With the Premier League transfer window open once again, we look at where each team should be strengthening as a priority.
Premier League clubs are free to buy and sell once again following the reopening of the summer transfer window.
FIFA previously allowed an exceptional early transfer window from 1 June to 10 June to allow teams to trade ahead of the first edition of the new Club World Cup – and there were plenty of teams not involved in that tournament who made the most of getting some early business done.
Although the window slammed shut simply closed again for a few days, it’s back open and will remain so until 1 September as teams tweak their squads for the 2025-26 season.
But who needs what? Here, we’ve outlined one area each Premier League team needs to strengthen as a priority over the course of this transfer window…
Arsenal – Defensive Midfielder
You all expected that to read “striker”, didn’t you? It’s no doubt an area Mikel Arteta would love to strengthen, but despite their lack of perceived quality up front, Arsenal have continued to score goals.
Yes, 2024-25 was a down year, with Arsenal netting just 69 in the league. But we are just two years removed from the Gunners breaking their club record for goals in a Premier League campaign (91 in 2023-24), and that overtook the record they’d set just a season prior (88).
Instead, with Jorginho having left for Flamengo and no news on Thomas Partey’s contract renewal, Arsenal could be left extremely light in midfield. Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Ødegaard can’t play every game; they need reinforcement, and that’s where Real Sociedad’s deep-lying midfielder Martín Zubimendi comes in.
Although widely expected to join, it hasn’t been confirmed yet.
If you consider Zubimendi’s arrival a given, then yes, a striker would be next. In the big moments in 2024-25, Arsenal lacked a clinical edge. Across games against PSG in the Champions League, their two League Cup meetings with Newcastle United, and their FA Cup duel with Manchester United – ties in which they suffered elimination – Arsenal scored just twice from chances worth 11.7 expected goals.
That needs fixing.
Aston Villa – Wide Forward
Although Aston Villa will need a new goalkeeper if Emiliano Martínez departs, there’s no guarantee he’ll leave. So, we’re focusing on an area they must strengthen regardless.
Marcus Rashford arrived in January and provided a bit of explosiveness out wide, but his loan spell hasn’t yet been made permanent; Marco Asensio has also returned to parent club Paris Saint-Germain, while Leon Bailey is likely to leave.
So, options are going to be required in those roles supporting Ollie Watkins in attack.
Villa do have PSR obligations to meet, meaning they can’t break the bank. But they secured European football for next season, and have plenty of sellable assets to generate additional funds if needed.
Eberechi Eze has been linked, but Alejandro Garnacho could be an even more appealing option if they can stretch their budget.
The 20-year-old is considerably younger than Eze, potentially has more sell-on value and arguably has a higher ceiling. It’s also easier to see him being a good fit for Unai Emery’s system.
Emery wants Villa to be a threat in transition and with runs in behind, and that’s precisely where Garnacho – who appears to lack the subtlety to succeed in Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United setup – thrives.
Bournemouth – Centre-Back
It’s going to be a busy summer at the Vitality Stadium. Milos Kerkez is on the verge of joining Liverpool; Kepa Arrizabalaga’s loan spell will end; Illia Zabarnyi is expected to join PSG; and Dean Huijsen has already been sold to Real Madrid.
Even if Zabarnyi doesn’t leave Bournemouth, which seems unlikely, that’s already a considerable amount of upheaval to their first-choice defensive unit from 2024-25.
The Zabarnyi-Huijsen axis was their most common centre-back partnership this term, starting 23 times in the Premier League. That accounted for 60.5% of their games, the sixth greatest proportion among all top-flight clubs.
They formed a fine partnership after Marcos Senesi was ruled out for four months at the end of November. And although the Argentinian will likely remain at the club with the promising James Hill, Andoni Iraola looks set to be very short of numbers at the back.
Brentford – Right Winger
Given Brentford don’t have a manager currently, it’s slightly tricky to outline precisely what they need as we don’t know how they’re going to play/set up next term.
But it seems clear they’ll need to bolster their options on the wing.
Bryan Mbeumo looks to have one foot out the door already, though even if he stayed they’d still arguably require a bit more depth out wide considering he essentially played in a front two rather than as an orthodox winger.
