The Transfer Radar 2026: The Athletic’s ultimate guide to the players clubs will be keeping an eye on

(Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Photos: Dean Mouhtaropoulos; Justin Setterfield; Jacques Feeney/Offside; Getty Images)

Welcome to The 2026 Transfer Radar.

Last year, we launched a new version of The Radar — our scouting guide highlighting the players to watch at each major tournament — focused on transfers across 2025.

Clubs across Europe will now be making their plans for 2026, across both the January and summer transfer windows. Depending on contracts, purported availability, a lack of game time at their current clubs or just outright ability and form, certain players will be on lists across recruitment departments. This does not mean they will definitely move or are even likely to — just that other teams will be keeping an eye on their circumstances. Or, to put it another way, that player is on a club’s ‘radar’.

This is not a ranking of the players — those towards the top are no more likely to move or more significant to the 2026 market than those at the bottom.

But what is the reality for those players and their situation? Are they already in talks to extend contracts? Are clubs desperate to keep hold of them? Are they willing to let existing deals run down? Or, with teams potentially circling, are they being viewed as a player who could be sold in January or the summer?

The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, Mario Cortegana, James McNicholas, James Horncastle, Guillermo Rai, Mark Critchley, Laurie Whitwell, Chris Waugh, Jacob Tanswell, Pol Ballus, Patrick Boyland, Simon Johnson, James Pearce, Mark Carey, Matt Woosnam, Jacob Whitehead, Jay Harris, Tom Burrows, Thom Harris, Art de Roché, Paul Taylor, Conor O’Neill, Anantaajith Raghuraman, Liam Tharme, Cerys Jones, Andy Naylor, Steve Madeley and Justin Guthrie have been tasked with finding out over the last few months.

The information found within this article has been gathered according to The Athletic’s sourcing guidelines. Unless stated, our reporters have spoken to more than one person regarding each player’s circumstances before offering the clubs and representatives involved the opportunity to comment. Their responses, when they were given, have been included.

Below, the latest information on the players in question can be found, alongside profiles of each one and analysis on how they play.

Arguably the most significant market-related issue on Liverpool’s agenda is the future of Konate, whose existing terms are scheduled to expire in June and how this situation ends remains unclear.

Despite the defender being able to speak with foreign teams and reach a pre-contract agreement from January 1, it is not certain he will exit as a free agent; the outcome could still go either way.

Liverpool first made efforts to renew Konate in 2023, and the negotiations were then inherited by Richard Hughes after his appointment as sporting director, starting the role on June 1, 2024.

It is felt at Anfield that the club hierarchy have shown strong intent throughout to extend the 26-year-old centre-back’s career on Merseyside. However, a lot will now depend on Konate’s priorities.

Although he has been considered by Real Madrid, The Athletic can reveal the La Liga side have informed their Premier League counterparts directly and unequivocally that — despite such heavy speculation — they now have no interest in recruiting the France international.

David Ornstein, Mario Cortegana and Guillermo Rai

What else do I need to know about him?

Konate is a big character in the Liverpool dressing room. His booming laugh means you can often hear him at Kirkby before you see him.

He’s the squad member often tasked with acting as a roving reporter when it comes to questioning team-mates and creating light-hearted content for club media channels.

Konate wears his heart on his sleeve. Earlier this season the defender responded to a fan account on social media following the criticism he received for his performances at the start of the campaign by posting: “The problem is some of you forget too quick… only after two games.”

Winning the Premier League with Liverpool last season meant everything to him, especially having previously experienced defeats in both the World Cup and Champions League finals.

Two hours after the win over Tottenham in April that secured the title, he re-emerged from the mouth of the tunnel and walked to the back of the first tier of the deserted Main Stand before taking a seat. He spent a few minutes in quiet contemplation.

Injuries hampered him following his £36m move to Liverpool from RB Leipzig in 2021. He only played 990 Premier League minutes in his debut season, and that figure climbed modestly to 1,552 minutes in 2022-23 and 1,574 minutes in 2023-24.

But the new regime under Arne Slot has suited Konate. He clocked up 2,560 top-flight minutes last season, and this time around, he’s started all of the club’s Premier League matches.

Tell me about how he plays

Konate’s profile has come under the spotlight in recent months, with performances that have not always matched up with his capabilities.

At his best, the 26-year-old is a bully to opposition strikers, dominating them aerially and shrugging them off the ball in ground duels — hoovering up any danger with the nonchalance of a defender beyond his years.

Compared with other Premier League centre-backs with 900-plus minutes since the start of last season, Konate profiles low in the volume of tackles and interceptions he makes, but his ability to win his battles is among the best in the league. He might not always go looking for trouble, but when Konate is called into action, he will get tight to his man and often come out on top.

There have been lapses of concentration for Liverpool, but the key has been getting Konate to perform consistently this season. When he is on top form, few centre-backs in Europe can match his skill set.

A summer transfer to Liverpool collapsed on deadline day, but Marc Guehi is expected to depart Selhurst Park in 2026.

Whether the Premier League champions will try again in January remains unclear but even if they or other suitors do, any proposal would need to satisfy Palace and Guehi — which is by no means guaranteed.

That is because of an amicable understanding between the south London club and their captain that he will see out the final months of his terms, attempt to lift another trophy and leave as a free agent at the end of the season.

Guehi can speak to foreign teams from January 1, while English sides must officially wait until the summer. Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City are among his many admirers, while Real Madrid’s position may depend on the movement of other targets.

Any suggestion that switching to Anfield is a formality would be wide of the mark; the situation remains open, the competition fierce, and Guehi will listen to all interested parties before making his decision.

Although the 25-year-old England centre-back will have numerous destinations to choose from — and some not currently high in the pecking order could emerge as such, depending on how their seasons unfold — it is anticipated he will end up joining one of those who are expected to challenge for the Champions League trophy.

What else do I need to know about him?

Guehi has always been focused. Ever since his days with Cray Wanderers and then into the youth setup at Chelsea, he has possessed the mental tools and drive to plan how he wants his career to pan out.

Controlling the controllables is how he operates. It led him to seek first-team football in the summer of 2021 when he left Chelsea to join Crystal Palace.

That clarity of thought has seen him become the club captain in south London, demonstrating exceptional leadership and rising through the England youth ranks. As captain during England’s successful Under-17 World Cup campaign in May 2017, he spoke with exceptional precision about redemption, five months after that age group had suffered an agonising defeat by Spain in the European Championship final.

This clearness of thought will guide him in his next move. Perhaps in January, definitely in the summer. The decision not to sign a new contract with Palace would not have been made on a whim, but with intent and in keeping with the ambition that was set at a young age.

Tell me about how he plays

For all that you might want to highlight Guehi’s defensive strengths, many people sleep on just how strong he is on the ball.

Using data from SkillCorner, no Crystal Palace player made more line-breaking passes — which are denoted as passes that progress the ball through, over or around an organised opposition shape — than the 25-year-old last season, with 280 dwarfing his nearest team-mate, Maxence Lacroix, with 173.

Guehi operates as the left centre-back in Oliver Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 system, and a lot of those passes are often to the left side of the pitch to work the ball wide. However, Guehi has the ability to play a defence-splitting pass through the centre of the pitch that can catalyse an attack in the blink of an eye, as shown below.

It is clear why Guehi is so highly thought of among Europe’s elite clubs. Not only does he possess the strength and defensive intelligence off the ball, but he is just as comfortable distributing possession when his side has the ball.

Vinicius Jr’s future at Real Madrid is up in the air after negotiations for his renewal stalled at the end of last season.

The Athletic revealed the Brazilian had informed president Florentino Perez in late October that he does not intend to extend his contract, which currently expires in summer 2027, while his relationship with head coach Xabi Alonso remains strained.

This conversation happened after the last Clasico, when Vinicius Jr apologised to Perez because of his reaction at being substituted — he was clearly angry towards Alonso.

The 25-year-old, who joined from Flamengo in 2018 for €45m, extended his contract in the summer of 2022 for five years.

This contract meant the player would receive a large pay rise and his release clause would be set at €1billion.

Madrid opened negotiations for the renewal in January, when Vinicius Jr rejected the first proposal. The club then asked him for a figure, which was not accepted by the board when his representatives conveyed it.

The Athletic revealed Vinicius Jr had asked for a package of up to around €30m net per season. This includes a fixed salary (the striker is on around €18m — on a par with Kylian Mbappe — after achieving several bonuses such as for winning the The FIFA Best award), add-ons and something unprecedented at Madrid: a renewal bonus.

There has been no agreement yet, and it continues to generate a lot of noise.

His difficult relationship with new coach Alonso has only added to the speculation. It is expected to be a factor in this process, and key figures at the club are aware of it.

This season, Vinicius Jr has only completed 90 minutes five times and has been benched in four matches.

After representatives from Saudi Arabia showed willingness to offer Vinicius Jr a huge contract in 2024 — valued above €1billion for five years — the interest cooled down months ago.

What else do I need to know about him?

Vinicius Jr has always stated that he wants to stay at Madrid, but the wait only adds to the uncertainty.

His agency, Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by Jay-Z, is known for following a particular management style.

Vinicius Jr is one of the few Madrid players who owns more than 50 per cent of his image rights, despite the normal thing being to have them shared equally with the club.

He renewed his contract in 2022 until 2027, while his Brazil team-mates and friends Eder Militao and Rodrygo extended until 2028. Why? To have greater negotiating power earlier, if he continued to improve.

Vinicius Jr and his agents are also asking for a renewal bonus now, something the club do not want to entertain.

The player and his camp’s stance is that if the salary cap cannot be broken despite Mbappe and other players receiving extra income for arriving as free agents with a signing bonus, a renewal fee bridges the gap.

They believe the closer they get to the end of his contract, the better terms they will achieve because of the risk Madrid would run of selling him for an amount below his actual market value in 2026 — or losing him for free in 2027.

Tell me about how he plays

Vinicius Jr is probably the most entertaining player at Madrid, and that’s saying a lot in a team that includes Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler, among others.

He fulfils everything expected from a Brazil star: offensive, daring, flashy, imaginative, and highly skilled. Whenever he receives the ball on the left wing, he is thinking about attacking.

As we can see from the scatter plot below, few players in world football can match his appetite for running at defenders with a consistent ability to crash into the box.

When he plays at the Bernabeu the same thing always happens: first, there is silence, as if people are preparing for something, and next, there is a growing murmur until he finishes what he is trying to do.

He has traditionally played on the wing, even after the arrival of Mbappe in the summer of 2024. Although under Carlo Ancelotti, he successfully played as a No 9.

Despite the speculation, he remains a crowd favourite. Now the big question is: will he remain a Madrid player?

Some of the biggest clubs in world football have pursued Saka in the past and would not hesitate to do so again — if there was any realistic possibility of prising the 24-year-old from north London.

As things stand, Arsenal’s talismanic winger is approaching the final 18 months of his existing contract and in normal circumstances that would present suitors with an opportunity to pounce.

But these are not normal circumstances: Saka has spent his entire career at the Emirates Stadium and there is no indication of him wanting to leave, something interested parties are fully aware of.

Talks continue over a new deal, which Arsenal hope will be their latest high-profile extension, and all expectations are that an agreement will be reached soon to tie down the England international.

What else do I need to know about him?

Saka has proven himself to be one of the most effective right-wingers in world football, but his role could become more flexible moving forward.

Versatility has always been an asset for Saka. It’s easy to forget he made his breakthrough in 2019-20 as an emergency left-back during an injury crisis. The fact that he is now a fixture in the opposite corner of the pitch demonstrates the broad array of his talents.

More recently, he has been seen occasionally popping up in the left wing position for Arsenal. It adds an element of unpredictability to Arsenal and Saka’s game.

“I think having that unpredictability and that flexibility can add a lot of value,” said Mikel Arteta in November.

“It’s true that you need certain consistencies as well in certain positions, and not all the players are that naturally confident or comfortable to adapt to a different position. It’s just finding when is the right moment, the right time in the game to make those changes, and then it has to work.”

At 24, Saka’s game is still evolving. Stints on the left — or perhaps even through the middle — could be part of the next phase of his development.

Tell me about how he plays

Saka’s ability is such that many of Arsenal’s attacks gravitate towards him, an effortlessly effective wide player who loves to glide infield and wreak havoc with his left foot.

