Featuring plenty of new signings and a few players with a point to prove, here’s one from every Premier League club we’re predicting to be a surprise package in 2025/26.
Arsenal: Noni Madueke
Max Dowman would have been a fun inclusion, but he’s only 15. The old saying is that ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough,’ but we can’t see Mikel Arteta giving the incredibly talented winger significant minutes this season.
With that in mind, it’s a new winger we’re backing to be a surprise success at the Emirates. He cost around £50m and joined Arsenal amid fan protests online. #NoToMadueke was trending on X. There were petitions. Deplorable stuff from supposed ‘fans’. The big cheer the ex-Chelsea man received on his first touch at the Emirates underlines the difference between match-going supporters and those who live chronically online.
Still, there are big doubts over Madueke’s ability to justify his big fee, exacerbated by him being another Chelsea player that Arteta has been bizarrely happy to take off their hands. Here’s hoping those doubts cease to exist in a couple of months.
Aston Villa: Ollie Watkins
Villa have been pretty quiet in the summer window and new signings are usually the go-to for this kind of feature. With that in mind, we’re plonking for Watkins. Surprised? Understandable.
We think Watkins has a point to prove. He’s been overlooked by Newcastle United all summer; Manchester United picked Benjamin Sesko over him, and Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal ignored him to pursue other targets. Why? Because he’s 29. With the bit between his teeth this season, Villa might get the best season of Watkins’ career.
Of course, this all relies on Watkins not being sold before the window closes.
READ MORE: Alexander Isak best available striker as Liverpool consider second bid for Newcastle rebel
Bournemouth: Alex Scott
We’re predicting young Scott will elevate his game to another level this season. He remains one of the most promising young midfielders in the Premier League but has flown under the radar since swapping Bristol City for Bournemouth in August 2023.
The 21-year-old is developing at a comfortable level, but this could be the season he truly explodes.
Brentford: Yegor Yarmolyuk
There aren’t too many reasons to be optimistic as a Brentford fan. Bryan Mbeumo, Christian Norgaard and Thomas Frank have all left, and Yoane Wissa will soon follow. It’s a difficult time, but the Bees with their Moneyball approach will feel well-equipped upstairs to cope with such drastic change.
One of their players destined for a big-money departure within the next two years is Ukrainian midfielder Yarmolyuk. Expectations are high but zero goals or assists in 15 Premier League matches in 2024/25 was obviously a disappointing return. He literally can’t do any worse this season. We can see a Mikkel Damsgaard-like improvement on the horizon.
Brighton: Brajan Gruda
Picking one of Brighton’s many impressive signings would be too easy.
Gruda finished last season strong, bagging his first Premier League goal along with three assists in Albion’s final five matches, of which they won four and drew one, courtesy of an 89th-minute Alexander Isak penalty for Newcastle.
The 21-year-old German also impressed for his country at the Under-21 Euros this summer and is one to watch in the Premier League in 2025/26.
Burnley: Hannibal Mejbri
Known as nothing more than a wrecking-ball passion merchant during his Manchester United days, Hannibal was impressive for Burnley in the Championship, helping them gain promotion with 100 points.
His energy in the middle of the pitch will be important in the Clarets’ bid for survival. We’re not confident in the slightest about their survival chances, but we think the 22-year-old Moroccan can make a name for himself…if he doesn’t get sent off three times.
Chelsea: Estevao Willian
Not enough people are aware of how good this young man is. Chelsea have picked up an absolute gem, who will hopefully be more Neymar than Robinho.
The 18-year-old winger is not being loaned out, and the only thing holding him back from exploding this season is the vast number of wide forwards at Chelsea. And Alejandro Garnacho is expected to join from Man United.
If Estevao gets sufficient minutes, he’ll establish himself as a regular starter for the Blues. Watch this space.
Crystal Palace: Daichi Kamada
Many people backed Kamada to be the bargain of the season when he joined the Eagles for free last summer, but he was very underwhelming until around February, when he looked much more comfortable in Oliver Glasner’s team.
He was a superb player for Glasner at Eintracht Frankfurt and the Japanese international is showing signs of getting close to that level again. If he does, Palace have a real gem.
Everton: Jake O’Brien
There is too much of a bias towards attackers and midfielders, so Everton’s surprise package will be Irish defender O’Brien.
He did well playing right-back under David Moyes and we reckon his consistency levels will be surprisingly good this season.
Everton could be a fun team to watch this season, with Jack Grealish joining Iliman Ndiaye. If they get Tyler Dibling, I will be changing allegiance from Arsenal…
Fulham: Calvin Bassey
One of the more difficult teams, Fulham. Benjamin Lecomte is their only summer signing so far, which is far from ideal.
As a result, we’re going rogue. Bassey will be surprisingly…rubbish. Yep, he’s the one player we’re backing to go the other way.
