The new Premier
League season is very nearly here, and we’re pumped for it to
start. With that in mind, we’ve selected eight players we’re
particularly looking forward to watching.
Ahead of the start of the new Premier League season, we have
once again picked out a bunch of players who we’re excited to see
in action.
Last year,
we chose nine players we were planning to keep a close eye
on.
Some of them did very well indeed (step forward Jurriën
Timber and Adam
Wharton). Some of them had less impact (hello Mohammed
Kudus). One spent most of the season injured and did little
when he was fit (Christopher
Nkunku). And one got relegated (sorry, Leif
Davis).
Unperturbed by our mixed showing, we go again for 2025-26.
You may notice, this isn’t just a list of the best players, or
the players who score the most goals. We haven’t just chosen
Cole
Palmer, Bukayo
Saka, Mohamed
Salah and Erling
Haaland. Like last year, we’ve tried to go for some less
obvious picks.
So, grab a cuppa, and join us in getting excited for the new
season. And see you back here next year to reflect on a season of
hopefully less mixed results.
Martín
Zubimendi
For three years in a row, Arsenal
have been the Premier League’s nearly men. They’ve been one of
Europe’s most consistent teams over that time, but haven’t won a
trophy. This season, winning something is a must.
There’s hope that one of their many new signings this summer can
be the final piece in the puzzle to help get them over the line.
Could
Martín Zubimendi be that man?
His technical talent and exceptional passing could help get more
out of the attackers already at the club, and given how close
Arsenal have come in the last few seasons, that could be all they
need to finally win the title for the first time in more than 20
years.
He isn’t a midfield destroyer by any stretch, but he is an
effective ball-winner – as the below graphic shows – and when that
is combined with a typically keen Spanish eye for a pass that pokes
a hole in the opposition, it’s a dangerous proposition.
Despite not being particularly big or imposing, he wins the
majority of his duels, so Arsenal will hope he will not be overawed
by the physical challenge of playing in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, he ranked fourth among midfielders in La Liga in 2024-25
for line-breaking passes (238) and the three ahead of him all
played for Real
Madrid (Luka
Modric,
Federico Valverde and
Aurélien Tchouaméni). He also ranked fourth for passes that
broke the opposition’s midfield line (141) and line-breaking passes
into the final third (131).
If Zubimendi can win the ball back and get it to Saka or
Martin Ødegaard quicker than his predecessors, Arsenal will
only get better. And that might just be a crucial difference.
Charalampos Kostoulas
When Brighton
spend more than £30 million on a teenager, you have to sit up and
take notice.
At £31.4m, Charalampos Kostoulas became the second-most
expensive signing in Brighton’s history after
Georginio Rutter despite only turning 18 at the end of May and
having racked up just 22 Greek Super League appearances – nine of
them as a substitute – in his career so far. Given Brighton so
often get their transfers right, this looks like a deal worth
paying attention to.
Kostoulas earned his promotion to Olympiakos’ first team last
year after shining as a centre-forward in the youth teams, but he’s
generally played off the front man for the senior side. He has also
played in a few other positions all over the pitch, as the below
graphic shows.
He has dealt with both the step up and the inconsistency in his
position admirably, unfazed by suddenly playing in Greece’s top
tier and the Europa League, where he made eight appearances as
Olympiakos made it as far as the last-16 stage. It is typical of
Brighton to sign a player who is as adaptable as Kostoulas clearly
is.
However, he is most at home in the opposition’s box, where he is
a real physical presence despite being so young, while he also has
clever movement to lose his man. Of players to play at least 1,000
minutes in the Greek Super League last season, Kostoulas ranked top
for shots from inside the penalty area (3.2) and shots on target
from inside the penalty area (1.6) per 90 minutes played.
He scored seven goals, all of which came from inside the box,
and he ranked third in the league among the same group for
non-penalty goals per 90 (0.52) and fifth for non-penalty expected
goals per 90 (0.43).
He has a great touch and is happy coming deep to link play, too.
He also works extremely hard, winning possession in the final third
more times per 90 than any other player in the Greek top flight
last season (1.4).
The step up to the Premier League will be a big one, but
Kostoulas could be ready for it.
Marcus
Edwards
Since his last game for a Premier League club, Marcus
Edwards has been on a fascinating journey.
His sole first-team appearance for Tottenham came in an EFL
third-round tie in September 2016, the day after the
then-17-year-old’s manager Mauricio Pochettino had compared him to
a young Lionel Messi. Now, nine years on, he’s set to finally play
some Premier League football, having this summer made his move to
Burnley
permanent.
In that time, he has played for Norwich, Excelsior (in the
Netherlands), Vitória de Guimarães and Sporting CP (both in
Portugal), taking in competitions from the Championship
and the Champions
League to the Under 19 European Championship and the Europa
League.
