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Oliver Glasner has introduced a 3-4-2-1 formation at Forest. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PAAfter a chaotic season under four different coaches, Forest fans will be hoping Oliver Glasner can bring some stabilityGuardian writers’ predicted position: 11th (NB: this is not necessarily Will Unwin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Oliver Glasner’s arrival has resulted, as one would expect, in a change in formation. The Austrian has introduced the 3-4-2-1 set-up that brought him success at Crystal Palace. It will take time for Nottingham Forest’s players to adapt to the new system but there have been positive signs in pre-season. Importantly, the club has three high-quality centre-backs to form the foundation of Glasner’s masterplan.Going through four head coaches in a season is never a good sign and the hope among Forest fans will be that Glasner provides the long-term stability they all crave. The team became engulfed in a relegation battle in the previous campaign as players jumped from one style to another at a moment’s notice. With Glasner at the helm things should be more straightforward, not that Forest make life easy for themselves. A lack of European football will no doubt help the squad. The talent available is also better than has been the case previously, and a more settled environment should be beneficial for Dan Ndoye and Dilane Bakwa who faced difficult first years in the Premier League.Forest are seeking to sign a new striker, with Chris Wood’s injury record and ageing body raising questions about the 34-year-old’s ability to lead the line for a full season. Liam Delap is of interest and feels like the ideal candidate if Forest can prise him away from Chelsea, albeit the 23-year-old will not come cheap.Evangelos Marinakis has launched legal action against Crystal Palace after some of their fans produced a derogatory banner about the Forest owner. That grabbed plenty of headlines, something the Greek shipping magnate is more than used to. Meanwhile, plans to expand the City Ground from 30,500 to 52,500 are awaiting planning approval from the local council, with next summer the most likely time for the project to start should it be given the green light. The process has taken a long time but when construction on this scale is involved, requiring the demolition of properties, the road is rarely smooth.Ticket prices were a sticking point for fans last season, especially in the Europa League. Forest had to drop prices after poor sales. Season tickets were frozen to soften the tension. Overall, Marinakis is generally popular thanks to Forest’s success in recent years but his hire and fire attitude when it comes to coaches leads to plenty of dissenting voices.It came as a surprise when Vítor Pereira was dismissed and replaced by Glasner. The Portuguese had done a good job in steadying the ship and the Austrian had recently left Palace, who have beef with Forest. Glasner is undeniably an upgrade on Pereira, however, and his style fits the personnel available to him in Nottingham. Glasner fell out with those above him at Palace over transfer dealings and will certainly need to have a better relationship with the City Ground hierarchy.Forest finished 16th in the league table and Opta’s expected points standings last season. That hardly represents the full story for the first team in Premier League history to appoint four permanent managers in one campaign. Not one of them left the role having overseen a positive expected goal difference in 2025-26. Can Glasner improve the team’s underlying performance? He is unlikely to last long at the City Ground if not.Gone are the days where Forest sign anyone and everyone. Ousmane Diomande is the only signing, at the time of writing, to have cost the club any money this summer, with £34m spent to secure the Ivorian defender from Sporting. He is hugely admired by Glasner and, aged 22, is a solid investment, someone who can slot in straight away but should also develop for years to come.James McAtee’s first season in Nottingham was underwhelming to say the least. He could not get into the team, blocked by Morgan Gibbs-White and never likely to oust him. Some expected McAtee to have left by now but he remains and could have accidentally become Elliot Anderson’s replacement in central midfield after Forest failed to acquire Lucas Bergvall. A gifted player with the ball at his feet, McAtee has the right attributes for the role when in possession but will need to be more aggressive and disciplined off the ball to thrive.Ola Aina is one of football’s more charismatic players and, without the prospect of being at the World Cup after Nigeria failed to qualify, he got to have some lovely time away from the pitch. Aina paintballed with Fikayo Tomori, went to the French Open and Wimbledon and made it to the pits at the British Grand Prix. He must surely be reinvigorated for the new season.

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Guardian writers’ predicted position: 17th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)As David Hopkinson, Newcastle’s chief executive, recently reflected: “This is a moment of change. Life is all about change but there are certain moments of punctuation and we are in one of those now”. With Eddie Howe having stepped down, applying a full stop to almost five largely successful years as manager, there is a new head coach in Matthias Jaissle. The 38-year-old German excelled during previous postings in Austria and Saudi Arabia but has never managed in England, let alone in the Premier League.Jaissle’s task is complicated by Newcastle, who finished a disappointing 12th last season, selling arguably their three best players – Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães – to Barcelona, Tottenham and Arsenal respectively this summer. Along the way the wage bill has been slashed and spending rules complied with as the sporting director, Ross Wilson, reduces the squad’s average age quite significantly. Four of the first five close-season signings were aged 20 or under. Small wonder Hopkinson keeps referring to “Newcastle 2.0”.Significantly, no one at the club is talking about Europe; the reality is that this season a top-10 finish would constitute a triumph. As Jaissle keeps reiterating, Newcastle have entered a “transitional” period. The way it pans out may well hinge on whether he can succeed where Howe failed and get the best out of last season’s twin attacking disappointments Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade. With Wissa excelling in pre-season, there is cause for cautious optimism. Bazoumana Touré, Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur, three of the new boys, also do not look entirely out of place.On paper Newcastle’s majority owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), are the wealthiest in world football. But the sport’s spending rules are based on the balance between squad costs and commercial revenue and Newcastle’s income is around half of that of some key rivals.They are now in a three-year “settlement agreement” with Uefa after breaching European cost control regulations and, in a bid to balance the books, have not merely sold Gordon, Tonali and Guimarães but implemented a policy of broadly signing players under 25 priced between £20m and £40m. “We were living beyond our means but at some point you have got to pay the credit card bill,” said Hopkinson. Meanwhile, the seemingly interminable wait for confirmation that a new training ground will be built near the airport at Woolsington and a decision as to whether to build a new stadium or redevelop St James’ Park endures.Opinions about PIF – they own 85% of the club while the Reuben family hold the remaining 15% – are varied. At one end of the spectrum lies the pressure group NUFC Fans against Sportswashing who, admirably, do not miss an opportunity to highlight Saudi Arabia’s atrocious human right record. The vast majority of supporters are united in disappointment that PIF officials have no direct contact with fans or reporters. Bonds with the fanbase weakened when the popular former minority owner Amanda Staveley was ousted in a 2024 boardroom power struggle. Moreover, many Tynesiders had hoped the takeover would bring significantly greater local and regional regeneration.Jaissle proved a serial trophy winner at RB Salzburg and Al-Ahli, winning two Asian Champions Leagues during his three year stint in Saudi Arabia. Hopkinson has described him as “a rock star”, while the man himself appears a high priest of pressing. Asked recently to describe his preferred style, Jaissle replied: “Front-footed, aggressive, vertical, high energy, intense and relentless.” Howe’s successor could easily pass as the centre-half he was until serious knee trouble ended his career in his mid-20s. Jaissle, who had played for Thomas Tuchel in Stuttgart’s youth teams and then Ralf Rangnick at Hoffenheim, immediately turned his attentions to coaching, beginning his new