By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-08-19 16:32:39 | Updated at 2026-08-20 06:39:07
14 hours ago
With just two days until the 2026-27 Premier League season begins, we’ve identified 10 newcomers you should look out for over the coming months.
Rayan Cherki, Adrien Truffert, Senne Lammens and Hugo Ekitiké were just some of last summer’s Premier League newcomers who went on to enjoy encouraging first seasons in England’s top flight.
Ahead of the 2026-27 campaign beginning on Friday, we are spotlighting 10 players worth keeping an eye on as they prepare to embark on their maiden Premier League seasons.
Bazoumana Touré
Newcastle
Anthony Gordon will be a difficult act to follow at Newcastle, but 20-year-old Bazoumana Touré will bring qualities of his own that could make him a shrewd replacement.
He’s by no means a carbon copy of Gordon, though.
Blessed with electric pace, Touré is a bit more of an old-fashioned winger in that he predominantly plays from the left and is left-footed. As a result, he acted as more of a creator for Hoffenheim last season than a goalscorer.
Of his 14 Bundesliga goal involvements last term, nine were assists, and Touré’s total of 44 chances created in open play was only bettered by only five players.
Although he did actually have marginally more shots (48), compare these figures to Gordon, who laid on just 24 chances in open play in the Premier League last season, and also tallied 48 shots.
A high-volume crosser (his 115 in open play was fourth most in the Bundesliga last season), Touré will be different to Gordon but potentially a valuable source of danger.
Christos Tzolis
Arsenal
While hardly the most glamorous name in the Premier League, Leandro Trossard was a useful and dependable option for Arsenal. Replacing him, then, is easier said than done.
Christos Tzolis is the one charged with doing so. And at first glance, he looks a good fit.
For starters, he was a highly effective creator for Club Brugge last season, with his 135 chances created 35 more than anyone else in the Belgian Pro League.
But crucially, from an Arsenal perspective, he produced the goods at set-pieces – and we all know how important set plays are for the Gunners.
The most chances created from set-pieces by any Arsenal player last term was 27 (Declan Rice); Tzolis’ deliveries yielded 52 opportunities.
That accounted for 38.5% of his total chances created. While Rice (42.9%) had a greater proportion from dead-ball situations, his total (63) was far lower than the Greek winger’s.
We probably shouldn’t expect him to match the 40 goal involvements he recorded in 2025-26, though Tzolis’ adaptation should be fascinating to watch – and he made a strong first impression during the Community Shield success over Manchester City with two assists.
Mamadou Sangaré
Brentford
There are plenty of French football experts who were very surprised to see Mamadou Sangaré only end up at Brentford this summer.
The fact the Mali international only has a single season’s experience in a top league may have counted against him, though Brentford look set to benefit from the hesitance of others.
Sangaré proved himself to be an eye-catching all-round midfielder at Lens in 2025-26.
Across Europe’s top five leagues last season, only Elliot Anderson (8.26) and Exequiel Palacios (8.04) averaged more possession regains per 90 (900+ minutes) than him (8.01). And when looking specifically at possession won in the middle third of the pitch, his 4.7 per 90 saw him rank second.
But Sangaré offered plenty on the ball as well. Only four Ligue 1 players tallied more secondary chances created (that’s the pass before the pass that creates a chance) than his 31, and on a per-90 basis (900+ minutes), just four midfielders in France’s top flight averaged more open-play shot-ending sequence involvements than his 6.3.
He uses the ball smartly and is a dependable presence in the build-up, both in terms of his distribution and ability to hold onto the ball under pressure.
Zadok Yohanna
Brighton
He’ll likely need a little patience, and is clearly still very raw, but if Zadok Yohanna is given opportunities at Brighton this season, he will almost certainly catch the eye.
The 19-year-old Nigerian has joined from AIK for a reported £21.5 million, a record sale for Swedish football, despite playing just 13 Allsvenskan games for the club.
It was seemingly enough to convince Brighton, however, who’ll have been impressed by his direct style and fearless approach to dribbling.
A left-footed right winger, Yohanna was averaging 8.5 dribble attempts per 90 in the Allsvenskan this year prior to his move being confirmed in June, more than any other player in the division.
Similarly, over that same period he tallied the most take-ons driving into the box (6), take-ons in the box (15) and joint-most take-ons followed by a shot (3) despite playing significantly fewer minutes than many other players.
His end product still needs work, but he will get bums off seats.
Hayden Hackney
Everton
Hayden Hackney built a strong reputation during his four full seasons in the Championship with Middlesbrough after coming through the club’s academy.
But after Boro failed to earn promotion last term, it seemed highly unlikely the former England Under-21 international would be staying at the Riverside Stadium. Everton were the ones to make the move for a reported £16.5m.
