Martinez to Chelsea, Barcola to Liverpool among late transfers for Premier League clubs

We are into the final week of the 2026 summer transfer window, yet there is still so much to do.

Most Premier League clubs feel far from finished, whether it’s incoming or outgoing deals or, in plenty of cases, both.

There is a lot of deadwood to be moved out and we can sense lots of loan deals with unachievable buy options on the horizon.

Without further ado, here is what each Premier League club must do in the final week of the summer window, starting with the champions…

Arsenal – Shift the deadwood and sign an elite forward

Arsenal don’t have as much deadwood as Chelsea, for example, but they have several players deemed surplus to requirements that Mikel Arteta is eager to move on. Gabriel Jesus comes to mind and his £250,000 weekly wage does not reflect his standing in the squad. He needs to be sold. Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson also aren’t required, while Ethan Nwaneri should be loaned out.

That is four first-team players to shift in a matter of days, and we haven’t even moved on to what Arsenal should be looking to add to their squad.

The Gunners have been lurking in the background of Liverpool’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola but the France star now seems set for Anfield. Julian Alvarez only wants Barcelona, but his relationship with Atletico Madrid appears untenable, so there’s a chance he opens the door to a move to north London with Barca and Atleti unlikely to deal together. It is this calibre of player Arsenal need to reach the next level. Christos Tzolis looks fantastic so far, but they need a level above him on the left or through the middle to win the Champions League.

Arsenal could win the Champions League anyway, but with Gabriel Martinelli off to Saudi Arabia, a new forward will be signed, and it has to be someone special – not a deadline-day loan deal for Raheem Sterling.

Aston Villa – An awful lot

Wow. How long have you got? It’s impossible to narrow Aston Villa’s transfer priorities down with such a colossal mess needing to be cleaned up.

Zion Suzuki’s signing means Emiliano Martinez is surely off and Ollie Watkins is expected to link up with Martinelli at Al-Hilal. Those are two massive personalities in that Villa dressing room and their departures, along with those of Youri Tielemans, Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers, mean Villa truly are entering a new era, and an era that might not look as successful as the one with those guys in the team.

Still, Villa’s biggest asset throughout all of this has been their manager, and Unai Emery remains. That is absolutely crucial, but keeping him happy is suddenly the club’s biggest priority, and to keep Emery happy, he will need some new signings.

Villa will be forced to do an entire window’s work in the space of a week. At least they already have Martinez’s replacement through the door and Johan Manzambi is a superb addition who can help fill the void left by Rogers. With Watkins on his way, a deal for Nicolas Jackson is close but £65million feels an awful lot when Jackson is in Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’ and not a player they are looking to keep.

Konsa needs to be replaced – pursuits of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Joel Ordonez are flailing – and Emery’s midfield depth is extremely alarming following Tielemans’ move to Manchester United and Amadou Onana’s ACL injury suffered at the World Cup with Belgium.

Boubacar Kamara – brilliant but injury prone – started in midfield with Joao Gomes in Sunday’s mauling at Brighton and the latter’s debut could go down as the worst in Premier League history. Behind them, with Gomes now suspended, Emery has Ross Barkley and Lamare Bogarde. Eek.

That leaves Villa with the complex task of having to sort their s**t out in five days. Sell Martinez. Sell Watkins. Sign Jackson. Sign a midfielder. Sign a winger. Sign a centre-back. Maybe even sign another centre-back. And another midfielder. And another winger. And another striker. Jesus wept.

We all thought Villa’s start to 2025/26 was bad, and it was, but they managed to get their house in order to finish fourth and win the Europa League. As things stand, there’s no chance they recover and enjoy anything close to that success this time around. As far as Premier League teams go, Villa are in the worst position by a country mile. Bloody PSR!

Bournemouth – Sign a right-back

Bournemouth have very little to do. Keeping their best players is imperative ahead of a season in Europe and Alex Scott is arguably their best player.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal have all been linked with Scott this summer and, out of those four clubs, Chelsea are the most likely to make an offer in the final days of the transfer window, though that all depends on Enzo Fernandez and whether or not City bid for him.

