Arsenal are on the verge of finally signing a Proper Striker in Viktor Gyokeres and sorting a priority position. Liverpool and Manchester United are next.
10) Crystal Palace and a centre-half
While most executives at Selhurst Park are busy scouring their emails for old messages from UEFA and preparing for trips to Lausanne in the coming days, Crystal Palace must soon put down their Evangelos Marinakis voodoo dolls and instead focus on squad-building.
There is admittedly less work than might have been expected by mid-July, whichever European competition the Eagles land in.
For all the frenzied speculation surrounding their most prized assets, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Adam Wharton, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Will Hughes remain.
But there is a need for reinforcements and to push on from a position of strength. The central-defensive cupboards are particularly bare and Guehi’s departure feels inevitably whether this summer or next. Sporting must be too busy counting the Viktor Gyokeres pennies to start negotiating over Ousmane Diomande just yet.
9) Manchester City and a right-back
Pep Guardiola perhaps didn’t realise he had identified his right-back solution for the best part of the next decade when Manchester City spent £50m to sign Kyle Walker in 2017.
The only other players the Spaniard has signed specifically for that position at the Etihad have largely been lapped by that recovery pace: Danilo was only ever a back-up; Yan Couto never played for the club and Issa Kabore might well follow suit; Joao Cancelo was exceptional for a brief time before being ostracised.
Walker described his exit chat with Guardiola as “not very comfortable” but in outlining a desire for new challenges in January, he spared the manager an even less pleasant conversation this summer.
His decline has been pronounced and with the deposed champions embarking on their most ambitious squad revamp since Guardiola’s first, a shiny new right-back feels like The Final Piece of the Puzzle.
8) Brentford and a forward
Among the many ludicrous numbers supporting Spurs’ choice of Thomas Frank as their new manager is this: in summer 2024 Brentford made Ivan Toney their record sale, spent most of the proceeds on Igor Thiago, saw him play 169 minutes last season due to injury and still enjoyed their best goal return in a single top-flight campaign post-Second World War.
Keith Andrews was responsible for many of those as set-piece coach and it could be that his acumen transfers seamlessly to the role of Frank’s replacement as his first senior managerial post.
But the likelihood remains that Brentford will lose either the fourth or sixth highest scorer in the entire 2024/25 Premier League; it would be a surprise if both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa remained.
Even in the event that attack is kept intact, Brentford need far more up front. Kevin Schade is the only other vaguely proven option in a department which needs Thiago to hit the ground running without knacking his knee.
7) Leeds and a keeper
When Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe took the unprecedented step of issuing a vote of confidence in a manager who had just earned Premier League promotion, adding that “we are going to build the best squad that we can with every penny that we’re allowed to spend,” supporters might reasonably have expected more than a freebie and £30m worth of defenders.
Unless the plan was for Sean Longstaff to play in net, as a No. 10 and up front, Leeds need considerably more to compete instead of going into the season with a worse squad than that which Sam Allardyce took down two years ago, which is still really weird.
That new keeper is especially pressing after the mistakes of Illan Meslier mounted to the point Karl Darlow had to drag Leeds over the line in the sodding Championship. Just sign Aaron Ramsdale and perpetuate the curse.
6) Liverpool and a striker
With the ludicrous greed of Newcastle extending beyond selfishly keeping Alexander Isak to signing an option on the next rung down of desirable centre-forwards, Liverpool are a handful of steps away from declaring this the season Darwin Nunez finally comes good.
A record of 40 goals and 26 assists in 143 appearances is far from shameful but a team pursuing trophies on four fronts requires far more consistency and reliability than the Uruguayan can offer.
Liverpool could also do with a centre-half or two but ultimately the modern Premier League title race demands for one contender to Need A Proper Striker, and Arsenal are soon to pass on a baton they picked up from Manchester City years ago.
5) Bournemouth and a centre-half
At least Andoni Iraola is aware that Bournemouth “will not find the same player” as Dean Huijsen, although it would be no disaster to identify another defender they are able to sell on for ludicrous profit within a single season.
The sale of the Spain international and Milos Kerkez – and Paris Saint-Germain’s reluctance to meet the asking price – should preclude the exit of Illia Zabarnyi and subsequent extensive rebuild of Bournemouth’s entire central defence.
But Huijsen alone leaves a substantial enough gap for the Cherries to plug, with more capable cover needed too.
4) Aston Villa and a right-winger
The January transfer window gamble did not pay off. It made Champions League qualification a minimum requirement which proved beyond the competence levels of Emi Martinez and Matty Cash to deliver, and only increased the financial strain.
That has been underlined in a deeply uninspiring start to the summer transfer window. Villa probably need to sell before they sign and the £3.5m generated for Kaine Kesler-Hayden doesn’t even cover Yasin Ozcan’s arrival.
They need a right-back. They need at least one centre-half. They need a significant injection of attacking depth, including more options on either side and competition for Ollie Watkins. Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio were shiny distractions but only ever for so long.
3) West Ham and a striker
The Prophecy dictates that West Ham always need a new striker. From Mido and Benni McCarthy in the first Sullivan and Gold transfer window to Evan Ferguson in the most recent, the East London graveyard of centre-forward hope has been littered with names over the last decade and a half.
It is uncomfortably revealing that their best striker signing in that time was a left-winger plucked from the Championship and eventually repurposed into an unshiftable channel-running nuisance.
Talks are ongoing with Michail Antonio over a contract renewal but Graham Potter needs far more backing, even if Niclas Fullkrug takes a break from his stint as irascible pundit to nod in a few goals.
2) Everton and a right-winger
The signing of Thierno Barry has addressed one problem position but with a first-team squad currently comprising of about 18 players, Dave can afford to dither no more.
Everton are especially light on numbers in defence, midfield and attack, while Jordan Pickford could probably do with some company too.
But the most shocking aspect of Everton’s squad composition is that Jack Harrison was on loan from Leeds all this sodding time. Can Seamus Coleman play a bit further forward?
1) Manchester United and a striker
Ruben Amorim has already been failed yet again by Manchester United, who by mid-July have only been able to generate money in the summer transfer window through sell-on clauses on players they offloaded long ago.
Some might prefer to ask questions of how Anthony Elanga and Alvaro Fernandez have found themselves at Champions League sides after being deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford, but Manchester United having the foresight to ensure they were covered in that event is a necessary sign of growth and sensibility.
Yet it will barely touch the sides of where that budget needs to go, especially if Brentford continue to inconsiderately want their money’s worth for Bryan Mbeumo.
Even beyond another addition of a high-performing forward operating in the bottom half, Amorim needs someone capable of leading the line. It feels like a role painfully beyond the current capabilities of Rasmus Hojlund and while Joshua Zirkzee has handled the weight of the shirt far better, the Dutchman’s goal return isn’t close to what the position demands.
The dream scenario is still on: Gyokeres struggles for Arsenal while Benjamin Sesko excels at Manchester United.