Hackney is a deep-lying playmaker who’s accurate in possession but also brings a degree of progressiveness with his passing – without being overly risky.
At 33.5%, his proportion of open-play passes played forward is only a little over average among positional peers in the Championship last term, but at the same time his 52 secondary chances created was the most of everyone in the division.
Similarly, his 4.86 expected assists (xA) saw him rank seventh.
The 24-year-old may require a bit of time to adjust to the top flight. If he can, it’s entirely reasonable to suggest an England call-up isn’t far away.
Emersonn
Ipswich Town
The last time Ipswich were in the Premier League (2024-25), they put faith in a young centre-forward, Liam Delap. They’re doing so again this time around, having spent a reported £24m on Brazilian striker Emersonn from Toulouse.
The 22-year-old does represent a bit of a gamble. After all, they aren’t signing him on the back of a high-scoring season; he only scored six times in 28 Ligue 1 appearances last season.
But he should still offer plenty.
He’s quick, tall, technically sound and effective at both running in behind and dropping deep to knit play together.
He ranked eighth among centre-forwards in Lugue 1 last season for carries ending in a shot or chance created (17), and most of those above him played considerably more minutes.
Watching his adjustment to the Premier League could be fascinating.
Johan Manzambi
Aston Villa
Aston Villa lost Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans in the summer, so some extra attacking impetus in midfield was always going to be required. The hope is Johan Manzambi will help ease those losses.
Manzambi, 20, is a forward-thinking midfielder who is capable of bursting forward and evading opponents in tight spaces.
At Freiburg last season, only three Bundesliga midfielders (900+ mins) averaged more than Manzambi’s 5.0 progressive carries of at least 10 metres per 90. And he ranked 14th for dribble attempts (2.8) per 90, with many of those above him more like wingers.
He then impressed at the World Cup, becoming the youngest player in at least 60 years to manage five goal involvements at a single tournament (3G, 2A).
Manzambi was subject to something of a transfer tug of war; Villa won, and the prospect of him developing under Unai Emery is an exciting one.
Caleb Yirenkyi
Coventry City
Coventry City attracted a lot of praise (and envy) when they announced the signing of Caleb Yirenkyi from Denmark’s Nordsjaelland earlier this month.
Yirenkyi is a 20-year-old Ghana international who featured at the 2026 World Cup, but he’d been exciting people in analytics circles for a while thanks to his broad skillset.
Nominally a central midfielder, Yirenkyi can feature as a six, an eight, or even at right-back, and his range of talents suggests he could be a good fit for the Premier League.
In the Danish Superliga last season, he was one of just six midfielders to average at least 1.0 open-play chances created (1.1), 1.5 tackles (2.0) and 6.0 possession regains (7.1) per 90. But of those six, his 81.1 touches per 90 was comfortably the most, and his 91.8% pass completion rate was the best of all midfielders in the competition (900+ mins), highlighting how much of a central figure he was for his team.
Yirenkyi rated above average practically across the board, and that in itself reflects very well on him.
Lucas Herrington
Hull City
He only made his Colorado Rapids debut in February, but Lucas Herrington was still named to the MLS All-Star squad following his first World Cup campaign with Australia.
Herrington’s rise has been rapid, given he’s still only 18. He was linked with a host of elite clubs, but opted for Hull on the basis that they’d likely provide him a better platform for first-team football.
The teenager is an elegant, ball-playing centre-back. Among defenders to play 400+ minutes in MLS this year, Herrington ranked sixth for touches per 90 (92.3), eighth for passing accuracy (93.8%), fourth for carries per 90 (24.4) and third for progressive carries of 10+ metres (5.4) per 90.
Adapting to the physical aspects of the Premier League might require some time, but his 71.2% aerial success rate in MLS was reasonably high, enough to rank 15th among the same group of defenders.
If Herrington can adapt quickly, we could be watching one of the world’s next top centre-backs.
Tarik Muharemovic
Leeds United
Leeds made Tarik Muharemovic their second most expensive signing (at the time) when paying Sassuolo a reported £34m earlier this summer, and he feels like the kind of centre-back supporters will quickly take to.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina international will offer some technical ability at the back but is also a unit and a strong competitor.
He’s not afraid to be adventurous with his passing – his 191 long passes was the 11th most of all outfielders in Serie A last season, while he ranked joint sixth for switches of play (12).
As for his effectiveness in physical engagements, he boasted a 69.8% ‘true tackle’ success rate, the 10th best in Serie A last term (50+ ‘true tackles’).
He does pick up his fair share of yellow cards, with seven in the league last season, though Leeds fans will appreciate his committed nature.
At 23 years old, there’s a lot of upside to his signing.
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