With the 2021-22 season now done and dusted, all eyes are now on the summer transfer window as Premier League teams look to keep hold of their prized assets while bringing in quality reinforcements ahead of the new campaign.
We’ve already seen some clubs getting their business done early, despite the window not officially opening until 10 June.
However, there’s going to be plenty more deals done between now and 1 September when the window slams shut.
With that in mind, Mirror Football has taken a look at one ideal transfer for every Premier League side, based on what they need this summer.
Arsenal - Dominic Calvert-Lewin
It’s no secret that Arsenal are after a new forward this summer, and Everton ’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin continues to be linked. He joined the Toffees in 2016 and has been steadily developing year on year into a top well-rounded striker.
His best campaign to date came last season when he scored an impressive 21 goals, 16 of which came in the Premier League. Injuries thwarted his attempts to replicate that this season, however now fit again, his match-winning goal that sealed Premier League survival for the Toffees against Crystal Palace last month was a reminder of what he’s capable of.
His profile ticks many boxes from an Arsenal perspective, and it’s easy to see why he should probably be their number one target this summer.
Aston Villa - Nathan Ake
Steven Gerrard will be looking to bolster his defence, especially after key defender Ezri Konsa picked up a long term injury.
They have already been linked with several players, the most notable being Burnley ’s James Tarkowski. Yet with competition for his signature high, other options should be considered. One of those might be Manchester City ’s Nathan Ake.
The 27-year-old has made just 19 Premier League starts for Pep Guardiola’s side since his arrival in the summer of 2020. This is less down to his own abilities, but instead purely down to the plethora of talent already at the club.
But when called upon during the final decisive months of City’s season, he starred and reminded everyone why he was so highly rated at Bournemouth. Villa could be the perfect place for him to secure more regularly minutes, even if Pep Guardiola probably won’t be keen to sell.
Brentford - Frederic Guilbert
It’s often more than just a cliche that newly promoted sides find their second season back in the top flight much tougher than the first. After finishing an impressive 13th in this campaign, Brentford will want to try and mitigate those struggles by having a strong transfer window.
They’ll need reinforcements though, especially in the defence with the biggest gap in the squad arguably being at right-back. Therefore one player they could look to fill that void with is Frederic Guilbert.
The Villa man spent this season on loan at Strasbourg and thrived. He made 33 appearances and registered four assists. Impressively, he also accumulated the third-highest Expected Assists (xA) total (6.78) for any right-back across Europe’s top five leagues.
Matty Cash’s recent contract extension at Villa, coupled with the emergence of youngster Kaine Kesler Hayden means that Guilbert could be available for another loan or even a cheap purchase this summer
Brighton - Ben Brereton Diaz
Brighton have steadily improved year on year under Graham Potter and secured their first-ever Premier League top ten finish this season. However, there’s a school of thought among those who watched them regularly that they could have done even better with a more clinical finisher.
That’s why a move for Blackburn’s Ben Brereton Diaz could make sense this summer. He was one of the Championship’s more lethal forwards this season, scoring 22 goals across 37 appearances for Blackburn. That’s 15 more than he managed in the campaign before, indicating that the 23-year-old is en route to becoming a top-class striker.
Working under Potter, Brighton could be the ideal environment for him to continue his development next season.
Bournemouth - Levi Colwill
The Cherries finished last season with the best defensive record in the Championship. Yet they’re set to lose two key players from that defence as Gary Cahill will depart upon the expiry of his contract while Nathaniel Phillips is heading back to Liverpool following the conclusion of his loan.
A new central defender will therefore be crucial for Scott Parker, and one player who he could target is Chelsea ’s Levi Colwill. The 19-year-old spent last season on loan at Huddersfield, making 31 appearances for the Terriers. He was hugely impressive during that time, dominating defensively while also illustrating calmness and composure in possession.
He’s probably not yet ready for first-team football at Chelsea, therefore he may be available for another loan move, but this time to a Premier League club.
Chelsea - Jules Kounde
Although the likes of Colwill and other Blues’ youngsters will be deemed not quite ready to make the step up, fresh faces will be needed within the Chelsea defence. Especially as Thiago Silva is now 37 and because Antonio Rudiger is heading to Real Madrid.
Reports suggest Thomas Tuchel could be handed as much as £200m following the club’s Todd Boehly-led takeover. This means the Blues can make a move for a real top-class defender and it could therefore be possible that we finally see a deal agreed for Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.
He’s been a long term target of Chelsea, and it’s easy to see why. Although he’s not the tallest centre-back, standing at just six-foot, he tends to dominate most opponents in the air and on the floor. He is also technically excellent and would seamlessly adapt to Tuchel’s possession orientated tactics.
