On the eve of the 2024-25 Premier League season, our writers pick out the individuals they’re most excited to see in action.
The new Premier League season is here, and that means it’s time to get excited.
On Friday night, 2024-25 begins for real (no, the Community Shield doesn’t count) with Manchester United hosting Fulham, and we at Opta Analyst can barely contain ourselves.
Manchester City are set for another who-will-blink-first title race with Arsenal, at least six teams are likely to be competing for the remaining Champions League spots, there’s reason to be optimistic for lots of last season’s mid-table teams, and the promoted sides look better prepared to make a good fist of survival than the last lot did.
There are also a fair few individuals we’re looking forward to watching, too – nine of them to be precise. Here, we take a closer look at those players and explain what it is exactly that we’re so excited to see.
Adam Wharton
Crystal Palace
There were plenty of England fans who were disappointed not to see Wharton on the field at Euro 2024 following his late and surprise call-up to the squad. If he’d done enough to earn a spot on the plane, they queried, then given England’s problems in defensive midfield in Germany – as well as Gareth Southgate’s complaints that he didn’t have “a natural replacement for Kalvin Phillips” – it didn’t make much sense that Wharton didn’t get on the pitch for a single second.
But now back at Crystal Palace for the new season, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to watch Wharton in action for a team full of confidence heading into 2024-25.
Palace improved markedly after Wharton’s January arrival from Blackburn Rovers, and he will again be a key player for them next season. He started the final 15 games of last season, and Palace ranked sixth in the Premier League table for that period, winning seven and losing only four of their games with Wharton in the starting lineup. Only Manchester City (42), Arsenal (40), Chelsea (32), Liverpool (31) and Newcastle (27) picked up more points in that time than Palace (25).
The 20-year-old catches the eye most for how comfortable he is on the ball, happy to receive passes under pressure in crowded areas and adept at progressing play, and this has made him crucial to Palace’s transformation under Oliver Glasner. Perhaps most important, though, is his ball-winning ability; since his Palace debut, only four players made more tackles and interceptions in Premier League games than him (68), and as the above graphic shows, he covers a lot of ground to do his defensive work.
If he picks up where he left off, Wharton – and consequently Palace – will be a good watch.
AT
Amad Diallo
Manchester United
Amad Diallo showed glimpses of the player he can be in the second half of last season, and while there were also signs of his age – particularly his red card after deciding to celebrate his late winner against Liverpool by taking his shirt off when he was already on a booking – he heads into 2024-25 with higher hopes for the season among lots of fans than many of his more senior teammates.
There will be plenty of Manchester United fans who will be more excited about seeing Amad on the right wing than they are Antony or Jadon Sancho, both of whom have been linked with an exit, while Marcus Rashford’s form last season has left plenty wondering whether he actually has a future at the club.
Amad is still a very raw talent, and there’s a lot of fine-tuning to be done if he is to become a consistent performer at Premier League level, but there was enough on display last season to have reason to believe this could be a big season for him.
He is a concern for the opposition whenever he gets on the ball because he is such a threat running with it. Among United players, only Sancho (8.3) attempted more dribbles per 90 in the Premier League last season than Amad (5.1), while only Alejandro Garnacho (2.6) followed up a carry (defined as moving at least five metres with the ball) with a shot or a chance created more times per 90 than the young Ivorian (1.6).
Of course, these numbers need the rather large caveat alongside them that Diallo played only 388 minutes in the league. It would be good to see him given the chance to do what he does best over a little more game time next term.
AT
Leif Davis
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town might not be backed to survive by the Opta supercomputer, but Kieran McKenna has some very talented players at his disposal, and his team should be able to cause their new Premier League opponents some problems.
One of their most valuable assets is left-back Leif Davis, who was a constant attacking threat in the Championship in 2023-24.
He led the league both for assists, creating 18 of Ipswich’s 92 goals on the way to automatic promotion, and chances created, with 125. Only one player has assisted more goals in a Championship season over the last 10 years – Harry Wilson (19) in 2021-22 – while his total number of chances created was the highest on record (since 2013-14) in a second-tier campaign, breaking James Maddison’s record of 124 from 2017-18.
His chance creation numbers were no fluke, either. He managed to successfully step up from League One to the Championship with no problem, having led the assists (14) and chances created (132) charts in the third tier in 2022-23.
Much of Davis’ threat last season came from his set-piece delivery. He took nearly every corner for Ipswich (218/244) and 13 of those produced a goal. His xG assisted figure of 4.1 from corners was the highest in the competition, as was his combined xG assisted total of 5.3 from corners and indirect free-kicks.
With England’s left-back position seemingly a long-term problem, Davis could stake a serious claim this season with some strong performances. At 24 years old, he is nearing the peak years of his career, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him called up to the Three Lions’ squad before the end of the campaign.
