Premier League Clubs' Final Week Transfer Needs
The final week of the 2026 summer window is here and the Premier League still looks half-built. Squads are bloated, gaps are glaring and panic is starting to seep into boardrooms. Some clubs just need a tweak. Others need a miracle.
Here’s what every side still has to sort before the shutters come down.
Arsenal – Clear the decks and land a genuine game-changer up front
Arsenal are close. Very close. But if they want to turn “nearly” into “inevitable”, this week has to be ruthless.
The first job is obvious: trim the squad. Gabriel Jesus is the headline name on the chopping block. A £250,000-a-week wage for a player who no longer feels central to Mikel Arteta’s plans makes no sense. He needs to go. Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson are in the same boat. Ethan Nwaneri, hugely gifted, needs minutes elsewhere on loan, not scraps in north London.
Shift those four and Arsenal suddenly have room – and money – to do what really matters: sign an elite forward.
They’ve lurked behind Liverpool in the chase for Bradley Barcola and look set to lose that one. Julian Alvarez only wants Barcelona, but his relationship with Atletico Madrid is strained and Barca and Atleti don’t want to deal with each other. That stand-off might yet open a door to the Emirates. This is the level Arsenal must be shopping at.
Christos Tzolis has started brightly, but if Arsenal want to win the Champions League, they need someone above that level, either off the left or through the middle. With Gabriel Martinelli heading to Saudi Arabia, a new forward is non-negotiable. It cannot be a deadline-day scramble that ends with Raheem Sterling on loan. It has to be someone who changes the trajectory of the club.
Aston Villa – Rip it up and rebuild in five days
Aston Villa’s situation is chaos in slow motion. The kind that turns into fast motion very quickly.
Zion Suzuki’s arrival all but confirms Emiliano Martinez is leaving. Ollie Watkins is expected to join Martinelli at Al-Hilal. Youri Tielemans, Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers are already gone. That’s the spine of a side that finished fourth and lifted the Europa League. It feels like the end of an era, and the next one looks far less secure.
The constant in all of this is Unai Emery. Keeping him content is Villa’s biggest task now, and that means giving him a squad he can actually work with.
They’ve at least moved early on a couple of fronts. Suzuki is in as Martinez’s replacement. Johan Manzambi looks a smart signing to help cover the Rogers void. Watkins is on his way out and a deal for Nicolas Jackson is close, but £65million for a Chelsea “bomb squad” striker is a hard one to swallow.
Konsa’s exit leaves a hole that pursuits of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Joel Ordonez have yet to fill. Midfield is even more alarming. Tielemans has joined Manchester United, Amadou Onana has suffered an ACL injury with Belgium, and what’s left is fragile. Boubacar Kamara is brilliant but made of glass. Joao Gomes endured a debut at Brighton that could go down as one of the worst in Premier League history, and now he’s suspended. Behind them? Ross Barkley and Lamare Bogarde. That’s it.
So here’s Villa’s grim to-do list for the next few days: sell Martinez. Sell Watkins. Close Jackson. Sign at least one midfielder. Sign a winger. Sign a centre-back. Probably sign another centre-back. Another midfielder. Another winger. Another striker. It feels endless.
They dragged themselves out of a dreadful start last season to finish fourth and win in Europe. Right now, they look miles away from repeating anything like that. Of all the Premier League clubs, Villa are the ones staring over the steepest cliff. PSR has bitten hard.
Bournemouth – Protect Alex Scott and finally sort right-back
Bournemouth’s job is simple: keep Alex Scott. Everything else is optional.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal have all sniffed around. Chelsea look the likeliest to move late, depending on what happens with Enzo Fernandez and any bid from City. Bournemouth cannot afford to blink.
Beyond that, one long-running issue remains. They need a new right-back. They’ve needed one for years.
Adam Smith is a club legend and still a competent defender, but he’s 35. If Bournemouth are serious about consolidating in the league and making a dent in Europe, they can’t keep dodging this. An upgrade at right-back feels overdue. It’s not disrespect. It’s just time.
Brentford – Close Diouf and enjoy the quiet
Nine goals in two games. Brentford look like a team that did their homework months ago.
They’ve identified the left flank as the one area to reinforce, even with Keane Lewis-Potter impressing and Aaron Hickey in reserve. The move for West Ham’s El Hadji Malick Diouf is about turning a solid area into a secure one.
Centre-back depth? Sepp van den Berg, Kristoffer Ajer, Nathan Collins – more than acceptable. No.10? Mikkel Damsgaard couldn’t even get in the side against Spurs and they still carved them open. Up front, Igor Thiago and Callum Wilson offer a smart rotation.
