Premier League transfer shopping list: Why Man City need the star Liverpool are chasing, and each team's needs

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At last the interminable football season is (mostly) over. We can finally get down to what this whole sporting endeavour is really about: player trading. Winning the Premier League? That's just a vehicle to enable the signing of even more expensive and gaudy talent. A thrilling rise up the table and a deep run in the domestic cups? Aaah sorry guys, you've just turned yourself into big club carrion.

Of course, all this matters. It absolutely is really important. That's why Liverpool acquired so many players before romping to the title. Brighton spent more money than any team in Europe last summer and you could really tell, right? Right?

Still one thing that is true is that the world eats up transfer content. Hope is an intoxicating drug and nothing triggers a greater high than the thought of how good that acquisition from the German second tier might be. So then, if you want transfer content let's see how you cope with a whole 20 team league of it. And don't think you can just skip the B teams. I'll know.

1. Arsenal -- attacking stardust

Everything at Arsenal is basically just about fine. They could roll out last season's team plus Martin Zubimendi -- due to sign in the coming weeks -- and have a good chance of competing for the title. Their defense and the system Mikel Arteta has built for controlling the game really work, now it's all about boosting those odds of finishing first. That means executing what looks to be one of the hardest acquisitions in the current market, the ceiling-raising attackers.

They could probably do with one at both center forward and left wing, where Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli are good but not potentially top five in the world good. These are tough and expensive swings and there are no guarantees on either Viktor Gyokores or Benjamin Sesko as a new No.9.

2. Aston Villa -- the January loanees

Missing out on the Champions League could leave Monchi and company a little nearer to the PSR limit than they'd like, a pity given that they really struck on something with their high-profile January additions. Anything like a full season of Marcus Rashford on the same salary he earns at Manchester United could be beyond Villa, a pity given that he averaged 0.88 non-penalty expected goals + expected assists (npxG+xA) after moving to the Midlands. The equally impressive Marco Asensio might be more attainable with youngster Zepiqueno Redmond a more long-term play to arrive from Feyenoord.

3. Bournemouth -- replacements for their stars

Bournemouth could find themselves in an invidious position this summer. Dean Huijsen already needs replacing, Milos Kerkez likely will too, and as the window opens there is already speculation about the future of Antoine Semenyo and Ilia Zarbanyi. The Cherries signed those four for around $80 million combined, most of which was recouped just when Huijsen went to Real Madrid, so they know what they're doing in the market. Then again you'd rather not have to be working so hard to get back to the talent level you had at the end of last season.

4. Brentford -- midfield control

Once more Thomas Frank cut his cloth to the ideal shape last season, exploiting the talents of Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade (one to watch for 2025-26) with a team that played more long balls and really looked to make hay down the flanks. Mikkel Damsgaard was bright too, but you sense this was a side who were playing that way not only to utilize some of their best players, but hide a midfield that wasn't quite as effective as a few years ago.

5. Brighton -- just a quiet summer

There are certainly holes you can poke in this Brighton side. They were too reliant on Danny Welbeck for goals. The defense gave up worryingly bad shots, and it is not immediately apparent that Fabian Hurzeler was making the most out of his players. Then again, a little bit of turbulence at Brighton seems understandable given the movement of coaching and playing staff over recent years. Yes, the defense could do some with some fresher, younger legs, but really there might be nothing that has a more outsized impact at the Amex than a summer and autumn without coaching changes or transfer sagas.

6. Burnley -- plenty of attackers

Last season's newly promoted bottom three combined for 95 goals across their 114 games, and although a free-scoring attack is no guarantee of survival in the Premier League, it's certainly going to enhance your odds. That's worth noting because Burnley had only the 10th best xG in the Championship last season, rising into the top flight off the back of an excellent defense and an otherworldly James Trafford. Only one of their players averaged over 0.3 npxG per 90 -- Zian Flemming -- and no one created more than two chances per game. That has to change.

7. Chelsea -- a veteran defender

The $1.3 billion Clearlake Capital plan is just about on course. Chelsea secured access to the Champions League riches on the final day of the season and won at a canter in the one competition they were supposed to win at a canter. Enzo Maresca will hope his squad caught the winning bug in the Conference League as that really should be where this squad's focus is over the next two to three years: closing the gap with the Premier League's top three and ensuring this young squad hits their prime with a taste for winning.