Keeping Scott might be the only thing on the agenda for the Cherries, but we think they should be targeting a new right-back, and that is something we have been saying for years.

Adam Smith is a club legend, but he is also 35 years old. It’s obvious to us that Bournemouth should sign an upgrade on their captain. If, by any chance, Adam Smith reads F365, he might think I hate him because I say the same thing every single transfer window. That is not the case. He’s a very fine defender. Just old.

Brentford – Nothing after Diouf

Nine goals in two games is pretty good going. What do these guys need? Dare we say… nothing?

A left-back? Keane Lewis-Potter is actually really good, and Aaron Hickey is a superb back-up. But the Bees are closing in on West Ham’s El Hadji Malick Diouf just to really firm up the flank.

Another centre-back? The depth of Sepp van den Berg, Kristoffer Ajer and Nathan Collins is fine. A No.10? Mikkel Damsgaard didn’t even start against Spurs and they created bucket loads. Igor Thiago and Callum Wilson are a nice striker rotation, too.

This could be a serene cruise into the end of the window for Brentford. Being brilliantly-organised is all well and good, but where’s the fun?

Brighton – Keep Minteh, or sell and replace Minteh

Brighton’s final transfer business of the summer is dependent on Yankuba Minteh’s future and whether Liverpool meet Albion’s £70-80m asking price.

It’s simple: either keep him and get on with what should be an fine season, or sell him and bring in a replacement. Probably someone we’ve never heard of from Guatemala who’ll they’ll sell to Chelsea for £120million in 2028.

Chelsea – Shift the deadwood and sign a goalkeeper

Some are tipping Chelsea as potential title challengers. Many feel they will be the only team to run champions Arsenal in any way close, yet the general opinion is that whoever finishes second behind the Gunners will finish a distant second.

Chelsea can close that gap by finally getting shot of Robert Sanchez. Emi Martinez is Right There. No more messing around… just go and get him.

The signing of a top goalkeeper could take the Blues to another level, but it’s clear that they have other issues to sort, namely this year’s rendition of their famous bomb squad.

Securing packages potentially worth £110million for Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson is next-level BlueCo-ing.

There are so many names in limbo, though. Mykhailo Mudryk is available and maybe destined for a year at sister club Strasbourg, then you have Gabriel Slonina, Tosin Adarabioyo, Aaron Anselmino and Marc Guiu, while we have no idea what Chelsea want to do with Emmanuel Emegha, Jamie Gittens, Dario Essugo and Wesley Fofana.

The Blues find themselves in this position every single season, and every single season they manage to get an extortionate fee for players they clearly have no intention of keeping, seemingly getting backed into a corner before magically appearing behind the interested club like Barney getting chucked out of Moe’s. Or, failing that, they just get sent on loan to Strasbourg in a deal that is completely fine and not to be scrutinised in any way.

Coventry – Add more Premier League quality

It’s easy – maybe even a bit lazy – to say Coventry need to add more Premier League quality after an opening-day defeat to the best team in the country.

On that note, it’s painfully obvious that Coventry need to add more Premier League quality after an opening-day defeat to the best team in the country.

Rushworth; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Amenda, Dasilva; Onyeka, Yirenkyi, Grimes; Thomas-Asante, Simms, Tchaouna. That doesn’t scream Premier League safety to us.

Taiwo Awoniyi and Ethan Pinnock are two signings along the right lines. It just feels like Coventry need another two or three of them. The clock is ticking…

Crystal Palace – Cash in on Sarr and reinvest

Ismaila Sarr has emerged as a surprise target for Liverpool as Andoni Iraola gets desperate. Sarr is an alternative to Yankuba Minteh after Brighton rebuffed two bids and, after Palace turned down a couple of offers from Galatasaray for their Senegalese star, Liverpool have seen a £50m bid rejected. It’s not looking good for them in their search for attacking reinforcements, but it’s also a slight warning to Palace fans that they could end the summer window short.

Although there is not much time left, rejecting £50m for a 28-year-old Sarr feels rather bold. Should Liverpool come back with an extra £10m, Palace need to take the money and run.