Leeds United: Dan James
Excellent in the Championship, James has a point to prove in the top flight. Everyone thinks he’s nothing more than a pace merchant in the big league. Time to show everyone they were wrong about you, kid.
There are a few new signings we considered, such as Anton Stach and Jaka Bijol, but ultimately opted for former Man United winger James.
Liverpool: Conor Bradley
Our logic is simple: Bradley will usurp Jeremie Frimpong as Arne Slot’s first-choice right-back. Frimpong as an out-and-out full-back scares us. Sure, he will have lots more attacking responsibility than defensive, but he’s more vulnerable playing there than Trent Alexander-Arnold ever was. And Trent got away with it thanks to his world-class technical ability. Frimpong has to do the same by chipping in with goals and assists for Liverpool or Bradley will seize his opportunity.
Manchester City: Tijjani Reijnders
People don’t realise how good this guy is. Reijnders will take the Premier League by storm. Just you wait.
Manchester United: Joshua Zirkzee
Nobody knows this guy’s best position, but he might just stumble across it this season. He’s made for one of those ‘wide 10’ roles in Ruben Amorim’s system, and while Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have been signed, Zirkzee should get enough minutes to impress and give his head coach a real selection headache.
Failing that, Zirkzee will become a more technical version of the Joelinton we’ve seen transform from a bumbling striker to an outstanding box-to-box midfielder for Newcastle.
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Newcastle United: Aaron Ramsdale
The surprise of Newcastle’s summer is Alexander Isak’s desire to leave. Or being rejected by most of their top targets after qualifying for the Champions League and winning a major trophy. It’s not been fun.
But watching Ramsdale should be interesting this season. He’s one of the few players Newcastle have convinced to join them this summer, yet fans are underwhelmed. Just as Arsenal fans were when they signed him. They quickly fell in love with the eccentric goalkeeper, and we think the same will happen in the north east.
READ MORE: Man Utd, Liverpool embarrass Newcastle: Top 10 PIF transfer targets missed by miserable Magpies
Nottingham Forest: Igor Jesus
Forest ended last season poorly, which cost them Champions League football. They were knackered and simply ran out of steam. That points towards more struggles this term, with the Thursday-Sunday schedule destined to take its toll. Nuno Espirito Santo needs a big and fit squad after using the fewest players in last season’s Premier League (23).
With that in mind, we’re backing a summer signing to be Forest’s surprise package. Signed from Botafogo, Jesus scored match-winning goals in the Club World Cup against Seattle Sounders and European champions Paris Saint-Germain. More of the same in Our League, please.
Sunderland: Chris Rigg
The Black Cats have been busy bees this summer. At the time of writing, they’ve signed 11 players. Their most notable addition is undoubtedly former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka, while there are high hopes for Simon Adingra, Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki. Those three signings give us 2023/24 Burnley flashbacks, but we have higher hopes for this mob. And no, we’re not being naive. Shut up.
Anyhow, the surprise star could well be Chris Rigg. The 18-year-old midfielder is destined for big things but is unlikely to be a regular starter in the Premier League, which is fine. We think that could change, with Rigg standing out in Regis Le Bris’ side, forcing the French manager to make him a key player.
Tottenham Hotspur: Mohammed Kudus
Can a £55m signing really be a surprise star? Probably not. They are expected to do well. Regardless, Kudus is our Spurs representative.
Under Thomas Frank, and in a positive atmosphere after a miserable season for West Ham, we think Kudus will thrive, exceeding expectations to make Spurs both fun to watch and competent. Unthinkable, innit? Big Ange could never balance the two.
Here’s a prediction that nobody asked for and unnecessarily puts our neck on the line: 12 goals, seven assists in the Premier League.
West Ham: Jean-Clair Todibo
Are we optimistic about West Ham this season? Absolutely not. Do any of their new signings stand out as especially exciting? Nope. Are we inspired by anyone in their squad enough to claim they’ll be a surprise star this season? Nah. Yet, we’ve somehow stumbled onto Todibo.
The French centre-back flopped in his first season at the London Stadium, but the Hammers were forced to sign him permanently from Nice for over £25m, having set the incredibly low buy-obligation bar of avoiding relegation.
After a difficult year, we are backing Todibo to be a much bigger success this term. He won’t become a leading Premier League defender, but we’re fairly sure his consistency levels will rise and he’ll become one of West Ham’s more reliable players.
Wolves: David Moller Wolfe
Cards on the table…I don’t know an awful lot about Wolfe. What I do know is that he’s a left-back coming to the Premier League from AZ Alkmaar. Milos Kerkez did that two years ago and he turned out pretty good.
Replacing Rayan Ait-Nouri will be tough, but not as tough, or as high-profile, as replacing Matheus Cunha, which Fer Lopez and Jhon Arias have been tasked with doing. It’s a big job for Wolfe, but there’s not the same pressure, which is only a good thing. Wing-back is a vitally important position these days and Vitor Pereira’s style of play should enable the 23-year-old to thrive in 25/26.
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