Barring Diouf, Brentford can almost coast to the deadline. Organised, calm… and maybe a little too sensible for the late-window drama merchants.
Brighton – Decide Minteh’s fate, then act
Brighton’s final week hinges on one man: Yankuba Minteh.
Liverpool know the price. Albion want £70-80million. If the bid lands, Brighton sell and do what Brighton always do – find a replacement from somewhere off the usual map, polish him up and sell him for a fortune in a few years. If the bid doesn’t land, they keep Minteh and move on.
It really is that simple. Keep him and enjoy what should be another strong season. Or cash in and reload.
Chelsea – Clear the clutter and buy a serious goalkeeper
Chelsea are being talked up as Arsenal’s closest challengers. Few think they’ll genuinely go toe-to-toe with the champions over 38 games, but they can close the gap. One move would help more than any other: replacing Robert Sanchez.
Emi Martinez is sitting there, available. Chelsea have danced around the issue long enough. A top-level goalkeeper changes the whole feel of this team.
At the same time, the annual “bomb squad” saga rolls on. Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson could bring in packages worth up to £110million – elite work from the ownership. But the list of players in limbo is long: Mykhailo Mudryk, potentially off to Strasbourg; Gabriel Slonina, Tosin Adarabioyo, Aaron Anselmino, Marc Guiu, Emmanuel Emegha, Jamie Gittens, Dario Essugo, Wesley Fofana. The usual logjam.
Chelsea do this every year. They look trapped by their own excess, then somehow emerge with big fees for players they never really wanted to keep. When that fails, Strasbourg is always there as a safety valve.
Sort the sales. Sign Martinez or another elite keeper. That’s the difference between “best of the rest” and something more serious.
Coventry – Inject real Premier League quality
Coventry’s first taste of the top flight this season came against the best team in the country. It was a harsh measuring stick, but it told a clear story.
Rushworth; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Amenda, Dasilva; Onyeka, Yirenkyi, Grimes; Thomas-Asante, Simms, Tchaouna. That XI doesn’t exactly scream safety.
Taiwo Awoniyi and Ethan Pinnock are steps in the right direction – proper Premier League profiles. They just need more of that. Two or three more, at least.
Time is running out, and the margin for error is tiny.
Crystal Palace – Take the Sarr money, but only with a plan
Ismaila Sarr has suddenly become one of the most important names in the window.
Liverpool, frustrated by Brighton’s stance on Minteh, have turned to Palace’s Senegalese winger. Galatasaray have already been knocked back. Liverpool have had a £50million bid rejected. Palace are holding firm – for now.
Turning down £50m for a 28-year-old is bold. If Liverpool come back with £60m, Palace have a decision to make. At that point, they should probably cash in – but only if they know exactly what they’re doing with the money.
Supporters will argue the priority is to keep the core: Adam Wharton, Dean Henderson, Daniel Munoz, Sarr. Jean-Philippe Mateta, they’ll say, can go. But Sarr’s situation offers something different: the chance to reshape the squad with younger, hungrier players and add depth for a gruelling season.
Pierre Sage needs at least two, maybe three or four more signings if Palace are going to juggle the Europa League and the Premier League without breaking. If they sell Sarr without a clear reinvestment plan, they’ll feel it all year.
Everton – Upgrade the full-backs
Everton suddenly look like a team that could crash the European conversation. The squad is stronger, the mood lighter.
Brennan Johnson, Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard, Tyrique George and Merlin Rohl are all smart additions. But something is missing, and it’s on the flanks of the defence.
Nathan Patterson hasn’t kicked on and spends too much time injured. Jake O’Brien is not a right-back and might leave. On the left, Vitalii Mykolenko is solid but not untouchable.
In modern football, full-backs shape everything. David Moyes’ best XI would look far more convincing with a proper right-back and, ideally, an upgrade on the left. They’ve been linked heavily with Daniel Munoz, but that trail has gone quiet.
Everton are still in the race to bring Jack Grealish back as well, which would be a luxury rather than a necessity. The real priority is fixing those full-back positions.
Fulham – Find a better centre-back
Fulham’s to-do list is long, but one item sits near the top: sign a centre-back.
A new goalkeeper would help, yet feels unlikely this late. At centre-half, Calvin Bassey and Joachim Andersen are a functional pairing, with Jorge Cuenca in the mix, but all three are upgradeable if Fulham want to move beyond mid-table drift.
The truth is the squad feels underwhelming across several areas. They need more than just a defender. But if they can only push one deal over the line, a higher-calibre centre-back gives them a clearer platform to build from.