career as an assistant at Leipzig. Newcastle fans already delight in serenading him with choruses of “Oh Jaissle, I can boogie.”How are Newcastle going to create chances this season? It’s hard to imagine a Premier League side losing their leading four chance creators in one transfer window but Newcastle have allowed that to happen. The departures of Guimarães, Tonali, Gordon and Kieran Trippier have left quite the hole. New signing Bazoumana Touré needs to make a fast start.Newcastle now have a genuine sweeper-keeper in Lukas Hornicek, the 24-year-old Czech Republic international who has joined for £26m from Braga. Hornicek’s footwork is so good he alternated between keeping goal and playing as a striker until well into his teens. Allied to excellent shot-stopping abilities and competence in the face of crosses, that kicking ability attracted plenty of admirers as Hornicek impressed during the 2025 European Under-21 Championships. Hornicek has been dubbed the “new Petr Cech” in his homeland.Mason Miley, the young brother of 20-year-old midfielder Lewis, has impressed enormously during pre-season, shining during a narrow home defeat by Bayer Leverkusen. His preferred position is as a defensive central midfielder. Miley joined Newcastle’s academy at the age of nine and signed his first professional contract earlier this summer. “Mason’s a young lad with the attitude we need; he has the right heart and the right quality,” said Jaissle. Mason is the third Miley to have graduated from Newcastle’s academy. His eldest brother Jamie, 22, is another midfielder, currently playing for Hartlepool in the National League.Tino Livramento missed the final five weeks of last season with a thigh injury but recovered in time to be called up to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup and even travelled to the United States. Unfortunately for the right-back, he was back home before his country’s opening game against Croatia after sustaining a calf injury in training. Livramento has undergone “minor” surgery this summer and hopes to return to action in early autumn. Meanwhile, Lewis Hall was desperately disappointed not to receive a World Cup call-up from Tuchel. The left-back has been hotly pursued by Manchester United all summer.

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Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United in action during a pre-season friendly match against Paris Saint-Germain. Photograph: Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty ImagesBruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans will be key to Michael Carrick’s chances of success over a full season and of healing the rift between club and fansGuardian writers’ predicted position: 5th (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)The information at the start of the close season was that Manchester United planned to trade for bargains rather than elite names and the major purchases so far this summer prove this to indeed be the case. Youri Tielemans is a 29-year-old who has been a professional for nearly half of his life and was bought, with no competition, for his £35m release clause from Aston Villa. The midfielder was followed by the £48m (+£2m) purchase of Andrey Santos, a 22-year-old with 11 league starts last season for Chelsea. The Brazilian states a preference for operating “deep, like a No 6” making him the direct replacement for his compatriot Casemiro, whose CV includes five Champions Leagues. United are also set to sign another midfielder in Carlos Baleba from Brighton for around £75m.Michael Carrick, going in to his first full season in charge, admits his squad needs more additions and a new left-back is on the radar. Lewis Hall is the prime target but Newcastle’s resistance to a sale means Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly had drawn interest. At the window’s commencement, Carrick wanted Elliot Anderson but this was unrealistic – he went to City for around £32m more than Tielemans’ and Santos’s combined fee. Confirmed as manager in May after guiding United to third, Carrick may rue Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s reluctance to invest the finances he generated by taking the club back into the Champions League and the 45-year-old may find himself engulfed in precisely what has plagued all of his predecessors in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era: a crisis of performances and results.Carrick also has to wrestle with the Marcus Rashford situation: the forward wants to leave, the club desires him off the wage bill, but can a suitor be found before 1 September? Oh and, Lisandro Martínez and Matthijs De Ligt, two frontline centre-backs, have only recently returned from injury.In early July United unveiled plans for their proposed new 100,000-seater stadium, located about 350 metres north-west of Old Trafford, insisting this is a “sanity, not vanity project”. Behind the catchy line, however, is a club in the red to the sum of £1.3bn. Omar Berrada, United’s chief executive, declared in March that £2bn was the working cost of the stadium, which is projected to be completed in 2035. This seems optimistic – try doubling it, maybe.Untrusting, unhappy, annoyed, betrayed, toxic, broken, unmendable, etcetera: choose your pejorative when it comes to describing how most Manchester United fans feel about the Glazers. This has been the case regarding the six siblings, who are United’s majority owners, since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in May 2013. Relations between fans and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s football department could also be rosier. Some are content due to last season’s third-place finish and the success of last summer’s buys – Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo primarily. Others, though, are cheesed off about the current window’s business, the moving of season-ticket holders around the ground to free up seats for corporate packages, and the recent bid to eliminate touts that caused many genuine supporters to have to prove their innocence.Like Ole Gunnar Solskjær before him, Carrick performed superbly in a caretaker capacity. The task now facing him is out-performing his former United team-mate and friend in the role of permanent manager, the Norwegian’s first full season in charge having ended in third place. Carrick’s prospects will be improved if by 1 September a left-back has been recruited. Given Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham have splashed far more cash than United on strengthening this summer, Carrick would no doubt take third – or any Champions League berth – if it was offered to him, albeit he is unlikely to admit as much.After being a major part of Aston Villa’s Europa League glory in May, and then captaining Belgium to the World Cup quarter-finals during the summer, Tielemans has been recruited to add drive, quality and a streetwisen touch to United’s midfield. His career shows a record of making the difference when required – he struck a memorable volley against Freiburg in Istanbul and powered in a long-range winner to claim the FA Cup for Leicester in 2021. There is no doubt about it – the son of Flemish Brabant is a big-game footballer.Manchester United led the Premier League for shots last season, with 596. Much will depend upon Bruno Fernandes if they are to repeat this feat. He created at least 89 chances more than any other member of the squad and only fell six shy of taking the most shots. Fernandes turns 32 in early September; can he outrun age for another season?Shea Lacey, the quick-footed diminutive winger from Liverpool, made four appearances under three different managers last season. On 21 December, an 84th-minute debut in the 2-1 loss at Aston Villa under Ruben Amorim made him academy product No 256 to feature for United. Eighteen days later, entering again on 84 minutes in the 2-2 draw at Burnley, Lacey’s next cameo was for Darren Fletcher. Fast-forward four days and Lacey lasted only 27 minutes of United’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup after being sent off late on, later apologising. The 19-year-old had to wait five months before making his next appearance for United, this time under Carrick, entering in the 62nd minute of the final-day 3-0 victory at Brighton. He is now very much part of the first-team squad and one to watch.When England needed to stymie Argentina’s second-half onslaught in last month’s World Cup semi-final, with Anthony Gordon having put them 1-0 up, Thomas Tuchel became passive. Off went Gordon and Declan Rice and on came Ezri Konza and Nico O’Reilly. England subsequently crumpled, going on to lose 2-1. If Tuchel had instead turned to Kobbie Mainoo, a ball-carrying midfielder who could retain possession and move England up the field, Argentina may well have been thwarted. As it turned out, Mainoo did not play a second of the tournament. “I was in contact with him quite a bit through the summer [as] I’ve been in that position myself and not played at a World Cup,” Carrick said.

