The most high-profile players heading for the Premier League from Europe in this transfer window have been known for months. Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong have left Bayer Leverkusen for Liverpool. Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko have been gossip column regulars for long enough.
But who are the outsiders? Who are the players who do not have that familiarity but who might become more prominent as the summer develops?
Our list does not come with any promises. Interest exists in all of these players at Premier League clubs, but in some cases it is quite tenuous — there is a reason why The Athletic is yet to report it. It is also by no means complete and represents a fun slice of what’s available; we will add to it later in the window, when teams’ needs become clearer and after they have sold players, creating gaps that need filling.
But, for now…
Noah Sadiki (Union Saint-Gilloise, age 20)
DR Congo midfielder Sadiki joined Union Saint-Gilloise (RUSG) in 2023, for a cut-price €1.3million (£1.1m; $1.5m at current rates) from fellow Belgians Anderlecht. His growth since then has been remarkable — last season, he was one of the tenets of RUSG’s first league title win in 90 years and was deservedly named in the division’s team of the year.
As a way of describing him, it’s difficult to find a direct comparison — his balance of skills is unusual. He’s a sturdy, dependable ball-winner, but an artisan in possession with a cultured passing range. He’s one of those No 8s without a fixed label, whose different attributes become more prominent depending on how relevant they are within a specific part of a game.
Leeds United have shown interest — signing Sadiki would be a coup for a newly-promoted team.
Nick Woltemade (Stuttgart, age 23)
Everyone knows Woltemade now, thanks to five goals and an impressive set of performances for Germany at the ongoing Under-21 European Championship, but a year ago it was quite different. He moved from Werder Bremen to fellow Bundesliga side Stuttgart on a free transfer and while he was a familiar name in Germany, the deal created little more than a flurry of interest.
But what a player has emerged.
Woltemade is 6ft 6in (198cm) tall, but that size is a distraction. He is skilful and elusive with the ball, creative, and is becoming a dependable goalscorer (12 goals from 17 Bundesliga starts last season).
He remains a work in progress and because he can play a variety of attacking positions — No 9, No 10, wide forward — he has yet to specialise in one. Perhaps he never will? It’s possible that Woltemade will spend his career shifting between those roles and around his team-mates’ abilities; that is a strength.
Towards the end of the Bundesliga season, Woltemade emerged as an option for Bayern Munich, who are hunting a back-up for Harry Kane. That now seems unlikely, but the comparison to Kane is not a bad one. There are some similarities to a young Kane, particularly in his blend of goalscoring and playmaking and how his size disguises just what a good technical footballer he is.
Arnaud Kalimuendo (Rennes, age 23)
Kalimuendo nearly became an Eintracht Frankfurt player in January. He was their primary target to replace Omar Marmoush, after he joined Manchester City. But with Rennes struggling in Ligue 1, a mid-season deal was too expensive, and he stayed in France to score 11 league goals between January and May.
Premier League interest makes sense. This is a skilful, quick, capable goalscorer, who could — feasibly — not just play as a centre-forward, but as part of a two or even in a wider role. Kalimuendo’s contract only has two years left to run, meaning Rennes would have to sell him in this window if they are to extract maximum value.
Kalimuendo finished the season with a flourish for Rennes (Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images)
It is difficult to know what his level would be. Kalimuendo is probably not going to inhabit the very top of the game, not as a starter anyway, but he would make sense as a target for a team who would then be willing to sell him on within a few years and to act as a staging post.
Mohamed Amoura (Wolfsburg, age 25)
Amoura’s first year in Germany was a great success despite Wolfsburg’s limitations — 10 goals and nine assists for a side who finished 11th out of 18 and sacked their coach (Ralph Hasenhuttl) last month was an excellent return.
The Algeria international moved to the Bundesliga a year ago, after an outstanding season in Belgium with Union Saint-Gilloise. A wide forward who can play through the middle, he is terrific without the ball — a tenacious and disciplined presser — and a menace with it, full of trickery, loaded with speed and able to finish well.
Amoura continues to impress with Wolfsburg (Leon Kuegeler/Getty Images)
There are shades of Leandro Trossard to him. Amoura is a more technical player than the Arsenal man, perhaps quicker too, but he has that same sense of where to be and when, which explains his goal tally. But he has all the creative traits needed in a wide-forward too. For any team employing a front-three in the upper-midtable area of the Premier League, it would be difficult to find a better option.