MF
Rodrigo Gomes
Wolves
Wolves and Portuguese players work hand in hand. They have given more appearances to players from Portugal than any other team in Premier League history (18), while only Manchester United have seen more goals and assists come from Portuguese players in the competition than Wolves have (76 goals, 76 assists). Much of the reason Wolves are second and not first is a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.
There’s every chance those goal and assist tallies will rise in 2024-25 thanks to new signing Rodrigo Gomes, who arrives from SC Braga. He spent last season on loan at Primeira Liga side Estoril, who he helped to survival and to the final of the Taça da Liga, beating both Benfica and Porto along the way.
He started the season on the left wing, before mainly playing right midfield or at right wing-back. His versatility on the pitch is something manager Gary O’Neil highlighted when Gomes’ signing was announced.
“The type of player Rodrigo is, he had a fantastic season last season, playing in many different positions and he’s only 20 years old. For where we are as a club, he’s the perfect type of signing for us. He’s young and has potential.”
This move further back didn’t stop him from being an attacking threat, with seven goals and seven assists in 2,446 minutes of league action. Nobody aged 21 or under was involved in as many goals (14) or shots (85) in the Primeira Liga in 2023-24, while only Benfica’s António Silva (2,618) played more minutes among the same group.
The Portuguese league isn’t quite at the level of the top five European leagues, but looking at Gomes’ numbers last season can help to add some useful context. Only five players across the top flights in England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal were directly involved more goals while aged under 22: Jude Bellingham, Florian Wirtz, Savinho, Xavi Simons and Benjamin Sesko. Those names are enough to suggest Wolves should be excited about this new recruit.
MF
Mohammed Kudus
West Ham
The signing of Mohammed Kudus was a big deal for West Ham last summer. It was a deal aided by the bags of Declan Rice money, of course, but it was still a move that signified their intent.
Kudus was arguably Ajax’s star man and bringing him to West Ham was something of a coup. And he proved himself in England last term.
Only Jarrod Bowen (20) scored more goals in all competitions for the Hammers in 2023-24 than Kudus (14), while he also added six assists to make it a respectable 20 goal involvements in 45 appearances (39 starts) in his first season with the club.
Kudus had plenty of ‘wow’ moments in his debut campaign in England. A stunning solo goal against Freiburg was named the UEFA Europa League Goal of the Season, a scissor-kick goal against Brentford had people off their seats, and an acrobatic effort on the final day of the Premier League season at Manchester City briefly threatened to blow the title race wide open.
Across Europe’s top five leagues, only Matías Soulé (221) attempted more dribbles than Kudus (216), with the Ghanaian boasting a superior success rate (57.4% to Soule’s 46.2%). It should also be pointed out that Soulé played over 650 minutes more than Kudus, so the West Ham man was well ahead for dribbles attempted per 90.
Kudus completed 14 dribbles in West Ham’s away defeat against Chelsea in May (from 17 attempts); the most by any player in a game in Europe’s big five leagues in 2023-24.
For an attack-minded player, his defensive numbers were also impressive. Of Premier League midfielders, only Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Idrissa Gueye and Christian Nørgaard won possession more times per 90 (min. 500 minutes played) than Kudus (7.7), all of whom are defensive midfielders.
We’re excited to see what Kudus can do in 2024-25 – almost as fearful as we are of seeing people still calling him ‘Kudos’.
DS
Harvey Elliott
Liverpool
It feels like Harvey Elliott should be a lot older than he is. The Liverpool midfielder made his debut in a League Cup tie against MK Dons in September 2019 and has already racked up 119 appearances for the Reds despite only turning 21 in April.
For a few years, there were questions about his best position or if he was going to be able to reach the levels required at Liverpool, but after a fairly impressive 2022-23 campaign, 2023-24 was something of a breakout season for Elliott.
He scored five goals in all competitions in 2022-23 and only managed four last season, but it was his creativity that significantly improved; Elliott registered 11 assists having never previously managed more than two in a single campaign.
His numbers accelerated towards the end of the season, with only Manchester City’s Rodri making as many assists in all competitions for a Premier League side from the start of March to the end of the campaign as Elliott (eight).
Elliott’s defensive work also stands out for a young attack-minded midfielder. Only four players in the Premier League won possession in the final third more times per 90 minutes (min. 500 minutes played) than Elliott’s 1.35.
It will probably be more his contributions with the ball that new Liverpool boss Arne Slot will be looking out for, and last season Elliott was among the most involved. In the Premier League, only three players – all from champions Man City – were involved in more shot-ending attacking sequences per 90 than him (min. 500 minutes played).
Elliott has also looked very bright in pre-season under Slot. His assist for now former teammate Fabio Carvalho in a win against Arsenal in Philadelphia was a sign of what he can do, and a suggestion he’s in the mood to push on again in 2024-25.
