It feels like just yesterday that the curtain was pulled down on the 2024-25 campaign, and yet we’re now just three days away from the opening game of the new Premier League season, which will see champions Liverpool begin their title defence with a home fixture against Bournemouth. Arne Slot’s side are favourites to lift the trophy again after a busy summer that has seen the Reds invest almost £300 million ($404m) on new players, including British-record signing Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, but they are by no means the only club to have splashed the cash.
Arsenal have spent £190m ($256m) to bring in Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Cristhian Mosquera and Kepa Arrizabalaga; Manchester City have signed Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, Tijanji Reijnders, Sverre Nypan and James Trafford for a combined £153m ($206m); Chelsea’s transfer outlay has hit £250m ($336m) after their captures of Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, Estevao Willian, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez.
Even fallen giants Manchester United have gone transfer crazy, despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s claims the club is running out of money, by snapping up Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha for a combined total of £205m ($276m). Many more high-profile deals will likely be pushed through before the September 1 deadline, too, meaning the Premier League’s record £2.4bn spree of 2023 could well be broken.
However, not all of the best transfers of the summer so far have been accounted for by the so-called elite clubs. BALLGM has picked out the top 10 under-the-radar Premier League signings who will shine brightly in the 2025-26 campaign, starting with a Brazilian powerhouse making his first foray into European football…
It feels like just yesterday that the curtain was pulled down on the 2024-25 campaign, and yet we’re now just three days away from the opening game of the new Premier League season, which will see champions Liverpool begin their title defence with a home fixture against Bournemouth. Arne Slot’s side are favourites to lift the trophy again after a busy summer that has seen the Reds invest almost £300 million ($404m) on new players, including British-record signing Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, but they are by no means the only club to have splashed the cash.
Arsenal have spent £190m ($256m) to bring in Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Cristhian Mosquera and Kepa Arrizabalaga; Manchester City have signed Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, Tijanji Reijnders, Sverre Nypan and James Trafford for a combined £153m ($206m); Chelsea’s transfer outlay has hit £250m ($336m) after their captures of Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, Estevao Willian, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez.
Even fallen giants Manchester United have gone transfer crazy, despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s claims the club is running out of money, by snapping up Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha for a combined total of £205m ($276m). Many more high-profile deals will likely be pushed through before the September 1 deadline, too, meaning the Premier League’s record £2.4bn spree of 2023 could well be broken.
However, not all of the best transfers of the summer so far have been accounted for by the so-called elite clubs. BALLGM has picked out the top 10 under-the-radar Premier League signings who will shine brightly in the 2025-26 campaign, starting with a Brazilian powerhouse making his first foray into European football…
Described as the “Didier Drogba of modern times” by South American football expert Tim Vickery, Igor Jesus has enjoyed a meteoric rise since joining Botafogo from Shabab Al Ahli in July 2024. The physically-imposing frontman, ironically nicknamed ‘The Little Frog’, helped Botafogo clinch a league and Copa Libertadores double last season while also breaking into the Brazil national team.
Nottingham Forest’s £10m ($13.5m) investment in Jesus looks like a snip based on how he performed for Botafogo during their run to the last 16 at the Club World Cup. The 24-year-old scored winning goals against the Seattle Sounders and Paris Saint-Germain, and Botafogo were a constant threat on the counter because of his superb hold-up play.
Jesus is a relentless ball winner with an incredible spring that more than makes up for his 5’10 stature, and should be equally as effective in a similar system at Forest.
Aston Villa finally completed their first major transfer of the summer in the first week of August, bringing in Ivorian forward Evann Guessand from Nice. The 24-year-old has become the club’s tenth-most expensive signing ever at £30m ($40m), but it looks like a shrewd move given he has the potential to add a whole new dimension to Unai Emery’s attack.
Guessand is versatile enough to operate as No.9 or on either of the flanks, and boasts the strength and speed to be an instant hit in the Premier League. The Ivory Coast international notched 12 Ligue 1 goals for Nice last term, with most of those coming from the right wing, and also laid on eight assists, which suggests he can also provide high-quality service for Villa’s first-choice striker Ollie Watkins.
Brentford won the race for Antonio Milambo’s signature ahead of a host of top European clubs, much to the delight of new head coach Keith Andrews: “I love the way that Antoni takes the ball and drives – he has the ability to go past players and he’s a goal threat. He will complement the midfielders we have in the building.”
Milambo may even become the best midfielder at the club if he reaches the same level he did at Feyenoord. The supremely talented Dutchman, who broke into the Feyenoord senior team at 16, registered 16 goal contributions last season, with four of those coming in the Champions League. He’s also a pressing monster who looks perfectly suited to Brentford’s high-octane style of play and should help to offset the loss of Mbeumo.