But only if they have a plan in place to sufficiently replace him and reinvest the money throughout the squad.

Palace fans might think all they need to do is keep their star players, such as Adam Wharton, Dean Henderson, Daniel Munoz and Sarr, while Jean-Philippe Mateta simply has to go. However, this Sarr revelation gives Palace the opportunity to bulk out the squad with younger players.

It will be a gruelling season if Pierre Sage does not make another two, three, maybe even four signings. The Europa League-Premier League schedule will eat him alive if he’s left short.

Everton – Sign a right-back or a left-back, or both

Everton feel like potential underdogs for a European place this season. They are in a better place after previously being a club we feared for. We like the signings of Brennan Johnson, Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard, Tyrique George and Merlin Rohl, though there does feel like something is missing.

Full-back has become one of the most important positions in modern football and, on both sides of their defence, the Toffees are lacking. Nathan Patterson has disappointed and is often injured, Jake O’Brien is not a right-back and could leave, while Vitalii Mykolenko is a safe bet but definitely upgradeable.

David Moyes’ best XI would look a lot stronger with more convincing options on both sides, though we feel right-back is the more pressing concern.

They have been heavily linked with Daniel Munoz but that seems to have gone quiet.

Everton are also still in the running to re-sign Jack Grealish, which could never be a bad thing.

Fulham – Sign a centre-back

A new goalkeeper would be nice, but at this stage of the transfer window, we cannot see that happening. Signing a centre-back is much more likely.

Calvin Bassey partnered Jorge Cuenca at the back against Chelsea with Joachim Andersen suspended. Andersen and Bassey are a solid, ball-playing duo but, like Bernd Leno behind them, are players Fulham could easily upgrade on.

We look at Fulham’s squad and are fairly underwhelmed by their strength all over the pitch, so we are not fully committed to saying they need a centre-back. They need a lot more, but are not absolutely desperate.

Ipswich – Sign a No.10

An opening-day victory followed by a Carabao Cup win over Leicester means things are pretty positive over at Portman Road, but looking at their starting XI against Sunderland, we are confident Ipswich need an attacking midfielder.

Julio Enciso was their best player and can play as a No.10, but is usually a starter on the wing, given the freedom to roam and make things happen. He certainly did that against Sunderland, producing an incredible assist for Emersonn’s goal.

Exequiel Palacios is a bloody brilliant signing and one reminiscent of Granit Xhaka’s move to Sunderland, which was absolutely huge for the Black Cats. With Palacios running the midfield, adding another playmaker to star in front of him would give Ipswich the best possible chance of avoiding relegation.

Hull – Find their Granit Xhaka

Beating Manchester United was the perfect start to the season for a Hull side motivated to prove their doubters wrong. They were fantastic all over the pitch and made an expensive United side look worse than ordinary.

Oli McBurnie not going to the World Cup with Scotland looks absolutely hilarious and new signings Nobel Mendy and Konstantinos Tzolakis were terrific. After 90 minutes of knocking a ball about, the outlook on Hull’s survival chances is a lot different.

Looking at the XI that beat United, on paper, Hull would benefit from signing a central midfielder. Hidemasa Morita is a top signing on a free, but someone of Xhaka’s ilk – an experienced, high-quality midfielder who can elevate a promoted team, like Ipswich-bound Palacios – would be perfect.

Leeds – Sign a left-back and striker

Leeds have enjoyed an outstanding summer transfer window. Not only have they signed three instant starters in James Trafford, Harry Wilson and Tarik Muharemovic, and a very good squad player in Nico Elvedi, but they have lost zero key players after comfortably avoiding relegation. Unless you view Karl Darlow – who was always getting replaced this summer – and Pascal Struijk as key players.

That said, if Leeds add a left-back and a young striker, they could seriously challenge for a European spot. Daniel Farke is not in dire need of reinforcements, but if Leeds are active in the final days of the transfer window, these are the two positions they will improve.

James Justin has done an admirable job on the left, but that is not his natural position. More pressingly, an injury to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which we do not want to speak into existence, leaves Lukas Nmecha as Leeds’ starting striker. That is a scary thought for Leeds supporters and, if Farke is given an extra option up front, we’d like it to be a younger player with more flair and versatility than Nmecha and Calvert-Lewin.