Their only other genuine wingers are Kevin Schade and Gustavo Nunes; the latter is only 19 and has played just three times.
Ideally, whoever they bring in should have a track record of being a goal threat, as Mbeumo’s 15 non-penalty goals will take some replacing.
Nicolas Kühn of Celtic has been touted as a potential replacement. A wide player who’s comfortable across the attack, left footed, technically good and chipped in with a considerable contribution of 22 goal involvements domestically in 2024-25, the German could be one to watch.
Brighton – Full-Back
There’s an argument right-back is no longer a priority for Brighton given Tariq Lamptey recently penned a new deal and the club triggered an extra year for Joël Veltman, while Ferdi Kadioglu can also play there.
However, the reliability of that trio is questionable.
Lamptey has been injury prone throughout his time at the club, and his one-year contract extension doesn’t exactly cover Brighton for the long term. Then, Veltman also missed a good deal of 2024-25 through injury and will turn 34 next term, meaning his future is surely limited. Kadioglu, meanwhile, was injured for a lot of this season, too.
Brighton will want to avoid playing midfielders at right-back again, and they have an opportunity to give themselves more long-term stability in that position.
One name linked before is Rayo Vallecano’s Andrei Ratiu. He’d bring even more of the attacking purpose Lamptey offers.
He carried the ball nearly a kilometre (6,129 metres) further than any other full-back in La Liga this term and tallied seven more carries ending in a shot/chance created (29) than any wide defender.
Kyle Walker-Peters could be an option too, following relegation with Southampton. Like Kadioglu, he can play on either flank. At 28, however, he may not fit Brighton’s policy of signing up-and-coming talent.
Burnley – Striker
Burnley’s return to the Premier League owed much to their remarkable defensive record. They conceded just 16 goals in 46 matches, averaging 0.35 per game, which was the best by any team ever in the English football league.
Similarly, their 30 clean sheets matched the all-time record for a single EFL season.
While they’re not guaranteed to translate that solidity to the Premier League and will likely need reinforcements everywhere, if they can keep most of that defensive unit intact, it might make life easier for them. They have, though, already lost centre-back CJ Egan-Riley to Marseille.
Despite that, the priority for incomings probably needs to be up top.
Burnley’s 69 goals in the Championship this term wasn’t terrible as only two teams scored more, but it was 26 fewer than Leeds managed.
Josh Brownhill was their top scorer from midfield with 18; he’d do incredibly well to repeat that in the Premier League. Next was Zian Flemming with 12; the Dutch centre-forward made a decent impression in general and his physicality could be an asset in the top flight, though it’s not a total that suggests he’ll net a hatful in the Premier League.
Otherwise, their options in the centre of the attack are extremely limited.
Chelsea – Goalkeeper
This one seems pretty clear given Chelsea reportedly tried their best to sign a new goalkeeper before the Club World Cup started.
Their pursuit of Milan’s Mike Maignan somewhat showed their intention, despite Enzo Maresca’s claim he’s happy with what he’s got in the goalkeeping department.
He has Djordje Petrovic, Filip Jörgensen, Mike Penders and Gaga Slonina, but Maresca has made clear that Robert Sánchez is his first choice.
The former Brighton man overperformed his xG against by more than any other Premier League goalkeeper in 2024-25, conceding 34 goals from 39.1 xG against, conceding more than five goals fewer than expected. However, when just looking at xG on target conceded, eight keepers bettered his record of 2.1 goals prevented.
However, Sánchez also made the joint-most errors leading to goals by goalkeepers in the Premier League (five), and his ability with the ball at his feet has been questioned frequently.
With the Blues wanting to take that next step with their young squad, and despite what he has said publicly, Maresca may want someone more consistent and composed between the sticks.
Crystal Palace – Centre-Back
Assuming Crystal Palace resolve the multi-club ownership issue that’s threatening their Europa League involvement, they must plan for a fight on multiple fronts next term. That means depth is required.
Currently, they have four natural centre-backs available to them, not many for a team who play three at the back. Furthermore, one of them – Marc Guéhi – is expected to leave as he has just a year left on his contract.