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Enzo Maresca has big boots to fill. Photograph: Cody Froggatt/PAWith the departures of Pep Guardiola and Rodri it looks like the end of an era at City. Will Enzo Maresca be able to sustain their position as a domestic and continental superpower?Guardian writers’ predicted position: 2nd (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Enzo Maresca was already in herculean task mode by signing on as the man charged with continuing the dynasty built by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before Rodri decided to leave the club and join Barcelona. The 30-year-old may be headed for a second Ballon d’Or after his displays in Spain’s triumphant World Cup campaign, so the loss of a midfielder capable of moulding games domestically and in the Champions League represents a sizeable blow for Maresca.There are further negatives too, with John Stones, Nathan Aké and Bernardo Silva also no longer at City. On the positive side, Elliot Anderson has joined for £116m from Nottingham Forest having impressed for England at the World Cup. City’s new manager also has Erling Haaland, who will be favourite to claim a fourth Premier League Golden Boot in five seasons. Less certain is how Phil Foden will perform despite being boosted by a bumper new contract. Can the boy from Stockport dovetail with Rayan Cherki and once more pull the strings for his boyhood side?City are a best-in-class organisation, who can be used as an exemplar of how to pursue excellence on and off the field. This, of course, would change were they found guilty over the 130 charges brought against them for alleged breaches of Premier League rules. It has been more than three years since the charges were announced, with City continuing to deny any wrongdoing. The new Pep Guardiola Stand, opened for the great man’s final home game last season, means 61,000 fans can now witness Haaland and co go to work, the Etihad Stadium’s capacity having previously stood at 53,400.Sheikh Mansour is a hero to the City faithful for a glittering period of ownership that has elevated their team to a domestic and continental superpower. Listening to fans, the club have also frozen ticket prices for a third consecutive season. Meanwhile in the Pep Guardiola Stand, 4,000 new flexi season tickets – a pay-as-you-go scheme – have sold out, half of which are for junior fans, with City introducing £10 seats for those who live in the five wards around the ground.Is Maresca courageous for following The Man or naive for believing he can? Over to the 46-year-old, who has zero doubt the City job is no chalice laced with poison. “It’s fantastic, nice and exciting, and for me, a privilege,” he said. “First of all, the most important thing has been that Khaldoon [al-Mubarak, the chair], Hugo [Viana, the director of football] and Ferran [Soriano, the chief executive] all speak the same language in terms of this is a club that has to win games, titles and has to compete, but we also talk about how we can continue to make this club better, season after season.” Maresca’s CV shows the Championship crown with Leicester, and the Conference League and Club World Cup glory with Chelsea. How he would love to add the Premier League title to that roll of honour at the first time of asking.Rodri’s departure offers Anderson an opportunity to run City’s midfield. Can he do so? Maresca and Viana obviously believe this or £116m would not have been splurged on the lad from Whitley Bay who could not nail down a starting berth for Newcastle in five years as a senior professional there. At the World Cup there were flashes of a schemer who can spray passes long range – Rodri-style – as well as the shorter, metronomic stuff. What’s for sure is that Anderson has a career-defining opportunity in front of him.Manchester City conceded more league goals from set pieces last season than they had in the previous two campaigns combined. They were costly at times too: the winning goals in their losses at Aston Villa and Newcastle both came from corners, for instance. Maresca’s Chelsea conceded from a set play every three league games so his record there was a shade worse than City’s in 2025-26. He has work to do.Vitor Reis was signed in January 2025 and made four appearances that season. The defender’s debut was also forgettable as, then 19, he was hooked at half-time with City trailing 1-0 at Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round. The Brazilian played all of the 3-1 victory in the following round, and was fielded in the 89th-minute of the 2-0 league victory at Leicester in April before his sole other City appearance: a full outing in the 2-0 Club World Cup win over Wydad Casablanca that June. Last season’s loan at City’s sister club Girona ended in relegation, but Reis is said to have impressed.The departed Rodri made real the ultimate fantasy of all players by captaining his country to the World Cup and being so vital to that glory that he was named player of the tournament. Cherki fared less well, making six substitute appearances and one start for a France side that fell, to Spain, in the semi-finals. France’s attacking ranks may overflow with quality, but for a player with magic in both boots, that seemed odd.