He strikes through the ball smoothly, an expert at the looping, curling far-post finish, but equally dangerous when he can swivel his hips and thump the ball low and hard to the goalkeeper’s near side. But it’s his inventiveness and his interplay — the outermost edge of Arsenal’s creative right-side triangle — that sets him apart, having registered 53 assists, comfortably more than any team-mate, since breaking into the first-team squad.

Since the start of last season, we can see the quality of his wide delivery, with back-post crosses and teasing corner kicks delivered right on top of the goalkeeper accounting for a large chunk of his chance creation across that time.

Saka is practically undroppable and unsellable; the face of Arteta’s Arsenal. Still only 24, there is plenty more to come.

More than halfway through a four-year contract agreed when switching to Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur, the England captain’s life in Germany is going even better than expected.

Off the pitch, Kane and his family are extremely happy. On the pitch, the striker appears to be at the peak of his powers and is not only competing for major trophies but is now winning them too.

Bayern share a fantastic relationship with their prolific striker, and he would be open to prolonging a deal that is scheduled to expire in June 2027, although both parties are relaxed and in little rush.

Those terms contain a release clause that stands at £56million in January, and Kane would need to notify the club by the end of that month if he wishes to activate it for a winter or summer move.

The expectation is that he will not do so and intends to remain at Bayern for the foreseeable future. He said before the Champions League tie with Arsenal that it is “very unlikely” he will leave at the end of this season, but that he has not yet held any discussions with the Bundesliga club.

Things can change, and the thinking of Kane and his employers may well be influenced by what happens this season; however, there are no conversations about a departure for the time being.

It is plausible that the idea of an extension gets parked and Bayern instead choose to maximise Kane’s football value before letting him go as a free agent, by which point he will be 34. Whether at the Allianz Area or elsewhere, it looks like Kane will still have plenty left in the tank beyond then.

Rumours have swirled about interest from Barcelona and an emotional return to Spurs, but talks are yet to take place with suitors, and the current direction of travel suggests Kane is staying put.

What else do I need to know about him?

Kane arrived in Germany to plenty of scepticism. Not unreasonably, given that he was following in a long line of truly outstanding forwards — the most recent, of course, being Robert Lewandowski.

But Kane’s popularity has soared, and there’s a general local acceptance that he’s actually a far better and more complete forward than anybody realised. It would have been heresy to place him above Lewandowski a few years ago. Now, in terms of ability and contribution — if not material success — that’s really a default position.

Tell me about how he plays

What more can you say about Harry Kane’s profile that is not already known?

Kane has honed his skills as a striker who is the ultimate clinical finisher and a chief creator in equal measure. A current rate of 1.40 goals per 90 is putting Kane in a different stratosphere this season, with a return that must surely be unsustainable across the course of a full season.

What might appear particularly curious to fans is that Kane’s goalscoring comes at a time when he is taking the lowest volume of shots per 90 since arriving in Germany. The location and quality of those shots are arguably no better than his final season at Tottenham Hotspur, yet his return of finishes is comfortably the highest of his career.

It most likely speaks to the grace and accuracy with which Kane finishes. A sweeping strike from his left or right foot will often place the ball into the corner of the goal like an AI-generated machine, such is the precision with which he operates.

If ever there was a guarantee of a player’s skill set, Kane is it.

Lookman wanted to leave Atalanta in the summer. He believed the club promised him a move away after three seasons in Bergamo. Atalanta were prepared to let the 2024 African Footballer of the Year leave, but only to a club outside Serie A. For that reason, chief executive Luca Percassi dismissed Inter’s overtures for Lookman.

Aggrieved, the player tried to force the move by intermittently showing up for pre-season training. Atalanta dug in. They did not need the money after Mateo Retegui’s sale to Al Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League and did not want to lose another valuable player, particularly when transitioning from one coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, to another, Ivan Juric.

In the end, Lookman reintegrated. But his form suffered from a lack of pre-season, and Juric clashed with him in Marseille.

Juric’s dismissal in November makes the sale of Lookman in January unlikely. New coach Raffaele Palladino needs the team’s best players to turn things around in the second half of the season, with Atalanta 13th in Serie A, and, besides, Lookman will be away at AFCON for a month.

What else do I need to know about him?

In Dublin 18 months ago, Lookman became the first African player to score a hat-trick in a European final. “Obviously that night, let’s say I was walking on air,” Lookman said after Atalanta demolished the hitherto unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024 Europa League final.

It was Atalanta’s first trophy since 1963 and propelled Lookman to another level. As a kid from south London, he could barely believe it when, later that year, he made the Ballon d’Or shortlist. Lookman placed 14th, but he was No.1 in Africa.

The African Player of the Year award was recognition not only for what he achieved with Atalanta. Earlier in the season, he was a member of the Nigeria team that reached the AFCON final only to lose to the Ivory Coast on penalties.

Next month, Lookman will have the opportunity to avenge that defeat in the latest edition of the tournament. It will also be a chance to get over the bitter disappointment of not going to the World Cup next summer after the Super Eagles’ loss to DR Congo in the CAF World Cup play-offs.

Tell me about how he plays

What stands out the most with Lookman is his versatility.

Not only is he a dual attacking threat — posting double figures for goal involvements in each of his last three Serie A campaigns — but he can play anywhere across the front line.

As shown below, his position map since moving to Atalanta depicts a player who is comfortable playing off both feet and doing a job wherever his manager puts him. While he is predominantly right-footed, 26 per cent of his shots have come with his non-dominant left foot since the 2022-23 season.

“I feel like I understand football a lot more now,” Lookman told The Athletic in 2024. “Previously, I never used to view football the way I view it now. When I watch games, I look for certain things in terms of movements and spaces — those little details that I never really used to look for before.”

First-time poacher’s finishes, driven strikes to the near post or curled efforts across goal — Lookman has a bit of everything in his attacking profile, and his unpredictability is what makes him so highly coveted.

Fernandes rejected the opportunity to join Al Hilal last summer despite receiving lucrative offers from the Saudi Pro League outfit, including a proposal worth €40m per year net, plus a further €10m in bonuses.

And amid talk of bids within the range of £80m to £100m, United were open to selling Fernandes if he showed a desire to leave, but both the player and the club ultimately wanted to extend his spell at Old Trafford into a seventh season.

Will there be an eighth? Fernandes recently revealed that interested clubs are still making approaches. “But from my side, that’s not talked about,” he said. “Because my agent also knows how I work, so if he wants to talk to me, it will be after the World Cup. Because until then, I won’t speak to anyone.”

That would appear to rule out any move in January, but it leaves the prospect of a departure in the summer distinctly open. Clubs from Europe have also been monitoring his situation, as well as his Saudi suitors.

Fernandes will have a year remaining on his contract by that stage, albeit with United retaining a one-year option to extend.

It will nevertheless be the last opportunity for the club to extract anything like the money that was on the table last summer. Fernandes may once again have a decision to make.

What else do I need to know about him?

If United’s captain were to say farewell to English football at some point over the next year, he would be leaving another member of the Fernandes family behind.

His older brother, Ricardo, plays for non-league side Roffey — a club based near Horsham in West Sussex, playing in the Southern Combination Premier Division, the ninth tier of English football.

Ricardo moved to the U.K. in 2015, five years before his brother’s arrival at United, to work in the NHS, and now has a role at As1 Sports, Bruno’s agency.

“The way we pass the ball, our style of play is similar. He’s at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ at Old Trafford, I’m at the ‘Theatre of Trees’ at Roffey,” Ricardo told BBC Sport last year.

“Growing up, the dream was that both of us would be professional. He’s made it and I’m pleased I can enjoy it alongside him as well.”

Tell me about how he plays

Fernandes is everywhere all at once, a tireless midfield player who tries to get involved in all phases of play. Whether he’s dropping into midfield and spraying inch-perfect passes out to wingers, or charging into pockets of space in the final third and demanding the ball, his creative influence and ball-striking ability mean that a decisive moment rarely feels far away.

The visualisation below compares Premier League players and the proportion of their team’s actions that they perform. As we can see, Fernandes has been involved in almost 50 per cent of Manchester United’s sequences leading to shots since the start of last season — a league high — while he takes an impressive chunk of their touches, strikes almost one in five of their shots, and is heavily involved when it comes to moving the ball up the pitch.

Fernandes is the conductor, the engine, and the talisman all in one; persistence personified, with more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

Mainoo informed the club’s hierarchy of his desire to leave on loan to play regular first-team football during the final days of the summer window.

United did not wish to sanction a temporary move at that time and expressed to Mainoo that he was still a valued member of the squad who would be expected to fight for his place.

Mainoo has not started a game since, however, with United’s early Carabao Cup exit and lack of European football limiting opportunities for those who are not at the forefront of Ruben Amorim’s thinking.

A loan in January could be revisited, and is likely necessary for Mainoo to have any chance of regaining his England place ahead of this summer’s World Cup, but would leave Amorim light in midfield unless he was replaced.

Napoli are among Mainoo’s potential suitors, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s thigh injury heightening their need for midfield reinforcements.

What else do I need to know about him?

If Mainoo were to depart in January, even if only on loan, then one of United’s proudest traditions would be placed in jeopardy. United have consistently included an academy graduate in their first-team matchday squad since 1937, over the course of more than 4,300 games.

Mainoo has been the sole academy representative in United’s squad on several occasions already this season. When he missed the recent 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur with a knock, academy midfielder Jack Fletcher was called up as his replacement.

Tom Heaton, United’s third-choice goalkeeper, and young defender Tyler Fredricson have also featured in squads this term, but like Fletcher, would not typically be considered part of Ruben Amorim’s first-choice 20-man squad.

Amorim is fully aware of the record and has vowed to preserve it. “We want to maintain that; I don’t want to be the guy to break that record, or that idea,” he said in September.

Yet if Mainoo leaves, and particularly if he was replaced by another first-team level signing in January, then Amorim could face a dilemma in staying true to his word while still selecting the strongest possible squad.

Tell me about how he plays

Mainoo’s technical quality is without question: he possesses that rare ability to burst away in congested midfield areas, along with the incisiveness to split defensive lines with his passes. The trouble for Amorim is his competency out of possession, describing him as “struggling a lot defending as a midfielder”.

On the surface, that assessment seems wide of the mark, with Mainoo ranking highly across Europe’s top five leagues for tackles won and danger snuffed out. But Amorim may argue that his loose positioning forces him into a higher volume of defensive actions, and that he can struggle with the physicality required when operating as one of the midfield pivots.

At 20 years old, he has ample time to refine this side of his game, but in the near term, he may benefit from playing under a manager who can protect his weaknesses and maximise his strengths.

Schlotterbeck is another player who is pondering a contract extension. The Dortmund defender’s current deal runs until 2027, and his club are pressing hard for an extension; that saga has been rumbling for some time.

He has been repeatedly linked with Bayern Munich — and has been asked about that directly while on international duty (playing a straight bat each time) — but the central defender has also attracted Premier League interest.

Had he not suffered a serious knee injury at the end of last season, from which he only returned in the autumn, Dortmund would likely have already had to field significant offers.

What else do I need to know about him?

This is less about him and more about what he represents.

Schlotterbeck, now 25, is a candidate to captain Germany in the future, and he is already a leader at the Westfalenstadion. He is also the most talented member of a much-maligned defence and one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in Germany.

Given that Dortmund would struggle to replace him, the club’s fans would be highly provoked by his departure.

Tell me about how he plays

Not only is Schlotterbeck strong in the tackle, aerially dominant, and quick enough to step up and defend the space in-behind, he is also left-footed, opening up plenty of passing angles in build-up to help his team progress effectively up the pitch.

His passing range is excellent, very happy to switch the play or look for a searching ball in behind. Only Marcos Senesi has completed more passes per game into the attacking third from centre-back since the start of last season in Europe’s top five leagues, though Schlotterbeck’s completion rate of such passes is close to 23 per cent higher.

Looking at the 25-year-old’s most common progressive passes underlines his ability to break lines with purposeful passes into midfield and beyond, fearlessly attacking through the centre of the pitch. Schlotterbeck will often disguise his passes brilliantly, picking out his target well before receiving the ball, shaping up to move the ball out wide, before sharply swinging his hips and fizzing the ball inside.

Three stellar seasons at Dortmund have seen Schlotterbeck cement his status as one of the most promising centre-back profiles on the continent. He could take the next step very soon.