He would leave a gaping void considering only Tyrick Mitchell (12,308 minutes) has spent more time on the pitch for Palace in the league than Guéhi since he joined from Chelsea in 2021 (11,633 mins).
Lloyd Kelly has been touted as a potential budget option, with Juventus reportedly happy to offload him despite his loan only just being made permanent. Tiago Djaló, also owned by the Bianconeri, has apparently courted Palace’s interest before and is rumoured to be available after an underwhelming loan spell at Porto.
Palace could also go in again for Trevoh Chalobah after a loan spell at Selhurst Park in the first half of this season, though he featured regularly after returning to Chelsea, and so he may not be attainable. Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP is another name recently linked.
Everton – Striker
Since Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored 16 Premier League goals in the 2020-21 season, the Everton striker has netted just 17 from 32.3 expected goals (xG).
That xG underperformance of 15.3 is nearly double that of any other player over the same period. Looking at the slightly smaller time frame of the past two seasons, his xG underperformance of 9.7 is also comfortably the worst.
Backup Beto hasn’t been much better, with his 3.7 xG underperformance over the past two seasons putting him in the bottom 10, though he did hit something of a purple patch in the second half of 2024-25.
Either way, with Calvert-Lewin’s contract about to expire and their options in attack generally underwhelming, bringing in an effective centre-forward appears to be the focus.
Thierno Barry of Villarreal seems to be the chosen one.
The France Under-21 international is an exciting talent. He’s technically sharp, skilful and effective in tight spaces, but he also brings a physical threat due to his immense height, which helped him to three headed goals this term – only four La Liga players got more.
He’s not the finished product, and his finishing could use some refining, but he’s highly promising.
Fulham – Striker
Fulham were the Premier League’s oldest team in 2024-25. They should see this summer as a chance to get younger.
They’ve not renewed 36-year-old Willian’s contract, and striker Carlos Vinícius, who’s 30, is also out the door. That leaves Raúl Jiménez and Rodrigo Muniz as Fulham’s senior strikers; that’s potentially fine if Muniz is still content playing backup to Jiménez.
The problem is, he apparently isn’t.
Although he featured 31 times this season, Muniz made just eight starts (951 minutes). Given his underlying numbers, you can understand demands for more playing time.
The Brazilian averaged 0.55 non-penalty expected goals and 3.7 non-penalty shots per 90 in 2024-25, both higher than Jiménez (0.35 and 3.3, respectively). In fact, only four players – Erling Haaland (0.62), Diogo Jota (0.60), Yoane Wissa (0.57) and Alexander Isak (0.56) – bettered Muniz’s non-pen xG per 90.
Jiménez is staying after Fulham activated the option to extend his contract. Based on 2024-25, Muniz may feel he’s earned the right to start; if no such guarantees are made, moving him on might be best.
Fulham would then need a young understudy to Jiménez, though bringing in an additional body might be prudent anyway following Vinícius’ exit.
Leeds United – Goalkeeper
When Leeds were last promoted to the Premier League in 2019-20, they did so with a teenage Frenchman between the posts, who was being championed as one of the world’s best young goalkeepers.
Five years later and Illan Meslier is still Leeds’ first-choice goalkeeper having again helped them back to the top flight. But the broad consensus among Leeds fans now is that he simply isn’t good enough, with the mistakes that were once put down to inexperience still causing frustration.
In 2024-25, Meslier committed three Opta-defined errors leading to goals in the Championship, second only to Sheffield Wednesday loanee James Beadle (4) among goalkeepers. Furthermore, Leeds fans would probably argue there were more than three, as he didn’t cover himself in glory at home to Portsmouth or away to Preston.
Each of the three errors counted by Opta effectively cost Leeds two points; while clearly not the end of the world given they earned promotion, it does bring his reliability into question.
Meslier was eventually dropped during the final weeks of the season, and that could mean the writing is on the wall.
Liverpool – Striker
Liverpool scored at least 14 goals more than any other team in the division (86) this season, but their goals were largely down to the extraordinary Mohamed Salah. He managed 47 goal involvements (29 goals, 18 assists), a joint record for a single Premier League season and an outright record for a 38-game campaign.