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And so, while their plan might be to hothouse the development of world football's best and brightest young talents, there ought to be room for an exception, particularly in defense, where a little bit of nous can go a long way. Chelsea are in the market for a center back who can ease the minutes load on Wesley Fofana, why not make that a veteran who can guide the development of others? Just think about the impact that Thiago Silva had in his four years with the club. Would Mats Hummels or perhaps John Stones do a job?

8. Crystal Palace -- squad depth

Given their impressive form in the back half of 2024-25, perhaps the best thing Crystal Palace could do is keep Oliver Glasner's XI together. Certainly it took time to get going without Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen 10 months ago. If the Eagles can avoid bigger predators this summer then they have the chance to make a big impact on either the Europa League or the Premier League. To excel in both they need depth, particularly to cover for Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell, both of whom will be hard pressed to add Thursday night football to 3,000-plus minutes of domestic wing backing.

*By the way, eight clubs through and we haven't reached the letter D? When is the independent football regulator going to address the laughable alphabetical imbalance of the Premier League?

9. Everton -- players, plenty of players

On the plus side, David Moyes is being a lightly filled in slate as he begins his first full season of his second tenure at Everton. As many as 11 players could depart this summer on free transfers or when their loans expire and while new owners The Friedkin Group have work to do in tidying up the financial mess, there should at last be funds to strengthen the squad.

After Moyes' appointment Everton's xG began trending upwards, good for 12th in the division at about 1.3 per game. A right winger who can beat his man and deliver a cross would help up the xG and after that it would be a matter of conversion. That means goodbye to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has a big enough sample size to suggest he is always going to be a sub-xG finisher, and hello to a new striker capable of rivalling and ideally usurping the slightly-too-raw-for-a-27-year-old Beto.

10. Fulham -- a really good striker

Given the number of attackers he loaded onto the pitch, Marco Silva managed to construct a reasonably impressive defense for Fulham last season. Ultimately, what was missing in a campaign that briefly flirted with European football was some game-changers in the final third. This was a team that was very capable of getting around dangerous areas without punching through, ranking sixth in final third touches but only 12th for those in the box. The Cottagers have got a lot out of Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz in recent years, but if they want to take a leap into the top half, a better forward would help as a reference point for those behind them.

Action bins for Fulham in the 2024-25 Premier League, reflecting where their possession was TruMedia

11. Leeds -- goalkeeping upgrade

At the business end of this season what had long become apparent to anyone who didn't occupy the Elland Road dugout hit Daniel Farke like a bolt from the blue. Illan Meslier just wasn't offering enough as a shot stopper, no matter his qualities with the ball at his feet. Goalkeeper statistics can tell shaky stories over small sample sizes but according to Opta's post-shot xG data, Meslier has let in 34.6 more goals than he should have during his time at Leeds.

No club can afford to carry letting in six or seven more goals a year than they ought to. Caoimhin Kelleher seemed perfect for Leeds, unfortunately the same was true of Brentford. Aaron Ramsdale had a solid season even as Southampton were relegated while Nick Pope could be available if Newcastle find the No.1 they've been hunting for a while. Put a solid goalkeeper between the Leeds sticks and this team has a shot at survival.

12. Liverpool -- a Fabinho-esque anchor

This one's getting quite fiddly, such is the pace with which Michael Edwards is spending his budget. Jeremie Frimpong is in and it is likely that Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz will follow him. That's a lot of talent to acquire, the next step is about knitting it together, a particular challenge given that Liverpool seem to have recruited two full backs whose great strengths are bombing on to the final third.

Balancing that out might just be the job of last season's double pivot of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, but both profile as more effective ball progressors than winners. They're not bad at the latter at all but, if Liverpool are looking for an option who can come in for those games where they don't dominate possession, an upgrade on Wataru Endo wouldn't go amiss.

13. Manchester City -- Florian Wirtz

Aaah. Well this is awkward. It's just that if you had to replace Kevin De Bruyne, the great Premier League playmaker of the last decade, you would absolutely sign the player who is already established as the great playmaker of the next decade. And if you are a club who had the highest revenues in football at the end of the 2023-24 season, maybe you could justify pushing the boat out and overspending on that one can't miss acquisition?

