With a trio of Arsenal targets occupying the top two spots, here are the top 10 attacking midfielders who are available for transfer this summer.
We also have the best available strikers, centre-backs, wingers, and defensive midfielders.
10) Bilal El Khannouss (Leicester)
Leicester were utterly awful in 2024/25 but El Khannouss is clearly a very talented footballer. At just 21, he won’t want to waste time playing in the Championship — though if he does stay, he might well end up with 20 goals and 20 assists.
The Foxes paid around £18m for the Moroccan last summer and will likely want at least double to sell him. Transfer links have been quiet, but El Khannouss’ ceiling is far too high for him to be spending the next 12 months playing in the second tier.
9) Kang-in Lee (Paris Saint-Germain)
Surely available for the right price, Kang would improve most starting XIs in the Premier League.
That’s not to say every player here outside the Premier League should move to the Premier League, because there are other leagues than the Premier League that these non-Premier League players can play in. Apparently.
8) Georgiy Sudakov (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Ukraine international Sudakov scored 13 times in the Premier Liga last season and remains one of Europe’s most highly rated young midfielders.
He’s been billed as the next big Shakhtar sale ever since Mykhaylo Mudryk left for Chelsea in January 2023, and it’s genuinely surprising that move hasn’t materialised yet. A forgettable Euro 2024 might have cooled interest, but Sudakov responded with a stellar season for the Ukrainian Cup winners.
Even more surprising: Shakhtar finished third in the league in 2024/25 behind invincible champions(!) Dynamo Kyiv and FC Oleksandriya.
7) Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa)
Reportedly available for around £40million as Aston Villa chase some sumptuous pure profit, Ramsey would be a very ambitious pick-up for a worse Premier League side, while some of the Big Six might fancy taking a punt.
It’s always easy to link players with Manchester United, but it’s a move that makes sense.
6) Nico Paz (Como)
Martin Baturina has signed for Como, potentially as Paz’s replacement, though Cesc Fabregas could find a way to get them both in his team if the latter stays.
Real Madrid sold Paz for €6m last summer and can buy him back for €8m in 2025 or €9m in 2026 — which is outrageously cheap for a player Transfermarkt values at €35m. That clause all but guarantees Madrid will swoop again, but Xabi Alonso’s side have reportedly communicated to their Italian friends that they won’t be re-signing Paz this summer. But if Madrid wait too long, someone else will surely swoop in.
Como, meanwhile, are just happy to have one of the most promising young players in Europe for now. Paz scored six goals and registered nine assists in 35 Serie A appearances as Fabregas’ newly promoted side finished an eye-catching 10th.
5) Lucas Paqueta (West Ham)
Having cleared his name of gambling offences, Brazilian maestro Paqueta will be able to enjoy his football once again, but he might not do so at West Ham. Reports say he can leave the Hammers for £25m, and if the buying club gets him at his best, that would be one of the bargains of the window.
4) Harvey Elliott (Liverpool)
Elliott does not want another season as a bit-part player at Anfield. He said in June:
“I’m coming into an age now where I’m 22, I’m going to be 23 next season. I don’t really want to be wasting years on my career because it’s a short career. I just want to improve and be the best possible version of myself. If that’s to go somewhere else, then it’s a decision that I’m going to have to make… but most importantly, it’s just about what’s best for my career.”
So he’s off, then.
Elliott has never nailed down a starting role at Liverpool, so it’s unclear how he’d adapt to being the main man elsewhere. But we’re fairly confident he’ll do well. His England Under-21 performances at this summer’s European Championship have been fantastic as well.
It now looks like Leipzig will sign him as a replacement for number two on this list.
F365 SAYS: Harvey Elliott isn’t good enough for Liverpool, which is one reason he’s perfect for Man Utd
3) Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Villa fans might deny he’s available, but there’s clearly some willingness to make a big sale, and after Rogers’ breakout season, he and Ramsey are the most obvious candidates to help ease any Profit and Sustainability nerves.
Rogers has been electric in 2025. He scored a Champions League hat-trick against Celtic in January and grabbed eight goal contributions in 10 league games between February and March.
Arsenal have been linked with the England international, with Mikel Arteta on the lookout for an elite attacking midfielder to help out Martin Odegaard. Rogers can play on the left, but his best position is in the 10, where his pace, strength and dribbling cause chaos.
2) Xavi Simons (Leipzig)
Despite an underwhelming 2024/25 campaign for Simons and Leipzig, the Netherlands playmaker is the subject of plenty of transfer speculation, and rumours of a move to Chelsea are strong. Arsenal were also linked, but it’s their London rivals in the driving seat, having been assisted by Mikel Arteta taking Noni Madueke off their hands for around £50m.
After Leipzig failed to qualify for the Champions League, Simons wants to leave, only a year after joining permanently from PSG. The German club are set to make two significant sales this summer, with Benjamin Sesko off to Manchester United.
Simons wasn’t great last season, however, his numbers do a lot of talking: 43 goals and 34 assists in his last 124 club games. Whoever signs him is getting a bona fide star. Cole Palmer and Simons would be some link-up.
1) Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
We previously ignored Eze, assuming the chances of him leaving Europe-bound Palace were very low. That, combined with a lack of transfer rumours, was enough to convince us he’d stay. However, Arsenal are now serious contenders and Tottenham are also very keen. The latter could make a move after the Morgan Gibbs-White kerfuffle…
Eze just turned 27, but Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is reportedly convinced he can help elevate the Gunners’ attack. It’s hard to argue with him.
