The Premier League‘s transfer window closes on 30 August. Ahead of that deadline, we’ve identified 10 players in England’s top flight who could benefit from changing clubs.
Eddie Nketiah
With Gabriel Jesus missing a large chunk of last season through injury, you’d have thought Eddie Nketiah would’ve taken on a much larger workload for Arsenal as their back-up striker. As it was, the Englishman was limited to just 10 starts in 2023-24, with Mikel Arteta preferring to use Kai Havertz – who hadn’t really been signed to play there – as his central striker instead.
Nketiah was an unused substitute in both of Arsenal’s first two hames of 2024-25, and it looks like he is surplus to Arteta’s requirements.
Despite that, he remains a useful forward who has shown flashes of potential in limited opportunities in north London. Let’s not forget, he’s a player who as recently as 2022-23 averaged 0.69 non-penalty expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes, albeit from just over 1,000 minutes. Only two players averaged more than that in 2022-23 – Erling Haaland (0.75) and Callum Wilson (0.72). Nketiah clearly has the ability to get himself into good scoring positions inside the opponent’s penalty area.
The latest rumours have linked him with a move to Crystal Palace, who are looking to add something different to their existing attacking options. Nketiah would prove a more mobile option than Jean-Philippe Mateta as someone who is quicker and able to run off the back of defenders and into the channels.
He’s also more active defensively and would enable Palace to press more aggressively from the front. Last season, Nketiah averaged 16.7 pressures in the final third per 90 – just four other players bettered that tally.
Nketiah has made 168 appearances for Arsenal, but only 70 of those have been as a starter. Aged 25, he’s at a pivotal point in his career and it could be time for him to move for more first-team football. He can be more than just a squad player.
Ivan Toney
Everything was set up for Ivan Toney to make a big move this summer.
Toney made it clear to Brentford and manager Thomas Frank that he’s keen to leave, and he’s only got one year left on his contract, so the club would prefer to get some money for him rather than losing him for free in 2025.
He has also proven himself as a very capable Premier League striker over the past few years, and with England at Euro 2024 he only enhanced his reputation despite getting just 42 minutes on the pitch.
There are certainly a few decent-sized clubs who could do with a new number nine, or least further reinforcement in that position.
And yet, Toney remains at Brentford at the time of writing, with the only concrete interest that is being reported coming from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli.
At 28 years old and having missed more than half of last season due to a ban, Toney will surely want to play more Premier League football. He will certainly believe he has a lot more to offer the English top flight.
The Englishman is an all-round centre-forward. He’s averaged 0.44 goals per 90 (almost a goal every other game) in the Premier League for a mid-table club, and has won more aerial duels (311) since Brentford’s promotion than any other striker bar Chris Wood (327) despite being banned for most of last year. He is technically adept and he can press, too.
Toney would improve a lot of Premier League teams, but is anyone willing to stump up the cash?
Christian Eriksen
Christian Eriksen has done incredibly well to make it right back to the top of the game after the cardiac arrest he suffered at Euro 2020.
Few would have predicted after that event that he’d be playing for Manchester United in 2024, and you couldn’t begrudge the 32-year-old if he were happy just to be at a club competing at the right end of the Premier League.
But he has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford and, having so nearly had his playing days cruelly ripped away from him, may want to prioritise getting regular game time, which probably requires a move away. Even if he can’t get into the United team, he could still do a job for most Premier League clubs.
He has been one of the top flight’s best attacking players over the past decade. Since he moved to the Premier League in August 2013, only Kevin De Bruyne (112) has more assists in the competition than him (76), while he ranks 12th for total goal involvements in that period (130), behind 10 strikers or wide forwards and one midfielder. That’s despite there having been two years between him leaving Tottenham in 2020 and joining Brentford in 2022, in which time he wasn’t even playing in the Premier League.
Since his return, he hasn’t been quite the player he was before, but he has still done well enough, ranking in the top 10 for assists in 2022-23, with eight, and adjusting well enough to a slightly deeper role at United.
There’s no reason he couldn’t continue playing in the top flight for a little while longer.
Sergio Reguilón
Sergio Reguilón signed for Tottenham in 2020, back when they were managed by José Mourinho. To say a lot has changed at the club since then is a bit of an understatement, and the Spaniard’s time in north London is surely set to come to an end this summer.
It was clear early on in the Ange Postecoglou era that he didn’t suit the Australian’s style of football, and he was swiftly sent out on loan to Manchester United last summer after both of their left-backs sustained injuries. That move wasn’t all that successful, though, and in January he ended up at Brentford for the rest of the season.