How Wirtz and Cherki compared last season

Per 90 stats, domestic leagues	Florian Wirtz	Rayan Cherki
Goals	0.38	0.35
Assists	0.46	0.48
Expected goals	0.38	0.22
Expected assists	0.36	0.52
Shots	2.98	1.98
Chances created	2.18	3.3
Take-ons attempted	6.54	4.53
Passes into penalty area	2.49	3.39
Progressive passes	6.59	9.41
Progressive carries	10.59	11.3

Instead it seems likely that City will go for Rayan Cherki, certainly a more reasonably priced deal even if speculation over a $25.7 million release clause is understood to be wide of the mark. Perhaps the difference between the Lyon man and Wirtz is not worth another $100 million-plus. After all they delivered the same combined xG and xA last season, though Ligue 1 is perhaps an easier league in which to build attacking numbers. And when you have the money that City have, is it really worth shying away from the best out there?

14. Manchester United -- any striker where xG > goals

Manchester United have correctly established that a team who average fewer Premier League goals over the last two seasons needs some forwards. Given what Jim Ratcliffe has said about their analytics department, that's not nothing. You do fear, however, that they're sorting their data purely by output.

Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo are both better than what they had, but but anyone expecting a repeat of their combined 35 Premier League goals would do well to consider their xG of 12.28 (Mbeumo) and 8.65 (Cunha). These two had the second and fourth biggest xG overperformances in Europe's top five leagues last season, and neither is Lionel Messi or prime Heung-min Son. Given what we know about United's recent recruitment record, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see them go for Patrik Schick or Chris Wood. Prove me wrong Manchester United. See if you can restart Tammy Abraham's career. Prise Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea. Bring Alvaro Morata back to the big leagues!

15. Newcastle -- a star on the right wing

Sorry Jacob Murphy. Second for assists in the Premier League last season, that's great, but the obvious position for upgrade in the front two-thirds of the pitch is a right winger who could get close to 20 goals and assists combined year in, year out. Mbeumo did seem a particularly tempting option in that regard but he seems bound for Manchester United. They have also been linked with Francisco Trincao, a potentially effective if more purely creative option.

16. Nottingham Forest -- a left back, I guess

Much like Crystal Palace above, there isn't a huge amount of tinkering you'd want to be doing to the starting XI. A clear-eyed assessment of Chris Wood suggests he probably won't be troubling the upper reaches of the Golden Boot race next season, but between him and Taiwo Awoniyi you should be getting 90 minutes of cromulent center forward play. The same was just about true at left back this season but given that the bulk of their left back minutes last season were given over to an out of position Neco Williams, that is perhaps a more pressing priority.

17. Sunderland -- as much as they can get

This youthful team are arguably in the Premier League a little ahead of schedule, a young team with the underlying metrics of one on the playoff bubble is not going to survive in the top flight without significant investment. That will be all the truer if they lose Jobe Bellingham to the Bundesliga. It has been occasionally dispiriting in recent years to see clubs use their access to Premier League riches to effectively fund the following year's swing at promotion back to the big leagues, but perhaps in Sunderland's case it makes sense to arm themselves with the best young talent they can find.

18. Tottenham -- better midfielders

This is about as straightforward as you're going to get. Whoever's in charge, Tottenham might as well approach their midfield as a complete blank canvas this summer. Their veterans offered them little last season while the promising Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray (who did enough at center back to earn a run of games higher up the field) are sufficiently malleable that you could fit them around anyone you wish.

19. West Ham -- another striker to hurl into the vortex

You never know what you're going to get when you sign a striker at West Ham but you can take a fair bet it won't be successful. Their greatest scorer of the Premier League era is out of contract and no one can be sure how Michail Antonio will fare after his accident late last year. Niclas Fullkrug has not worked out nor did Evan Ferguson impress on loan. Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek looked like the only players who knew the way to goal last season, it might not be much better in 2025-26 given the financial squeeze faced at the London Stadium.

20. Wolves -- a new left flank

Once more Wolves will enter a season with key contributors gone. Matheus Cunha is off to Manchester United, Rayan Ait Nouri will likely be heading up the M6 too as he joins City. That's a whole new side of the pitch where Vitor Pereira is going to need reliable Premier League performers. With those two bringing in over $100 million there should be money to be spent by the successor to Matt Hobbs. There is also Pablo Sarabia to replace and depth required in defense. No wonder Wolves are said to be leaning on Jorge Mendes again. For all the questions over close ties between them and Gestifute, it brought the likes of Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez to Molineux. That is the sort of talent injection that they require once more.