A spectacular first season after joining Napoli from Manchester United saw McTominay win the Serie A title, be named the league’s most valuable player and gain a nomination for the Ballon d’Or prize.

It has also generated suitors for the Scotland international from other Italian clubs, elsewhere across Europe and even further afield in the Saudi Pro League.

This campaign has so far seen Napoli slip back in domestic and European competition, but that has not reflected negatively on McTominay, and it will be interesting to see what they decide to do with the midfielder next summer, when he is due to enter the final 24 months of his contract.

What else do I need to know about him?

On one of the walls outside the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, the street artist Jorit has dedicated a series of murals to some of Napoli’s greatest ever players. There’s Maradona (obviously), Dino Zoff, Ruud Krol, Giuseppe Bruscolotti, Ciro Ferrara, Edinson Cavani, Dries Mertens and Kalidou Koulibaly.

Although commissioned as a best XI, it won’t be long before McTominay gets the same treatment. Napoli’s top scorer and the league’s MVP in his first season, it’s no exaggeration to say a place in the Napoli pantheon awaits McTominay. A Premier League legend such as Kevin De Bruyne, for instance, will have a hard time dislodging McFratm as a fan favourite.

With regard to his future, it is difficult to imagine McTominay receiving the same love and status anywhere else — even in Glasgow after the bicycle kick in the win against Denmark that helped qualify Scotland for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.

Tell me about how he plays

Scott McTominay, the box-crashing midfielder, who finished in the top 20 men’s Ballon d’Or nominations in 2025. It does have a ring to it.

With 12 Serie A goals last season, Italian defences had not quite caught onto the dangerous runs that the 28-year-old possessed when getting into the penalty area. In truth, maybe they still have not learned, with McTominay scoring an archetypal goal against Sassuolo in August, drifting in to meet Matteo Politano’s cross to give Napoli the lead.

This skill set is highlighted in McTominay’s SkillCorner off-ball running profile from last season, which compares his metrics to those of positional peers across Europe’s top seven leagues.

A tendency to look beyond the opposition defence (Runs in behind, 87 out of 99) or ghost into the box to get on the end of deliveries (Cross receiver, 91 out of 99) underpin his profile to be that midfielder that opponents struggle to track.

McTominay has embraced the mantle of becoming one of Napoli’s key players since he arrived in Italy. There is a culture, an intelligence, an aura about his game that has taken his profile to another level in recent years.

Amid heavy interest from Tottenham Hotspur last summer, Gibbs-White signed a three-year contract at Forest that committed him to the City Ground until the summer of 2028.

It ended immediate uncertainty over the future of a midfielder who is admired by many leading sides, helping Forest during their first season in Europe since 1995-96.

But the fresh agreement also rewarded Gibbs-White with a significantly improved salary, which the club will be better equipped to shoulder if their place in continental competition is retained. More European campaigns would also help them meet the footballing ambitions of Gibbs-White and other talented players.

Should Forest drop out, however, they will find it harder to retain Gibbs-White. As long as the England international maintains his high performance levels, external interest is unlikely to go away.

What else do I need to know about him?

Most professional footballers are competitive characters, but Gibbs-White takes it to the next level.

Whether it is a game of head tennis or pool after training — or a friendly game of padel on holiday — Gibbs-White simply has to win, as former Forest team-mate Anthony Elanga testified in a previous interview with The Athletic.

“Goodness me, if you are beating him, you are not allowed to leave the court until he is winning. We had to stay on for ages,” he said.

Tell me about how he plays

Gibbs-White is the first name on the team sheet at Forest, and not only for his eye for a killer pass. He fizzes with energy and brings leadership and positivity with the ball, always looking to progress play through driving runs and decisive passing.

Under Nuno Espirito Santo and now Sean Dyche, his blend of physicality and sense of adventure on the ball means he is central to most of his side’s quick attacks. According to Footovision, only two players were involved in a higher proportion of their team’s counter-attacks last campaign, while he also won the second-most offensive second balls, bringing authority to uncertain moments in midfield.

As we can see from his chance-creation map below, Gibbs-White is a busy presence who brings danger to a variety of situations across the pitch, from cross-field diagonals to slide-rule passes, crosses, cutbacks and through balls.

A lively player who can bounce from challenge to challenge in an increasingly physical, end-to-end league, Gibbs-White is well-equipped to slot into any midfield.

He is only 23, but Livramento is already one of Newcastle’s most important players and has been one of their most consistent performers over the past three seasons.

Whether operating at right-back or left-back, or higher upfield if necessary, the England international is among the most accomplished full-backs in the Premier League, if not Europe. Recruitment specialists talk about the lack of contemporary out-and-out top-class full-backs, with many clubs attempting to convert midfielders or centre-backs to compensate, but Livramento is very much a natural.

For Newcastle, that scarcity brings risk. Livramento is contracted until at least 2028, though many Newcastle deals have provisions to be extended for a year, often in the club’s favour, and the full-back has already attracted plenty of interest. Manchester City had Livramento high on their radar last summer, and he remains a target for leading Premier League clubs.

Since Ross Wilson arrived as Newcastle’s sporting director, he has been auditing contract situations across the squad. Talks are expected to open with Livramento’s camp, and the club are ready to reward him with an improved deal if he is receptive.

What else do I need to know about him?

When Newcastle signed Livramento, they believed they were acquiring England’s future first-choice right-back.

What they did not necessarily anticipate was that the Chelsea academy graduate would prove to be just as adept operating as a left-back, the flank from which many of his best Newcastle performances have been delivered.

Livramento’s versatility, natural athleticism and dribbling ability make him one of the most influential full-backs in the Premier League. Whether playing on the right or the left, he gets to the byline and delivers crosses, underlapping his winger or even moving inside as an ‘inverted’ full-back.

When Livramento joined Southampton in 2021 in search of first-team opportunities, he immediately impressed at Premier League level and elite clubs across Europe took notice. Yet an anterior cruciate ligament injury sidelined Livramento for almost a year and, when Newcastle lured him to Tyneside in 2023, they did so having capitalised on the hesitation others had about how the full-back would recover physically.

Livramento has been consistently excellent throughout his Newcastle career and is now firmly in Thomas Tuchel’s England thoughts for this summer’s World Cup.

Tell me about how he plays

Livramento’s thrust and verve down the flanks have been sorely missed during his injury-enforced absence.

His SkillCorner run profile — which compares his movement metrics to positional peers — paints the picture of a flying full-back whose relentless industry is almost unmatched across Europe.

His hunger to support the attack with overlapping (98 out 99) and underlapping runs (88 out 99) have been vital in freeing up team-mates and unpicking rigid defensive blocks.

Beyond that off-ball dynamism, Livramento possesses genuine quality in possession too, creating almost a chance per game on average, regardless of which flank Eddie Howe plays him on.

Even bigger clubs than Crystal Palace wanted to sign Wharton before he joined in February 2024, and the admiration is only likely to have increased since moving to south London.

At 21 years old, any transfer fee would largely be dictated by his youth and a contract that runs until the summer of 2029 with no release clause.

Should concrete approaches arrive, Wharton and Palace will have decisions to make. Until then, the focus is on what happens on the pitch and trying to enjoy further success.

Considering the midfielder is already winning trophies, competing in Europe and representing England, there are not many destinations that can be considered upgrades, which will be another important factor.

What else do I need to know about him?

He is keen to learn and is studious, describing in an interview with The Athletic in November how he speaks up during team meetings to answer questions put to the squad by manager Oliver Glasner.

When others are more shy or prepared to wait, Wharton regularly jumps in during analysis sessions.

Glasner is keen for his players to be engaged and ensure meetings do not last too long, so it is to be welcomed, even if the Austrian did jokingly put a stop to his midfielder being the one who contributes.

Tell me about how he plays

Wharton, much like the creative genius of Kevin De Bruyne, has spoken of his distaste for passing statistics. And though he plays much deeper in midfield than the Belgian ever did for Manchester City, a shared disregard of accuracy, in favour of a desperation to have an impact on proceedings, speaks to the forward-thinking nature of Wharton’s game.

“If you can play forward, I don’t see why you wouldn’t”, said Wharton in an interview with newspaper The Times in the summer of 2025. Since then, he has delighted onlookers with his eye for instinctive, defence-splitting passes, rarely giving his opponents time to settle before rasping the ball through the lines.

The following graph from SkillCorner paints the picture of a player who is as progressive and as daring as the playmakers, but as fleet-footed and touch-tight as the tempo-setting midfielders further back.

Something about Wharton’s aesthetic — the rolled-down socks and his laid-back approach to the game — has captured the imagination in the stands. Palace will be braced for interest.

Jackson’s loan to Bayern Munich during the summer was a measure of the Bundesliga side’s desperation. Other targets had been and gone, leaving Harry Kane as their only recognised senior centre-forward.

Jackson was the best option available, but there is next-to-no chance of him fulfilling the obligations necessary to make the move permanent (40 starts in all competitions), or Bayern choosing to sign him without a major renegotiation of the pre-agreed fee (€65m; £57m; $75m).

Chelsea have no interest in changing the conditions, especially because there remains a question mark over Kane’s future at Bayern (despite the expectation that he will stay). Also, few strikers are available to buy in the winter market, so Chelsea see Jackson as having a high value.

Regardless of Bayern’s intentions, Chelsea are still likely to sell the forward. They have already agreed to sign Strasbourg striker Emanuel Emegha for the 2026-27 season, adding to the main options they have up front in Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.

Jackson turns 25 in June. Theoretically, he has not reached his peak. As well as leading the line, he can play off the main striker and on the left. Chelsea see these factors adding to his appeal.

He was part of the Senegal team that qualified for the World Cup, but Chelsea intend to resolve his situation before the tournament begins in June.

Clubs from the Premier League and across Europe expressed an interest in Jackson before the switch to Bayern was agreed, and there should be a good market for him once again.

As for Jackson, he is happy at Bayern and is determined to make the most of his loan.

Simon Johnson and Sebastian Stafford-Bloor

What else do I need to know about him?

Jackson signed a two-year extension to his deal at Chelsea in September 2024, which means he is contracted to the club until 2033.

Like the vast majority of players at the club, Jackson is on an incentivised contract at Stamford Bridge — a deliberate strategy from the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium to keep the wage bill as low as possible.

So even though Jackson is still on a competitive salary, it is not high enough to scare off other suitors.

Chelsea decision-makers want to make it as easy as possible to move on players who are no longer part of the plans or ask to leave. They switched to this strategy soon after making Raheem Sterling their highest-paid player (on over £300,000-a-week) when buying the attacker from Manchester City in 2022. Sterling has proved to be a costly mistake. He is not part of Enzo Maresca’s playing squad but has not secured a transfer away either.

Despite seemingly having no part to play for Chelsea in the years ahead, the club have assigned a technical coach, as they do with all the other players out on loan, to remain in contact with Jackson at Bayern.

Tell me about how he plays

Jackson operates at top speed, for better or worse.

On his day, he is a destructive No 9 who will tirelessly run the channels, a one-man battering ram up top. According to SkillCorner, only Ollie Watkins made more runs in behind per 30 minutes of team possession in the Premier League last season, indicative of Jackson’s desire to stretch opposition defences and launch into any spaces.

Jackson also made 60 sprints behind the defensive line — nine more than any player — with a high proportion leading to shots for his team within 10 seconds. He is a striker who makes things happen.

But there is also a wasteful side to Jackson, who has underperformed relative to his expected goals (xG) since joining Chelsea back in 2023. Though he can barge into dangerous areas — only six Premier League players took more shots from inside the six-yard box during his time at the club — his finishing technique can be inconsistent, often looking for power and struggling to adjust his body at full pelt.

The upside is clear, but Jackson needs a club that can forgive the occasional lapse in concentration in front of goal.

Hojlund hit the ground running at Napoli. He scored within 14 minutes of his debut, a 3-1 win away to Fiorentina, and has generally helped the Italian champions fill the void left by the injured Romelu Lukaku.

However, he has only found the net for Napoli three times since and has been missing Kevin De Bruyne’s ability to release him into space. He has scored five goals in four games for Denmark but knocks picked up on international duty have also hindered his progress. But, generally, Napoli are happy with Hojlund. Even in the 2-0 defeat to Bologna in November, Antonio Conte singled him out for praise.