He didn’t exactly set the world alight there either, and has returned to Spurs this season with little prospect of any first-team football.
He could still be a decent option for a mid-level Premier League team, however, particularly one that either plays with full-backs who overlap or wing-backs. There are plenty of weaknesses to Reguilón’s game – not least his physicality, aerial ability and passing in tight spaces – but he is more than adequate when it comes to getting down the wing and whipping in crosses.
Of players to play at least 1,000 Premier League minutes from the date Reguilón moved to Brentford in January until the end of the 2023-24 season, he ranked third for successful open-play crosses per 90 (1.0), behind Andy Robertson (1.5) and Kevin De Bruyne (1.2). Meanwhile, only 13 players (and no defenders) averaged more assists per 90 than him (0.32).
Someone in the Premier League always needs another left-back, and most teams could do worse than Reguilón. He has just one year left on his Spurs contract, too, so should be available fairly cheaply.
Jadon Sancho
This is Jadon Sancho’s fourth season as a Manchester United player and it’s difficult to escape the feeling it’ll take something remarkable for it not to be another wasted year if he doesn’t get a move away from Old Trafford.
Unfortunately, Sancho’s United career has been bitterly disappointing. The club spent several years chasing his signature and his arrival brought so much excitement to the fanbase after developing into one of Europe’s most promising young players at Borussia Dortmund.
However, after recording 107 goal involvements in 137 games for Dortmund (not including his loan spell), he’s managed just 18 in 83 for United. Reminders of the talent he showed in Germany have been all too brief and sporadic.
After a public falling-out with Erik ten Hag last year led to Sancho being ostracised and subsequently loaned back to Dortmund, he and the manager appeared to bury the hatchet in pre-season. Sancho was allowed to re-join first-team training and he featured throughout United’s friendlies. He also made a brief cameo in the Community Shield, failing to convert his penalty in the shootout.
Ten Hag has now challenged Sancho to force his way into contention for a starting place after he was left out of United’s first two Premier League fixtures of the season.
But with Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, seemingly Amad Diallo and potentially also Antony ahead of him in the pecking order, the simplest solution for all might be for him to leave for good.
Of course, that requires another team to meet his wage demands and satisfy United’s apparent desire to recoup £40 million for him – were the finances not so daunting, it’s probably fair to say Sancho would’ve already left.
In the right circumstances at the right club, though, Sancho clearly has the ability to be a superstar – we’ve seen it before. He’d represent a risk, and he won’t be cheap, but the potential upsides are significant. Is anyone brave enough?
Kieran Trippier
After beginning the 2024-25 season on the bench, Kieran Trippier has reportedly told Newcastle he wants to leave, seemingly unwilling to play second fiddle at right-back to Tino Livramento.
Although the England international turns 34 in the next month, it still feels like he has plenty to give at Premier League level. Sure, he might not be as agile or adventurous as he once was, but he remains one of the best deliverers of a ball in the country.
His situation feels like it’s escalated quite quickly. After all, he made 28 Premier League appearances last term despite a two-month injury absence and was by all accounts a key player.
A rough patch towards the end of 2023 did see him come in for criticism, though, and certain sections of the fanbase have suggested he shouldn’t be first choice anymore. But let’s not forget what he can offer.
No defender created more chances in open play (29) or in total (65) than him last season in the Premier League, while he also ranked behind only six players for chances created via set-pieces (26).
Just three players – two of whom were attacking midfielders – played more passes into the opposition’s box than him (283), while his 7.1 expected assists (xA) put him just outside the top 10 among all players and top when only compared to defenders.
Similarly, only Ollie Watkins (13) and Cole Palmer (11) bettered his 10 assists.
The flipside is that some developed concerns over his defensive performances. He made three errors leading to shots and two leading to goals, with no other Newcastle player having a poorer record than that in 2023-24, while only five full-backs (minimum 900 minutes played) were dribbled past more often on a per-90-minute basis (1.6).
Nevertheless, in terms of pure technical ability and experience, Trippier certainly isn’t done at this level.
Raheem Sterling
As Chelsea fans will attest, a lot can change in two years. In the summer of 2022, Raheem Sterling was signed for £50m and was ready to lead the new Chelsea into another era of success.
After 81 appearances (62 starts), 19 goals and 12 assists for the Blues, the club have decided they no longer want Sterling at Stamford Bridge, and his exit seems to be a matter of when, not if.
