10 transfers to watch out for in Premier League

Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez will look to make an instant impact with Manchester City and Liverpool respectively. Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus’s quest will be to make their new clubs—Chelsea and Arsenal—believe that they can be pivotal to their rebuilding process.

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With 2022-23 Premier League season set to kick-off on Friday, here’s a look at the 10 new signings who can light up the new season.

Erling Haaland

Club: Manchester City

Position: Forward

Transfer fee: £54.00m

Man City made some statement when they beat Real Madrid and Barcelona to sign the Norwegian goal machine. The 22-year-old’s decision to come to the Etihad Stadium was also a seal of approval to City’s growing stature in the world of football.

Haaland made his name by scoring truckloads of goals for Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, now Man City will hope that he continues to do so in the Premier League and, more importantly, in the Champions League which they haven’t won yet.

While he will make life difficult for opposition defenders, City’s success will hinge on how quickly he gets used to Pep Guardiola’s possession-heavy style. Crucial to his success will also be how soon he adapts to Premier League’s breathtaking pace. Many have failed but pundits feel Haaland, whose father too has played for City, can be club’s first global superstar.

Darwin Nunez

Club: Liverpool

Position: Forward

Transfer fee: £67.50m

Criticised by fans for his lackadaisical display in pre-season games against Manchester United and Crystal Palace, he soon won them over by netting four goals in Liverpool’s 5-0 demolition of RB Leipzig.

Reds’ manager Juergen Klopp is more patient than the fans and whatever he has seen of the 23-year-old makes him believe that he has a gem that can shine at Anfield. There are already whispers that the Uruguayan is a substantial upgrade on Sadio Mane, who has left for Bayern Munich.

His 26 goals in 24 Portuguese league match for Benfica and six goals in six Champions League ties, including stellar displays against Barcelona and Liverpool, convinced Liverpool to sign him in a jiffy. His playing style is similar to that of another Liverpool legend Fernando Torres. Like the Spaniard, he is robust and likes to run defenders ragged, dragging them out of their position.

Gabriel Jesus

Club: Arsenal

Position: Forward

Transfer fee: £46.98m

Few seasons back, the Brazilian was Pep Guardiola’s go-to man at Manchester City but lack of game time over the past few campaigns meant the 25-year-old had to look for options elsewhere. He started just 24 of City’s 50 games in 2021-22.

What made his move to Emirates click was the presence of Mikel Arteta. The Arsenal boss was Guardiola’s assistant at City and knows what Jesus is capable of and wants to make him a key figure in his plans.

Jesus has been among goals in pre-season, netting on four occasions in three games. While at City he never got a decent run, at Arsenal he will have ample opportunity to thrive in a young and energetic forwardline.

Kalvin Phillips

Club: Manchester City

Position: defensive midfielder

Transfer fee: £43.87m

It’s not easy to leave your boyhood club where you are a legend. The 26-year-old Phillips has done so by jumping to Manchester City from Leeds United in his quest to win trophies.

The England international has been brought in to strengthen City’s midfield especially with Fernandinho moving back to Brazil. They have Spaniard Rodri, who also plays as a defensive midfielder, but other than that City don’t have many options in that role.

There was a feeling last season that Rodri commits too many mistakes. Also, when under pressure, he is reluctant to push forward. In Phillips, City get a proven performer who has better numbers than Rodri in tackling and interceptions. Also, he likes to press forward—a trait must for a player who plays under Marcelo Bielsa (the former Leeds manager). No wonder Guardiola brought in Phillips at the first opportunity. After all, Bielsa has had a major influence over Spaniard’s managerial philosophy.

Kalidou Koulibaly

Club: Chelsea

Position: Centre-back

Transfer fee: £34.20m

Chelsea were desperately seeking a centre-back to partner Thiago Silva after Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen moved to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.

The Senegal international, who played eight seasons in Serie A for Napoli, is among the world’s best defenders now. While he is 31 which goes against Chelsea’s policy of signing young players, the Blues needed experience at the heart of the defence.