DS
Jurriën Timber
Arsenal
Premier League debuts don’t come much crueller than Jurriën Timber’s. Just 50 minutes into his first competitive game for his new club last August (again, the Community Shield doesn’t count), the Dutchman collided with Brennan Johnson and suffered a tear to his cruciate knee ligament.
It ruled him out for virtually the entire season, only returning to play 21 minutes in the Gunners’ final match of 2023-24.
So, while the “like a new signing” cliché might be somewhat overused, it’s difficult to think of a situation in which it’s more appropriate than the case of Timber preparing for his second season at Arsenal.
It is worth noting that Timber is currently nursing a foot injury, though he’s expected to return to training next week, and once he’s fit, Timber will bring versatility, progressiveness and technical ability to the Arsenal defence.
Capable of playing centrally or at right-back, Timber usually featured as a right-sided centre-back during his final campaign in the Eredivisie. From that position, he tallied 487 progressive carries – 76 more than any other player in the division – in 2022-23, with those covering 5,037m, by far the furthest in the league.
He tallied the most touches (3,129) in the Eredivisie that season and still had an exceptional record with respect to ball retention; his 295 possession losses accounted for just 9.4% of his touches, the second-lowest proportion among all players to have at least 500 touches. This is even more impressive when you consider his forward-thinking, attack-minded nature.
It remains to be seen where Mikel Arteta ultimately decides to use Timber, because although Ben White is nominally a centre-back, he was widely lauded for his performances on the right last term. It could be that the Dutchman fills in in both positions, though it’s also worth considering he gives Arsenal the option to play three at the back.
He’d been regarded as one of Europe’s best young defenders before his injury, so seeing how his Arsenal breakthrough goes should be fascinating to watch.
RB
Yankuba Minteh
Brighton
Yankuba Minteh’s move to Brighton will undoubtedly have raised eyebrows. Held in high regard by Newcastle, for whom he signed last year before being sent out to Feyenoord on loan, the 20-year-old Gambian essentially became a victim of the Magpies’ need to sell to satisfy Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
In fairness to Newcastle, receiving roughly £30 million for a player who’s never kicked a ball for you in competitive action is a pretty good deal on the face of it. But Brighton are presumably confident that’ll end up looking like a bargain.
Make no mistake, Minteh is still rather raw. However, the early signs are very promising and he’s undoubtedly going to get fans off their seats.
Quick, agile and blessed with immense dribbling ability, Minteh is an exciting talent. He also backed that up with end product in the Eredivisie last season, with his 16 goals involvements (11 goals, five assists) seeing him average a goal or assist every 124 minutes in 2023-24 – only Feyenoord’s top scorer Santiago Giménez (94 mins) was a more frequent threat of those in the squad to play at least 500 minutes.
Much of the threat he posed came down to his desire to run with the ball, averaging the most ball carries (22.1) and carry distance (284.3) among midfielders and forwards in the Eredivisie last term. Furthermore, he ranked second for dribbles attempted (minimum 1,000 minutes played) per 90 with a whopping 7.6.
The Premier League is a step up and he’s still very young, so expectations ought to be tempered to a degree – but his 0.9 xG+xA per 90 last season saw him rank fifth in the Eredivisie. That’s highly encouraging, and Brighton has become a brilliant place for youngsters to develop lately.
Minteh is definitely one to keep an eye on.
RB
Christopher Nkunku
Chelsea
Talking of players being “like a new signing”…
Chelsea fans didn’t get to see enough of Christopher Nkunku last season due to a string of injuries that kept him out most of the campaign. It meant Nicolas Jackson spent much of the season leading the line, and his profligacy in front of goal was part of the reason that Chelsea had an underwhelming season. In another world, Nkunku stayed fit, they got into the top four, and Mauricio Pochettino is still manager.
But in this, the real world, Nkunku missed 242 days of the season and Chelsea suffered terribly as a result.
There’s still plenty of talk of them signing another centre-forward, which wouldn’t be the worst idea given Nkunku’s history, but if they can keep him fit, he’ll be one to watch this season.
More or less whenever he got on the pitch, he looked a threat, averaging 3.3 shots per 90 and 0.62 goals per 90 in the Premier League despite him having next to no time to get up to the speed of a new league. In new surroundings, he maintained an impressive shot conversion rate of 18.8%, scoring his three goals from 2.3 xG.
There were more than a few signs of the player who scored 20 and 16 Bundesliga goals in his final two seasons at RB Leipzig, so as long as he can stay fit this time around, we should start to see the intense pressing, fleet-footedness and silky dribbling that convinced Chelsea to sign him in the first place.
He’s a top-quality player who, at the age of 26, still has most of his career ahead of him and he really shouldn’t be written off after one injury-hit season. He still has five years left on his Chelsea contract, after all.
AT
Enjoy this? Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.