Salah – who’ll miss a chunk of next season when he goes to the Africa Cup of Nations – could do with some help, though.
He got some from Cody Gakpo (10 goals, 4 assists) and Luis Díaz (13 goals, 5 assists) in the league, but the latter was forced to play down the middle for spells due to the injuries and ineffectiveness of Arne Slot’s two main strikers.
Diogo Jota managed just six goals in 26 league games, only marginally better than Darwin Núñez’s five in 30. With the Uruguayan strongly linked with a move, the English champions may want a new number nine.
With the creative Florian Wirtz expected to arrive, it would be a bit of a waste not to have a predatory striker playing ahead of him.
Manchester City – Right-Back
Assuming Manchester City see Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders as covering for the loss of Kevin De Bruyne, it is a little tricky to see what hasn’t already been addressed.
January saw them bring in two promising young centre-backs in Abdukodir Khusanov and Vítor Reis, while Nico González was signed as a Rodri alternative and Omar Marmoush belatedly filled the Julián Alvarez-shaped hole in attack.
However, many will have noticed Matheus Nunes playing at right-back for much of the latter weeks of the season.
It worked quite well and City won seven of their last nine Premier League games to clinch third. But with Kyle Walker no longer desired by Pep Guardiola and Nunes ultimately a midfielder who has been covering capably but hardly to stunning levels, you would think City might target a new right-back.
Newcastle’s Tino Livramento has been linked, though it must be remembered that Guardiola threatened to resign if his squad is too big, so perhaps some need to leave before anyone else comes in.
Manchester United – Striker
Manchester United managed just 44 Premier League goals in 2024-25 at a rate of 1.15 per game; they last averaged fewer in a top-flight season in 1973-74 (0.9), which ended in relegation.
Rasmus Højlund led the line for much of 2024-25 and scored just four league goals from chances worth a measly 5.2 expected goals. But his ineffectiveness in front of goal was merely the tip of the iceberg, as the Denmark international struggled to impose himself in any way.
So, for all the glaring issues with United’s squad, a number nine must be the priority.
Many names have been mentioned, but the dream target – the one who inspires the most confidence – is arguably Victor Osimhen. Not only does he have proven track record of scoring reliably in a top league, but many of his strengths – good in the air, strong, aggressive – are precisely areas Højlund has looked especially lacking.
Aged 26, he’s not an unproven up-and-comer or someone coming off the back of a single outlier of a season; he’s entering his prime and has a lot to offer. Whether he’s attainable is another matter entirely, though.
Newcastle United – Centre-Back
The 2024-25 season was the best in recent memory for Newcastle, who won the EFL Cup and finished fifth to secure a return to the UEFA Champions League next term.
That will require them to bolster several areas of a squad that isn’t very deep, though centre-back is probably the position that needs the most urgent attention.
Dan Burn and Fabian Schär did commendably as their primary defensive partnership this season, playing the most (3,330) and third-most (2,937) minutes, respectively, of all Newcastle players. As a pairing, they started 76.3% of Newcastle’s games; only Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic (81.6%) of Nottingham Forest started a greater proportion for their team.
With Sven Botman missing much of the campaign due to various knee problems, the only other nominal centre-back to feature for them in the league was Lloyd Kelly, who departed for Juventus in January and recently made his move permanent.
It remains to be seen if Botman can stay fit reliably, while Burn and Schär are both 33. They missed out on Marc Guéhi last summer and are expected to go for him once again, though Eddie Howe would probably need another in addition to the England international.
Nottingham Forest – Right-Winger
Back in Europe for the first time since the mid-1990s, improving squad depth is also going to be on the agenda for Nottingham Forest and Nuno Espírito Santo. But the priority is arguably a winger.
Last summer saw Forest bring Ramón Sosa and Jota Silva in to bolster their numbers out wide, providing cover – and competition – for Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
While both offered plenty of energy, neither were particularly convincing or effective. As such, when Forest’s form suffered in the final weeks of the season, perhaps partly down to fatigue, Nuno seemed reluctant to turn to them.
After Jota played 59 minutes against Everton on 12 April, neither managed more than 24 minutes again in a single match; in fact, Sosa only played more than 16 minutes in a single game once after the turn of the year.