Champions League qualification will turn Napoli’s option to sign Hojlund into an obligation for €44million (£38m; $51.4m).

What else do I need to know about him?

Hojlund was a promising swimmer as a kid. He claims to have set a freestyle record at youth level. When he quit the pool to focus on football, his swimming instructor begged him to come back. But football was his destiny.

Hojlund’s father played semi-professional. “I don’t have a good memory (of my first steps in the game),” Hojlund told La Repubblica. “But if I close my eyes, I can see myself in the car with Dad criticising me on the way back from a game in which I played badly. ‘You have to do more if you want to turn pro’. He almost never said, ‘Well done, Rasmus’. Time has proven him right.”

Hojlund’s brothers are also forging careers in the game. Twins Emil (Schalke) and Oscar (Eintracht Frankfurt) ply their trade in Germany.

Tell me about how he plays

When Hojlund bears down on goal in full flow, his pace and physicality are a terrifying combination. Unfortunately, those moments are few and far between. The 22-year-old is averaging just 0.93 shots per 90 this season — the second-lowest among centre-forwards in Europe’s top-five leagues. It’s a continuation of the same issue that dogged him at United, where he ranked bottom of the Premier League for the same metric.

At Old Trafford, he could reasonably point to a lack of service, but this carries less weight when the issue persists across borders. It’s not for lack of effort: Hojlund is a willing runner, but his goalscoring instincts lag behind his endeavour. If that can be coached into him, he can start capitalising on his obvious potential.

This year, Nwaneri signed a new five-year contract at Arsenal, committing his future to the north London club despite strong interest from elsewhere.

Competition in Mikel Arteta’s squad is fierce, so the 18-year-old attacker will be focused on battling for a place and continuing to progress.

If last season can be described as Nwaneri’s breakout campaign, this is perhaps a development phase as he learns the No 10 role and adds elements to his game.

All parties intend for that to happen at the Emirates Stadium and, while you never know in football, there should be plenty of opportunities — especially with Arsenal competing for domestic and European honours.

What else do I need to know about him?

Nwaneri was actually born less than two miles from the Emirates, at the Whittington Hospital in March 2007.

He was first taken to the stadium as a four-year-old to watch an FA Youth Cup game, only to help Arsenal reach the final of the competition as a 16-year-old in 2023.

As well as being the Premier League’s youngest player (aged 15 and 181 days), Nwaneri is the third-youngest scorer in a Champions League knockout game, behind Jude Bellingham and Bojan.

Nwaneri also has a younger brother, Emerson. He has predominantly played with Arsenal’s under-16s, who won the Premier League National Finals this month, with the 15-year-old playing a key role.

He scored twice in their semi-final win against Blackburn Rovers, and then dispatched a penalty to secure a 2-1 comeback win over Aston Villa in the final.

The midfielder made his under-18s debut in October, and followed that up with a brief substitute appearance for the under-19s in the UEFA Youth League in November as Arsenal beat Bayern Munich 4-2.

Last year, Ethan spoke to the official Arsenal website about his brother: “He’s a midfielder, but he can play right-back as well. He’s probably more outgoing than me — he’s the loud one!

“There are three years between us, so it would be really cool if we could both play in the Arsenal first team one day. We’ve spoken about that a bit and what that would be like, it’s something to aim for.”

Tell me about how he plays

Few players have established a trademark finish at such an early stage in their career as Ethan Nwaneri. Picking up the ball on the right edge of the area, dropping a shoulder, cutting inside and firing a rasping shot into the left corner has become a staple of his game, with the most memorable example coming in last season’s 5-1 demolition of Manchester City.

As well as his excellent ball-striking, it speaks to the fearlessness in his game. No Arsenal player has attempted or completed more take-ons per 90 minutes in all competitions since the start of last season. As Arteta has built out his squad, minutes have become harder to come by, but Nwaneri remains one of the most tantalising prospects to emerge from Hale End.

It is natural for there to be interest in Olise, who has shone since he moved to Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2024.

There is no release clause in Olise’s Bayern contract, as Max Eberl, the club’s board member for sport, has confirmed.

Interest in Olise is natural but Bayern see him as fundamental to their future and are eager to extend his contract, which expires in 2029. They are not entertaining the possibility of a sale.

What else do I need to know about him?

He has become a star in Germany. Few people knew anything about him before he arrived, with Olise’s Crystal Palace career attracting little attention. It was assumed that he would spend much of his first year in a supporting role, behind Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman.

Instead, Olise started Vincent Kompany’s first Bundesliga game in charge. Not only has he remained a first-choice since, but Olise has also changed how Bayern attack, adding craft on the right side where, previously, they had been much more direct.

Tell me about how he plays

With style. Olise’s game is full of quick stops and sudden bursts. He can alter the speed of the game when he has the ball, and always seems to play on his own terms.

At different moments, that makes him direct and dynamic, but also crafty in a way that has unlocked Bayern’s right side, and helped make their attacking football more intricate, unpredictable and potent.

There is no recall clause in the agreement that saw Grealish join Everton on loan from Manchester City, and the Merseyside club will therefore benefit from his services until the end of this season.

At that point, the winger is due to return to the Etihad Stadium and will be approaching the final year of his terms there — so a call will need to be made on whether he gets reintegrated or sold.

The deal taking Grealish to the Hill Dickinson Stadium included a £50million option for Everton to buy next summer. Everton are currently paying around three-quarters of Grealish’s City salary.

His age (30), contract status and high salary make it very unlikely the clause will be activated but, depending on how all parties feel, it is plausible a fresh negotiation takes place.

He has enjoyed a fine campaign to date and will hope to make England’s World Cup squad.

David Ornstein and Patrick Boyland

What else do I need to know about him?

Everton have been impressed by Grealish’s impact on and off the field.

He has the most assists in the team, and shirts with his name on the back have sold the most of the squad — by far.

Grealish has risen to the challenge of being the main man at Everton and is also close to key figures in the dressing room, including goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

He is often seen leaving the stadium late, posing for photos with supporters and signing autographs.

There is an idea at the club that Grealish has rediscovered his love for the game after a difficult period at City.

Tell me about how he plays

Grealish has looked like a man unshackled since moving to Everton, with David Moyes giving the 30-year-old the freedom to do what he does best. Four assists from his first 11 Premier League games doubled his tally in his previous two league campaigns combined.

In truth, Grealish’s assist numbers were not a fair reflection of his creativity at Manchester City. This is shown when looking at his expected assists (xA) — which denote the expected goals (xG) value of the shot that is assisted — per 90 minutes, which points to his underlying output to provide for his team-mates.

As shown below, his xA has remained far more consistent (red dots) than his actual assist rate (blue dots). This season, those assist numbers have rocketed to provide his best rate since Grealish’s time at Aston Villa.

So far, Grealish’s loan move to Merseyside has been a huge success. Reminding clubs of his core skill set can only be a positive for him and potential suitors next summer.

Endrick’s immediate future has changed in recent months — and there is a good chance that he will go out on a straight loan in the winter transfer window. Ligue 1 side Lyon are in advanced talks to sign him.

Despite the 19-year-old’s intention to stay in the summer, his lack of playing time and how that jeopardises his presence at the 2026 World Cup with Brazil has had an impact.

After recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out until mid-September, coach Xabi Alonso did not give him minutes in eight consecutive games.

During that long period, clubs began to explore a move for the winter, with Lyon taking the most concrete and effective steps.

Lyon would be signing Endrick on a straight loan, but The Athletic has revealed that there would be a clause in the agreement that Madrid will be financially compensated if he does not start a certain number of games.

Madrid would cover part of his wages.

Madrid did not want to make a final decision until closer to January, in case he was given chances before then or injuries meant he was more important in the squad. However, he did not play a minute against Liverpool or Rayo Vallecano, so the club decided to go ahead with Lyon. Despite this, the agreement is not expected to be signed until December.

Madrid signed Endrick from Palmeiras in 2022 when he was 16 — with the striker moving to Spain in the summer of 2024, when he turned 18, in a deal worth €35m fixed plus €25m in add-ons.

Sources with knowledge of the agreement, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, told The Athletic the amount paid is now at least €47.5m.

Endrick has played 11 minutes without scoring for Madrid this season, with Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, new signing Franco Mastantuono, Brahim Diaz, Rodrygo and academy product Gonzalo Garcia in front of him in the pecking order.

What else do I need to know about him?

It has always been about Real Madrid for Endrick, who rejected Barcelona and Chelsea to play at the Bernabeu.

Alonso explained to him last summer that it would be difficult to get regular playing time, but once again, the striker prioritised his dream of succeeding in white.

This only changed after he failed to play against Getafe in October, the sixth of the eight games in a row without coming off the bench.

Those closest to him started to convince Endrick that his dream of playing at the World Cup was in serious danger and that he shouldn’t have two seasons with so few minutes at his age. He played just 847 minutes in his debut campaign.

Lyon’s proposal is attractive to him because they have a Portuguese-speaking coach, Paulo Fonseca, and a positive track record with Brazilian players, including Juninho Pernambucano, Cris and Edmilson.

Tell me about how he plays

Endrick is clearly a bright talent, but with only 375 league minutes since signing for Real Madrid, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about what he brings to the table — at least in European club football. Even in this limited window, his explosiveness stands out, with the Brazilian able to burst past players and hold up the ball using his muscular frame despite standing just 5ft 8in.

Used primarily as a substitute, he is eager to make an impression, shooting 16 times per 100 touches in La Liga (the next highest in the squad is Mbappe with 9.1). As the shotmap below shows, many of these efforts are speculative, yielding just one goal from 24 attempts. If he does get a move and starts playing regularly, he will need to rein that in and show a more rounded game.

RB Leipzig extended Lukeba’s contract (until 2029) in the autumn of 2024, intending to protect his value for the 2025 and 2026 transfer periods.

A semi-serious hamstring injury last winter was disruptive, and Leipzig’s poor form across the season did little for his price tag, but the plan remains for him to leave within the next 18 months.

Interest from Real Madrid and a clutch of Premier League teams has wavered. He is not an option for Madrid, though things can change. Italian clubs have also been linked, but they do not seem able to afford him.

Lukeba’s contract has a €90million (£79m; $104m) release clause but it would not necessarily have to be matched for an offer to be accepted — especially as the figure drops to €80m at the end of the season.

What else do I need to know about him?

Leipzig would really prefer to extend his contract. Unlike other players, who have a definitive “sell by” date, there’s a sense at the club that he unduly suffered last season because of the form of the team around him — it cost everyone the chance to play in Europe, but probably hurt Lukeba’s stock as much as anyone, both in terms of his valuation and the level of interest.

This will be an interesting sub-plot. Leipzig have a new side full of exciting young players — Antonio Nusa, Yan Diomande, Johan Bakayoko — and their ideal situation would be to extend Lukeba and convince him to drop his release clause entirely.

Tell me about how he plays

Left-footed centre-backs are immensely valuable due to the passing angles they create for teams in build-up. Lukeba adds that and so much more.

The France international is a skilled dribbler with experience playing at left-back. Lukeba is rapid with the ball at his feet — as illustrated below while playing for Lyon in 2023 — and ends the dribble with an excellent through-ball to his striker.

That speed extends to his defending, too. Lukeba is comfortable pushing out of the back line to man-mark players, aware that his recovery pace will hold him in good stead.

At Leipzig, the centre-back, who turns 23 in December, has grown increasingly assertive in possession every year. He may make a couple of rash tackles but the upside is tremendous.

Gallagher is into his second season at Atletico Madrid, although not in the way he would have liked.

He has started only two of the 13 La Liga matches played so far.

Under Diego Simeone, Gallagher’s role has diminished compared to last season, when he started in 19 of the 32 matches he played in La Liga, and his situation began to generate uncertainty last summer.

According to senior sources at Atletico, interest was received from numerous English teams, including Crystal Palace, as reported at the time by The Athletic. However, the La Liga side rejected those options as they preferred a permanent transfer rather than a loan.

Gallagher signed a contract until 2029 with Atletico, who paid Chelsea €40million in 2024.

Other club sources consulted now say that what he has shown internally at the club is that he is happy in Madrid. He tries to speak Spanish with the staff to improve his language skills and integrate with the team, and the club is happy with his work and attitude.

What else do I need to know about him?

One of the reasons Gallagher might want to consider a move in 2026 is to win a place back in the England squad.