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Andoni Iraola and Milos Kerkez of Liverpool Photograph: Becky Oliver/LFC/Liverpool FC/Getty ImagesAndoni Iraola has his hands full – replacing Mo Salah and restoring faith at Anfield – and will hope big name investors bring stability not disharmonyGuardian writers’ predicted position: 4th (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Andoni Iraola did not have to be sold on Liverpool when they came calling for a coach courted also by Milan, Bayer Leverkusen and Crystal Palace after his sterling work at Bournemouth. This is just as well as the sales pitch did not come with bells and whistles attached. “When I came here, the owners told me everything is not perfect,” the new head coach revealed at his unveiling. “They said we would have some challenges, we would have to replace important players leaving, we have some injuries, but we are here to solve these kind of problems.” Validating last summer’s expensive recruitment strategy, restoring the faith of the Anfield crowd and rebuilding in an impatient environment can be added to that list.Liverpool were enticed by Iraola’s style of play, but his ability to step back and problem-solve – taking Bournemouth into Europe last season despite losing most of his defence in the summer and Antoine Semenyo in January, for example – will have also appealed. Arne Slot was assailed by unprecedented challenges last season, including the death of Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah’s attempts to undermine his manager in public, and lost his way as a result. How much of last season’s regression can be pinned on the former head coach will become apparent in the months ahead.Similarly to Slot in 2024, Iraola has been bequeathed a rich inheritance in terms of individual talent. Unlike his predecessor, however, he is starting from a lower base in terms of constructing a team. With Salah gone and no replacement installed, as yet, responsibility has increased on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak to produce after their underwhelming debut seasons. Wirtz has been deployed just behind Isak in pre-season and the early signs have been promising. Central midfield options are strong and Dominik Szoboszlai’s new five-year contract removes one distraction. Questions remain over Liverpool’s threat from out wide, their defensive resources and leadership within the team, but having worked towards this moment throughout his coaching career Iraola will be confident of finding answers.In contrast to last summer there has been more upheaval behind the scenes with a change of head coach, Michael Edwards departing as chief executive of football for the owners, Fenway Sports Group, and the sporting director, Richard Hughes, expected to follow suit once the transfer window closes. But one issue dominates: the arrival of the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Amit Bhatia, son-in-law of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, as part of a consortium that has bought 30% of Liverpool for £1.65bn. That several of the world’s richest people have bought into Liverpool underlines the attractiveness of the club, commercially and otherwise, but beyond Bhatia becoming vice-chairman on an expanded board it remains to be seen what the deal truly means for the club and its fans.FSG’s habit of annoying and then appeasing the Liverpool fanbase returned last season when it abandoned plans to lock in ticket prices rises over a three-year period. The owners were thanked for engaging with supporters, after widespread protests , but there are now weightier conversations to be had in light of their deal with the 1892 Holdings consortium. As the supporters union, Spirit of Shankly, asked in an open letter: “Is this part of a planned wider sale, or a one-off? What due diligence is being done on the potential investors/owners? This is about their plans, reasons for purchase and involvement in sports or business elsewhere.” FSG insist the deal is not an exit strategy from a club they purchased for £300m in 2010 but will increase global business, technology and investment opportunities.After sacking Slot it was no surprise Liverpool turned to a coach who promises the kind of aggressive, front-foot style Anfield openly pined for last season. Iraola, who was lured from Rayo Vallecano by Hughes when the Liverpool sporting director worked for Bournemouth, was the only candidate Liverpool spoke to in their quick transition from the Slot era. The 44-year-old Basque has no silverware, or even European experience on his CV, but his record of consistently improving attractive teams, which resulted in Bournemouth qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history last season, made him one of the most coveted coaches available this summer.Liverpool had a weird, erratic campaign in 2025-26. Only Aston Villa and Manchester City had a longer run of Premier League wins yet only four teams (including Chelsea and Tottenham) had a worse losing streak. Their four-draw stretch in January was only topped by Bournemouth and Brentford. Iraola was unbeaten in his final 18 league matches last season and will need to bring similar consistency to Liverpool.Liverpool would love the answer to be Bradley Barcola (and for Paris Saint-Germain to lower their asking price for the France international) but as that pursuit continues it is another arrival from Ligue 1 who could prove their most important recruit so far, Jérémy Jacquet. A £55m deal rising to £60m was completed with Rennes in February, just days before the 21-year-old sustained a shoulder injury that ended his season, after Liverpool had been in the market for a young central defender with vast potential for some time. Jacquet’s recovery has affected his first pre-season at Anfield, but he is considered an immediate, if inexperienced, solution to a problem position and impressed on his first outing against Como.There may be more opportunities for Rio Ngumoha depending on how Liverpool’s winger chase goes, but, of all the young talents on display this summer, no one pushed their claims further than Trey Nyoni. Nyoni and Ngumoha were part of Slot’s stretched first team squad last season, but the former’s involvement was limited to six substitute appearances in the Premier League plus eight cup outings. The 19-year-old looked immediately at ease in pre-season with Iraola’s instructions for quick, forward passes from his central midfielders and embraced responsibility. Nyoni faces fierce competition to establish himself, but appears ready to make the step up.The first pre-season is hugely important to a new coach, but post-World Cup holidays deprived Iraola of eight players when Liverpool reported back. He will have had a full squad together for three weeks by the time the season starts at Newcastle, injuries excluded. The tournament brought deflating exits for several Liverpool players, including Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and Florian Wirtz, but also a welcome reminder of Alexis Mac Allister’s talents as the midfielder helped Argentina reach a second successive final. Mac Allister was not alone in struggling last season, but showed this summer just how influential he can be.