Ipswich – Bring in a proper No.10
Ipswich have started brightly. A win on opening day, a Carabao Cup victory at Leicester, and a sense of momentum.
Look closer at the XI against Sunderland, though, and one gap stands out: a natural No.10.
Julio Enciso was their best player, drifting in from the wing to create, including a stunning assist for Emersonn. He can play centrally, but his freedom from wide areas is part of what makes him so dangerous.
Exequiel Palacios is a superb signing, the kind of midfield general who can transform a newly-promoted side, just as Granit Xhaka did at Sunderland. Give Palacios a creator ahead of him – someone to live between the lines – and Ipswich’s chances of staying up rise sharply.
They don’t just need another body. They need a playmaker.
Hull – Find their own Xhaka
Hull stunned Manchester United on the opening weekend and changed the tone of their season in 90 minutes.
Oli McBurnie missing the World Cup with Scotland suddenly looks a blessing for Hull. Nobel Mendy and Konstantinos Tzolakis impressed on debut. The whole team played with a point to prove and made United look ordinary.
On paper, though, they still lack one thing: a commanding central midfielder in the Xhaka mould. Hidemasa Morita is an excellent free transfer, but pairing him with an experienced, top-level presence – someone like Ipswich’s Palacios – would elevate the entire side.
They’ve proved they can punch up. Now they need the kind of leader in midfield who keeps them from getting dragged down.
Leeds – A left-back and a striker away from Europe talk
Leeds have quietly put together one of the best windows in the league.
James Trafford, Harry Wilson and Tarik Muharemovic all walk into the starting XI. Nico Elvedi is strong depth. Crucially, no key player has been sold. Karl Darlow was always going to be replaced, Pascal Struijk was expendable.
To turn a good summer into a great one, they need two more pieces: a left-back and a young striker.
James Justin has done a decent job on the left, but it’s not his natural side. That’s a fixable problem. Up front, the issue is more urgent. If Dominic Calvert-Lewin breaks down – and his injury record speaks for itself – Lukas Nmecha becomes the main man. That’s a risk Leeds do not need to take.
Give Daniel Farke a younger, more versatile forward to rotate with Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha, plus a genuine left-back, and Leeds can start to look upwards, not over their shoulder.
Liverpool – Finish Barcola and face the midfield truth
Liverpool know what they need to do this week: get Bradley Barcola over the line. An agreement with PSG is in place. Now they just have to close.
But Barcola alone won’t fix everything. They probably need another winger as well. And they definitely need to confront the midfield issue.
Jamie Carragher’s assessment was brutal but fair: this midfield doesn’t function as it should. Dominik Szoboszlai looks misused, Florian Wirtz hasn’t fully convinced as a Premier League force, and Alexis Mac Allister has looked drained since the title win in 2024/25.
A commanding central midfielder – someone to anchor and organise – feels essential. The problem is simple: there’s little faith Liverpool will actually sign one before the deadline.
Barcola will add spark. Without a new heartbeat in midfield, though, the same old questions will linger.
Manchester City – Rebuild the depth or risk slipping behind
Pep Guardiola’s departure has triggered a clear-out at Manchester City that would sink most clubs. Even for them, the scale is staggering.
James Trafford, Manuel Akanji, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Rodri, Nico Gonzalez, Savinho, Tijjani Reijnders, Bernardo Silva and Omar Marmoush have all gone. That’s an entire XI, and a good one, sold for around £352m.
Enzo Maresca has cash, but not bodies. Defensively, City still look well-stocked. The warning sign came in midfield, where Marc Guehi started centrally on the opening weekend. Ayyoub Bouaddi has since arrived. Enzo Fernandez remains a major target, and if he comes in, City’s spend on central midfielders alone will sail well beyond £300m.
Up front, the picture is even starker. With Marmoush at Tottenham, the club list only Erling Haaland and Ryan McAidoo as centre-forwards. Fifteen players are classed as midfielders or wingers, including two loanees and the outgoing Nico Gonzalez, plus starting left-back Nico O’Reilly.
City need at least one more central midfielder and at least one more forward. They are putting a huge amount on Haaland’s shoulders again. As it stands, this squad doesn’t have the depth to outlast Arsenal over a full title race.
Manchester United – Sort the defence, especially left-back
Manchester United have rebuilt their midfield. Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos have arrived for around £150m. Attention now has to turn to the back line.
Right-back is an ongoing headache. Diogo Dalot is entering his eighth season at Old Trafford without ever nailing down the job. Noussair Mazraoui is his rival, but neither feels like a definitive solution.