Crystal Palace - James Garner
The Eagles’ players of the season Connor Gallagher will return to Chelsea this summer and isn’t expected to come back. He scored eight goals and provided five assists during his season at Selhurst Park, so he will undoubtedly be a big miss next season.
As a possible replacement, Palace could look to make a move for Manchester United ’s James Garner. The 21-year-old was an integral part of Nottingham Forest’s promotion last season, featuring in 44 of their league matches.
His profile is slightly different to Gallagher's in that he’s an excellent technical player who relies more on his intelligence rather than physical attributes, yet he’s proven time and time again this season that he can run games from the middle of the pitch.
The midfielder’s immediate future is uncertain at United, which could play into Palace’s hands this summer.
Everton - Conor Gallagher
Though a return to Selhurst Park is unlikely for Gallagher, a move to Goodison Park isn’t out of the question. Everton need to bolster their options in midfield, and Frank Lampard’s relationship with Chelsea could play a key role in this potential move happening.
The Toffees are set to lose Donny van de Beek who is returning to Manchester United following his underwhelming loan spell, meanwhile players like Fabian Delph are out of contract and also heading towards the Goodison Park exit.
Everton currently lack a high-energy box-to-box midfielder who possesses real technical ability. Gallagher has both of those qualities and would be an ideal fit.
Fulham - Jesse Lingard
Fabio Carvalho scored ten goals while registering a further eight assists this season, therefore it’s fair to say his move to Liverpool will leave Fulham weaker in attack going into next season.
Marco Silva will be after someone who can replicate his ability to both score and create goals, and that’s why a surprise move for Jesse Lingard could make sense, the 29-year-old is after all out of contract this summer.
He’s struggled for game time at Old Trafford in recent years but was able to remind everyone of his abilities on a six-month loan at West Ham last season where he scored nine league goals and registered four assists. He could be a shrewd acquisition for Fulham if they managed to get a deal over the line.
Leeds - Mohamed Camara
Having successfully led Leeds to Premier League safety, Jesse Marsch will be desperate to strengthen and avoid a similar battle next season. Several areas of the squad need bolstering, however, it’s arguably the midfield that’ll be a priority.
The club have already moved quickly in signing Brenden Aaronson from RB Salzburg, and Marsch could potentially use his Red Bull connections again to bring in Aaronson’s former teammate Mohamed Camara.
The 21-year-old plays deeper usually than Aaronson, and boasts both an excellent passing range and strong defensive traits. He’d be the ideal replacement for Kalvin Phillips should the highly-rated midfielder depart this summer.
Leicester - Sorba Thomas
Brendan Rodgers has built an impressive squad during his time at Leicester, yet there remains a gap in the right side of his attack.
Winger Ademola Lookman enjoyed a decent season on loan from RB Leipzig, and Marc Albrighton continued to produce occasional big performances, however finding a more long-term option for that area of the pitch will be a priority this summer.
For that reason, Huddersfield’s Sorba Thomas could and probably should be a target. The right-sided attacker scored three goals, registered ten assists and accumulated the highest Expected Assist (xA) total of any player across the Championship this season.
Liverpool - Martin Terrier
With Sadio Mane looking more and more likely to depart from Anfield this summer, bringing in a new attacker is likely to be considered a priority for Liverpool.
Rennes’ Martin Terrier has been a player tipped to replace him, and it’s easy to see why. He scored 21 league goals this season, with 19 of those coming from open play. That's just one non-penalty goal less than Ballon d’Or favourite Karim Benzema managed.
Away from the goals, the 25-year-old’s all-round profile should excite Liverpool fans. The six-foot striker is a strong but also technically proficient attacker. This brings a certain versatility to his game and much like Mane he is comfortable playing at centre-forward, as a second-striker, and on the wing. It’s in the latter on the left in which he has thrived most this season.
Man City - Marc Cucurella
Multiple reports have suggested Manchester City are trying to sign Brighton’s left-back Marc Cucurella this summer in a move would that would fix what has been a problem position for much of Guardiola’s time in charge of the Blues.
The champions have rotated between either Oleksandr Zinchenko or Joao Cancelo, with the former proving decent if unremarkable, while the latter is right-footed and therefore better suited to a role on that side of the pitch.
Cucurella is left-footed, and he’s been one of the Seagull's standout players across this campaign, so much so that he scooped the club’s Player of the Season award. He ranked top there in terms of the highest number of progressive carries, runs into the final third and most accumulated yards carrying the ball towards the opposition’s goal.