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Lukas Nmecha celebrates after his goal during the pre-season friendly match between Sunderland AFC and Leeds United Photograph: Rebekah Wynkoop/SPP/ShutterstockAfter keeping Leeds up last season and reaching an FA Cup semi-final, Daniel Farke has good reason to expect further improvement at Elland RoadGuardian writers’ predicted position: 12th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Pretty bright. A team’s second season in the Premier League following promotion is traditionally regarded as hazardous but all the indications are that Daniel Farke’s side will not merely harbour a high degree of immunity to this syndrome but could debunk it as a lazy cliche. The spine of the side looks extremely robust and has been reinforced by the club record £40m signing of James Trafford from Manchester City and the £34m acquisition of the Bosnia and Herzegovina centre-half Tarik Muharemovic from Sassuolo.Much hinges on Dominic Calvert-Lewin remaining fit. At times last season, Farke’s centre-forward proved unplayable as Leeds finished a respectable 14th. This time round Calvert-Lewin and his fellow forwards should benefit from assists provided by the talented Harry Wilson, a free transfer recruit from Fulham.Significantly, survival was achieved last spring after an unconvincing start to the campaign that, by November, had placed Farke’s job in jeopardy. After a switch to a, broadly, 3-5-2 formation the team improved, radically. Indeed, were there a separate Premier League table for the second half of the season, Leeds’ form from the start of December would have left them seventh. Pre-season results can be notoriously misleading but it is worth noting that Leeds have impressed against some strong opposition. “Pre-season has given us confidence,” said Farke.While the manager aims to take Leeds to “a new level” such ambition is tempered by sensible caution. “Everyone is talking of Europe and trophies but it’s important we stay humble and grounded,” he said. “In the last 25 years our highest Premier League finish has been ninth so we need to go step by step. The second year after promotion can be difficult and dangerous but we are hopeful we can have a good season.”The dated, if hugely atmospheric, Elland Road is undergoing a wholesale redevelopment in a project instigated by the club’s owners, 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. One of the ideas behind this much-needed stadium modernisation – involving an increase in capacity from 37,792 to 53,000 – is to help increase commercial revenue streams and, in turn, be less restricted by football’s spending rules. Another priority is reducing the lengthy season ticket waiting list. Elland Road should remain fully operational on match days as work progresses on a design intended to be the centrepiece of a wider local regeneration. The only frustration is that city council plans for a new tram network have once again been heavily delayed. With public transport infrastructure poor in a part of Leeds notorious for serious traffic congestion that could prove a big problem on match days at an expanded arena.Decent. Leeds have had some unpredictable owners in recent years so the sense of stability, professionalism and vision introduced by the California-based 49ers Enterprises has been welcome. With Elland Road now in the process of being redeveloped, Trafford recently becoming the club’s record signing and commercial income being boosted appreciably, few doubt the ownership’s ambition. A senior executive team comprising chair, Paraag Marathe, managing director, Robbie Evans, and sporting director, Adam Underwood, is generally regarded as efficient, sensible and sufficiently realistic to remain on the right side of football’s spending rules.Farke says his personality is “95% coffee and cake on the sofa and 5% fire beast”. An economics graduate who originally intended to become a sporting director, the 49-year-old one time lower division German striker and, later, Norwich manager is an interesting, multi-dimensional character with an engaging sense of humour and a love of literary fiction. In steering then newly promoted Leeds to the safety of 14th position last season while also reaching an FA Cup semi-final, Farke lost the “trampoline man” tag that, rather unfairly, had suggested his career largely involved either winning promotion or facing relegation. A coach close to Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel has described himself as “a football romantic who has learned that romanticism shouldn’t blind you to reality”. As he explains: “My brand of football normally suits teams who dominate possession but I’m always switched on to what is necessary.”The 23-year-old left-sided central defender Muharemovic has looked outstanding in pre-season. The £34m signing from Serie A has imbued Farke’s defence with not merely robust physicality and controlled aggression but assurance on the ball and a refined passing range. The manner in which he bundled Sunderland’s formidable Netherlands centre-forward Brian Brobbey over in pre-season delighted Leeds fans who have already labelled him the Bosnian King. After helping Sassuolo win promotion from Serie B, Muharemovic played a big part in securing a mid-table Serie A finish last season. Comfortable in a back three or a back four, he appears an inspired reinforcement for a team that, further forward, also seem likely to benefit from Wilson’s arrival.In recruiting Trafford, Leeds pulled off quite a coup. The 23-year-old England goalkeeper, currently understudy to Jordan Pickford in Tuchel’s squad, shone at Burnley in the Championship and arguably deserved more than to be No 2 at City last term. Trafford’s excellence with his feet can only enhance Farke’s team and his all-round talent and impressive poise under pressure should guarantee Leeds some invaluable extra points. All the indications are that the son of a Cumbrian farmer who still tries to lend a hand at lambing time is about to show the world how good he really is.Although the versatile forward ended last season in fine form for Leeds, Noah Okafor played just 25 minutes as a substitute – against Algeria – as Switzerland reached the quarter-finals, eventually bowing out to Argentina. Given Okafor’s previous rift with Murat Yakin, Switzerland’s head coach, there was a degree of surprise when he was included in his World Cup squad and it appears he had not done quite enough to earn Yakin’s full trust. Despite making one appearance for the United States as they reached the last 16 it was still a good summer for Brenden Aaronson. Farke’s trusted attacking midfielder briefly left the US pre-tournament training camp in late May and returned a married man after his long-planned wedding to Milana D’Ambra.

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Ipswich Town captain Dara O'Shea during the pre season friendly against Le Havre at Portman Road. Photograph: Keeran Marquis/SPP/ShutterstockThey have a new manager and a higher net spend than Manchester City, but will that be enough for Ipswich to avoid another yo-yoing relegation?Guardian writers’ predicted position: 19th (NB: this is not necessarily Will Unwin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 2nd (Championship)Back for another crack at the Premier League, the Tractor Boys are taking things very seriously. More than £100m has been spent on 10 new arrivals in an attempt to make the team fit for purpose, something that could not be said two years ago when they were relegated without being competitive after focusing on signing the Championship’s finest. Being the league’s fourth-biggest net spenders has created quiet optimism in Suffolk that things will go better this time. Lessons were learned, even if their galling relegation benefited the careers of Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson, as the harsh reality of what happens when potential meets proven quality.Ensuring there is a core of players with Premier League experience has been fundamental. Issa Diop and Sasa Lukic joined from Fulham, while Florentino Luís was snapped up after his baptism at Burnley to give a strong spine. The search for new players has stretched further and wider than in recent seasons, too, in a bid to find better valued talent than is available in England. Luís and Lukic are required to provide physicality and a desire to win the ball back in the centre of the park, although another addition in there would be advantageous.The new manager, Gary O’Neil, has the right battling qualities and intelligence to keep a side up, explaining why he was the man quickly targeted to replace the outgoing Kieran McKenna, who resigned after securing promotion. The constant cheque-signing may explain the slow start to pre-season, losing to Osasuna, as everyone learned about O’Neil’s methods and