In Koulibaly, they have landed a player who has the aura and tactical acumen to achieve great things at Stamford Bridge something similar to what Vincent Kompany did at Man City and Virgil Van Dijk is doing at Liverpool.

He will bring a sense of calm to Chelsea’s backline which at times struggled last season when put under pressure.

Lisandro Martinez

Club: Manchester United

Position: Centre-back

Transfer fee: £51.63m

From Raphael Varane to Harry Maguire to Eric Bailly, Manchester United have plenty of options at centre-back but they still bought the 24-year-old Argentinian from Ajax. Which means new manager Erik ten Hag could make him a regular starter.

Ten Hag likes his teams to play out from the back and Martinez, who is very good with his feet, has been brought to fulfil that requirement. Only time will tell how quickly he adjusts as Premier League has left the best of defenders on their knees. Ten Hag is sure he will bed-in quickly and that alone is a big vote of confidence for Martinez.

Raheem Sterling

Club: Chelsea

Position: Attacking midfielder/forward

Transfer fee: £50.58m

Tuchel recently admitted that the England international was their No. 1 priority and that he was “surprised” when Sterling didn’t hesitate to move to Stamford Bridge.

A key player in the early years of Guardiola's reign at City, Sterling saw his starts and goals dip with each passing year. With arrival of Jack Grealish, and now of Haaland, his chances of regular starts would dip further.

A move to Chelsea gives Sterling an opportunity to find his mojo.

With Sterling around, Tuchel may change his approach from last season when Romelu Lukaku often was the focal point. Sterling, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz give him options to be flexible and more importantly, inject pace on the counter which wasn’t possible with Lukaku.

Gianluca Scamacca

Club: West Ham

Position: Centre forward

Transfer fee: £32.40m

The Italy international, who scored 16 goals in 36 Serie A appearances last season for Sassuolo, is the first forward David Moyes signed since he started managing West Ham in December 2019.

The 23-year-old has been brought in to ease the burden on Michail Antonio. What works in his favour is his composure in front of the goal, a trait often missing in Antonio, especially in one-on-one situations. Moyes will hope that Scamacca will get the goals which Hammers were desperately short on last season and that eventually cost them a top-five finish.

That even Paris Saint-Germain were interested in signing the forward shows is proof of his burgeoning reputation. After signing with West Ham, he said that he wanted to test himself in Premier League.

Boubacar Kamara

Club: Aston Villa

Position: Defensive midfielder

Transfer fee: Free

The Frenchman is the best central midfielder in Europe and Villa did well to sign him beating interest from Manchester United and Barcelona. Villa manager Steven Gerrard said that Kamara rejected offers from Champions League clubs to join them from Ligue 1 side Marseille.

Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor is mighty impressed with what he has seen so far from the 22-year-old. “He wants the ball in every position and can spray passes across the field. Even under pressure he’s looking to play passes into attacking areas," said Agbonlahor.

Kamara mostly plays as a defensive midfielder but has also been slotted as centre-back and right-back at Marseille. For a player of his age, he is good at reading games, nullifying opposition counters and is good at shielding defence when under pressure.

Cheick Doucoure

Club: Crystal Palace

Position: Central midfield

Transfer fee: £20.34m

His dictating the play against PSG and Monaco last season was enough to convince Crystal Palace scouts and manager Patrick Vieira that the Mali international is ready to step up in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old started as a defensive midfielder but has developed into a more complete midfielder who can break up play and counter-press. In Ligue 1, he played a similar role for Lens what N’Golo Kante does at Chelsea.

Vieira knew what Doucoure is capable of as he had seen him up close when he was Nice manager and made him his No.1 transfer target.

Doucoure didn't hesitate when Palace came calling. After all, he will get to learn from his manager who was one of the best central midfielders of his generation.

Who’s in and who’s out in the 20 teams

Till Saturday evening, the 20 Premier League clubs had spent £1.10 billion to buy new players. Here's a list of newcomers who have joined the top-flight of English football and those who have left.

