Every Premier League Team's Biggest Need in the 2025 Summer Transfer Window
This summer’s transfer window openings are mightily confusing due to the FIFA Club World Cup’s mini windows, but one thing remains the same: Premier League clubs are going to spend big.
June 16th sees the official opening of the summer window and the main time in which teams will aim to improve their squads. Some need a little, some need a lot. Here’s the biggest need for each.
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Brentford
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Arsenal - A striker
Of all the Premier League teams that must sign a striker in the coming months (and trust me, there are a few), Arsenal are the ones who have teased us the longest. Surely, SURELY, the Gunners finally land a Benjamin Sesko or a Viktor Gyokeres this year? You can never be completely sure…
Aston Villa - A striker
This is a difficult one because Villa are on the brink of needing quite a bit. Question marks over defence remain, with an obvious weakness on the right side. Yet, Jhon Duran’s departure in January and Marcus Rashford’s loan expiring mean Ollie Watkins could use some competition. He plays best when he’s pressured, and at 29 years old, he isn’t going to be the answer forever.
Bournemouth - A centre-back
No prizes for guessing what Bournemouth need the most after losing Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid and Illia Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain. That’s a lot of quality dropping out of the side, meaning a clever, ball-playing replacement must be found with the cash received. Andoni Iraola has a really difficult task in replenishing the impact of his former young stars.
Brentford - A versatile forward
Bryan Mbeumo’s (eventual) transfer to Manchester United opens a couple of gaps up for Brentford. While he starts on the right wing, a lot of the Cameroonian star’s play goes through the middle; his partnership with Yoane Wissa is the most important aspect of Brentford’s best moments under Thomas Frank last season.
Well, Mbeumo and Frank have now gone. Replacing the former with a high-output, versatile forward is very important for the new manager.
Brighton, Burnley, Chelsea and Crystal Palace
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Brighton - A striker
Danny Welbeck isn’t getting any younger and Joao Pedro seems set on leaving the Amex Stadium when a suitable bid comes in. Brighton find themselves in the annoying position of having to find someone new to lead the line. Rotation and injuries have made this a frustrating position to fill for Fabian Hurzeler, who will want consistency next season.
Burnley - A striker
Midfielder Josh Brownhill was Burnley’s top scorer last season, netting 18 in the Championship. His best in a Premier League season is four. Zian Flemming and Jaidon Anthony were next in line with 12 and eight, respectively, neither of whom you’d trust with leading the line in the top division. A solid, 10 goals per season type would make a huge difference to the Clarets’ chances of survival.
Chelsea - A striker
Controversial, perhaps, as Chelsea definitely needs a new goalkeeper. But Nicolas Jackson’s recent exploits should write him off as the Blues’ first-choice striker. Red cards should never outweigh goals and Enzo Maresca will be rightfully frustrated after giving Jackson plenty of chances. Liam Delap is a new signing, but he will need competition for the No. 9 shirt.
Chelsea can probably get away with having the poor Robert Sanchez or Filip Jorgensen, for the sake of this article. They can’t get away with Jackson being the main man anymore.
Crystal Palace - A centre-back
Oliver Glasner has probably held onto Marc Guehi longer than he expected. It looks like the England international is finally set to say goodbye this summer and head to Liverpool, leaving a huge role to fill for whoever comes in.
Add in the fact Chelsea terminated Trevoh Chalobah’s loan early and Palace are suddenly looking at a dirge of quality in an important area.
Everton, Fulham, Leeds United and Liverpool
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Everton - A striker
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s quality has turned to dust. So much so, Beto’s eight goals last season were considered…good.
David Moyes needs to rectify expectations of what an Everton striker should be. While there are issues in defence, adding a top-quality goal scorer would make the Toffees’ first season in their new stadium an exciting one.
Fulham - A central midfielder
The ghost of Joao Palhinha lives on for Fulham.