Liverpool – Get Barcola done

A pretty obvious brief, this. One they seem set to fulfil having finally reached an agreement with PSG.

Liverpool actually need a lot more than just Barcola. Including another winger.

And a central midfielder certainly wouldn’t go amiss. Jamie Carragher said on Monday Night Football that Liverpool don’t have a midfield that can “function”, with doubts over whether Dominik Szoboszlai is being properly utilised and Florian Wirtz’s effectiveness as a Premier League footballer, while Alexis Mac Allister has cut a tired figure since Liverpool’s title win of 2024/25. It’s difficult to disagree with him.

A commanding force in the middle of the park feels necessary but we have no faith in the Reds to get it done.

Man City – Bulk up their squad

There have been several key outgoings at Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s departure has triggered a mass exodus. So many experienced winners have left, such as Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Rodri, and while the old guard have sought pastures new, City seem willing to get rid of anyone attracting interest from elsewhere.

James Trafford (£40m), Manuel Akanji (£13m), Jahmai Simpson-Pusey (£4.3m), Stones (free), Nathan Ake (£7m), Rodri (£51m), Nico Gonzalez (£50m), Savinho (£75m), Tijjani Reijnders (£52m), Silva (free) and Omar Marmoush (£60m) comprise an XI sold by City this summer. That is a pretty good side, all sold, albeit for a hefty figure in the region of £352m.

Enzo Maresca might have made plenty of money from player sales this summer, but that has obviously left Guardiola’s replacement with an extremely light squad. Defensively, City remain strong in both quantity and quality, but Marc Guehi’s presence in central midfield on matchday one was a clear sign that Maresca needs reinforcements. Since Sunday’s win over Bournemouth, Ayyoub Bouaddi has joined, and Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez remains a top target, potentially taking City’s spending on central midfielders alone to well over £300m.

Following Marmoush’s transfer to Tottenham, the only listed forwards on the club’s website (they only count centre-forwards) are Erling Haaland and Ryan McAidoo. They have 15 midfielders/wingers, including two players out on loan, Floyd Samba, Jeremy Monga, the outgoing Nico Gonzalez and starting left-back Nico O’Reilly.

City need at least one more central midfielder and will reportedly go big on Fernandez, but they also need to replace Spurs’ new boys Savio and Marmoush, especially the latter, because they are putting all of their faith in Haaland playing 50+ games this season. This squad is not deep enough to beat Arsenal to the Premier League title.

Man United – Improve the defence

Manchester United’s midfield revamp is complete with the signings of Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos for a combined £150million, but Michael Carrick clearly needs to take a long, hard look at his defence and bring in a new left-back at the very least.

Right-back feels like a problem position, with Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui vying for a starting spot. Dalot is now in his eighth year at Old Trafford having never established himself as the first-choice right-back after previous battles with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young and Matteo Darmian.

And then there is centre-back. There is decent depth there in the form of Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Lisandro Martinez, Ayden Heaven and the crocked Matthijs de Ligt. Decent. But not spectacular. There is no commanding player there who fills you with confidence, is there? It’s clearly another position where Carrick should want to add more quality, but it’s been awfully quiet, with the head coach’s priority reportedly on adding a new left-back, as it should be, in truth.

Lewis Hall would be perfect but, as Newcastle United boss Matthias Jaissle told Peter Schmeichel on Sunday: “No chance.”

That leaves United deciding whether to put their faith in Luke Shaw, which would be a big risk with European competition returning, with right-backs Mazraoui and Dalot as back-up.

We don’t like that, and nor do United fans. David Raum? We do like that. Simply put: everyone would be a lot more confident about United’s top-five aspirations if they sign a new left-back to replace Shaw in Carrick’s strongest XI.

Newcastle – Add more defensive depth

Newcastle are taking a few risks this season, unless they add players in several positions. They were already looking light at the back and, with Dan Burn’s injury, they will surely sign a centre-back. Behind Malick Thiaw and the injury-prone Sven Botman, there is only Fabian Schar, who is 34 years old and recently recovered from a broken ankle.

