Which single position is the biggest priority for your Premier League team to sign during this summer’s transfer window? We pick out one for each club.
With the transfer window open until 1 September, there is plenty of time for more work to be done by each Premier League club.
However, with the start of the 2026-27 season fast approaching, some needs are becoming increasingly urgent and will need addressing sooner rather than later.
But where is your team’s biggest priority? We’ve picked out one position that each Premier League club needs to sign in the coming weeks.
Arsenal – Central Midfielder
Declan Rice was worked to the bone by Arsenal last season, playing 4,456 minutes in all competitions. This showed at points during the World Cup this summer, when the midfielder’s body looked on the verge of breaking down.
The Gunners will need quality reinforcements in the centre of the pitch so Rice can occasionally have a rest. Christian Nørgaard, who initially looked a reasonable rotation option on paper, struggled to even get onto the park last season with Mikel Arteta seemingly having no trust in the former Brentford captain.
This extra midfield option could prove crucial to the Gunners retaining their crown.
Aston Villa – Left-Back
Aston Villa have finished inside the top seven for the last four seasons and won the Europa League last term. In order to permanently establish themselves among the Premier League’s elite, they need more depth, yet they are reportedly set to lose first-choice left-back Lucas Digne to Paris Saint-Germain.
Ian Maatsen is a fine player, but he can’t play week-in, week-out for an entire season, which, of course, includes a Champions League campaign. Unai Emery’s side are already aware of this potential squad gap and are apparently interested in signing Milan’s Pervis Estupiñán.
Bournemouth – Right-Back
Adam Smith. It’s time to go.
Now 35 years old, the Bournemouth legend has been starting at least semi-regularly for the Cherries for well over a decade. In fact, he has played over 1,000 league minutes for the last 11 seasons.
Players like Max Aarons and Julián Araujo were signed to replace Smith, but, for one reason or another, things haven’t worked out. And Álex Jiménez has gone out on loan to Fiorentina.
Marco Rose needs to go into the transfer market and make a statement signing at right-back. A player with bona fide quality and experience must be brought to the Vitality Stadium so Smith can finally rest.
Brentford – Left-Back
As expected, given how well run Brentford are as a club, they have already addressed their key weak points early in the window, but they could do with an upgrade at left-back.
Rico Henry has struggled for fitness and form since suffering a horrific injury near the start of the 2023-24 season. He managed to play 30 games in all competitions last term but made four errors leading to shots, the joint most of any Brentford player.
Reinforcing the left flank would also free up Keane Lewis-Potter to play further forward if Keith Andrews wanted to utilise him more on the wing.
Brighton – Central Midfielder
Brighton are always one step ahead of the game in the transfer market, and they will have been planning for James Milner’s retirement and Pascal Groß’ ageing legs for a long time (even if the latter only re-joined in January).
But just in case they haven’t, it might be a good idea for them to get another central midfielder in. Only six midfielders played a Premier League game last season while over the age of 34, and Brighton had two of them. Plus, Groß has turned 35 since the season ended.
They are thin on the ground in the middle of the park, and there’s also the possibility of an exit, too. Carlos Baleba is always linked with a move, and Yasin Ayari’s impressive performances at the World Cup may have caught someone’s eye. Nobody scored more goals from outside the penalty area at the 2026 tournament than him (two).
Even if neither move on, Brighton could do with someone else in there.
Chelsea – Goalkeeper
Since a bitterly disappointing 2025-26 ended for Chelsea, Xabi Alonso has come in, several first-team players have departed and well over £200 million has been spent. But there are still several problem positions that require attention.
They appear intent on adding a centre-back, but they already have so much depth there that other positions, including central midfield and the left wing, should arguably be prioritised. Even so, it is in goal where the most urgent attention is needed.
Robert Sánchez has been Chelsea’s number one – on and off – for the three seasons he has been at the club. But, in all honesty, he’s never truly convinced.
Since he joined in August 2023, he ranks second in the Premier League for both errors leading to shots (17) and errors leading to goals (seven). Of the worst 10 culprits in both metrics, Sánchez has made the fewest appearances and played the fewest minutes of the lot.