Brighton have added nine new players to their squad this summer in response to losing key names like Pedro, Pervis Estupinan, Simon Adingra and Evan Ferguson as they continue to set the standard as the most efficient club in the Premier League when it comes to transfers. Maxim De Cuyper looks best placed to be the next success story at the Amex Stadium, having been signed from Club Brugge as a like-for-like replacement for Estupinan.
De Cuyper is an extremely creative full-back with an eye for goal, as Aston Villa found out to their peril in the Champions League last season. He could also provide a real threat for Brighton with his wicked set-piece delivery, and his defensive awareness is impressive for a 24-year-old. But most importantly, Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler believes he will bring a “winner’s mentality” as his team aim for European qualification once again.
Thierno Barry got his first taste of action in one of Europe’s top five leagues after swapping Basel for Villarreal last summer, and made the transition look easy. The 22-year-old striker played a key role in Villarreal’s run to a top-five finish in La Liga, contributing 11 goals and four assists to their cause while striking up a fearsome partnership with Alex Baena.
Everton have spent big to sign Barry, but it’s unlikely he’ll be another expensive flop for the Toffees. The Frenchman has even been compared to former Everton favourite Romelu Lukaku because he’s a major handful both with the ball at his feet and in the air, and he should be a major upgrade on the recently departed Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Sunderland have strengthened heavily ahead of their long-awaited return to the top-flight, securing shock deals for star names like Granit Xhaka, Simon Adingra and Marc Guiu, but Habib Diarra promises to be their most important new addition. The Black Cats shattered their transfer record to sign the Strasbourg midfielder, who was the driving force for the French side last term as they secured European football for just the second time in the last 20 years.
The former France Under-21 international, who now represents Senegal, has cited N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba as his role models, and embodies the best qualities of both midfielders. He’s a tenacious tackler who can burst through the lines to play killer passes, while crucially, he will also chip in with his fair share of goals as Sunderland bid to beat the drop.
Jhon Arias, who has spent his entire career so far in Latin America, was one of the breakout stars of the Club World Cup. The Colombia international dazzled for Fluminense with his pace and trickery as they reached the semi-finals, and scored a goal-of-the-tournament contender in their group-stage clash with Ulsan, curling an unstoppable, 25-yard free-kick into the top right corner.
Wolves will hope that the former Santa Fe attacker can produce similar moments of magic after luring him to the Premier League. Arias is very much a late bloomer at 27, but he could fill the Cunha-shaped hole in Vitor Pereira’s team. He’s not as prolific as the Brazilian, but is an equally astute playmaker, as evidenced by the fact he created 18 chances at the Club World Cup, six more than any other player.
Signing a new left-back was a priority for West Ham boss Graham Potter this summer, with Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal both having left the club while speculation over Emerson Palmieri’s future also rages. El Hadji Malick Diouf was the man ultimately chosen for the role, on the back of a hugely impressive season with Slavia Prague that saw him post 11 goal involvements in 41 appearances.
The 20-year-old helped Slavia storm to the Czech title and also make an impression in the Europa League, which suggests he is ready for the step up to the London Stadium. The likes of Niclas Fullkrug, Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen all stand to benefit from Diouf’s arrival because he is a forward-thinking full-back who loves to race to the byline and whip in crosses, while he will also bring much-needed extra nous and physicality to the West Ham defence.
Leeds have forked out £75m ($100.7m) on six new players in the summer transfer window, the most expensive being Anton Stach, who was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise miserable 2024-25 campaign for Hoffenheim. The 26-year-old’s all-action performances in the middle of the park were essential to keeping the German club in the Bundesliga, as he ranked in the 93rd percentile for interceptions per 90 minutes (1.65) and 99th percentile for clearances (3.65) among all players across Europe’s top five leagues.
Only one Hoffenheim player won more challenges than Stach, too, while he was third in the squad for successful passes and distance covered. Those numbers indicate that Leeds have signed a workhorse with all the qualities needed to thrive in the Premier League. Standing at the imposing height of 6’4 and possessing assured distribution skills, Stach is the perfect man to shield the Leeds defence and set the tone in the transitional phase.
Bournemouth have had a relatively quiet summer, but there is a lot of buzz around Eli Junior Kroupi after he finally arrived on the south coast after his £10m January switch from Lorient. Previously compared to Kylian Mbappe by former France and Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, Kroupi has touched down at the Vitality Stadium full of confidence after firing Lorient to the Ligue 2 title with a Golden Boot-winning haul of 22 goals.
At the tender age of 18, Kroupi will likely play second fiddle to Evanilson upfront for Bournemouth initially, but can be a serious wildcard option for Andoni Iraola. Kroupi is already a deadly finisher who only needs a small sight of goal to punish the opposition, while very few defenders can match the teenager’s acceleration over 10 yards. His close control and composure under pressure are exceptional for such a young player, too.