Their midfield simply hasn’t looked the same since the combative Portuguese star moved to Bayern Munich. It’s not quite working for him in Germany and one could suggest it would be best for all if that move never happened. Either way, Marco Silva needs to find someone to tie together a midfield that is currently lacking a definitive style.
Leeds United - A centre back
All of the promoted teams are going to need significant investment to compete.
Leeds performed incredibly last year, scoring 95 and only conceding 30. That gap is going to get a lot closer, with their last Premier League goal difference ending at minus 31. Manager Daniel Farke saw his Norwich side destroyed during his last stint at the top level, so finding multiple defenders with proven quality is vital.
Liverpool - A striker
Liverpool continue to improve. The signings of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez are setting the Reds up for an era of domination, or at least, a proper chance to defend the Premier League title for the first time.
An upgrade on Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota would really solidify what Arne Slot is doing. Imagine adding a big-name scorer in front of all those creative players at Anfield.
Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest
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Manchester City - A right-back
Pep Guardiola’s rebuild began in January.
Omar Marmoush has settled well, while Nico Gonzalez and Abdukodir Khusanov need more time to properly integrate. City’s defensive struggles have gotten more prominent since Kyle Walker’s form dropped off and eventually saw him shipped out. That pace and ability to dominate one-on-one battles needs to be found again if City are to stop conceding sloppy goals.
Manchester United - A goalkeeper
I’m saying this on the assumption that United add a striker. It’s never good to assume with this club.
However, signing Matheus Cunha and (eventually) Bryan Mbeumo is an excellent start along the road to recovery for Ruben Amorim’s side. His team needs a better goalkeeper than Andre Onana if they’re to consistently relieve pressure, though. Onana is too mistake-ridden and doesn’t inspire anyone with confidence. That needs to change.
Newcastle - A winger
Fair play to Jacob Murphy: he stepped up last season, delivered his best numbers and slotted into Eddie Howe’s first team so well that Anthony Gordon’s injury wasn’t felt as much as it could have been.
However, he’s not the long-term answer. Adding one more hard-to-defend and explosive winger to the forward options of Alexander Isak, Harvey Barnes and Gordon could take Newcastle to the next level.
Nottingham Forest - A striker
Chris Wood’s ridiculous season ended with 20 Premier League goals. Not bad for a 33-year-old who had never scored more than 14 in the division before that. Forest cannot plan for the same happening again, though, especially with European football on the horizon.
Wood needs to be pushed by the signing of a younger, faster striker who can offer something different to Nuno Espirito Santos’ packed squad.
Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers
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Sunderland - A central midfielder
Jobe Bellingham’s move to Borussia Dortmund should have Sunderland calling up a certain former player.
Jordan Henderson’s return would make so much sense; he’d add quality on the ball and leadership skills in what is likely to be a very difficult season for the Black Cats. They will need a lot to survive. Henderson or a midfielder who can bring a sense of calm will help a lot.
Tottenham - A central midfielder
Thomas Frank’s Tottenham should maintain much of the entertainment we saw with Ange Postecoglu. Like his predecessor, Frank has also struggled to find a workable balance at times in the Premier League, his Brentford team often pounding in the goals while struggling at the back.
Key to Spurs’ improvement will be a well-balanced midfield. Yves Bissouma hasn’t developed into the player many thought he would and Pape Matar Sarr is still progressing his overall game. Frank should go out and grab a holding mid who can dictate from deep to help both.
West Ham - A striker
Another year, another striker needed. Niklas Fullkrug has barely played. Evan Ferguson didn’t work. West Ham are so lucky to have game-changers like Jarrod Bowen and if he finds form again, Mohammed Kudus. Now they need someone who can stick the delivery from those players into the back of the net.
Wolves - A winger
With Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri no longer at Molineux, Wolves are left with one player who scored more than three goals in the Premier League last season. That’s quite an amazing stat that should worry the club.
Jorgen Stand Larsen proved an excellent spearhead with 14 goals in his debut year, so Vitor Pereira must find a creative winger to supply him now the left side has been gutted.