Gallagher has earned just one cap since head coach Thomas Tuchel took over. This was in Tuchel’s only defeat as England manager so far — the 3-1 friendly loss to Senegal in June — though the score was still 1-1 when he was substituted off.

The 25-year-old told Spanish newspaper AS this month that he has spoken to Tuchel about his chances of getting back in the team, and that as things stand “it’s very difficult for me to reach that point”. A lack of appearances in Atletico’s first XI is not his only obstacle — Tuchel has several talented midfielders to choose from.

On the plus side, Gallagher has a good relationship with Tuchel from his time as Chelsea head coach. Tuchel admitted how “he loved him from day one” while the player was on loan at Crystal Palace in 2021-22. It was Tuchel who gave Gallagher his senior Chelsea debut in August 2022, and he was part of the starting line-up by the time the German was sacked a month later.

By picking Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tuchel has shown the connections he made at Stamford Bridge have not been forgotten.

But if Gallagher is to make the World Cup squad, he will surely either have to become more of a first-team regular at Atletico or seek a move in January. His international ambitions may also be a factor if Gallagher is still at the La Liga club in the summer and the situation has not improved.

Tell me about how he plays

A typically combative midfielder, Gallagher led Atletico Madrid’s midfielders in tackles with 2.5 per 90 in the 2024-25 La Liga. He plays a hard-running, intense style of football that regularly pays dividends in terms of forced turnovers and disruptions to opposition build-up.

His spells at Crystal Palace and Atletico have shown that he possesses an eye for goal, arriving in the box from behind to meet cutbacks and crosses.

Gallagher regularly played out wide for Atletico in an unfamiliar role last season, as the map below shows.

Atletico bringing in Nicolas Gonzalez, Alex Baena and Thiago Almada, who lack Gallagher’s industry but are more skilled in possession, for that left-sided spot has hurt his cause. Pablo Barrios and Koke have started the season well too, limiting his opportunities in central midfield.

Larsson has made superb progress since leaving Malmo for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2023, and this is set to be his final campaign at the club.

The 21-year-old midfielder helped Frankfurt qualify for the Champions League via Bundesliga placing for the first time in their history, with his stock continuing to rise this season.

It has attracted some of the biggest suitors in Germany (including Bayern Munich) and England, although a January switch is not anticipated. All parties view next summer as a good time.

The Sweden international has a contract until June 2029, so it might take a fee of around €50million to €55m to secure his services.

David Ornstein and Sebastian Stafford-Bloor

What else do I need to know about him?

Larsson moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2023, leaving Malmo for €9m. At the time, it was a record departure for the club, surpassing the previous record that had stood for more than 20 years, which was set when Zlatan Ibrahimovic left for Ajax in 2001.

For a while, it was also the biggest sale in Allsvenskan history, overtaking the €8.6m that Borussia Dortmund spent on Alexander Isak in 2017. It’s currently the fourth-highest outgoing transfer in Swedish domestic football history, in a list led by Lucas Bergvall’s €20m move to Tottenham in 2024.

Tell me about how he plays

Larsson is a central midfielder who is skilful, resilient and athletic, but is probably more comfortable in his own half. His physical and athletic profile make him suitable for Premier League life, and it’s not hard to see his attacking contribution being developed to the point at which he becomes a proper all-rounder.

One player he statistically profiles similarly to is Arsenal’s Martin Zubimendi. They share a preference to play their way out of pressure, with Larsson often wriggling out of tackles with neat turns and dragbacks. As we can see from the plot below, Larsson is comfortable working the ball through compact midfield spaces.

His passing numbers and defensive output (tackles, interceptions) are at or above average for a midfielder in Europe’s top-five leagues, which is not to be overlooked for a 21-year-old who moved to Frankfurt only two years previously.

With 12 senior caps for Sweden, he is the country’s fifth-youngest debutant this century, behind Isak and Bergvall.

Myles Lewis-Skelly signed a new long-term contract at Arsenal earlier in 2025. Having been with the club since the age of eight, the deal was an acknowledgement of his ascension to first-team player and England international.

The 2024-25 campaign was a breakout season for Lewis-Skelly and fellow academy graduate Ethan Nwaneri. Lewis-Skelly’s 39 appearances in 2024-25 were the most by an Arsenal player aged 18 or younger since Cesc Fabregas in 2005-06 (47), and the most by an Englishman since Stewart Robson in 1982-83 (49).

In 2025-26, he has found first-team football more difficult to come by — particularly in the Premier League, where he is still awaiting his first start. That’s largely explained by the form and fitness of Riccardo Calafiori, and the summer arrival of Piero Hincapie.

Lewis-Skelly’s contract is a clear indication that he and Arsenal share a common vision of a future together. The lack of Premier League football has, however, placed Lewis-Skelly’s World Cup place in some jeopardy — and that may encourage interested parties to come forward.

What else do I need to know about him?

Lewis-Skelly is very mature for his age, which comes across in his on-pitch achievements, but also in how he carries himself off it.

For instance, he journals. Asked about this after assisting his best friend, Ethan Nwaneri, in a 2-0 win over Brighton last month, he said: “I’m into getting my thoughts down on paper. It’s important to express how you feel and what you want to achieve in the game.

“For me, journaling is so important to have something physical to look at and then look back when I accomplish something. It’s a practice I do every day that came from my father.”

When it comes to personal development away from football, the teenager has also been learning Spanish — having taken it as one of his A-Level options alongside business studies.

With six Spaniards in the Arsenal first team squad, and more in Mikel Arteta’s coaching staff, he gets a great chance to flex those linguistic skills.

In a footballing sense, he spent most of his academy days as a central midfielder before Arteta decided to mould him into an inverted left-back when he joined the Under-21s in the 2022-23 season.

Tell me about how he plays

There is a huge amount of technical and tactical nous — not to mention the psychological demands — for an academy graduate stepping up to the Premier League, let alone one doing so in an unfamiliar position.

That was the case when Mikel Arteta brought central midfielder Lewis-Skelly into the Arsenal team at left-back. The teenager looks like a natural. A pass completion of over 90 per cent as a Premier League player showcases his quality and a preference to keep his passes short.

Under pressure, he is calm and composed, the ideal profile for the inverted left-back role which Arteta likes to use in build-up.

Lewis-Skelly’s standout strength is powerful, driving runs through midfield. He is reminiscent of a wide receiver in the NFL with how he can take contact and not be knocked off balance, and he’s started to add end product to his game, too.

While Antoine Semenyo signed a new contract at Bournemouth in July that runs until June 2030, there is no guarantee he will be with the club by the end of the January transfer window.

As revealed by The Athletic, Bournemouth have reluctantly accepted that they might be powerless to stop the 25-year-old from leaving, even if they want to keep him until the end of the season.

Semenyo’s deal contains a release clause allowing clubs to sign him for £65million in winter, provided it is activated by a certain date. The mechanism is available to any suitor and also available in the summer, when the fee required will be lower.

Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have been most heavily linked recently, while Manchester United coveted him last summer and retain an admiration. The Ghana attacker’s stock has continued to rise, especially given that he has already contributed six goals and three assists in 2025-26.

What else do I need to know about him?

This January has parallels to January 2023, when Semenyo was also involved in a potential bidding war.

Back then, at Bristol City and coveted by a lesser calibre of club, Semenyo was available for the right price. Lower-end Premier League sides were aware of this and held talks with his representatives. One of them was Southampton, engulfed in a relegation battle and in desperate need of goals.

Recruitment figures spoke to Semenyo’s representatives to outline his salary demands and sounded out a transfer fee. Yet the fee quoted, in the region of £10million, was deemed prohibitive. Semenyo carried potential but could be inconsistent. Southampton subsequently turned their attentions elsewhere and ended up spending over £55m on the duo of Paul Onuachu and Kamaldeen Sulemana — both of whom have now left the club.

Tell me about how he plays

Semenyo has blossomed into one of the Premier League’s most feared forwards at Bournemouth, where his unique skill set — quick, unpredictable, powerful — is put to optimum use. No player has scored more goals from counter-attacks this season, spearheading Iraola’s high-pressing, hard-hitting football.

The 25-year-old’s ability to eat up ground and blast through back-tracking midfields is a joy to behold, but there is more to his game than just raw athleticism. Semenyo has already shown his capabilities when it comes to breaking down more compact defences this season, scoring a wonderful solo goal against Fulham, while his strength and two-footedness make him a potent presence in the box.

As we can see from his shot map below, Semenyo is not afraid to let fly from a variety of angles and distances, his ability to strike cleanly through the ball on either side making him a real threat from loose balls and snapshots around the penalty box.

A move from Bournemouth would likely present stylistic challenges for Semenyo, but his proven ability to smash through Premier League defences should stand him in good stead.

​​Chelsea rebuffed an approach for Neto from one of Europe’s biggest sides towards the end of the last transfer window, which shows the regard in which he is held at Stamford Bridge and beyond.

The Portugal attacker made a slow start after joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2024, but soon began to shine and played an important role as his team lifted the Club World Cup.

Neto’s quality, character and work ethic have generated huge popularity inside Chelsea, while his ability to operate on either wing — and even centrally — offers versatility.

However, Estevao’s emergence and the arrival next summer of Geovany Quenda give Enzo Maresca two right-sided options to complement Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens on the left.

Neto is the only man to survive an overhaul of the wide areas; Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho have departed, Raheem Sterling is surplus to requirements, and Mykhailo Mudryk is suspended.

Taking nothing away from Neto’s importance, Chelsea’s strength in depth — allied to the 25-year-old excelling and entering what should be his prime — could further encourage admirers.

If that proves the case, some big decisions might await Neto and Chelsea in 2026.

What else do I need to know about him?

When Neto moved to Chelsea from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2024, there was a question mark over whether he could justify his €60m (£52.8m, $69.6m at current rates) price tag if his poor injury record followed him to London.

During his time at Wolves, Neto had suffered calf, knee, ankle, and hamstring problems that ruled him out for large periods, the worst of which was a 10-month absence due to a kneecap fracture. Those lengthy absences were a concern for Chelsea fans, but they have not followed him to London. Neto has only missed three club matches since joining, and his 35 appearances in the Premier League last term are the most he has recorded in a single season.

Playing in a less transitional and more possession-focused side means Neto has been under less pressure to drag his team up the pitch and has been able to provide more box threat.

That shift in style (and Maresca’s ability to rotate Neto and manage his minutes) appears to be helping the Portuguese to stay fit.

Tell me about how he plays

Neto’s profile has had a subtle tweak since moving from Wolves to Chelsea.

Where previously he was the man tasked with dragging his team upfield with his persistent ball carrying, he is now the one to receive the ball in advanced areas to maximise the damage he can inflict on opposition defenders.

Helpfully, the 25-year-old is able to play on either flank when operating across Chelsea’s front line. Wherever he plays, Neto’s main attribute is dropping a shoulder and trying to beat his man with relentless dribbling. Among players with 900-plus minutes this season, Neto’s 4.8 attempted take-ons per 90 is the fourth-highest in the Premier League.

With the talent he has, there is a feeling that Neto could be posting better goalscoring numbers than he has in his Premier League career. Neto’s pace and trickery will continue to turn opposition full-backs inside out, whether he gets on the scoresheet or not.

It has become almost routine in recent seasons for Brighton to make a big sale during the summer transfer window.

Joao Pedro went to Chelsea this summer. They did not want to lose Baleba to Manchester United as well unless the price was in the region of Moises Caicedo’s British record transfer sale to Chelsea (£115m) in 2023.

United’s interest in the Cameroonian midfielder, communicated via intermediaries, did not reach that level. They initially entertained talks on the basis of potentially getting Baleba for Joao Pedro’s price of £60million. Baleba, for his part, was very open to the move and even agreed personal terms with United.

But later, a senior figure at Old Trafford placed a courtesy call to his counterpart at Brighton to confirm that United would not pursue the transfer.

Some close to the situation believed this past summer may have been the optimum time for Brighton to sell, given Baleba’s two successful campaigns. His situation has now been complicated by a poor start to the season. His form has dropped off alarmingly (he was hooked at half-time in four of the first 12 league games).

Baleba remains high in United’s list of midfield options, although Elliot Anderson has emerged as the primary target. Adam Wharton is also being looked at by United, which could impact Baleba’s future.

Andy Naylor and Laurie Whitwell

What else do I need to know about him?