demands, but they looked effective against Rayo Vallecano and the return of Julio Enciso will add some much-needed creativity and ingenuity.If all else fails, Ipswich will at least make history after signing goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen, who at 6ft9 is set to become the Premier League’s tallest ever player.Work on a £30m training ground upgrade is close to completion. The regeneration will include a new first-team building, in addition to improved facilities for the academy and women’s team. The construction was seen as necessary to bring the club in line with their rivals and help convince potential signings Suffolk is the place to be. In a rarity, the club’s main shirt sponsor is a local business, the software company Halo. Ed Sheeran, meanwhile, is still represented on the kit with his ‘Play’ featuring on the sleeves.Being successful is always good for morale, and members of the Gamechanger 20 ownership group could be found celebrating promotion with fans in the town centre. They have made a number of promises since taking over the club in 2021 and have delivered on them all. The one blot was the decision to invite the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, to Portman Road, which was a PR disaster, creating a needless – and embarrassing – circus around the club, as Ipswich struggled to create a cohesive story about the situation, which was only forgotten thanks to them reaching the Premier League.It was a surprise when the universally popular McKenna decided to leave after securing another promotion, forcing some quick thinking to find a replacement. O’Neil has plenty of experience from his time managing Bournemouth and Wolves, added to with a spell at Strasbourg, but has a tough act to follow. Always open and honest, his coaching career has been spent trying to keep teams above the red line. His time at Wolves ended poorly but circumstances dictated much of that as the club failed to invest, something he can’t say in his new role.Emersonn is the record signing, costing £24m from Toulouse, and he has the difficult task of providing the goals that could bring safety, although he is yet to prove himself as a consistent scorer. The 22-year-old is the first Brazilian to play for the Tractor Boys but had to work hard in pre-season to catch up with his colleagues, having arrived lacking the necessary fitness levels. Eager to run in behind, he will be dangerous against teams who leave space. He has all the attributes to excel but it is down to him and the coaches aligning to ensure that this expensive gamble pays off.Last season, Ipswich were masters of exploiting high turnovers. They generated shots from 22.2% of them, more than double the Championship’s average rate of 10.4%. If O’Neil can maintain this efficiency, it could be Ipswich’s most effective method of creating chances.The £17.5m fee for a then 19-year-old showed what Ipswich thought of Sindre Walle Egeli, the son of a former Norwegian lower league footballer. The record goalscorer for Norway at youth level has naturally drawn comparisons to a certain Erling Haaland, who has given advice to his compatriot and may have the chance to offer more in person when Ipswich come up against Manchester City. A boyhood Liverpool fan, his first year in England brought four Championships goals in 18 starts, laying the groundwork as he and his teammates look to step up. Walle Egeli returned after the break in fine shape and has looked promising in the No 10 position under O’Neil, having previously played out wide.After suffering a rather pathetic relegation to League One with Leicester, Abdul Fatawu joined up with the Ghana squad for the World Cup. He came on in each of his country’s four matches but playing as a winger for Carlos Queiroz was not particularly fun. The Black Stars were ultra-defensive, scoring only twice as they limped out of the tournament as one of the most forgettable teams involved. Fatawu will be hoping for more creative freedom under O’Neil as he desperately seeks to avoid a third straight relegation.

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Oli McBurnie hoists the Championship playoff trophy high and Hull will need him to retain his scoring touch in the Premier League. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianPlayoff winners are expected to go back down, but their owner is optimistic and is investing in the squadGuardian writers’ predicted position: 20th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 6th (Championship)It is no exaggeration to say that Hull’s playoff triumph in May was a shock. They had, after all, started the season as Championship relegation favourites and operated under a transfer embargo throughout the campaign. Moreover, they conceded 66 league goals, the fourth-highest, along the way. Now another minor miracle will surely be required if Premier League survival is to be secured.Much may hinge on Oli McBurnie, the scorer of 19 goals last season, succeeding where he has struggled in the past and retaining his scoring touch in the top tier, but there is no lack of optimism in East Yorkshire. “Think about us like a volcano,” says Hull’s owner, Acun Ilicali. “It’s boiling right now and it’s going to erupt.”Hull intend following Sunderland’s template last summer by making 14 new signings, albeit on a significantly smaller budget. So far 11 – Jack Butland, Hidemasa Morita, Matt Targett, Óscar Zambrano, Jens Hjertø-Dahl, Elliot Stroud, Konstantinos Tzolakis, Lucas Herrington, Joe Gelhardt, Lucas Gourna-Douath and the club record buy, the central defender Nobel Mendy, who has arrived from Rayo Vallecano for just over £20m – have arrived.“The transfer market is very slow,” said the manager, Sergej Jakirovic, who covets the Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor and last season’s 23-goal Championship top scorer, Swansea’s Zan Vipotnik. “But, in the last seven days of the window, it will become very, very quick.”His cause has been hindered by pre-season injuries, with perhaps the biggest blow involving an arm problem suffered by Butland. It threatens to keep the former Rangers goalkeeper, who had impressed in friendlies, out until Christmas. The consensus is that Hull will have long since become a lost cause by then, but, much as the impressive Jakirovic needs new faces and Premier League nous, he does hold one ace card. Hull boast an exceptionally powerful team spirit driven by exemplary on-field leaders, including the veteran central defender John Egan. Maybe, just maybe, it can, once again, transport them further than anyone believes possible.In June, the playoff winners faced kicking off the new Premier League season handicapped by a near certain six-point deduction. A club that spent last season under a two-window English Football League transfer embargo avoided it by selling their goalkeeper Ivor Pandur and midfielder Aidon Shehu to Rangers and Panathinaikos respectively for a combined £8.5m. Access to the fruits of the top tier’s broadcast deal has since made Hull a whole lot wealthier, but Ilicali has pledged not to risk the club’s future by overspending and, at the time of writing, has invested around £78m on the new players.Unpredictable and slightly conflicted. Aidon Shehu, the Turkish sports reporter turned media mogul – who is on his fifth manager since taking control in early 2022 – was offered a wholesale welcome when he took over from the unpopular Allam family, but he now exerts much more of a polarising effect on supporters. If November 2022, when he treated 320 fans to an all-expenses-paid week’s holiday at a luxury resort hotel in Antalya represented a high point, a nadir arrived when late payments resulted in Hull being placed under a transfer embargo last season. Nonetheless, the playoff triumph ensures many are prepared to offer the 57-year-old the benefit of the doubt.The Mostar-born, 49-year-old Jakirovic has Bosnian and Croatian citizenship and says his life was shaped by the 1990s Balkan war that broke out when he was 14. “It was life or death,” he has said. “It has made me the person I am today.” Shortly after his arrival from Turkey’s Kayserispor, in June 2025, Hull were placed under a transfer embargo, but, defying widespread predictions of imminent relegation, he led the team to sixth place before beating Middlesbrough in the Championship playoff final. A central midfielder or central defender in his playing days, the former Bosnia and Herzegovina international led Dinamo Zagreb to the Croatian League and Cup double in 2024.The Japan defensive midfielder Hidemasa Morita joined from Sporting Lisbon after four trophy-laden years in Portugal. A fans’ favourite in Lisbon, he played regular Champions League football last season as Sporting reached the quarter-finals and has 40 senior international caps. Morita could have stayed in Lisbon, but opted not to