Nine new signings across the Premier League to track this season
Newcastle, Arsenal, Brentford, Everton, Leeds, Coventry, Aston Villa, Hull and Ipswich have all added new players to their Premier League squads ahead of this season. An Opta Analyst round-up profiles nine arrivals from across Europe and MLS who could play significant roles.
The list spans positions and leagues: recruits include a winger from Hoffenheim, a creator from Club Brugge, a midfielder from Lens, a Championship playmaker, a Danish Superliga all-rounder, a Ligue 1 forward, a Bundesliga youngster, an MLS centre-back and a Serie A defender. Several signings are explicitly intended to replace outgoing contributors — notably at Newcastle and Arsenal — while others are framed as longer-term projects. The piece highlights statistical strengths for each player rather than transfer fees alone.
At Newcastle, Touré is presented as a 20-year-old, left-footed wide player who predominantly plays from the left and was more of a creator than a goalscorer for Hoffenheim last season. He registered 14 Bundesliga goal involvements, nine of which were assists, and created 44 chances in open play, a total bettered by five players; his 115 open-play crosses were the fourth most in the Bundesliga. The analysis contrasts those figures with Anthony Gordon’s 24 chances created in open play in the Premier League last season. Arsenal’s incoming Tzolis is profiled as an effective creator at Club Brugge with 135 chances created — 35 more than anyone else in the Belgian Pro League — and 52 opportunities produced from his set-piece deliveries, representing 38.5% of his total chances created.
Brentford’s new signing Sangaré is noted as a Mali international with only a single season in a top league but strong defensive and buildup metrics at Lens: he averaged 8.01 possession regains per 90 (900+ minutes), behind only Elliot Anderson (8.26) and Exequiel Palacios (8.04) across Europe’s top five leagues, and 4.7 possession wins in the middle third per 90 (second-best). Only four Ligue 1 players produced more than his 31 secondary chances created. Everton’s Hackney arrived from Middlesbrough after four full seasons at the club; the 24-year-old deep-lying playmaker joined for a fee that could rise to £25m and posted 52 secondary chances created — the most in the Championship — while his 4.86 expected assists ranked seventh, and he completed 33.5% of open-play passes forward.
Coventry’s Yirenkyi, a 20-year-old Ghana international from Nordsjælland, featured among six midfielders in the Danish Superliga 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; he also led that group with 81.1 touches per 90 and posted a 91.8% pass-completion rate (900+ mins). Ipswich paid £24m for Emersonn, a 22-year-old Brazilian striker from Toulouse who scored six times in 28 league appearances last season and ranked eighth among Ligue 1 centre-forwards for carries ending in a shot or chance created (17), with most players ahead of him having logged considerably more minutes.
Aston Villa’s Manzambi is profiled as a 20-year-old midfield attacker who registered five progressive carries of at least 10 metres per 90 at Freiburg — bettered by only three regular Bundesliga midfielders — and ranked 14th for dribble attempts (2.8) per 90; he also recorded five goal involvements at the World Cup (three goals, two assists), described as the youngest player in at least 60 years to reach that total at a single tournament. Hull’s Herrington, 18, made his Colorado Rapids debut in February but was named to the MLS All-Star squad after his first World Cup campaign with Australia; among MLS defenders with 400+ minutes he 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), and his 71.2% aerial success rate ranked 15th in that group.
Leeds’ signing Muharemovic arrived from Sassuolo for £34m, making him Leeds’ second-most expensive signing at the time; the 23-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina international completed 191 long passes (the 11th most of all outfielders in Serie A last season), was joint-sixth for switches of play (12) and picked up seven yellow cards in the league last season. The report emphasises his technical profile, competitive nature and potential upside given his age.
The Opta Analyst compilation identifies specific metrics to monitor as these players join their new clubs, singling out Emersonn’s adaptation to the Premier League and Hackney’s prospects should he adjust to the top flight; the piece is credited to Opta Analyst.
