Tomas Magnusson | 30 | 1270 | 3 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Pierre Landry Kabore | 31 | 1187 | 5 | 2 | Fair |
| Marc Leonard | 13 | 1124 | 1 | 3 | Excellent |
| Jordi Altena | 19 | 580 | 0 | 1 | Fair |
| Islam Chesnokov | 15 | 417 | 1 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Sabah Kerjota | 33 | 241 | 0 | 2 | Fair |
| Christian Borchgrevink | 13 | 200 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Ageu | 9 | 131 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Rogers Mato * | 11 | 24 | 0 | 0 | Investment |
Hibernian (13 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Raphael Sallinger | 37 | 2894 | 0 | 0 | Good |
| Daniel Barlaser | 35 | 2559 | 0 | 3 | Fair |
| Jamie McGrath | 34 | 2399 | 8 | 4 | Excellent |
| Grant Hanley | 28 | 1932 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Josh Mulligan | 24 | 1902 | 1 | 5 | Good |
| Miguel Changa Chaiwa | 28 | 1884 | 1 | 0 | Fair |
| Felix Passlack | 13 | 1111 | 2 | 3 | Fair |
| Thibault Klidje | 20 | 743 | 3 | 1 | Fair |
| Dane Scarlett | 15 | 515 | 1 | 1 | Did not deliver |
| Ante Šuto | 14 | 428 | 4 | 1 | Good |
| Kai Andrews | 14 | 305 | 1 | 1 | Fair |
| Munashe Garananga | 6 | 169 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Zach Mitchell * | 11 | 128 | 0 | 1 | Investment |
Kilmarnock (21 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Dominic Thompson | 37 | 2644 | 0 | 3 | Below expectations |
| Greg Kiltie | 36 | 2303 | 4 | 7 | Fair |
| George Stanger | 34 | 1692 | 2 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Michael Schjønning-Larsen | 18 | 1260 | 2 | 1 | Fair |
| Tom Lowery | 26 | 1221 | 1 | 1 | Below expectations |
| James Brown | 17 | 1204 | 0 | 2 | Below expectations |
| Tyreece John-Jules | 18 | 1151 | 8 | 2 | Good |
| Marcus Dackers | 27 | 1149 | 2 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Joe Hugill | 15 | 1091 | 8 | 2 | Good |
| Max Stryjek | 22 | 1080 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Toby Oluwayemi | 13 | 1080 | 0 | 0 | Good |
| Findlay Curtis | 14 | 1076 | 5 | 1 | Excellent |
| Kelle Roos | 12 | 990 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Aaron Tshibola | 14 | 886 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Jamie Brandon | 14 | 681 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Scott Tiffoney | 15 | 572 | 1 | 1 | Did not deliver |
| Jack Thomson | 20 | 441 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Djenairo Daniels | 7 | 328 | 2 | 0 | Fair |
| Eddie Beach | 23 | 270 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Nicky Cleșcenco | 12 | 245 | 1 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Kieran Wright | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Livingston (28 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Jérôme Prior | 38 | 3420 | 0 | 1 | Good |
| Daniel Finlayson | 35 | 3099 | 0 | 1 | Fair |
| Danny Wilson | 36 | 2687 | 1 | 0 | Fair |
| Macaulay Tait | 35 | 2458 | 0 | 3 | Did not deliver |
| Mohammad Sylla | 34 | 2204 | 1 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Lewis Smith | 37 | 2055 | 7 | 2 | Fair |
| Ryan McGowan | 27 | 1860 | 0 | 1 | Fair |
| Robbie Muirhead | 38 | 1566 | 5 | 2 | Below expectations |
| Brooklyn Kabongolo | 21 | 1205 | 2 | 0 | Good |
| Jeremy Bokila | 29 | 901 | 5 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Joshua Brenet | 14 | 884 | 0 | 1 | Fair |
| Connor McLennan | 18 | 768 | 3 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Cammy Kerr | 17 | 730 | 0 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Adam Montgomery | 8 | 651 | 0 | 1 | Did not deliver |
| Emmanuel Danso | 18 | 574 | 0 | 1 | Below expectations |
| Scott Arfield | 11 | 351 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Barrie McKay | 11 | 286 | 0 | 2 | Good |