renew his contract in order to experience Premier League football. Hull fended off competition from Ipswich for the signature of the 31-year-old who was a key part of the Japan squad at Qatar 2022. Morita is the second Japanese player to represent Hull and his amalgam of experience and quality in a key position promise to prove invaluable.The strangest part of the Championship playoffs might not have been the Southampton spying scandal. Hull were second-bottom for expected points, 53.1, and would have been relegated if underlying performances determined results. It was remarkable tthey won promotion and it will be even more surprising if they make a serious fist of staying up.The 22-year-old central defender Charlie Hughes was Hull’s young player of the year last season and his assurance in possession and excellent passing range are bound to catch all sorts of Premier League eyes. Helpfully, his ballplaying ability is matched by some equally impressive – and combative – defending. After spending his youth in the academies of Liverpool and Manchester City, Hughes joined Wigan, leaving for Hull last summer. An imposing blend of steel and silk, a defender also comfortable in central midfield will miss the start of the season after hernia surgery. Happily, Hughes is expected back by early autumn at the latest and appears integral to the team’s survival hopes.Not content with helping Hull win the most unexpected of promotions, the Canada winger Liam Millar headed across the Atlantic to the World Cup. He made three appearances at the tournament as they reached the knockout stage, losing to Morocco in the round of 16. Given his career seemed in real jeopardy when he suffered a serious knee injury shortly after joining Hull in 2024, inclusion in Canada’s squad represented the fulfilment of an unlikely looking dream. “It was an unbelievable experience,” said the 26-year-old. “I’ve never seen Canada the way it was, I’ve never seen so many red shirts in Vancouver and Toronto. We want to inspire the next generation and I think we did Canada proud.”

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César Palacios has previously worked with Fulham’s new manager Álvaro Arbeloa at Real Madrid. Photograph: Simon Dael/ShutterstockWith Marco Silva leaving after five years can the club take advantage of the links their new coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, has with Real Madrid?Guardian writers’ predicted position: 15th (NB: this is not necessarily John Brewin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Marco Silva cutting the cord after five years by the river came as little surprise. If his time at Craven Cottage was successful in re-establishing Fulham as a Premier League club, he rarely concealed his ambitions to play European football. He was frequently explicit in his disappointment that the club’s ownership did not meet him halfway by funding a stronger squad. Silva’s powers of rebadging and replenishing talent will be missed now that he has decamped to Benfica. Under him, Fulham played entertaining football, a collection of ugly ducklings showing their renewed worth for a club that, despite falling short of European qualification, looked upwards rather than downwards at the relegation battle. They were often a pleasure to watch, and ornery opposition for all comers.Álvaro Arbeloa is a very different type of appointment, with far less experience than his predecessor in frontline coaching terms, even if he arrives with Real Madrid on his CV. His arrival, though, has opened up a working relationship with the Spanish aristos, Gonzalo García and César Palacios arriving to work with a coach who helped them through the ranks in Madrid. By little coincidence, all three share the same agency as their representatives. There have been links with Endrick and Thiago Pitarch, two further young Real jewels, leading to a sense of Fulham becoming some form of Madrileño nursery, a Santiago Bernabéu on Thames. Should that play out, it would represent another sea change.Silva preferred to work with hard-bitten pros. A couple of his leading men, Raúl Jiménez and Harry Wilson, have departed. The latter played the best football of his career last season but, like his manager, got a better offer elsewhere, from Leeds. Fulham’s latest approach is to source young players and polish them up. Can they have the same successes as mid-tier peers such as Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth, where the approach is far more data driven? Will supporters be looking upwards rather than downwards? A previously enigmatic club just got more enigmatic.In May, the club was runner-up at the Football Business Awards, for stadium experience, as the Riverside Stand’s opulent hospitality completed its first full season in service. Fulham need the Riverside to deliver as a revenue stream, as financial results for the 2024-25 season showed a pre-tax loss for the year at £44.5m, and that was lowered by the sale of João Palhinha in July 2024. There has been no such windfall since. The Khan family ownership continues to back the club, their overall investment estimated around £900m, staff costs at 117% of turnover. Therein lies the reasoning behind Silva not receiving the backing he desired.The most expensive season ticket at Craven Cottage comes in at £3,084 for access to the Riverside’s facilities, the highest in the Premier League. Shahid Khan, his son Tony, the vice-chair and director of football operations, are unpopular among committed supporters for price rises and pandering to tourism. Khan’s boat Kismet was named Superyacht of the Year in 2025, its main salon inspired by the Palace of Versailles, and can be chartered for over $3m per week. Though the balance sheets confirm Khan’s outlay in funding a continued Premier League status, fans would prefer he recognised not everyone lives the high life.Where Silva had an unremarkable playing career, Arbeloa featured among the elite, a World Cup and Champions League winner. He also had the ear of Florentino Pérez, the perennial Real Madrid president asking him to replace Xabi Alonso in mid-season of the 2025-26 campaign. That did not pan out, and he took his first job away from Madrid, where he was a well-regarded youth coach, in south-west London. Khan Sr’s comment that Arbeloa “believes in giving young players a chance” is pertinent for Fulham’s change in direction. Crucially, as befitting traditions at Craven Cottage, the new man from Salamanca believes in open, attacking football, offering some continuity from Silva’s reign.Gonzalo García’s reputation was made by his performances at last summer’s Club World Cup, where he won the tournament’s Golden Boot. Comparisons were made to Raúl, a considerable accolade at the Bernabéu. Goals followed in the Champions League against Juventus and Borussia Dortmund but García eventually lost out to the star system of Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé. His reputation in Spain is as a hard worker off the ball, necessary for a Premier League player. Last season, Rodrigo Muniz’s injuries meant old soldier Jiménez shouldered the burden at centre forward. García is younger and fresher but the hype surrounding his arrival gives him much to live up to.Fulham had the oldest side in the Premier League last season, which may help explain why they had arguably the least intense press. Marco Silva’s side recorded the fewest high turnovers, which occur when a team recovers the ball to start a new open play possession sequence in the final 40 metres of the pitch. Real Madrid are hardly known for being a high-pressing outfit but they comfortably outperformed Fulham on this metric. It will be fascinating to see how Arbeloa approaches this.Jonah Kusi-Asare’s arrival last summer from Bayern Munich is further mining of a super club’s youth department. Bayern inserted a buy-back clause for a player they picked up from AIK. The Sweden Under-21 player has been compared to Alexander Isak, and made seven substitute appearances last season – without scoring – before an initial loan became a permanent move. At 6ft 5in he offers a different profile of striker to García. Hayden Mullins, the former Under-21 coach now Newport manager, saw the best of Kusi-Asare last season, the 18-year-old scoring five goals in six matches.García made his debut for Spain in a pre-World Cup friendly against Iraq but failed to make the eventual champions’ tournament squad. Antonee Robinson had a fine tournament for the USA until the co-hosts perished in the last 16 at the hands of a Belgian team featuring Timothy Castagne. Luc De Fougerolles, yet to play a Premier League game for Fulham, showed off teenage defensive talents in Canada’s run to the knockouts. To complete a successful quintet – saving the best till last? – Sander Berge had a fine tournament as Norway also reached the quarter-finals.

