Football General Manager
The new Premier League season will get under way at Anfield in precisely one month’s time – so how are England’s elite shaping up ahead of the imminent resumption of play?
We’ve already seen a string of sensational signings, with the top teams trying to get their business done as early as possible ahead of what’s likely to be a gruelling season, which will be punctuated by the Africa Cup of Nations, and conclude just before the start of the 2026 World Cup.
Of course, the expanded Club World Cup has also contributed to the spate of signings, with FIFA having opened the window earlier than usual to allow participants to strengthen their squads specifically for the tournament.
Indeed, both Manchester City and Chelsea spent big before the action even got underway in the United States, while the latter brought in Joao Pedro for the knockout stage – and to great effect.
But who’s looking like potential title contenders right now? And who still has plenty of work to do before the big kick-off at Anfield on August 15? Below, BALLGM breaks down the big six’s business so far…
The new Premier League season will get under way at Anfield in precisely one month’s time – so how are England’s elite shaping up ahead of the imminent resumption of play?
We’ve already seen a string of sensational signings, with the top teams trying to get their business done as early as possible ahead of what’s likely to be a gruelling season, which will be punctuated by the Africa Cup of Nations, and conclude just before the start of the 2026 World Cup.
Of course, the expanded Club World Cup has also contributed to the spate of signings, with FIFA having opened the window earlier than usual to allow participants to strengthen their squads specifically for the tournament.
Indeed, both Manchester City and Chelsea spent big before the action even got underway in the United States, while the latter brought in Joao Pedro for the knockout stage – and to great effect.
But who’s looking like potential title contenders right now? And who still has plenty of work to do before the big kick-off at Anfield on August 15? Below, BALLGM breaks down the big six’s business so far…
This feels like a make-or-break year for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. The Gunners may have reached the semi-finals of last season’s Champions League but trust in the process is wavering after yet another trophy-less campaign. There can be no more excuses, then – not after another significant summer outlay.
Arsenal succeeded where Liverpool failed by managing to convince Martin Zubimendi to move to England and the classy Spain midfielder should slot straight into Arteta’s starting line-up, particularly with Thomas Partey having left after turning down a new contract.
Elsewhere, Christian Norgaard is a very smart replacement for Jorginho, the promising Cristhian Mosquera should prove decent cover in defence and while Noni Madueke was overpriced, the England international undeniably addresses the longstanding need for a worthy Bukayo Saka back-up.
However, the big news is, of course, the now seemingly imminent arrival of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP.
Arsenal have been crying out for a prolific No.9 for the past two seasons and now they’ve landed the player who’s scored more league goals than anyone else since moving to Lisbon from Coventry in the summer of 2023.
There are legitimate question marks over whether the Swede can replicate his sensational strike-rate in the Premier League but Arsenal’s primary objective this summer was signing a top striker – and they now appear to have realised that aim.
The remainder of the window is, thus, likely to be spent raising additional funds by offloading unwanted players, such as Oleksandr Zinchenko, with Nuno Taveres and Marquinhos having already departed.
Arsenal Summer Transfer Window:
In: Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea, £5m), Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad, £51m), Christian Norgaard (Brentford, £15m).
Out: Jorginho (Flamengo, free), Kieran Tierney (Celtic, free), Nuno Taveres (Lazio, £4.3m), Marquinhos (Cruzeiro, undisclosed), Takehiro Tomiyasu (released), Thomas Partey (released).
Grade: B+ (until Gyokeres is official!)
Chelsea are feeling pretty pleased with themselves at the moment – and understandably so.
The Blues’ owners have copped a colossal amount of flak for the way in which they’ve gone about their business over the past couple of years – but they’re proving that it’s possible to solve a problem if you throw enough money at it.
After spending roughly £1.5 billion on as many young players as possible, Chelsea have managed to win both the Conference League and, far more impressively, the Club World Cup.
The mid-tournament acquisition of Joao Pedro was key to the latter success, with the Brazilian netting three times in three appearances after joining from Brighton for £55m.
Encouragingly for the Blues, Liam Delap also looked lively in the U.S., as did the outrageously talented teenager Estevao Willian, who will arrive at Stamford Bridge in the coming weeks.
When one considers that Chelsea have also already wrapped up a deal for Jamie Gittens, it’s easy to understand why the supporters are now looking forward so excitedly to the new season.
The owners, though, will be focused solely on balancing the books by clearing as much dead wood as possible before the close of the window. Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix and Ben Chilwell rank among those that simply have to be removed from the wage bill as soon as possible.
Get that dirty work done and this will rank as a very productive summer for Chelsea.
Chelsea 2025-26 Summer Transfer Window:
In: Jamie Gittens (Dortmund, £51.5m), Joao Pedro (Brighton, £60m), Liam Delap (Ipswich, £30m), Estevao Willian (Palmeiras, £29.1m), Dario Essugo (Sporting, £18.5m), Mamadou Sarr (RC Strasbourg, undisclosed).
Out: Kepa Arrizabalga (Arsenal, £5m).
Grade: A-
The champions clearly have no intention of resting on their laurels. Liverpool have moved swiftly to strengthen a title-winning team – and in sensational fashion.
Florian Wirtz is obviously the statement signing, with the Reds having paid a club-record £100 million for the Germany international, who unquestionably has the ability to add a completely new dimension to the forward line.
However, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong also look like excellent additions, with the latter expected to prove a fantastic replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Giorgio Mamardashvili, meanwhile, could put some serious pressure on Alisson Becker for the No.1 shirt after his belated arrival from Valencia.