Manchester City

Arrivals: Erling Haaland, from Borussia Dortmund, £54m; Kalvin Phillips, from Leeds United, £43.87m; Stefan Ortega, from Arminia Bielefeld, free transfer

Departures

Raheem Sterling, to Chelsea, £50.58m; Gabriel Jesus, to Arsenal, £46.98m; Oleksandr Zinchenko, to Arsenal, £31.50m; Pedro Porro, to Sporting CP, £7.65m; Ko Itakura, to Borussia Monchengladbach, £4.50m; Arijanet Muric, to Burnley FC, £2.70m

Liverpool

Arrivals: Darwin Nunez, from Benfica, £67.50m; Fabio Carvalho, from Fulham, £5.31m; Calvin Ramsay, from £4.41m

Departures: Sadio Mane, to Bayern Munich, £28.80m; Neco Williams, to Nottingham Forest, £18.00m; Takumi Minamino, to AS Monaco, £13.50m; Marko Grujic, to FC Porto, £8.10m; Ben Davies, to Rangers, £4.23m

Chelsea:

Arrivals: Raheem Sterling, from Manchester City, £50.58m; Kalidou Koulibaly, from Napoli, £34.20m.

Departures: Antonio Rudiger, to Real Madrid, free transfer; Andreas Christensen, to Barcelona, free transfer

Manchester United

Arrivals: Lisandro Martinez, from Ajax, £51.63m; Tyrell Malacia, from Feyenoord, £13.50m; Christian Eriksen, from Brentford, free transfer

Departures: Andreas Pereira, to Fulham, £8.55m; Paul Pogba, to Juventus, free transfer; Jesse Lingard, to Nottingham Forest, free transfer; Nemanja Matic, to AS Roma, free transfer

Arsenal

Arrivals: Gabriel Jesus, from Manchester City, £46.98m; Oleksandr Zinchenko, from Manchester City, £31.50m; Fabio Vieira, from FC Porto, £31.50m; Matt Turner, from New England Revolution, £5.73m; Marquinhos, Sao Paulo, £3.15m

Departures: Matteo Guendouzi, to Marseille, £9.90m; Konstantinos Mavropanos, to VfB Stuttgart, £2.88m; Alexandre Lacazette, to Lyon, free transfer

Tottenham

Arrivals: Richarlison, from Everton, £52.20m; Yves Bissouma, from Brighton, £26.28m; Djed Spence, from Middlesbrough, £13.23m; Ivan Perisic, from Inter Milan, free transfer; Fraser Forster, from Southampton, free transfer; Clement Lenglet, from Barcelona, loan transfer

Departures: Steven Bergwijn, to Ajax, £28.13m; Cameron Carter-Vickers, to Celtic, £6.30m

Leicester City

They haven't signed any player yet

Departures: 6. To lower divisions in England

Everton

Arrivals: James Tarkowski, from Burnley, free transfer; Dwight McNeil and Ruben Vinagre, from Sporting, on loan.

Departures: Richarlison, to Tottenham, £52.20m; Jonjoe Kenny, Hertha Berlin, free transfer; Cenk Tosun, Besiktas, free transfer.

Aston Villa

Arrivals: Diego Carlos, from Sevilla, £27.90m; Philippe Coutinho, from Barcelona, £18.00m; Robin Olsen, from AS Roma, £3.15m; Ludwig Augustinsson, from Sevilla, £450,000; Boubacar Kamara, from Marseille free transfer

Departures: Matt Targett, to Newcastle United, £15.75m; Trezeguet, to Trabzonspor, £3.60m; Lovre Kalinic, to Hajduk Split, free transfer; Conor Hourihane, to Derby County, free transfer

Newcastle United

Arrivals: Sven Botman, from Lille, £33.30m; Matt Targett, from Aston Villa, £15.75m; Nick Pope, from Burnley, £10.35m.