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Thierno Barry has shown promising signs during Everton’s pre-season matches. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/ReutersModest but sensible-looking recruitment befits the club’s new air of stability but a continuation of their spring slump could test David Moyes’s appetite for the fightGuardian writers’ predicted position: 10th (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)A season stripped of the fear of relegation, featuring more proactive, front-footed football and the return of some hope: had Everton been offered that package before their relocation to Hill Dickinson Stadium last summer it would have been accepted gratefully given the turmoil of the previous four years. For four fifths of last season it was accepted gratefully, but then came a collapse that transformed perceptions of David Moyes’s first full season back in charge. Talk of progress requires more supporting evidence this time around.Everton were three points off the fifth and final Champions League qualification spot on 21 March having dismantled Chelsea in their finest performance at the club’s new stadium. They did not win another game all season and slumped to 13th on the final day – the same position as the previous campaign under Sean Dyche and Moyes, with only one point more but an inferior goal difference. European football may well have been an ambitious target for a club adjusting to a new home and the loss of 10 players following the expiry of their contracts, loans included. But the opportunity presented itself to Moyes’s team and they blew it.Without the upheaval of last summer, with midfield resources improved and young players having had the benefit of a year’s experience of the Premier League, European qualification could be a more realistic proposition this season. Provided a few glaring holes in Moyes’s squad are finally filled. An upgrade on the limited centre-forward options of Beto and Thierno Barry is essential, although the latter has shown more promising signs in pre-season. Likewise a successor to Séamus Coleman – one of several big Evertonian losses behind the scenes recently. Everton’s quest for a new right-back is their very own Odyssey, while central defence was another area of concern last season. Genuine progress, the measure of which is not open to debate, rests on the final moves of the window.The consequences of Farhad Moshiri’s calamitous ownership are still being felt with Everton ordered to pay almost £40m in compensation to Burnley over the latter’s relegation in 2021-22. Everton are appealing against the can-of-worms verdict by a Premier League independent disciplinary commission, along with the biggest financial penalty ever imposed on a Premier League club, but claim their latest punishment has not affected this summer’s transfer plans. Many season ticket holders have been hit by above-inflation price increases – in some instances of almost 10% – and the club have extended a sponsorship deal with Stake, despite the UK government pledging to crack down on unlicensed gambling operators sponsoring British sports teams.The Friedkin Group (TFG) has brought the financial stability that Everton desperately needed but it would be a stretch to suggest fans have connected with a low-key ownership group that rarely attend games. The man they appointed to run the club, chief executive, Angus Kinnear, annoyed supporters at the end of last season by claiming the hierarchy was “happily dissatisfied” with the first campaign at Hill Dickinson Stadium. The comment was portrayed as fresh evidence of Everton accepting mediocrity but in fairness to Kinnear, who was writing about TFG’s determination to banish the threats of financial instability, relegation and regulatory sanction, he did add: “The progress is clear but we have not achieved anything yet.”David Moyes turns 64 in April and, while the Premier League’s oldest manager clearly retains the hunger and ambition to rebuild Everton on a stronger footing, it will be interesting to see whether he retains the appetite for a fight with his critics in the event of a poor start. Particularly as the Scotland job remains available and he would appear the ideal candidate to succeed Steve Clarke. Moyes was exceeding his brief until the dismal end to last season cost Everton a shot at Europe and placed his team selections under an unforgiving spotlight. Talk of a contract extension has since gone quiet.It has been a sensible window rather than a sexy one from Everton so far – see replacing Idrissa Gana Gueye with the £7m Christian Nørgaard – but they might have delivered in swapping Dwight McNeil for Brennan Johnson. No one would dispute that the Wales’ international’s move from Tottenham to Crystal Palace in January fell flat, least of all Palace who were willing to take a significant hit on their £35m, one-time record investment only seven months later. But if the 25-year-old recaptures the form he showed at Nottingham Forest, or when scoring 18 goals for Spurs in 2024-25, he could prove a steal who addresses several problems in the Everton frontline.David Moyes loves to keep a settled side. Everton averaged the fewest changes to their starting XI of any team in the 2025-26 Premier League. With the squad looking largely the same as last season, this trend should continue. But what if injuries bite?Tyler Dibling would have been a strong candidate for this category last summer following his arrival from Southampton for an initial £35m. It reflects a nonevent of a debut season on Merseyside that he can be nominated 12 months on. Everton invested a lot of time and money into their pursuit of the England Under-21 international, who remains the most expensive signing of Moyes’s second spell in charge, but the return was a huge disappointment. The attacking midfielder started only four league games and was not given a single minute after the 2-0 win over Burnley on 3 March. The manager did not hide his frustration with what he was seeing on the training ground.The longest World Cup in history should not have too onerous an impact on Moyes’s squad. Only three of his players were involved and, of those, only Jordan Pickford was in action after 1 July. Pickford came in for familiar criticism following his performances against Ghana and Argentina despite reinforcing his status as England’s undisputed No 1 goalkeeper across the tournament. Iliman Ndiaye started once for Senegal and was subbed in the 73rd minute with his country leading Belgium 2-0 in the last-32 tie. They ultimately lost 3-2. Nathan Patterson, whose Everton future is uncertain, featured in all three of Scotland’s forgettable group campaign.