| Shane Blaney | 7 | 243 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Graham Carey | 16 | 170 | 1 | 1 | Did not deliver |
| Joshua Zimmerman | 11 | 155 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Alex Matthias Tamm | 8 | 54 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Aidan Denholm * | 3 | 48 | 0 | 0 | Investment |
| Zak Rudden | 2 | 45 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Jannik Wanner | 7 | 23 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Junior Robinson * | 8 | 14 | 0 | 0 | Investment |
| Jamie Smith * | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Investment |
| Meshack Ubochioma | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Robbie Fraser | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Motherwell (12 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Calum Ward | 37 | 3330 | 0 | 0 | Good |
| Lukas Fadinger | 35 | 2917 | 3 | 2 | Fair |
| Elliot Watt | 34 | 2900 | 6 | 3 | Excellent |
| Emmanuel Longelo | 37 | 2733 | 8 | 4 | Fair |
| Elijah Just | 36 | 2698 | 7 | 7 | Excellent |
| Stephen Welsh | 28 | 2282 | 1 | 1 | Excellent |
| Ibrahim Said | 38 | 2252 | 3 | 0 | Fair |
| Oscar Priestman | 35 | 1126 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Regan Charles-Cook | 25 | 833 | 0 | 2 | Did not deliver |
| Callum Hendry | 21 | 779 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Jordan McGhee | 14 | 85 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Rick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Partick (4 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Josh Reid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Alex Samuel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Tony Watt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Sean Kelly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
Rangers (17 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Djeidi Gassama | 38 | 2434 | 3 | 5 | Good |
| Emmanuel Fernandez | 31 | 2267 | 5 | 0 | Excellent |
| Mikey Moore | 33 | 2170 | 7 | 3 | Fair |
| Jayden Meghoma | 35 | 2095 | 1 | 4 | Below expectations |
| Youssef Chermiti | 30 | 1973 | 15 | 5 | Good |
| Nasser Djiga | 32 | 1949 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
| Thelo Aasgaard | 36 | 1828 | 7 | 4 | Good |
| Bojan Miovski | 32 | 1332 | 7 | 1 | Fair |
| Tochi Chukwuani | 16 | 1023 | 2 | 0 | Fair |
| Max Aarons | 32 | 853 | 1 | 0 | Fair |
| Tuur Rommens | 11 | 714 | 1 | 2 | Good |
| Oliver Antman | 25 | 700 | 1 | 3 | Good |
| Derek Cornelius | 7 | 559 | 1 | 1 | Fair |
| Andreas Skov Olsen | 15 | 498 | 1 | 3 | Good |
| Ryan Don Naderi | 9 | 459 | 1 | 1 | Did not deliver |
| Joe Rothwell | 11 | 412 | 0 | 1 | Below expectations |
| Lyall Cameron | 14 | 200 | 0 | 0 | Fair |
ST Mirren (14 signings)
| Player | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Rating |
|---|
| Miguel Freckleton | 38 | 3285 | 4 | 1 | Excellent |
| Shamal George | 33 | 2888 | 0 | 1 | Fair |
| Richard King | 38 | 1990 | 2 | 1 | Fair |
| Jayden Richardson | 36 | 1971 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Dan N'Lundulu | 28 | 1545 | 3 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Liam Donnelly | 29 | 859 | 1 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Allan Campbell | 17 | 816 | 0 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Ross Sinclair | 5 | 450 | 0 | 0 | Below expectations |
| Tunmise Sobowale | 17 | 131 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Jalmaro Calvin * | 24 | 119 | 0 | 0 | Investment |
| Malik Dijksteel | 19 | 118 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Ryan Mullen | 31 | 82 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Kion Etete | 9 | 60 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |
| Jack McMillan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Did not deliver |