At centre-back, there is depth without dominance: Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Lisandro Martinez, Ayden Heaven and the injured Matthijs de Ligt. Enough names, not enough authority.
The priority, though, is left-back. Michael Carrick knows it. The club know it. Lewis Hall would have been ideal, but Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle has already shut that down. That leaves a familiar dilemma: trust Luke Shaw’s body, or find someone new.
Relying on Shaw, with Dalot and Mazraoui as emergency cover, is a huge risk with European football back on the agenda. David Raum, on the other hand, would change the picture. One signing at left-back and United’s top-five hopes suddenly look a lot more secure.
Newcastle – Numbers needed at the back
Newcastle are flirting with danger if they don’t move in this final week.
Even before Dan Burn’s injury, they were light at centre-back. Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman are the first-choice pairing, but Botman’s fitness record is worrying and behind them there’s only Fabian Schar, now 34 and just back from a broken ankle.
Full-back isn’t much safer. Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento are excellent when fit. Amar Dedic can cover both sides. After that, it’s Leo Shahar, who won’t be thrown into Premier League starts. Given Hall and Livramento’s history with injuries, that’s asking for trouble.
Midfield looks better, especially with Nico Gonzalez in. Joe Willock was close to leaving but his impact against Liverpool underlined his value as a squad player. There’s interest in fringe options like Jacob Murphy and Willock, but Newcastle need depth, not more gaps.
Unless Nick Pope moves to Celtic, outgoings should be minimal. The priority is clear: give Jaissle more defenders or risk the season unravelling at the back.
Nottingham Forest – Turn Anderson money into a midfield leader
Forest have reached that familiar late-window problem: too many players, especially up front.
They’re about to add another striker, too – Liam Delap, for a club-record £50m. That’s on top of Arnaud Kalimuendo, Igor Jesus and Chris Wood, all of whom started the Carabao Cup defeat to Leeds. Kalimuendo is the most likely to go if someone has to make way.
The bigger issue is what they haven’t done. Two league games, two defeats, and very little of the Elliot Anderson windfall has been reinvested. Ousmane Diomande has arrived at centre-back for £34m. Gustavo Sa has come in for £17m and gone straight to Olympiakos on loan. Xaver Schlager is a solid free transfer.
What they still lack is a proper midfield general. Someone to organise, dictate and give Oliver Glasner’s side a spine. Without that, the risk is obvious: poor results, rising pressure, and an owner in Evangelos Marinakis who doesn’t do patience.
Forest have the money. Now they need to spend it in the one area that could save their season.
Sunderland – A right winger or a long, hard winter
Sunderland came into the season with a whiff of second-season syndrome about them. The defeat at Ipswich only strengthened that feeling.
Last summer they went big, most notably on Granit Xhaka, and it paid off with European qualification. This year? Almost nothing. Dayann Methalie finally arrived from Toulouse as their second signing of the window, 37 days after Thomas Meunier. Two full-backs. That’s it for a club juggling the league and Europe.
The most glaring hole is on the right of the attack. Igor Paixao and Jack Grealish have been mentioned, but both prefer the left and would be fighting with Simon Adingra, Nilson Angulo and Chemsdine Talbi. The right side would still be bare.
Regis Le Bris needs a genuine right winger, someone who can stretch teams and give Sunderland balance. Without that, the squad looks lopsided and light for what’s coming.
Tottenham – After £400m spent, it’s time to sell
Tottenham have thrown money at their problems. Nearly £400m of it. Omar Marmoush’s arrival will push them to a club-record outlay, with Savio and others already in the door.
The result? A squad that should not be finishing 17th again. But their 3-0 defeat at Brentford on opening weekend was a reminder that spending doesn’t automatically fix habits.
Marmoush and Savio should at least add flair and threat, especially through the middle where Spurs have cried out for a reliable centre-forward. Once Marmoush is signed, though, incoming business should be over.
Now they have to sell.
Lucas Bergvall asked to leave months ago yet still started at Brentford before being hooked at half-time for £85m man Mateus Fernandes, who lined up alongside £92.5m signing Sandro Tonali. Bergvall will almost certainly go before the deadline, with Nottingham Forest still a plausible destination.
Pape Matar Sarr has interest from Galatasaray and Monaco. Mikey Moore, Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur and Kevin Danso could all feasibly depart as Spurs trim a bloated squad.
They’ve spent their way out of excuses. This week is about clearing the dressing room of players they don’t fully trust – and leaving Ange Postecoglou with a group he actually can.