Departures: Dwight Gayle, to Stoke City, free transfer

Leeds United

Arrivals: Brenden Aaronson, from Red Bull Salzburg, £29.56m; Luis Sinisterra, from Feyenoord, £22.50m; Tyler Adams, from RB Leipzig, £18.00m; Rasmus Kristensen, from RB Salzburg £11.70m; Marc Roca, from Bayern Munich, £10.80m; Darko Gyabi, from Manchester City U23, £5.22m

Departures: Raphinha, to Barcelona, £52.20m; Kalvin Phillips, to Manchester City, £43.87m; Leif Davis, to Ipswich Town, £1.08m

West Ham United

Arrivals: Gianluca Scamacca, from Sassuolo, £32.40m; Nayef Aguerd, from Stade Rennais, £31.50m; Flynn Downes, from Swansea, £9.59m; Alphonse Areola, from PSG, £8.37m

Departures: Andriy Yarmolenko, to Al-Ain FC, free transfer; Ryan Fredericks, to Bournemouth, free transfer

Crystal Palace

Arrivals: Cheick Doucoure, from Lens, £20.34m; Chris Richards, from Bayern Munich, £10.80m; Sam Johnstone, from West Bromwich Albion, free transfer; Malcolm Ebiowei, Derby County, free transfer

Departures: Jaroslaw Jach, to Zaglebie Lubin, free transfer.

Brighton

Arrivals: Julio Enciso, from Club Libertad Asuncion, £10.44m; Simon Adingra, from FC Nordsjaelland, £7.20m.

Departures: Yves Bissouma, to Tottenham, £26.28m; Leo Ostigard, to Napoli, £4.50m; Tudor Baluta, FCV Farul Constanta, free transfer

Southampton

Arrivals: Gavin Bazunu, from Manchester City U23, £12.60m; Sekou Mara, from Bordeaux, £11.70m; Romeo Lavia, from Manchester City U23, £11.07m; Armel Bella-Kotchap, from Bochum, £9.00m; Joe Aribo, from Rangers, £6.39m; Mateusz Lis, from Altay SK, free transfer

Departures: Fraser Forster, to Tottenham, free transfer; Shane Long, to Reading, free transfer; Harry Lewis, to Bradford, free transfer

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Arrivals: Nathan Collins, from Burnley, £21.87m; Hee-chan Hwang, from RB Leipzig, £15.03m

Departures: Ruben Vinagre, Sporting CP, £9.00m; Romain Saiss, to Besiktas, free transfer; Marcal, to Botafogo, free transfer; John Ruddy, to Birmingham City, free transfer

Brentford

Arrivals: Keane Lewis-Potter, from Hull City, £17.10m; Aaron Hickey, from Bologna, to £14.85m; Thomas Strakosha, from Lazio, free transfer; Ben Mee, from Burnley, free transfer

Departures: Marcus Forss, to Middlesbrough, £3.24m; Christian Eriksen, to Manchester United, free transfer

Fulham

Arrivals: Joao Palhinha, from Sporting CP, £18.00m; Andreas Pereira, from Manchester United, £8.55m; Kevin Mbabu, from VfL Wolfsburg, £4.95m; Manor Solomon, from Shakhtar Donetsk, on loan

Departures: Andre Zambo Anguissa, to Napoli, £13.50m; Fabio Carvalho, to Liverpool, £5.31m; Jean Michael Seri, to Hull City, free transfer; Jacob Adams, to Hayes & Yeading, free transfer

Nottingham Forest

Arrivals: Taiwo Awoniyi, from Union Berlin, £18.45m; Neco Williams, from Liverpool, £18.00m; Moussa Niakhate, from Mainz 05, £9.00m; Giulian Biancone, from Troyes, £9.00m; Omar Richards, from Bayern Munich, £7.65m; Lewis O'Brien, from Huddersfield Town, £5.31m; Harry Toffolo, from Huddersfield Town, £5.31m; Jesse Lingard, from Manchester United, free transfer; Wayne Hennessey, from Burnley, free transfer; Dean Henderson, from Manchester United, on loan

Departures: Brice Samba, to Lens, £4.50m; Tobias Figueiredo, to Hull City, free transfer

Bournemouth

Arrivals: Joe Rothwell, from Blackburn Rovers, free transfer; Ryan Fredericks, from West Ham United, free transfer

Departures: Robbie Brady, to Preston North End, free transfer

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