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 all outfielders to feature for at least 800 minutes in the Premier League, only three could improve on Lavia’s 88.2% pass accuracy while under pressure from an opponent within two metres.
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.
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3 days ago Ryan BensonBut 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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