Alexis Saelemaekers looks the likeliest to arrive and the Belgian could be a shrewd signing. Although out of favour at Milan after successive loans away, he’s quick, incredibly hard working and capable of playing on either flank.
Sunderland – Defensive Midfielder
Sunderland have a tough task on their hands. No promoted side has survived in the Premier League since 2022-23, and they were the worst of the three promoted Championship sides this season.
They finished 24 points off the automatic promotion positions, having scored just 58 goals in their 46 regular-season games.
In the Premier League era, only three teams have ever earned promotion from the Championship while scoring fewer goals, but Sunderland can take heart from the fact that two of them stayed up (Birmingham City in 2009-10 and Huddersfield Town in 2017-18).
There’s little chance of them heading to the Premier League and scoring tonnes of goals, so their defence will be even more important, and having lost the physicality and ball retention that Jobe Bellingham provided, they need to prioritise a ball-playing midfielder who protects the defence.
Only six players won possession more times in the Championship this season than Bellingham (244), who recently joined Borussia Dortmund for a reported £27 million.
Tottenham Hotspur – Defensive Midfielder
After finishing 17th in the Premier League while also qualifying for the Champions League, Tottenham have a lot of strengthening to do throughout their squad. More – and better – depth is needed just about everywhere, but the most obvious position for an upgrade is defensive midfield.
Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur are adequate options, but Spurs need someone of Champions League quality to play alongside them. Even if the long-term plan is for 19-year-old Archie Gray to play there, 2025-26 will surely be too soon for that.
Spurs conceded chances too easily in 2024-25, with only the relegated clubs allowing opponents a higher xG total than them (64.4), and their defensive midfielders provided scarce protection for the back four.
The expectation is Spurs will tighten up under new boss Thomas Frank, but both Bissouma and Bentancur have shown they need to play alongside another defensive midfielder – just look at how much more solid Spurs were when both played in their run to Europa League glory, for example.
However, when they both play, Spurs lack much of their attacking threat and incisive passing in midfield, so they could really do with a better all-rounder in there. The new manager will surely prioritise an improvement.
West Ham – Striker
It’s Groundhog Day for West Ham: a new striker is a priority again.
Reports suggest they must sell to buy, but their performances and results at the end of 2024-25 show they really need to strengthen, so there is a feeling of desperation about the start of the transfer window in east London.
Once the sales start happening, manager Graham Potter will surely aim to sign a new centre-forward.
Niclas Füllkrug was brought in last summer, but he simply didn’t prove the answer to their problems up front, and – like most of the squad – is now available for transfer.
West Ham’s centre-forwards underperformed woefully this season. The four in their squad who would call themselves strikers – Füllkrug, Michail Antonio, Danny Ings and loan signing Evan Ferguson – scored just five Premier League goals between them from 7.2 xG over a combined total of 2,053 minutes, equivalent to almost 23 matches. Those figures show they both finished chances poorly and got into good goalscoring positions too infrequently.
Antonio might be recovering well from the life-threatening injuries he suffered in a car crash six months ago, but it would be mad to head into next season relying on him.
Wolves – Left-Back
Not long ago, everyone involved with Wolves would have had plenty of belief that they could improve on their 16th-place finish next season given how much results improved after Vítor Pereira came in as manager.
But after Manchester United prised key man and top scorer Matheus Cunha away and City bought top assister Rayan Aït-Nouri, the most impressive area of their team has been picked apart, their left side now decimated.
Therefore, reinforcing that side of the pitch is a must this summer. Those two provided 19 goals and 13 assists between them in Premier League games this season.
Whether the main priority is replacing Aït-Nouri at wing-back or Cunha on the left side of the attack is a tough one to call, and probably rests on how much Pereira trusts other options in his squad.
The fact Aït-Nouri started 37 of 38 Premier League games in 2024-25 and the only game he missed was due to suspension suggests he was the more integral member of the starting XI. Therefore, replacing him may well be the first port of call.
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Premier League Transfer Priorities: What Position Is Your Club’s Focus This Summer? Opta Analyst.
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