The 20-year-old Mike Penders remains one for the future. Chelsea can’t go into the Alonso era still worrying about the reliability of their first-choice goalkeeper.
Coventry – Goalkeeper
There are a lot of unknowns for Coventry as they head into their first season back in the Premier League for 25 years, not least how well centre-forward options Haji Wright and Ellis Simms will take to leading the line against the best defences in England.
But the biggest unknown of all is who will be between the sticks, because, at the time of writing, Coventry don’t even have a first-choice goalkeeper.
They have been pushing to sign Carl Rushworth, who spent last season on loan with them, on a permanent deal, but they’ve not been able to agree a fee with Brighton. According to our expected goals on target metric, only Bristol City’s Radek Vítek (+8.5) prevented more goals with his saves in the Championship last season than Rushworth (+8.2).
Without him, there’s a big hole that needs filling.
Crystal Palace – Centre-Back
New manager Pierre Sage used a back three in all 34 of Lens’ Ligue 1 games last season, so the expectation is Crystal Palace will continue to play in the 3-4-2-1 formation that served them so well under Oliver Glasner.
They will need more depth at centre-back, though.
Having lost Marc Guéhi to Manchester City in January, their Premier League win rate last season dropped from 35.0% with the England international starting to 22.2% without him.
Jaydee Canvot is an adequate replacement, but Palace are short on numbers at the back. If Maxence Lacroix also leaves the club, their need for another centre-back will become even starker.
Everton – Right-Back
Seamus Coleman’s 17-year stay at Everton came to an end at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. While he hadn’t been a regular starter for a while, he leaves a significant void.
Nathan Patterson is also expected to depart, meaning Jake O’Brien is likely to be their only remaining recognised right-back.
Well, we say “recognised right-back”, but the consensus among Everton fans is that the hulking Republic of Ireland international simply isn’t dynamic or technical enough to be a full-back.
James Garner is another who’s had to fill in there from time to time; in short, it’s been a problem position for a while now.
Fulham – Centre-Forward
In simple terms, Fulham need to reinforce their squad with players who can score goals.
Raúl Jiménez (9) and Harry Wilson (10) accounted for 19 of their 43 Premier League goals (excluding own goals) in 2025-26. Both have since left – and on free transfers, no less.
No one else scored more than four league goals for them last term, while their other main centre-forward, Rodrigo Muniz, managed just a solitary strike.
More will be expected from Muniz, Samuel Chukwueze (3 goals) and Kevin (1 goal), but clearly they need greater depth in attack and in support roles regardless.
It’s been suggested Gonzalo García may follow Álvaro Arbeloa to Fulham from Real Madrid, though they could do with at least two new faces.
Hull City – Wide Forward
Hull City desperately need to add a few splashes of quality to their attack before the start of the season.
Oli McBurnie, amid a late career renaissance, looks set to lead the line for the Tigers. He provides a lot of physicality but needs other attackers running off him in order to be effective.
Hull have sold Kyle Joseph to Middlesbrough and haven’t tried to re-sign Joe Gelhardt following his loan after both ended the season in relatively poor form, meaning they are light in terms of both quality and depth in attack.
Ipswich Town – Striker
Most promoted sides are competitive across 80% of the pitch. What often lets them down, and ultimately leads to immediate relegation, is a lack of quality in both boxes.
In signing Issa Diop, Ipswich have secured themselves a Premier League-quality box defender to play alongside Dara O’Shea.
But they could do with more firepower up front. George Hirst has only reached double figures for goals in a season twice in his career, and £24m signing Emersonn has never scored more than six league goals in a single campaign (though he is only 22 years old).
Celtic’s Daizen Maeda, who is reportedly very close to a move to Ipswich, would be a much-needed addition.
Leeds – Goalkeeper
Leeds signed Lucas Perri from Lyon last summer for a reported £15.6m in a move they hoped would solve what had become something of a problem position.
It didn’t.
Karl Darlow, originally acquired as backup to Illan Meslier in 2023, ended up playing 22 Premier League games last term to Perri’s 16.
But Darlow then left on a free transfer, ultimately joining Manchester United. Leeds also opted to let Meslier’s contract expire.
Their remaining goalkeeper options are Perri, who underwhelmed in his first season, and 33-year-old Alex Cairns, whose most recent competitive appearance was for League Two’s Salford City in 2023-24.