He does his best work affecting games in the final third. In his
most prolific season at Sporting in 2022-23, he scored seven league
goals and added five more assists, averaging 2.1 shots and 2.7
successful dribbles per 90.
After joining Burnley last season, he wasn’t quite as effective,
registering just one goal and one assist in 12 starts in the
Championship, but that time playing regularly in the second tier
will only help with his adjustment to the Premier League. He had
1.7 shots per 90 and completed 2.1 successful dribbles per 90,
displaying how much confidence he has in himself.
This season, then, is Edwards’ big opportunity to prove he is
now ready for the Premier League, and maybe even show Spurs what
they are missing out on. Burnley’s first game of the new season is
at the Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium, where Edwards has already scored once, doing
so for Sporting in a Champions League clash in 2022.
What a place to start his Premier League career.
Rayan
Cherki
In Rayan
Cherki, Manchester
City appear to have signed a creative midfielder so maverick
it’s almost as though he belongs in a different era. A player so
concerned with getting on the ball and making things happen in the
final third that he can be – and sometimes is – accused of
renouncing his defensive responsibilities.
In the modern game, nobody can do that (except maybe Lionel
Messi). This isn’t the era of Juan Román Riquelme or Mesut Özil,
when playmakers could get away with doing too little defensive work
because they made so much difference with the ball.
His numbers for Lyon last season suggest there is some truth in
the view that he doesn’t work hard enough off the ball. His 17.7
pressures in the final third per 90 put him 68th in the list of 89
attacking/wide midfielders and forwards to play at least 1,000
minutes in Ligue 1. And the explanation can’t be that he was just
playing in a team that didn’t press, because in
Georges Mikautadze (32.0), Alexandre
Lacazette (28.9) and Malick
Fofana (23.0), Lyon had three attackers who made
significantly more final-third pressures than him.
There’s no way that Cherki would be allowed to waltz around the
pitch under Pep Guardiola whenever City lose the ball, so we’ll
presumably see a more hard-working version of Cherki in
Manchester.
And whatever we see of the Frenchman in terms of off-the-ball
work, we will be treated to watching one of the most talented and
effective creative midfielders in the world right now, working and
improving under the best tutor there is.
Among all players in Europe’s top five leagues, Cherki created
chances at a faster rate (3.7 per 90) than anyone in all
competitions last season (1,500+ minutes played), while he also
came out on top for chances created from open play (2.9 per 90)
and expected
assists (0.53 per 90). Yes, that was in Ligue 1 and the Premier
League will be a step up from there, but he was also playing for
the sixth-best team in France. At City, we could see even more from
him.
Cherki could prove one of the most fun Premier League imports
there’ve been in years.
Amad
Diallo
The 2024-25 season will probably be remembered as the worst in
living memory for Manchester
United, as they recorded their lowest Premier League finish
(15th) with their fewest points in a top-flight season (42) since
1977-78 (also 42).
But amid all the doom and gloom, there was another player beyond
Bruno
Fernandes who finished the campaign with his reputation not
only intact but enhanced.
Amad
Diallo was a ray of light for United. The weight of expectation
at the club just didn’t seem to register with the young winger. He
was so positive and purposeful on the ball; only centre-back
Lisandro Martínez (19.4) averaged more carries – movements of
at least five metres with the ball – than Amad (18.2) among United
players in all competitions, though the Ivorian led the way for
progressive carries that moved the ball 10m closer to goal
(5.5).
He’d frequently drive at players as he showcased his bravery and
intent to make a difference, while his tireless work out of
possession led to several goals.
Related to that, he was genuinely influential in attack. Among
players to feature for at least 1,500 minutes in the Premier League
last term, only 11 averaged more non-penalty goal involvements on a
per-90 basis than Amad (0.66).
We actually included Amad in this article ahead of the 2024-25
season, but he was initially used sparingly. Once Erik ten Hag was
out the door, however, his opportunities increased considerably,
and he quickly became one of the first names on the teamsheet under
Ruben Amorim.
Unfortunately for him and United, Amad missed two and a half
months of action in the second half of the season. His vibrancy and
unpredictability were sorely missed.
But he heads into 2025-26 in a far stronger position than he
began 2024-25, even if there is a little uncertainty about where
he’ll play. Ordinarily last term, he’d line up as the right-sided
number 10, but with Bryan
Mbeumo arriving this summer, Amad may have to split his time
between that position and the right wing-back berth, which he took
up a few times last season and during this pre-season.
Either way, he’s fast becoming a fan favourite at Old Trafford
for his dynamism, skill and playful style of play. If he stays fit,
he’ll be a huge asset to United and Amorim in 2025-26.
Florian
Wirtz
The most expensive signing in Premier League history at a
reported £116 million if add-ons are included, every neutral must
be excited to see Florian
Wirtz in action for Liverpool
this season.