Still, while Liverpool fans were buzzing after their club’s early-window acquisitions, they’re now just trying to come to terms with the tragic loss of Diogo Jota, the universally loved Portuguese forward who has left a gaping hole in Arne Slot’s squad – and the heart of every single Red.
With Darwin Nunez seemingly edging towards a move to Napoli, the Merseysiders will clearly need at least one new attacker before the start of the season.
Alexander Isak remains the dream target – and rumours of an approach refuse to go away – but it still feels more likely that Liverpool will move for a slightly cheaper alternative, such as Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko or maybe even Rodrygo.
The Reds could also yet bring in a defensive midfielder to provide cover for Ryan Gravenberch, who was overused last season, while it will be well worth keeping an eye on the Ibrahima Konate situation, as the Real Madrid-coveted defender now has less than 12 months left on his contract, meaning Liverpool’s reported interest in Marc Guehi makes sense.
Liverpool 2025-26 Summer Transfer Window:
In: Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth, £40m), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen, £116m), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen, £29.5m), Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia, £29m).
Out: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid, £10m), Caoimhin Kelleher (Brentford, £18m), Jarrel Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen, £35m), Nat Phillips (West Brom, £3m), Vitezslav Jaros (Ajax, loan).
Grade: A-
Stunned by the worst run of results of the Pep Guardiola era, Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owners began trying to buy their way out of trouble during the winter window – and the spending spree recommenced as soon as the market reopened for the Club World Cup.
Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders were all signed before the tournament started but, despite winning all three of their group games (the only team to do so), City suffered a humiliating last-16 loss to Al-Hilal.
To make matters much worse, Rodri suffered an injury setback in the States, the severity of which is not yet known.
Consequently, there’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Guardiola’s team. The three new signings all look well-suited to the Catalan’s style of play, meaning they could all ultimately prove bargain buys.
However, as the Club World Cup proved, City remain worryingly vulnerable to rapid transitions, while John Stones, Ruben Dias and Ederson no longer appear anywhere near as reliable as they once were.
Do not be surprised, then, if even more defensive reinforcements arrive in the coming weeks, as January signings Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov have yet to impress, while Kyle Walker’s departure means there’s a lack of depth at right-back.
In terms of exits, the fans are still divided over whether it was really time to release club legend Kevin De Bruyne, but the incredibly over-rated and ill-disciplined Jack Grealish clearly has to go.
What’s interesting, though, is that there’s talk that City are open to letting Nico Gonzalez leave just six months after his arrival – which hardly inspires confidence in the new project…
Manchester City 2025-26 Summer Transfer Window:
In: Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan, £46m), Rayan Ait Nouri (Wolves, £36m), Rayan Cherki (Lyon, £34m).
Out: Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli, free), Scott Carson (released), Kyle Walker (Burnley, £5m).
Grade: B
Manchester United have more work to do in the transfer market than nearly any other side in the Premier League – but they’ve made barely no progress with their enormous rebuilding job.
The Red Devils did manage to wrap up a deal for Matheus Cunha on June 12 and, for a short while, it appeared as if the Brazilian might be immediately joined at Old Trafford by Bryan Mbeumo.
However, Brentford are playing hardball for the Cameroon attacker and it now seems highly likely that an increasingly desperate United will once again have to pay over the odds for a top target – just as they did for Cunha.
Of course, whether Mbeumo arrives or not, United are going to have a problem at No.9 unless a proper centre-forward is signed before the close of the transfer window.
At one point, it looked like United actually had a real shot of reuniting Ruben Amorim with Gyokeres – but the Swede understandably favoured a move to Arsenal, which rather painfully highlights where United are at right now.
They can’t offer European football nor do they have money to burn, meaning they really need to find new homes for wantaway wingers Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho as soon as possible. In an ideal world, they’d also find a buyer for Andre Onana to subsidise a move for a more reliable goalkeeper but there’s been zero movement on that front.
Consequently, it’s hard to shake the suspicion that United will be scrambling around trying to get deals done right up until deadline day.
Manchester United Summer Transfer Window:
In: Matheus Cunha (Wolves, £62.5m), Diego Leon (Cerro Porteno, £7m).
Out: Christian Eriksen (released), Jonny Evans (released), Victor Lindelof (released).
Grade: F
It was all going so well for Tottenham. After turning Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel’s loan moves into permanent transfers, Spurs agreed a £55m deal with West Ham for Mohammed Kudus before meeting the £60m buy-out clause in Morgan Gibbs-White’s Nottingham Forest contract.
However, while the first half of what would be a remarkable double coup has been completed, Gibbs-White’s proposed move to north London has been held up, with Forest threatening legal action over the nature of Tottenham’s approach.
It remains to be seen, then, whether Spurs will manage to get the Gibbs-White deal over the line – or whether they’ll be able to adequately strengthen a defence that was dreadful last season.
Still, what we can say at this point of the window is much-maligned chairman Daniel Levy is willing to back new manager Thomas Frank to the hilt in this summer’s transfer market, ahead of next season’s eagerly-awaited return to the Champions League.
Tottenham Hotspur Summer Transfer Window:
In: Kevin Danso (RC Lens, £20.9m), Luka Vuskovic (Hajduk Split, undisclosed), Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich, £29.8m),
Kota Takai (Kawasaki Frontale, £5m), Mohammed Kudus (West Ham, £55m).
Out: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Marseille, £17m), Fraser Forster (released), Sergio Reguilon (released), Alfie Whiteman (released), Damola Ajayi (Doncaster Rovers, loan), Alejo Veliz (Rosario Central, loan).
Grade: B-