They need another keeper.
Liverpool – Right Wing
Mohamed Salah’s final season at Liverpool may have been his most underwhelming by a distance, but he still had a hand in 22 goals across all competitions.
He left as one of the greatest players in Liverpool’s entire history. In terms of what he achieved and his numbers over nine years at Anfield, Salah is as close to irreplaceable as you can get.
His output from 2025-26 isn’t irreplaceable, though. The hope is they’ll find another right winger who can be both a goal threat and a creative presence.
They won’t find another Salah, but a dynamic wide attacker – such as Bradley Barcola – is on the agenda, and Andoni Iraola has a good track record developing such players.
Manchester City – Winger
Enzo Maresca has already addressed one of the holes in Manchester City’s squad by signing Elliot Anderson, but he could do with another option on the flanks to give City more attacking variety.
During the back end of last season, City lacked strength in depth on the wing. When Antoine Semenyo was struggling during City’s high-pressure end to 2025-26, they didn’t have a quality replacement to turn to on the bench.
Savinho regressed in his second season in England, only starting seven league games and scoring just one goal, while the likes of Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki are best suited to playing more centrally.
Manchester United – Central Midfielder
Michael Carrick’s central midfield options have been enhanced by Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans. It’s a pretty good start, but most fans would agree they need more.
If we categorise Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount as 10s, Manchester United only had three senior central midfielders last term: Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte.
Casemiro’s gone and Ugarte would likely have been on the way out too had he not suffered an ACL injury on World Cup duty that will keep him out for most of 2026-27.
There was always a sense United needed an athletic, ball-winning midfielder, and neither Santos nor Tielemans really address that.
Another central midfielder should still be sought.
Newcastle United – Full-Back
To be honest, we could’ve picked any number of positions for Newcastle, but we chose the non-specific “full-back” because they likely need at least one new face on either side of the defence. Or, failing that, one who can play on both flanks.
In Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall, Newcastle have two of the best first-choice full-backs in the Premier League, but they have no depth beyond that in terms of senior options, and both England internationals have had their injury problems.
Kieran Trippier, Emil Krafth and Matt Targett all departed in the summer, and while Dan Burn can fill in at left-back, the 34-year-old certainly isn’t an ideal backup.
Otherwise, they’ve the teenager Leo Shahar at right-back and Alex Murphy, more of a centre-back, as cover for left-back. And there’s no certainty either will make the grade at Newcastle.
Nottingham Forest – Centre-Back
Let’s assume replacing Elliot Anderson is a given for Nottingham Forest. The other area they need reinforcements is centre-back.
New coach Oliver Glasner swears by a back three, and he’ll likely use a similar shape at Forest.
Across his two full seasons at Crystal Palace, the Austrian lined up with three or five at the back in every game. And their in-game shapes also revolved heavily around a back three (or a back five out of possession), as shown below.
Forest do have several centre-backs already with Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato and Jair Cunha, plus a couple of prospects, but at least one more with experience in a back three wouldn’t go amiss.
Tottenham – Winger
When Tottenham have Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski fit and available again, they will have a couple of good options on the right flank. However, both have just been left at home when Spurs headed off on a pre-season tour to New Zealand and Australia, and may well not be available for the start of the season.
On the left, they have only Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert, neither of whom can be relied upon for consistent output. Between them, Tel and Odobert racked up just four goals and three assists in a combined 55 Premier League appearances last season. Odobert is also recovering from a serious knee injury and will miss at least the first few months of the season.
That leaves Tottenham with almost no options out wide as things stand. A winger, or most likely even two, is a huge priority.
Sunderland – Winger/Creative Midfielder
After a very busy time of things in the transfer market last summer and an extremely successful first season back in the top flight, Sunderland have been rather quieter this time around.
That is understandable, but with a first European campaign since 1973 coming up, they need much more depth, and that could mean reinforcement across the pitch.
They could really do with a little more creativity, though, having generated just 23.2 xG in open play in 38 Premier League games last season – only relegated Burnley and Wolves fared worse in that regard.
That might require a little more ambition in their play as a team, or another creative spark in midfield. Or both.
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