His athleticism stems from practising somersaults as a boy on truck tyres outside the front door of the family home, a wooden hut in Douala in his homeland of Cameroon.

His father, a former professional player in South Africa, encouraged the unusual training method to enhance his son’s sense of timing and aerial ability. High flips are Baleba’s trademark goal celebration.

Tell me about how he plays

At his best, Baleba is an everything midfielder, capable of winning duels and turning out of pressure, dribbling past opponents, and even with an eye for a spectacular long-range finish. Fabian Hurzeler has very much built his Brighton side (4-2-3-1) on the midfield partnership between Baleba and Yasin Ayari, where the Cameroonian covers plenty of distance across midfield to make crunching tackles and interceptions.

A long line of former Brighton midfielders who have gone on to bigger things includes Moises Caicedo (to Chelsea), Alexis Mac Allister (to Liverpool), Yves Bissouma (to Tottenham) and Pascal Gross (to Borussia Dortmund).

Baleba is very much considered to be the next on that list, though the one thing that seems to be delaying the big-money move is a tendency to make the odd mistake. Better pressing teams have picked Baleba’s pocket, as a midfielder who is comfortable taking lots of touches on the ball, while his total of 19 yellow cards from 73 Premier League appearances has become a bad habit.

Miley is contracted until June 2029, so Newcastle United have time on their side — but they will want to secure his even longer-term future, meaning there is little room for complacency.

With talks to improve a deal signed in January 2024 expected in due course, Newcastle must convince the 19-year-old academy graduate that St James’ Park remains the right place for his career to develop.

Miley has long been viewed as their most promising academy graduate of the past decade — perhaps alongside only Elliot Anderson — and yet he is finding game time hard to come by, making only two Premier League starts this season.

However highly Newcastle think of their England Under-21 international — and they really do — it will always be harder for him to get minutes when head coach Eddie Howe possesses such an established midfield trio in Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali.

While four years older than Miley and let go for Profit and Sustainability (PRS) reasons, former team-mate Anderson is flourishing at Nottingham Forest after facing a similar obstacle on Tyneside.

The versatility of being able to play at No 6 or even No 10 makes Miley a valuable asset, with massive room for growth; qualities that will not only be noted inside Newcastle but also by those knocking at their door.

Interest has been arising from England and across Europe over the past 12 months. Newcastle, though, regard Anderson’s circumstances as unique rather than a blueprint. Even if trading another youth product would be a financial boost, they have no wish to do so in Miley’s case.

Multiple figures at Newcastle insist he is not for sale and remains a key part of their plans. Instead, exits for Joe Willock and Emil Krafth are more plausible.

David Ornstein and Chris Waugh

What else do I need to know about him?

Miley is one of four brothers, all of whom play football.

The eldest, Jamie, was also part of Newcastle’s academy and played first-team friendlies, if not competitive fixtures, and the 21-year-old midfielder is now at National League outfit Hartlepool United. Mason, 16, is a box-to-box midfielder who is extremely highly rated inside Newcastle’s academy. Layton, the youngest, is a defensive midfielder and part of Middlesbrough’s youth setup, having previously been at Sunderland.

Yet it is Lewis, 19, who has long been viewed by those inside Newcastle’s youth ranks as a future star. At the age of 15, he was training with the first team and was doing so regularly at 16, having impressed Eddie Howe and his coaching staff.

During the 2023-24 campaign, aged just 17 and with Newcastle struggling during an injury crisis, Miley became a regular starter, excelling in the Premier League and the Champions League. Injuries, including one to his back, affected his progress last season, but Miley is still viewed as a future England international and a mainstay of the Newcastle midfield for years to come.

Tell me about how he plays

The babyfaced Miley needed just 13 minutes of his full Premier League home debut to bring St James’ Park to his feet. Against Chelsea, he received a square pass on the edge of the box, and looked up to see Lesley Ugochukwu and Benoit Badiashile running to press him.

Miley, composed as ever, slotted a pass beside them to Alexander Isak, who turned and fired in the opener. The teenager likes to play. Tall and slightly gangly, he moves about the pitch in a way reminiscent of Jordan Henderson, almost running from his knees.

He brings the energy and duel-winning that Howe demands from his midfield trio, too, using height to his advantage when faced with long balls.

Technically, he is excellent and offers Newcastle more in attack than Joelinton. He showed that away to Brighton this season, combining in midfield with Bruno Guimaraes, then making a run into the box to receive a pass from the Brazil international, and crossed low for Nick Woltemade to backheel a finish.

Rogers signed a third contract with Aston Villa in less than two years in November. The regularity in new deals and improved terms underlines the impressive progress he has made, having won the PFA’s Young Premier League player of the Year award last season.

As one of the leading candidates vying for the No 10 spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for next year’s World Cup, Rogers is Villa’s biggest asset and remains of key interest to Premier League sides as well as Europe’s biggest clubs, despite penning a new deal until 2031.

Now among Villa’s top earners, the latest extension was a reward for his form and current standing in the squad, where he is heavily relied upon for Villa’s offensive output.

His long-term future is dependent on interested suitors being prepared to pay the high fee it will take for Villa to sanction a departure and on where Unai Emery’s side finishes this season. Failing to qualify for the Champions League or another European competition will mean key players are more susceptible to leaving, yet Villa understandably want to keep one of their best and certainly most promising talents.

What else do I need to know about him?

Several teams were interested in taking Rogers last summer, but key Villa figures, such as co-owner Nassef Sawiris, were intent on the 23-year-old staying, due to his importance and potential.

His rise is all the more remarkable given Emery first came across him in January 2024 while preparing for Villa’s FA Cup fixture away to Middlesbrough, Rogers’ then club.

Emery grew enamoured with the attacking midfielder during analysis sessions and relayed those thoughts to the squad. After the match, Emery pressed the club to pursue his signature.

Tell me about how he plays

Rogers is a powerful and direct runner and is arguably the most proficient ball-carrier in the league. His physical upper body strength means he can shrug off and evade tight pressure, before having the speed and technical ability to manoeuvre out of tight spaces and drive forward.

As we can see from the visualisation below, he has the confidence to carry the ball through the centre of the pitch, an invaluable skill against ambitious pressing sides.

He is two-footed, can shoot and pass off either side and, in a key trait for an Emery player, is highly versatile. Staff who have worked with him since his childhood believe he is a natural sportsman — he used to be a cricketing all-rounder in his younger years — who can play anywhere in midfield or across the frontline.

Sven Botman remains a player Eddie Howe wants to build his defence around for years to come, with Malick Thiaw, the summer signing, viewed as his ideal long-term partner.

Yet the 25-year-old Dutchman will enter the final 18 months of his present deal in January, the one he signed when he joined from Lille during the summer of 2022 and which has not been updated or extended since. Primarily, that is due to Botman being sidelined for much of the previous two campaigns through injury.

In 2025-26 so far, however, he has shown signs of returning to his best form, albeit with some questionable displays on occasion, too, and initial talks have already taken place between Botman’s camp and Ross Wilson, the new sporting director.

No agreement is yet in place, though positive noises have been made in both directions and Newcastle are hopeful that an extension can be agreed.

Should that fail, then Newcastle will have to make a big call in January or next summer, as they cannot risk losing Botman on a free in 2027. The Athletic has previously reported that Bayer Leverkusen made an enquiry for the defender during the summer.

There would be a long list of suitors should Botman become available, but Newcastle are pushing to ensure the Dutchman remains on Tyneside in the long run.

What else do I need to know about him?

Botman is still yet to be capped for the Netherlands senior side. He has been called up to the squad before, but has never made an appearance, despite playing from under-15s through to under-21s.

He comes from a field hockey background, with his father, Maarten, and brother, Niels, playing to a decent standard. According to his family members, as a boy, Botman was afraid of the hockey ball — a surprise, given his physicality on the pitch and frame — and so opted for football, where he progressed through Ajax’s academy.

Determined to play first-team football, he left Ajax for Lille in 2020 and established himself as one of the most promising centre-halves in Europe during their 2020-21 Ligue 1-winning campaign. A transfer to Newcastle followed in 2022, and during an impressive first season on Tyneside, he played a vital role in helping the club qualify for the Champions League.

A succession of knee problems, including an ACL injury which he pushed not to initially be operated on, before breaking down and succumbing to surgery, hampered Botman for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns, but he has shown signs of returning to his best form so far this season.

Tell me about how he plays

Botman’s Newcastle career has seen him cross 30 appearances across all competitions just once in 2022-23. That year, his first in England, he played 36 Premier League matches to help Eddie Howe’s side secure Champions League football, with his distribution and box defending standing out.

Injuries have limited his progress since then, but aspects of those two qualities have been on show once again. Botman’s long passing has not been a factor like it was three years ago, with Fabian Schar and Thiaw taking up more of those responsibilities. He has been good at punching passes into midfield, though, as the graph below shows.

Errors have crept into Botman’s game too, but at 25, he is just entering his peak. With more minutes in his legs, he could find the form that he showed in 2022-23 for Newcastle and the seasons prior for Lille.

Fulham managed to tie King down to a new four-year contract last summer and envisage him being at Craven Cottage long into the future.

The 18-year-old attacking midfielder joined the club aged eight and has emerged as one of their — and his country’s — most promising talents.

King is thought to be perfectly happy at Fulham, and they have no intention of letting him leave.

Most teams in the Premier League would jump at the chance to sign King, and many have let their admiration be known to his representatives.

This included some of the top-flight’s leading teams during the previous transfer window, but none of them contacted Fulham, probably in the knowledge it would prove a waste of their time.

Fulham regard King as not for sale and have no plan to alter such a firm stance any time soon.

What else do I need to know about him?

Possessing a varied skill set and a willingness to adapt, King has already shown he can perform in different positions. He even picked his squad number to reflect the versatility he showed for Fulham’s academy sides.

“I wear 24 because throughout the system, throughout growing up, I always played anywhere in midfield,” he told West London Sport in August. “If you add up six, eight and 10, then you get 24.”

His adaptability is reflected in the statistics, with Transfermarkt’s data suggesting he was used as a defensive midfielder (a ‘No 6’) more frequently than as an attacking midfielder (a ‘No 10’) in FA Youth Cup and Under-18 Premier League matches. However, since establishing himself in Marco Silva’s senior squad, King has made the No 10 position his own.

“My favoured position is 8 or 10,” he added in the same West London Sport interview. “I really enjoy playing 6, but it’s a very physical game, especially in the Premier League, so that might come with more time, more experience.

“The manager sees me as a pocket player, someone who can turn and drive with the ball and create stuff for the team. I can play on the wing if asked as well, but most of the time, I would roll inside.”

Tell me about how he plays

King’s biggest strength is his adaptability, which has led to him fitting seamlessly into Marco Silva’s shapeshifting system on the pitch.

While he has often started games as the No 10 on paper, he regularly drops to receive passes from the back line and circulate possession or carry the ball forward. King is assured in possession, and while he does make mistakes, his maturity belies his age.

As his touch map below shows, he drifts all over the pitch.

That versatility extends to his out-of-possession play too, with King regularly plugging gaps in Fulham’s at times porous midfield this season. He presses and tackles with intensity, closing down spaces to limit opposition from progressing the ball.

It would need a pretty spectacular bid for Forest to contemplate selling Murillo, who they regard in the £70million ($92.6m) bracket and potentially higher.

Realistically, it feels improbable that it will happen in January and, though the 23-year-old Brazilian has many admirers, he is no longer the most likely player to be sold if Forest have to trade someone next summer. The most sellable asset has become Elliot Anderson (see No. 39).

Murrilo’s availability in the summer might depend on where Forest finish in the Premier League, but they do need to trade after their outlays in recent windows. He will interest teams, as there are few left-footed central defenders available in the market next summer. Nico Schlotterbeck (No. 9) is another who may fall into that bracket, with his contract due to expire in 2027.

Murillo was reluctantly made available for transfer in the summer of 2024, simply because Forest needed the money. The Athletic reported at the time that he was watched by major Spanish clubs.

Ultimately, though, Forest found other ways to raise the money. The Brazil international signed a new contract in January 2025, which ties him to the club until summer 2029.

What else do I need to know about him?

The defender honed his skills playing futsal — the small-sided game that demands players are capable of a delicate touch — in Sao Paulo.