Brighton only signed him 12 months ago from Getafe in a deal worth £15.4million. City would have to pay more than that to land him this summer, yet based on his ability, it’s easy to see why they would.
Man Utd - Ibrahim Sangare
Bringing a new midfielder has been a priority only accelerated by the arrival of Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United. Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni was a reported target, while links also look to be intensifying with Barcelona ’s Frenkie de Jong.
But another player United should be looking closely at is dominating PSV midfielder Ibrahim Sangare. He’s regarded as one of the best midfielders plying his trade out of Europe’s big five leagues and is expected to make a big move at some point this summer.
He’s big and athletic with an ability to read the game and sniff out danger. He’ll often lead the way in most matches he plays in terms of tackles and interceptions.
The 24-year-old is also composed and dependable in possession too, something that’ll be essential to succeed under Ten Hag next season. Crucially, he will also be much cheaper than some of the other names United have been linked with.
Newcastle - Victor Osimhen
A busy summer window is almost guaranteed at St James’ Park this season, and right now it’s landing a new striker that looking to be the priority.
Newcastle under their new owners have the finical mite to compete with any side, however, they maybe haven’t yet got the draw to entice the truly elite. Still, this hasn’t stopped them from going after some big names, and one of those is Naopli’s Victor Osimhen.
The 23-year-old stands at 6ft1 and has an outstanding leap on him, making him a real asset from set-pieces and crossing situations. He’s also an efficient finisher who finished the campaign have netted 18 goals. He could be a real game-changer for Newcastle’s attack if they could pull the move off.
Nottingham Forest - Philip Zinckernagel
Finally now back in the Premier League, for Forest, it might be more about retaining faces rather than bringing in new ones. Loan players such as Garner, Djed Spence, Keinan Davis and Philip Zinckernagel all played crucial roles in their promotion push this season and will be huge misses in the Premier League.
But in terms of the Zinckernagel, reports suggest talks have opened up between Watford and Forest about the potential permanent move for the attacker who scored seven goals and provided ten assists.
However the fact Forest are going up while Watford are going down does muddy the waters. The Hornets were open to a deal, though having seen how effective Zinckernagel can be in the Championship, their stance may have changed. Even so, it’s a deal Forest should work hard to get over the line.
Southampton - Junior Adamu
Ralph Hasenhuttl's men endured a really poor end to the campaign and were lucky that they avoided being sucked into the relegation dogfight. Scoring goals was a big issue for them, managing a total of just 43 across the whole season.
Fixing that will be a priority this summer, especially as Armando Broja is set to return to Chelsea this summer, while Shane Long will also wave goodbye to St Mary's. Salzburg’s Junior Adamu has been touted as a potential replacement, and that's a deal that’d make sense.
He’s a versatile attacker who can play on the wing or as a central striker and scored nine goals last season, including one against Bayern Munich in Champions League action. The 20-year-old would certainly bring another dimension to the Saints attack.
Tottenham - Alessandro Bastoni
After successfully guiding Tottenham back into the Champions League, Antonio Conte is expected to be well-backed this summer. They’ve already secured the services of Ivan Perisic and shoring up the defence is set to be the next job.
In particular Spurs will be after a quality left-sided defender to strengthen the team’s back three, and Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni could represent the ideal profile to do just that.
Although he’s proven to be a robust defender, which is what they need, it’s also his technical skill and ability on the ball that stands out. Spurs may face a job prizing him away from Inter, but if they can then he’d be an ideal signing.
West Ham - Armando Broja
If the Hammers are to mount another European push next season, then bringing in a new striker will be key. Michail Antonio has done a decent job of leading their line in recent seasons however he scored just three Premier League goals in 2022, highlighting how reinforcements are definitely needed.
The aforementioned Broja is one name being linked to the London Stadium, and it’s easy to see why. The Chelsea forward thrived at Southampton last season where he featured 38 times, directly contributing to ten goals. Although still just 20, Broja has an excellent physical profile and is a dangerous dribbler. He’s also proven to be an instinctive finisher and would undoubtedly be a good addition to West Ham’s squad next season.
Wolves - Joao Palhinha
Ruben Neves became a real fan-favourite during his five years at Molineux, and will be missed should he depart as many predict this summer. Wolves have reportedly already been working on lining up replacements though, and one of those is Sporting CP midfielder Joao Palhinha.
The 26-year-old has built a strong reputation in Portugal. He’s excellent at tackling and breaking up play but is also capable of dictating from the middle when his side are in possession too. If Wolves are to lose Neves, then he’s the ideal replacement.