At Bayer
Leverkusen, Wirtz developed into one of the world’s best
attacking midfielders as a key cog in Xabi Alonso’s excellent team,
helping them win the 2023-24 Bundesliga
without losing a single match.
They also reached the Europa League final and won the DFB-Pokal
that season, with Wirtz recording 18 goals and 19 assists in 47
games across all competitions. That made him the only player from
the top five European leagues to get at least 16 goals and 16
assists in 2023-24.
While neither he nor Leverkusen quite hit the same heights in
2024-25, his haul of 16 goals and 14 assists in all competitions
remains a pretty impressive return. In fact, 12 of his assists were
from open play, a tally only Mohamed
Salah (18) and Lamine
Yamal (13) could better among players from the top five
leagues.
Chiefly a number 10, Wirtz offers a goal threat, creativity and
exceptional technical skills, with the Germany international rarely
needing a second invitation to get on the ball and run with it.
But he’s also become renowned for his work rate. In 2024-25,
Wirtz averaged 1.25 high turnovers (winning possession in the
attacking third) per 90, the most among all Bundesliga players
(1,500+ mins), while his overall figure for that metric over the
past two seasons (71) was 15 more than anyone else.
Wirtz is on a trajectory to being a superstar, if he isn’t
already. Seeing how he links up with Salah, Hugo
Ekitiké and potentially even Alexander
Isak promises to be truly fascinating.
Roméo
Lavia
The 2025-26 season will be Roméo
Lavia’s third at Chelsea;
will it be the campaign that he finally explodes?
Lavia’s time at Stamford Bridge has been difficult until now,
missing practically all of his first season due to injury and then
also sitting out a significant chunk of 2024-25.
The chart below shows how much football he’s missed over the
past couple of years, compared to his teammate Moisés
Caicedo. Lavia has barely been available to play in the last
two seasons.
With that in mind, Lavia’s solitary year with Southampton
remains his only full season of senior football. But he’s shown
enough promising flashes that, despite Chelsea’s transfer
merry-go-round, his future has seemed fairly secure.
But how much longer will that be the case if he doesn’t kick on
this term?
Lavia has such a broad range of abilities that it’s easy to
understand why some consider him to potentially be one of the best
deep-lying midfielders around.
For starters, he’s tough. Among all nominal central and
defensive midfielders (1,500+ mins) in 2022-23, Lavia’s success
rate in ground duels (57.1%) saw him rank eighth, putting him in
esteemed company.
But then he also possesses considerable technical skill and
ability, boasting the highest completion rate for dribbles among
all Chelsea players (900+ mins, 12+ dribble attempts) across all
competitions since he joined the club (66.7%).
That talent helps make Lavia press-resistant, and this can be
further highlighted by looking at his effectiveness under
pressure.
In 2022-23 with Southampton, Lavia completed 79.8% of his passes
in the Premier League that were considered to be made with an
opponent pressing him within two metres; that was a respectable
figure, putting him joint 14th out of 71 players who played at
least 900 minutes.
Last season, his output was even better. Granted, he only played
801 minutes, but among nominal central and defensive midfielders
(800+ mins) in the Premier League, only five could improve on
Lavia’s 90.4% pass accuracy while under high pressure.
There’s no question about the ability Lavia possesses. Hopefully
we get to see a bit more of it this season.
Chris
Rigg
Of the three promoted teams, Sunderland
are arguably the side who have captured the imagination of neutrals
most with their transfer dealings this summer, acquiring several
high-potential talents plus the experienced Granit
Xhaka.
Your next read:
But one of their existing players will be worth keeping tabs on
just as much.
Chris
Rigg only turned 18 in June but has already played 72 matches
in all competitions for Sunderland, including 45 in the
Championship (with play-offs) last season en route to
promotion.
In an August 2023 EFL Cup clash with Crewe Alexandra, Rigg
became the club’s youngest ever goalscorer aged 16 years, 51 days
old. Then, less than a month later, he netted in the Championship
against Southampton, breaking Sunderland’s record for their
youngest goalscorer in league competition (16y, 76d). Jimmy
Hamilton had previously held that since September 1971.
During Rigg’s fledgling career, he’s been used in a number of
different roles and this does heavily impact his statistical
output, but the eye test provides lots to be excited about.
A silky and skilful midfielder, Rigg is blessed with close
control, a low centre of gravity and the bravery to run with the
ball on his tidy left foot.
Playing in the Premier League promises to be a real litmus test,
however. Some have concerns about Rigg’s physical stature, and he
doesn’t exactly possess blistering pace.
So, will his technical ability on the ball be good enough to
help him thrive in the top flight? Some will argue he mostly
thrived even at a tender age in the Championship, which certainly
isn’t forgiving from a physical point of view, meaning he’s well
primed to make the step up.
If he adapts well, 2025-26 could be the making of him. He’s
certainly one to watch.
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