At 16, Murillo had to choose between futsal and a career in professional football. But it had been the dream of his father, Fabio — who passed away when Murillo was only 10 — for his son to play professionally for Corinthians.

He has gone on to achieve both. “I bring a lot of my futsal characteristics onto the pitch, the way I step on the ball, moving it from one side to another,” Murillo told The Athletic in August 2025. “I did a lot of this in futsal, and it would be difficult to give this up as it’s automatic and in my blood.”

He almost scored a spectacular goal at Crystal Palace in October 2023 as he weaved his way through two or three challenges from inside his own half right into the opposition penalty area, before being denied by a double-save. You can imagine that came from his futsal roots.

Tell me about how he plays

Murillo’s futsal experience shines through in his in-possession abilities, bringing the same flair to the City Ground.

The centre-back is one of the Premier League’s best long-passers, with an expansive range. He is left-footed and favours targeting the left flank, but can hit the right wing and the heart of the opposition defence with accuracy, as seen in his distribution map below.

Murillo has regularly delivered important defensive moments for Forest, too, with his understanding of defending space and anticipation standing out. Since the start of 2024-25, only Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa (five) has made more goal-line clearances than his four.

Etta Eyong is one of La Liga’s most promising players.

The Cameroon international is only 22 but has quickly established himself among the league’s best strikers, with six goals (behind only Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski, Julian Alvarez and Ferran Torres) and three assists.

The Athletic reported this month that, according to sources close to the player’s camp, Barcelona and Real Madrid have been following him.

Those close to the player admit that joining one of those clubs is the footballer’s big dream. However, they say they have also handled interest from other English clubs and CSKA Moscow.

In principle, the idea is for him to stay until the end of the season, and Levante are not only aware of interest from several clubs but also that those suitors will increase in the coming months, so they are satisfied.

What else do I need to know about him?

As The Athletic’s Thom Harris explained in this piece, Eyong was playing on the dry, sloping fields of Douala, Cameroon, just four years ago.

The first thing that caught the attention of Levante’s recruitment staff about the promising striker was that he was physically well above his age when he started playing for Cadiz.

But after his move to Villarreal, Levante continued to follow him and began to be surprised by other qualities, such as his effectiveness in front of goal and his power.

Because of these qualities, they saw him as a very capable striker and were convinced that he was the player they had to go for in their first summer after promotion to La Liga.

He is not the tallest (181cm; 5ft 11in), but he has shown that he can win aerial duels and often uses his movement to create space in the box.

His goal against Real Madrid in September cemented his status as a star player at Levante.

Tell me about how he plays

Eyong is a converted midfielder and has taken La Liga by surprise this season with bustling performances for promoted Levante. He is a hard worker from the front, happy to chase down the ball and run the channels. He is not afraid to throw himself at loose balls in the box, either, consistently finding himself in dangerous areas thanks to his sharp anticipation.

Eyong is physically imposing too, a strong centre-forward with a wicked turn of pace. His game has raw elements — he often strikes the ball cleanly, but is prone to the odd miscue or moment of over-excitement — but an ability to sniff out chances gives him a solid base from which to keep on scoring.

As we can see from his shot map below, the average quality of chances that fall his way is high, while he can adapt to finish with both feet and his head.

Though not yet the finished product, he wouldn’t be the first all-action striker to leave La Liga with a hint of unpredictability to their game, with Nicolas Jackson, Thierno Barry and Samu Aghehowa making big-money moves at similar stages of their career.

Any club willing to take the gamble would be rewarded with every last ounce of commitment Eyong has to give.

Martinez is one of the most promising defenders, if not the most promising, from La Fabrica, Real Madrid’s academy.

As reported by The Athletic, several English and German clubs, including Borussia Dortmund, have been tracking Martinez.

But Madrid has confidence in him, and when he turned 18 in August, they renewed his contract until 2029. His agent Javier Coso is already exploring another extension.

Martinez is playing a key role in Real Madrid Castilla (their B team) this season under Alvaro Arbeloa, who has chosen him as the starting centre-back in all 13 Primera Federacion (third division) matches.

His header in the 1-0 victory against Talavera de la Reina in November reminded Madrid fans of Sergio Ramos — his idol to whom he has been compared for some time at the academy.

But Arbeloa has wanted to temper expectations, telling reporters in a post-match press conference in November: ”He is a boy with a lot of talent, but he has a long way to go. To start with, he has to train much harder than he does, with much more concentration and intensity.

”If he wants to be a Real Madrid player, he has to know that the demands in that position are extremely high.”

First-team coach Xabi Alonso has not called up any defenders from the youth team but Martinez is the best positioned if the opportunity arises.

What else do I need to know about him?

When he was 16, Martinez was called up by Carlo Ancelotti to join the first team on their 2024 tour of the United States.

Despite being the youngest player, the Valencia-born defender was the big revelation of the group, ahead of Raul Asencio (now in the first team) and Jacobo Ramon (now a starter at Serie A side Como).

But just before the start of last season, Martinez tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee and missed the entire season. Madrid made a grand gesture despite the injury and renewed his contract until 2026 (talks were already well advanced before the injury).

As he was still growing, the medical team knew he needed more recovery time than usual — a senior pro would typically require seven or eight months — and he was out of action for almost 12 months.

However, he has used this time to improve physically.

Tell me about how he plays

Martinez has attracted attention in Spanish football for many years, even before playing for Real Madrid.

The defender began to stand out in Levante’s youth academy and Madrid made a significant investment in the then-15-year-old, according to sources at Valdebebas at the time.

Since then, he has stood out for his personality on the pitch with the ball. He is also notable for his positioning and physique — he is 6ft 2in (188cm) — which makes him very dominant in defence, although he tends to be clean in his tackles.

He also excels in attacking aerial play. For all these reasons, he can be described as a complete defender, and if he becomes more aggressive, he has the potential to be one of the best of his generation.

Smit is a 19-year-old midfielder with AZ who is beginning to attract serious interest from around Europe.

Newcastle United are very interested in Smit and are exploring a move in January. They enquired about him during the summer but AZ were not considering a sale.

Newcastle know they are up against it and Smit will basically have a choice of Europe’s top clubs, but feel their best chance of potentially getting Smit is to try in January. They would need to be aggressive in their approach if they did, though they suspect he will likely wait until the summer and take the chance that one of Europe’s biggest clubs comes in for him instead.

Sources at AZ, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships, told The Athletic that teams such as Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Dortmund were all monitoring Smit. They also said that a fee would have to be around €60million (£53m; $70m), and that there is no release clause. Those AZ sources also said the club do not intend to let him go in January.

Chris Waugh and Mario Cortegana

What else do I need to know about him?

Smit is known for his ball-striking ability. As The Athletic reported this month, when he was 17, Smit scored from the halfway line as AZ beat Barcelona in a 3-0 win.

That last-16 victory in the UEFA Youth League was part of AZ’s journey to winning he tournament. Smit was a repeat medal winner at youth level, also helping the Netherlands win the 2025 European Under-19 Championship.

If there were any doubts over his importance in those trophies, they can be cast aside by the fact that he was named player of the tournament in that 2025 win.

Tell me about how he plays

Smit has been compared to Barcelona midfielder Pedri by Dutch national team coach Ronald Koeman, and, stylistically at least, the similarities are striking. Smit possesses that same knack for evading pressure, be that through clever footwork, a sharp change of direction, or an eye-of-the-needle pass.

This thrust propels AZ through the thirds, and Smit then continues his run to get involved in the final phase and make a telling contribution. The map below charts his “give-and-gos” — SkillCorner’s term for an attacking run made within two seconds of playing a pass — illustrating his eagerness to get the return at the edge of the box.

A press-resistant midfielder with Smit’s blend of craft and dynamism does not come around often. Unsurprisingly, a long queue is forming for his services.

Rashford joined Barcelona on loan last summer to revive his career, but even the most optimistic predictions would have hardly expected him to feature so regularly.

The England star has scored six goals and delivered nine assists in 17 games across all competitions. He has found his slot in Hansi Flick’s line-up, partly because of Raphinha’s two-month injury, but the impression Rashford has left among team-mates and coaching staff has been very good.

Rashford’s ability to create dangerous situations in attack and add them up with good numbers has been his best output for the club. He has not been the go-to man in attack, given Barcelona have Lamine Yamal as their biggest creative source, but despite not being a first option, Rashford has earned a place among their best generators on the offensive end.

His loan terms include a buy option for Barcelona at the end of this season, valued at €30million (£26m; $35m). It is not a mammoth figure in today’s world, but it is still unclear whether the Catalans will want to trigger it. There has been no indication that the club will move forward with a permanent signing for a player who will be 29 next October.

Rashford will still have two more years on his deal at Manchester United come the summer. This could be a burden too when it comes to a permanent signing, given the magnitude of his contract at Old Trafford and how difficult it can be for any other club to absorb similar figures.

In his favour, Barca will need to bolster the front line next summer. With Robert Lewandowski very likely to leave as he nears the end of his contract in June, the club will set their eyes on a new central striker.

An attacker like Rashford will be needed, too — a versatile forward who can offer depth and backup to Raphinha and Yamal.

What else do I need to know about him?

As The Athletic reported in July, Rashford always wanted to join Barcelona above all others in the summer.

In January, before he joined Aston Villa, he was desperate to make a switch to Barcelona. Even so, that four-month loan spell at Villa provided a happy, vital lifeline to keep him playing elite-level football.

Tell me about how he plays

Rashford scored 138 goals across 10 seasons for Manchester United, averaging close to three shots and over four attempted take-ons per game. When the confidence is pumping, few players are quite as thrilling to watch. He has quick feet and a cannon of a long-range shot when cutting in from the left.

That said, assists have been Rashford’s game since his summer move to Barcelona, registering six in La Liga, the joint most across Europe’s top-five leagues (level with seven other players).

His clean technique has contributed to that tally, with three sweetly struck corners and two tantalising crosses displaying his trademark action, getting his body over the ball to swing it in with top-spin and dip.

He has only scored twice in Spanish football but a stunning strike in the Champions League against Newcastle United showed Rashford at his best. He has taken 22 shots from outside the box this season, and although his average shot quality is down, more freedom to take aim from distance should see the goals begin to flow.

A move to Flick’s title-chasing side has been restorative for Rashford, and though he faces healthy competition for that left-sided role, flashes of brilliance keep him at the front of the queue.

The deal that saw Toney leave Brentford for Al Ahli committed the England striker to his Saudi Pro League club until June 2028.

It has proved a successful transfer so far, with Toney scoring 41 goals across 61 appearances and lifting the Asian Champions League in May.

The 29-year-old regularly finds himself linked with transfers back to the Premier League — but it is expected he is going nowhere for the foreseeable future.

That owes to the length and value of a lucrative contract, the tax implications of leaving early and his happiness living in the Middle East.

Interest has been expressed by top-flight teams, yet Toney will not be on the move any time soon.

What else do I need to know about him?

Ivan Toney’s second goal in senior football was an overhead kick for his boyhood club Northampton Town in a crucial 3-0 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge that helped them to avoid relegation from League Two in the 2013-14 season. Toney has consistently delivered in high-pressure situations throughout his career, and it is one of the reasons why Premier League clubs are interested in signing him.

Toney’s career stalled after he joined Newcastle United at 19 but he got back on track during a spell with Peterborough United. He developed into an elite striker during his time under Thomas Frank at Brentford. Frank gave Toney a crucial piece of advice: he told the future England international to only focus on attacking the ball in the box and resist the temptation to drop deep to become more involved in build-up play. Toney broke the Championship goalscoring record in his first season with Brentford and never looked back.

Toney’s eight-month suspension from all footballing activity for admitting 232 breaches of the Football Association’s gambling rules damaged his reputation. Toney scored 20 league goals in the 2022-23 season and surely would have earned a move to a bigger club that summer if he had not been banned.

Tell me about how he plays

Across his three Premier League seasons at Brentford, Ivan Toney developed into one of the league’s most reliable centre-forwards, racking up 20 goals in 2022-23. Beyond his penalty-box threat, Toney’s target-man play was essential to a Brentford side that consistently went long and built attacks off his aerial dominance and hold-up play.

Among Premier League centre-forwards, only Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood won more aerial duels than Toney’s 310 during his spell in west London, while only Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins created more chances for team-mates.