Enzo Maresca hasn’t been shy in saying Sterling doesn’t fit into his plans, which is why he was left out of the squad for Chelsea’s opening weekend defeat to the winger’s former club Manchester City. That led to the player’s representatives releasing a statement before kick-off saying they were seeking “further clarity” on his future at the club.
That clarity has arrived via Maresca, and Sterling will be spending the next week looking for a new employer.
He turns 30 in December, but Sterling still has a lot to offer. Only Cole Palmer (22) and Nicolas Jackson (14) scored more than his eight Premier League goals for Chelsea last season.
Sterling netted 79 goals in all competitions for Man City in the three seasons between 2017 and 2020, including 31 in the 2019-20 campaign, while he recorded 40 goal involvements the season prior (25 goals, 15 assists).
Playing for a manager who trusts him and with a determination to prove Chelsea wrong, Sterling could be a shrewd addition for the right Premier League club.
Joe Gomez
It seems wild to say about someone who played 51 games last season, but Joe Gomez could do with more game time, especially if he wants to play at centre-back.
Only Darwin Núñez (54), Cody Gakpo (53) and Harvey Elliott (53) played more games for Liverpool than Gomez in 2023-24, though the England defender started just 31 of them, and only 17 of those were in the Premier League.
Of his 3,135 minutes in all competitions, 84% came at full-back, while 5% even came in midfield as Jürgen Klopp looked to use Gomez to put out fires when injuries struck his squad.
Now in his 10th season at Anfield, Gomez has been a big part of Liverpool’s success in his time at the club, notably featuring regularly alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of their defence when they won the Premier League title in 2019-20. Gomez made 28 league appearances (22 starts) that season, which included 12 clean sheets and just 16 goals conceded.
Injuries and the signing of Ibrahima Konaté in 2021 saw him slip down the hierarchy under Klopp, being used as a utility man across the back four in recent years.
Gomez has been left out of Arne Slot’s team for his first two Premier League games, with reports suggesting it was related to a potential transfer. That talk seems to have died down in recent days, and Slot said at a press conference on Friday that his post-Euros training workload was actually the reason for his absence at Portman Road. But it wouldn’t be a shock to see the 27-year-old find a new home before the deadline.
Aaron Ramsdale
Perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay Aaron Ramsdale is that when Arsenal brought in David Raya, nobody could quite believe Mikel Arteta had decided he needed an upgrade in goal.
The decision has since been justified, but Ramsdale is unquestionably too good to be a back-up goalkeeper – even for a team that might win the title this season – and he will want to get back to playing regularly once again.
He is a perfectly good shot-stopper, maintaining a save percentage of 68.7% across his Premier League career with Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Arsenal, while at Arsenal in 2022-23, according to Opta’s expected goals on target model, he kept the ball out of the net roughly as one would expect of the average goalkeeper.
He is technically very good with his feet, too (even if Raya is better), able to play short passes and also decent over longer distances, as well.
He has experience playing at both ends of the Premier League in a variety of playing styles, and would surely be able to adapt to any team in the league having challenged for the title with Arsenal.
Ben Chilwell
Ben Chilwell signed for Chelsea from Leicester City in 2020 and has made 106 appearances (83 starts) for the Blues, scoring nine goals and adding 11 assists.
The left-back was a promising player at the Foxes. In the 2019-20 season, his last with Leicester, Chilwell made 158 10+ metre progressive carries (carrying the ball more than 10 metres upfield) in the Premier League; only Kyle Walker (167) and Andy Robertson (204) made more among full-backs.
He established himself quickly at Chelsea and was a regular in 2020-21 under Frank Lampard and then Thomas Tuchel, helping the latter to win the UEFA Champions League, and he started the following season in good form as well before suffering a cruciate ligament tear that ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign.
Chilwell has had numerous injury problems since that have seen him struggle to cement a place in the team under various managers. He made just 21 appearances last season (13 starts), with only one assist to his name, and it seems he’s now on the list of players to sell under Enzo Maresca.
It is likely due to difference in team styles, but since his final season at Leicester when he averaged 6.0 10+ metre progressive carries per 90 minutes, Chilwell averaged 4.9 in his first season at Chelsea, and hasn’t averaged more than 3.7 in the three seasons since.
There have been links to Manchester United, and you would think given how difficult a position it can be to solve that there will be a few clubs looking at Chilwell’s situation in the next few days.
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