There were many big moves last summer, but not all of them were immediate hits.
Last summer was one of the craziest transfer windows in Premier League history. Liverpool twice made a league-record signing, first with Florian Wirtz and then with Alexander Isak. The latter forced Newcastle United to scramble to rebuild their attack with a series of largely unsuccessful signings. Both Liverpool and Newcastle endured incredibly disappointing seasons as a result.
Elsewhere, Spurs spent big on the likes of Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus, only to drop to 17th in the Premier League. Manchester United invested heavily in their attack with mixed results, as did Chelsea. Arsenal had their own underwhelming signings, but still built a strong team and came away as the Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years.
This summer has been another chaotic, high-spending affair in England, with the likes of Morgan Rogers and Elliot Anderson making massive moves after the World Cup. In the excitement of it all, many of last season’s signings have already been forgotten. However, many of them could be set for much stronger seasons in their second campaigns.
Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz was, whether fair or not, the face of Liverpool’s disappointing campaign last season. After winning the Premier League handily, Arne Slot’s side smashed the British transfer record to sign the 22-year-old attacking midfielder from Bayer Leverkusen, where he had been a key player for five seasons. In the end, he was a massive disappointment, not even registering his first league goal contribution until December.
However, there were valid reasons for his struggles. Liverpool’s entire attack took a noticeable step back in Arne Slot’s second season, going from 86 goals to 63. Slot’s side looked lost, as several players, including Isak, failed to gel in a much-changed side. Even Mohamed Salah went from one of the best in the world to a bench option. Drama off the pitch didn’t help, either.
At the same time, Wirtz was being asked to do more in defense, and often in a deeper role, than he was with Leverkusen, while playing in a more physical league. His loss of confidence was plain to see on the pitch, too. Wirtz attempted significantly fewer dribbles, shots, and passes than he did in Germany. He finished the season with five goals and three assists in the Premier League: not a horrible return, but nowhere near as good as expected.
This season, there’s reason to be excited. The German is coming off a respectable World Cup, despite his team’s struggles, and returns to a Liverpool side no longer managed by Arne Slot. Instead, the Reds are led by Andoni Iraola, a high-pressing, successful manager with Bournemouth. Unlike last season, Isak is fully fit, at least at the moment. If he can get on the end of the chances Wirtz creates, it could be a recipe for success.
The wings remain the big question. With Salah gone, Wirtz will have less to do off the ball, but significantly more to do in attack. None of Liverpool’s options out wide at the moment look prepared to step up and replace the Egyptian’s goals, so it’s really up to Wirtz to make this attack tick next season.
Yoane Wissa
Yoane Wissa endured a truly horrible debut season with Newcastle United. The Congolese striker was something of a panic buy, joining on deadline day from Brentford after Isak’s departure and several other striker targets fell through. Wissa didn’t even make his debut until December after battling injuries. He finished the season with just one Premier League goal as Newcastle finished 12th.
There was speculation that, after such a terrible opening campaign, Wissa would not be back this season. Wissa responded with a surprisingly good World Cup campaign. The striker scored three goals, with one in the opener against Portugal and a brace versus Uzbekistan. That was enough to advance to the knockouts, where the DR Congo narrowly exited to England.
Wissa, too, is coming back to a different manager. Eddie Howe stepped down in late July after five mixed seasons in Newcastle, with German Matthias Jaissle replacing him. Jaissle has seen strikers thrive under him, whether Ivan Toney at Al-Ahli or Benjamin Šeško at RB Salzburg, and will hope to ignite an attack that looked stale last season.
The result has been an encouraging start, with Wissa bagging a brace in preseason against Valencia. Winger Bazoumana Touré, fresh off a breakout season with Hoffenheim, adds a crossing threat on the wing. If Anthony Elanga or Nick Woltemade can make the step up after their own disappointing debut seasons, Wissa will be the big winner.
Olivier Boscagli
Olivier Boscagli may not be a name known far and wide in the Premier League. In his first season with Brighton, he struggled to carve out a starting role after joining from PSV Eindhoven. Instead, the Seagulls relied heavily on a partnership of Jan Paul van Hecke and Lewis Dunk, finishing eighth and qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League. Boscagli didn’t even come off the bench until November.