Malick Thiaw (Milan, age 23)
A right-sided centre-back who has played in a back four and a back three. Thiaw is a product of Schalke’s famed academy — their knappenschmiede — and broke through as a senior player there in 2020, when the club were circling the drain towards the 2.Bundesliga. In what was a strange period full of odd moments, Thiaw briefly played for former Tottenham Hotspur head coach Christian Gross during that time.
He emerged when the German national team were searching for their next great centre-back, having seen the talent pool in the position dwindle. That expectation still surrounds Thiaw to an extent, even though his departure for Italy in 2022 has kept him out of sight (and mind), and he has won three caps for Germany in the years since.
Thiaw would suit the English game (Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
There is plenty of time for that change. He is a combative, athletic defender who can pass the ball well across all distances, and has the prerequisites to play in England.
Malick Fofana (Lyon, age 20)
Fofana was of fleeting interest to Chelsea this summer and was one of their options in reserve behind Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens, who they have made an official proposal to sign.
And you can see why: a dynamic dribbler who makes beating defenders one-on-one look easy, but who can shift infield and shoot with power. No wonder he and Gittens were on the same shortlist at Stamford Bridge. Lyon’s financial situation is extremely troubling, so while Chelsea were put off a potential deal by a prohibitive asking price, Fofana might become more affordable as the summer goes on.
Fofana is a direct winger (Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)
He was capped by Belgium for the first time at the end of 2024 and would have been part of their Nations League games back in March had it not been for badly-timed knee and hip injuries. Offensively, his data is impressive, and he ranks highly for progressive carries and carries into the box — as you would expect — but he has negligible effect against the ball, which might limit his options if he does move.
Hugo Larsson (Eintracht Frankfurt, age 20)
Let’s start with a caveat — if Frankfurt get the €100million fee that they are asking for striker Hugo Ekitike, it’s unlikely that they would also sell Larsson in the same summer. He’s another of their biggest assets, but it would do him no harm to stay in German football for at least another season.
Larsson is about to turn 21 but is already a full Sweden international. He is a No. 8, but while he’s sometimes presented as a complete player, he is more effective in the attacking parts of the game. A strong runner, which serves Frankfurt’s counter-attacking game well, he times his arrival into the box nicely and often takes the chances that fall to him as a result. It is the Frank Lampard Gene: he finds space.
Larsson is 21 and a Sweden international (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)
He is still quite slender and could do with becoming broader if he is to move to England, but would cost upwards of €60million as it stands —and this will likely be the last summer he’s financially within reach of anyone but the wealthiest clubs.
Ardon Jashari (Club Brugge, age 22)
When Dortmund were pursuing Jobe Bellingham of Sunderland earlier this summer, their other option in midfield was Jashari — and it was close.
The Switzerland midfielder was Belgium’s player of the year last season, his first in the Pro League, and has admirers all over Europe. Despite that Bellingham situation, the two are not that similar as players.
Jashari was voted the best player in Belgium last season (Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
Jashari is more of a carrier. He is more aggressive and optimistic with the ball, in how he passes it and in how he takes players on. He spent the season playing as one of two No 6s in Club Brugge’s 4-2-3-1, but it is easy to imagine him operating well in a midfield three or even further forward.
Premier League teams might be wary of his size. Sadiki, the other midfielder from the Pro League on this list, is more robust and more equipped for English football, but Jashari is a name to know this summer.
Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco, age 23)
Akliouche is in a strange position. He is incredibly valuable, despite not yet really being a mainstream player. Five goals and 10 assists for Monaco in Ligue 1 last season was not quite enough to stand out. And it’s not as if France are short of talented wingers, is it?
Akliouche plays on the right, but favours his left foot, and there are plenty of Premier League clubs who employ that dynamic. He is as skilful and as creative as you would expect — there’s a gliding quality to him when he runs with the ball — but he also works hard out of possession, and that is probably the quality that would distinguish him in England, where few sides can afford a luxury winger.
Akliouche is another exciting French winger (Clement Mahoudeau/AFP via Getty Images)
That will be a big part of his appeal and one of the reasons why he is of interest to clubs higher up the Premier League.
A project player, yes, but with fewer risks than most of those.
(Top photo: Sadiki, left, and Woltemade; Getty Images)
