Premier League clubs may not need to spend gazillions on new signings if these guys catch fire next season. We’ve picked one player per club who didn’t do all that much last term but could be decent in 2023/24, excluding the promoted teams because a) this writer has embarrassingly little knowledge of the Championship and b) they’re not Premier League proper until Matchday 1…
Arsenal – Emile Smith Rowe
He’s also on our list of players who need to leave this summer, but that would be a huge shame for a player who didn’t seem all that far behind Bukayo Saka in the Arsenal potential stakes not that long ago and is currently pulling up trees for the England U21s.
Aston Villa – Cameron Archer
It’ll be a tall order to displace Ollie Watkins from the first team but Archer showed in a stellar loan season with Middlesbrough what he can offer Villa in a bit-part role. Could also be crucial in Villa meeting UEFA’s quota for homegrown players in the Europa Conference League.
Bournemouth – Hamed Traore
Injury ruled Traore out for most of the second part of last season after the Cherries signed him on an initial loan deal from Sassuolo in January, which has now been made permanent for £22m. He did though show his excellent technical ability and smart movement off the ball in his limited time on the pitch.
Brentford – Kevin Schade
You’ve got to wonder whether Brentford would have taken up the option to buy Schade this summer if the loan agreement had not included a club-record £23m obligation. The optimists will say the only way is up for the 21-year-old, who got one assist in 18 appearances last term.
Brighton – Simon Adingra
Is Adingra the next unknown to go big at Brighton? The 21-year-old winger got 15 goals and 15 assists on loan at Union SG in Belgium last season; Kaoru Mitoma got eight goals and four assists for the same club the season before. Watch out.
Chelsea – Armando Broja
Suffered a horrific knee injury that forced him to watch his fellow Chelsea forwards fail to score goals from the sidelines for the majority of the season. His future very much depends on whether the Blues sign a ‘high-profile’ striker, but he’s exactly the sort of young star that makes Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment so intriguing.
Crystal Palace – Naouirou Ahamada
Palace spent £10m to bring the Juventus academy graduate to Selhurst Park from Stuttgart in January, but he made just eight substitute appearances totalling 85 minutes, and played just one minute once Roy Hodgson had taken the helm. The Eagles will at least hope there’s far more to come from the 21-year-old.
Everton – Ellis Simms
Reports suggest he could be used as a makeweight in a move for Coventry City’s Viktor Gyokeres which makes a lot of sense, but Simms didn’t half bully Kalidou Koulibaly to score that equaliser at Stamford Bridge.
Fulham – Luke Harris
Slim pickings at Fulham where Marco Silva squeezed every last bit out of his senior squad on their return to the Premier League, and expecting Harris to play a big part next season may be premature. But they expect big things of the teenage forward, who watched Wales’ last four European qualifiers from the bench.
Liverpool – Stefan Bajcetic
Surely a consideration in Liverpool’s midfield rebuild, Jurgen Klopp will be wary of blocking Bajcetic’s path to the first team after the teenager swanned his way through the games he played before injury ruled him out for the later part of the season. A lovely player to watch.
Manchester City – Rico Lewis
He may well be the last full-back standing at the end of the transfer window and he may not be one for long. With talent to burn and composure beyond his years, there’s little doubt he’ll look a gem no matter where he plays and will surely get more minutes in the Premier League having taken to it like a duck to water in 2022/23.
Manchester United – Donny van de Beek
You can’t blame him or United for wanting to bring to an end what has been a hellish three years, but you can’t help feeling that with a decent pre-season and an injury-free run, Erik ten Hag, a manager he thrived under at Ajax, could get Van de Beek back to somewhere near his best. He may not get the chance.
Newcastle – Anthony Gordon
We’ve now regrettably got to a point where we sort of hope he doesn’t come good. Horrible as that sounds, Gordon has thus far made it very difficult to warm to him: downing tools at his boyhood club and then celebrating a win against them that could have seen them relegated; throwing a paddy when substituted; generally looking as though he thinks he’s far better than he is. That said, he’s clearly got some talent and under the right stewardship could make the left flank his own at Newcastle.
Nottingham Forest – Emmanuel Dennis
Reports suggest he’s on his way and on the occasions he did feature for Forest it did look a bit like he was playing more for himself than the team. Understandable perhaps given the competition for places and there’s no doubting the talent of the guy. He was absolutely flying for Watford so may be worth persisting with.
Tottenham – Yves Bissouma
We refuse to believe a player can be that good, and consistently so, and then be that bad forever more.
West Ham – Maxwel Cornet
Cornet managed just two Premier League starts in his debut campaign for West Ham having been injured for five months of it. Managed three assists in two games in the Europa Conference League though, suggesting he was indeed a smart bit of business last summer.
Wolves – Joao Gomes
Linked with both Liverpool and Real Madrid and named in the Brazil squad for their friendlies earlier this year, Gomes made just seven starts for Wolves following his £16m January move from Flamengo but showed glimpses of the ball retention and ability to drift through midfield with the ball at his feet that led to comparisons with Fabinho.