His composure from the penalty spot is another hallmark of his game: he missed just one of his 23 Premier League and Championship attempts for Brentford, and has scored all 18 since moving to Saudi club Al Ahli.

KRC Genk attacker Konstantinos Karetsas is one of the most sought-after young talents in Europe.

He has only recently turned 18, but several of Europe’s biggest clubs expressed interest in his signature when he rejoined the academy of hometown club Genk from Anderlecht in January 2023.

This season has been his breakthrough at senior level, recording six assists in just four matches before the November international window. He also made his international debut for Greece against Scotland in March.

“With my dad, we exactly planned out my trajectory,” Karetsas told The Athletic in November. “To first break through in Belgium, and then to go to a team either this year or next year, we’ll see. But it’s going as planned.”

What else do I need to know about him?

Genk’s academy is one of the strongest in Belgium, having produced players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, and Leandro Trossard. Club officials believe his talent is at their level.

This has manifested itself internationally. Over the past year, Karetsas has been the subject of an intense tug of war between the Greek and Belgian FAs. Born in Belgium to Greek parents, he represented Belgium at every level between Under-15 and Under-21, but ultimately decided he wanted to represent the country of his heritage.

“This choice comes from the heart,” he explained on social media. “I am grateful to have made my decision and can now focus on writing a beautiful story with Greece. I deeply appreciate the efforts of the Belgian Football Federation in recent weeks, and this decision does not mean I feel any less Belgian.”

He has already scored three senior international goals, all arcing left-footed strikes from range.

Tell me about how he plays

Karetsas’s clearest skill is his sheer level of technical ability. He is an outstanding dribbler who uses a low centre of gravity — he is 5ft 7in — to unbalance defenders while poking it past them. Despite being a high volume dribbler, he rarely loses the ball and produces a high rate of shot-creating actions — his skill is functional rather than flowery.

Generally, he has started games on the right wing, from which he either likes to drift infield into the No 10 role, use his footwork to reach the byline and produce a cutback, or check back onto his left foot and deliver an inswinging cross.

Currently, most of his goals rely on his precocious ball-striking ability — he has the ability to bend the ball into the top corner on his left foot from anywhere within a 30-yard radius. The next step will be for him to develop a wider range of finishes, sniffing out and scoring more scrappy shooting opportunities.

It was June 2023 when Arsenal signed Kai Havertz from Chelsea for £65million, with the German international committing to a five-year deal. Next summer, he will have two years remaining on his contract — typically the point at which clubs decide whether to extend the deal or sell.

On the face of it, the idea of Havertz leaving appears far-fetched: he is one of Arteta’s most trusted players. When he has been available, he has tended to start — initially in midfield, and then latterly as a centre-forward.

Arsenal have had to cope without Havertz, however, for most of 2025. A hamstring injury sustained in February kept him out until mid-May. Then in August, he managed half an hour as a substitute on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, before succumbing to a knee problem that required surgery.

The signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP also provides Havertz with increased competition for a starting place. Mikel Arteta has not yet had to contend with accommodating both forwards in his squad.

At some point, Arsenal will need to offset their significant expenditure with sales. Were Havertz — who turns 27 next summer — to come onto the market, he would probably be among Arsenal’s most saleable assets.

Perhaps Arsenal will have to take a strategic decision on Havertz in 2026: extend or sell?

What else do I need to know about him?

The one upside to Havertz’s time on the sidelines is the work it’s enabled him to do in the gym.

When the German international returned to fitness in May, fans were quick to spot a bulkier, more muscular frame.

“There’s been a transformation in his body,” said manager Arteta. ”The last three years in his career have been so condensed that he hasn’t had time to do that and this has been a window and he really wanted to use it.

“I think he destroyed all the metrics that we had in the gym for the last 10 years. Power, acceleration, muscle mass, the way that he has increased certain capacities in his body, his agility, he’s been incredible.”

The one regret is that we’ve not yet been able to see much of this new-look Havertz on the field. Gyokeres’ explosiveness is one of the attributes that persuaded Arsenal to sign him. Perhaps with even more time in the gym, Havertz may be able to match that.

Tell me about how he plays

Capable of playing across the attacking line, Kai Havertz provides a level of tactical versatility adored by his coach, Mikel Arteta. His ability to drop deep and link play has helped unlock stubborn low blocks, while he is no slouch in the box either, scoring 22 goals in 61 Premier League appearances for Arsenal.

His off-ball work has drawn particular praise. On his debut against Manchester City in 2023, Arteta said: “He was superb, the way he pressed and how intelligent he is in understanding certain spaces.”

The breadth of his skill set is a valuable asset, but his lack of true specialisation in any one role — especially as an out-and-out centre-forward — may leave him struggling to break into the starting side once he is fully fit again.

Elliot Anderson has impressed at Nottingham Forest since moving from Newcastle United and found a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England side.

There is little expectation of Anderson leaving this winter, but his situation remains one to keep an eye on heading towards the summer.

Forest have no intention of selling yet — however, that fails to prevent other clubs tracking the midfielder, and among them, Manchester United are concrete admirers.

Forest are aware of interest from Old Trafford, where Anderson is high among multiple options to reinforce in the No 6 position.

It would take a lofty price for Forest to even consider the 23-year-old’s exit — given he is contracted until 2029, already earns a package worth around £100,000 per week, starts for his country, has European football at the City Ground, bought a home in the area and appears happy.

While formal club-to-club talks have yet to occur with any suitor, every player has a price, and if Anderson’s rise continues, then attempts to prise him from Forest are only likely to intensify.

What else do I need to know about him?

Steve Stone, Forest’s assistant coach, has already taken Anderson under his wing. They have plenty in common as proud Geordies. But there is no sense Anderson needs any help keeping his feet on the ground, despite his remarkable rise.

“I have not seen any signs of that,” Sean Dyche told a press conference before joking that Anderson does like a moan in training: “He knows he is doing well, he does not need me to tell him all the time. The world has told him that,” Dyche added.

“My job is to tell him when he is not doing so well. There was a fella here once who would always remind you when you were not doing so well, in (legendary Forest manager) Brian Clough. He would bring you down to earth when he thought you needed that.

“But I don’t think he (Anderson) needs that. We will just keep reminding him to enjoy his football and keep playing with freedom.”

Tell me about how he plays

Anderson leads the way for ball recoveries in the Premier League since the start of last season, a clear indication of his defensive appetite, sense of anticipation, and athleticism to cover vast areas of the pitch.

He also ranks highly among midfielders for true tackles, a metric that combines tackles won and lost, as well as fouls committed while attempting a tackle, to give a sense of how often a player likes to ‘stick a foot in’. He does not shy away from the grittier side of the game.

That said, Anderson’s rapid rise into the international picture — described as “one of the best midfielders in the Premier League” by Tuchel — has just as much to do with his ability on the ball, a slaloming dribbler and lively attacking presence in the half-space.

He’s taking around 25 additional touches and completing close to double the amount of passes into the final third per game, seamlessly adapting to an all-action role close to Gibbs-White in an energetic Forest midfield.

One of Europe’s most impressive young talents, Akliouche came close to leaving Monaco last summer, but ultimately the decision to stay was largely driven by the 23-year-old winger himself.

He is known to think very carefully about his development and career steps, with a major focus being to represent France at next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

That target may be helped by completing the season at Monaco, where Akliouche has played since 2017 and enjoys a stability that might only be given up in January if a massive opportunity arises.

Admiration from Barcelona, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain has been well documented — and should that level of club arrive this winter, a transfer is not out of the question.

However, a summer exit from Stade Louis II for about €60million-70m is the more realistic outcome.

What else do I need to know about him?

Akliouche made his debut for the France national team in September this year, and scored his first international goal this month, in France’s 4-0 victory over Azerbaijan, with Didier Deschamps’ side having already qualified for next summer’s World Cup.

An impressive left-footed dribbler, Akliouche has tended to play on the right of the Monaco attack, often drifting inside to maximise his impact.

The 23-year-old flourished under former manager Adi Hutter’s watch at Monaco, but has continued to shine under Sebastien Pocognoli, who replaced the Austrian last month. Akliouche, who could also have represented Algeria on the international stage, was part of France’s Olympic squad — that also included Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta — that won a silver medal last year. Managed by Thierry Henry, Akliouche scored a goal in the final, which France lost 5-3 to Spain after extra time.

Akliouche was a basketball fan growing up but revealed at a France press conference in September, as reported by L’Equipe, that his footballing idols included Andres Inieta and Zinedine Zidane.

On receiving his call-up to the national side, he sang ‘Problemes d’adultes’ by Sexion D’assaut as his initiation song, L’Equipe reported.

Tell me about how he plays

Maghnes Akliouche is the creative heartbeat of Monaco’s attack, and his 12 assists since the start of last season are the joint-most in Ligue 1. Nominally deployed as a right-sided attacker, he operates with freedom across the entire final third, as shown by his chance-creation and assist maps, which reveal him creating just as much from the left as the right.

Fusing that creativity with scoring touch, Akliouche has added eight goals over that stretch. His off-ball movement, coupled with elegant ball-carrying, pulls him into pockets where he can do damage, and it is little surprise that he is on the radar of bigger sides.

Despite being part of a struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers team, Joao Gomes has produced an impressive start to the season, and it is little surprise that he is being linked with a move from Molineux.

However, Manchester United sources say there is no truth in reports that they are pursuing the 24-year-old midfielder.

Their Wolves counterparts deny knowledge of interest from Old Trafford and insist talks between the clubs have not happened.

Currently bottom of the Premier League on two points, Wolves will hope to pick up some results between now and January — which would raise their chances of survival and determination to keep top players like Gomes.

But if Rob Edwards’s men look doomed to relegation come the winter window, there might be a business case for selling such assets now rather than at a reduced price in the Championship.

What else do I need to know about him?

His father drives the mobile staircases at Rio De Janeiro’s international airport, which is located next to the neighbourhood where Gomes grew up.

He spoke about his upbringing in a revealing interview with The Athletic two years ago. He has also spent his life battling a pronounced stammer; another subject he covered in depth in the interview.

“I believe certain things are beyond our control,” he said. “This is one example. But I always try to see the positive side. I tell people they cannot forego things because of something like this.”

Tell me about how he plays

Gomes would consider himself to be a midfield all-rounder, and it is true that he ticks a lot of boxes.

He has solid technical skills, is a tidy passer and can drive forward with the ball at his feet. But his main skill is his pressing. At his best, he is relentless out of possession, closing down opponents and disrupting them with tackles or forcing them back through sheer pressure.

Gomes enjoys racing around the pitch to affect the game, which is why, while he has occasionally done a sound job for Wolves as a deeper-lying ‘No.6’, his best displays have come when he has played as an energetic No.8 with freedom to press without as many defensive responsibilities.

It might not sound like much in modern football but the €5million placed on Toth by Transfermarkt is higher than the website’s valuation of any other player in the Hungarian top tier, past or present.

The 20-year-old was subject to bids last summer around that price, all of which were rejected amid Ferencvaros and their player agreeing he would benefit from staying longer at the Budapest club.

It has proved wise, with Toth developing well under head coach Robbie Keane and attracting a heightened level of interest that is expected to result in a switch for more in the region of €15m including add-ons.

This would obliterate the Nemzeti Bajnoksag transfer record and could materialise as soon as the January window — in the form of an immediate exit or a pre-contract agreement to leave next summer.

A delayed departure would let Toth, currently the Hungary national team’s youngest squad member, help Ferencvaros maintain impressive campaigns in their home division and the Europa League.

There are suitors for the midfielder from sides in the Bundesliga, Serie A and the Premier League.

What else do I need to know about him?

Toth was the only player from Hungarian football to receive a Golden Boy nomination in 2025.

He was also ranked 32nd in a countdown of the best Under-20 players in world football by CIES Football Observatory.

Already racking up Europa League and international experience, expect to be hearing more of his name in the seasons to come.

Tell me about how he plays

Toth is one of those silky midfield players who always looks to be one step ahead. He is tall and uses his slender frame well to shield the ball while he dribbles, happy to demand the ball in tight spaces and wriggle free if it helps a team-mate out.

He’s very capable with both feet, allowing him to duck and weave between outstretched legs, while he doesn’t shy away from a shot or a risky pass to create a chance in the final third.

Toth’s freedom to roam and impact the game is evident from his touchmap below, with broad coverage across the pitch from a nominal central midfield role.

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