Defensively, Jaissle needs more numbers. Behind first-choice full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, you have Amar Dedic, who is capable of playing on both sides, but then only Leo Shahar, who won’t be trusted to start in the Premier League. Given Hall and Livramento’s injury problems, that needs to be addressed.

In terms of outgoings, Joe Willock looked set to leave but his brilliant contribution against Liverpool makes him seem like a valuable squad player. Newcastle have some strong depth in the middle and will be buoyed by Nico Gonzalez’s arrival. We don’t see many more departures, even if there is tentative interest in back-ups like Jacob Murphy and Willock. Newcastle need these guys around, even if they don’t have Europe this season.

With the exception of Nick Pope, potentially off to Celtic, more outgoings should not be the priority. Ensuring Jaissle has enough cover at the back has to be.

Nottingham Forest – Spend the Elliot Anderson money

When we get to this stage of the transfer window, lots of clubs find themselves with too many players, or too many players in one position. At Forest, they have too many strikers. And they are signing another one for a club-record £50million in Liam Delap.

Arnaud Kalimuendo, Igor Jesus and Chris Wood all started for Forest against Leeds United as they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup and, out of those three, Kalimuendo is the most likely to leave.

But after two defeats from two to start the campaign, it’s probably about time Forest spent the money received for Elliot Anderson. They have only reinvested in centre-back Ousmane Diomande (£34m) and Gustavo Sa (£17m), who has been loaned out to Olympiakos, and although Xaver Schlager is a solid addition on a free transfer, a proper midfield general is what’s missing and what could save Oliver Glasner from Evangelos Marinakis Evangelos Marinakising.

Sunderland – Sign a right winger

Sunderland were already in Fear For Them territory before their opening-day defeat at newly-promoted Ipswich, with their frailties laid bare at Portman Road.

Second-season syndrome is definitely A Thing, and it will only be enhanced by a promoted side’s qualification for European competition, which Sunderland remarkably managed after a brilliant 2025 summer transfer window headlined by the addition of Granit Xhaka.

There has been no such ambition shown this summer, with the club’s hierarchy seemingly confident Regis Le Bris won’t even entertain a relegation battle, but we’re not so sure.

Sunderland have only just added their second summer signing in Toulouse’s young left-back Dayann Methalie, who joins 37 days after versatile and experienced full-back Thomas Meunier’s arrival. Is this enough for a team in their second season back in the Premier League and competing in Europe? Absolutely not.

Fans won’t turn their noses up at much at this stage, but it’s pretty clear that the biggest issue in Le Bris’ strongest XI is on the right side of his attack. Igor Paixao and Jack Grealish have been mooted but they are two players more suited to the left, meaning either would be competing with Simon Adingra, Nilson Angulo and Chemsdine Talbi, while there would still be no established right-sided option.

Tottenham – Sell, sell, sell

Spurs have been spend, spend, spend all summer, with Omar Marmoush’s arrival set to take them to a record expenditure of nearly £400million. Remarkable, isn’t it? But something has to stop the rot of back-to-back 17th-place finishes. There’s nothing better than throwing money at a problem to try and fix it.

It was a case of same old Spurs in their 3-0 humbling at Brentford on the opening weekend, but the signings of Savio and Marmoush should add some much-needed flair in attack, with the latter in particular tasked with solving a problem position at centre-forward.

In terms of incomings, Spurs’ transfer business will surely stop at Marmoush, and that will allow them to sort out some necessary departures, particularly in midfield.

Lucas Bergvall asked to leave months ago yet started against Brentford, before being hooked at half-time for £85million signing Mateus Fernandes to play alongside £92.5million summer signing Sandro Tonali.

The young Swede will likely leave in the final week of the transfer window and, should Nottingham Forest reignite their interest, we would not be surprised. There is also Pape Matar Sarr, who is reportedly wanted by Galatasaray and AS Monaco. Then you have Mikey Moore, Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur and Kevin Danso, who could all feasibly leave before Tuesday night’s deadline.

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