This summer, van Hecke was sold to Tottenham, with Brighton signing two new center-backs in Luka Vušković and Pascal Struijk. Despite the new signings, Boscagli has been trusted in preseason against Bologna and Roma, although that’s partially because Struijk has been sidelined with an injury. Brighton kept clean sheets in both.
The biggest knock to Boscagli’s game, at least for Brighton, is that at 5’11”, he’s far from dominant in the air. In the physical Premier League, this can be an issue, and he’s not quite quick enough to be a regular left-back. Still, playing next to the towering Vušković or even Dunk would hide many of his flaws, and vice versa.
With van Hecke gone, there’s an opening on the left side of the defense, and the left-footed Boscagli is an easy solution. He’s potentially a better fit next to Vušković than Dunk to start the season as a more mobile, technical option alongside the Croatian giant. Still, even if the Frenchman is not a starter, he should get plenty of chances throughout the year as Brighton balance the Premier League and Europe.
Yéremy Pino
He didn’t play the biggest role, but Crystal Palace does, in fact, have a World Cup winner in Yéremy Pino. The winger’s first season in London was underwhelming, with only four goal contributions in the Premier League. It was still enough to earn a spot on the Spain squad, with Pino previously playing a big role with Villarreal. He made two appearances, both off the bench, in North America.
Like Wirtz, Pino’s stats are not quite as bad as they seem. He suffered from Palace’s attack taking a big step back, particularly as a result of a frustrating season from Jean-Philippe Mateta. Pino actually created fifteen big chances, trailing only Bruno Fernandes, Rayan Cherki, Declan Rice, and Jarrod Bowen. The Spaniard also had 6.1 expected assists, or xA, but finished the year with just two assists.
Pino wasn’t quite at the level of previous elite attackers to grace Selhurst Park, such as Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, and Wilfried Zaha. Still, he certainly showed flashes in his debut season, and if Mateta can return to form, this could be a big season for both. New manager Pierre Sage has a way with attackers, helping unleash stars like Rayan Cherki and, oddly, Florian Thauvin, in Ligue 1.
There have been multiple reports that Pino could already be looking to return to La Liga. This would be a shame, as the Spaniard clearly has more to offer in London, especially with Palace competing in the Europa League next season. Should he stay, Pino seems destined for a breakout season under Sage, but at the very least, Palace should get a decent sum for the 23-year-old.
Arnaud Kalimuendo
This is a risky call, given that Arnaud Kalimuendo may not even be a Nottingham Forest player by the end of the summer. Heading into the season, he’s probably the club’s third-choice striker behind both Igor Jesus and Chris Wood. Kalimuendo doesn’t even have a full Premier League season under his belt, having left on loan for Eintracht Frankfurt in January.
Like most of the others on this list, Kalimuendo could benefit from a change of managers. The Frenchman was signed under Nuno Espírito Santo, played ever so briefly under Ange Postecoglou, and then banished by Sean Dyche. That same window, Forest elected to sign the much taller, far worse Lorenzo Lucca on loan to fit Dyche’s style, which was another disaster.
Dyche is now gone, as is Dyche’s replacement, Vítor Pereira. The new manager — assuming he’s not been sacked by the time this article is out — is the striker whisperer himself, Oliver Glasner. The Austrian made Wout Weghorst a star at Wolfsburg, Randal Kolo Muani one at Eintracht Frankfurt, and Mateta at Crystal Palace. That’s a pretty remarkable record.
Now, there is a common thread there: all are physical nines. At just 5’9″, Kalimuendo certainly does not fit that mould. He’s actually a half-foot shorter than Forest teammate Chris Wood. However, he’s quick, good on the ball, and a great finisher. He can be a nice change-of-pace option, and his versatility means he can play on the wings as well as up top.
Kalimuendo has been given chances in preseason and impressed so far, so if he stays, he could be set for a big year.
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Image via @NUFC (X).
