The Premier League’s return is just days away, and despite having several months to figure out the futures of their top-name players, many of the big seven have left it to the last minute yet again.
Many players have entered into the fray at England’s biggest clubs – most recently Rasmus Hojlund at Manchester United and Josko Gvardiol joining Manchester City.
But clubs are still having issues with trying to jettison players from top squads. This could be because the numbers just do not fit anymore, or the new blood has made previous squad players surplus to requirements.
Meanwhile, others are having to play the financial fair play game, or looking to drum up the finances to pay off their big spending ambitions after lacklustre seasons.
With days counting down until the action begins – and only a few weeks left until the transfer window in England closes at 11pm on Friday September 1 – we’ve looked at who your club needs to sell.
Rasmus Hojlund has come in – but without a squad number as Man United look to sell players
Josko Gvardiol’s arrival comes with Manchester City not needing to sell other players
Man United
United are looking to improve on Erik ten Hag’s third placed finish in his maiden season in charge at Old Trafford.
The additions of Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount and Andre Onana will help that aim, but it also means that the Red Devils will have to wave goodbye to some of their longer serving players.
When Hojlund was unveiled to the Man United faithful on Saturday, he was shown without a squad number, with the club expecting new faces in and out before committing for the upcoming season.
Donny van de Beek is thought to have played his last game for the club with a move to Real Sociedad on the cards.
Meanwhile, two Saudi Pro League sides have submitted bids to bring Eric Bailly over to the Middle East, with the defender failing to become a regular fixture at Old Trafford.
Fred and Brandon Williams have also been deemed surplus to requirements by Ten Hag, and are attracting interest from clubs across the world.
United have an extra couple of days before their league campaign starts compared to their rivals, beginning next Monday against Wolves, but it’s still cutting things fine to get everything done in a way to boost their prospects.
Donny van de Beek is thought to have played his last game ahead of a move to Real Sociedad
Man City
Pep Guardiola’s side have a lot to lose after last year’s Treble celebrations – and everyone else will be eager to topple the champions in Europe and at home.
Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic have already come in, while Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan are among those key figures in recent seasons who have left the Etihad.
But now the club are in a position where they don’t need to sell, despite their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
Indeed, Pep Guardiola has pleaded with two of the names most likely to follow Mahrez and Gundogan out the door to stay put at Man City.
Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva were both linked with exits – but ahead of the Community Shield, the manager told reporters: ‘They are so important to us. We want them and will do everything.
‘We want him to stay because he wants to stay. We will do everything. Replacing these two would be so difficult.’
Will Guardiola be able to keep them though, especially with Bayern Munich’s strong interest in bringing Walker to Germany?
Pep Guardiola has pleaded with Bernardo Silva and Kyle Walker to stay at Manchester City
Arsenal
For the victors at Wembley, the reverse is true. Mikel Arteta’s men are eager to usurp Man City at the top of the tree after running them close last term, and their summer reinforcements will be critical in achieving this.
Declan Rice finally made his £105m move from West Ham to the Emirates, Kai Havertz traded a different London rival for the Gunners by leaving Chelsea for £65m, and Jurien Timber joined from Ajax for £40m.
Now, it’s time for Arteta to trim his team down, after he admitted his 30-man squad is too big ahead of the forthcoming campaign.
Kieran Tierney, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Fabio Vieira and Rob Holding are among those at risk of leaving the club this summer, giving space for the newcomers to get to grips with life at the Emirates.
Inter Milan have revived their bid to sign Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun, but the two clubs are far apart on price, with the Serie A giants coming in at £26m, which is £19m short of what the Gunners were hoping for.
It remains to be seen whether Balogun will follow the likes of Granit Xhaka, Auston Trusty and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in leaving this summer.
If they can drum up some decent money in the transfer business, they will also be halfway to covering the high expenses already forked out this summer.
Inter Milan have revived their bid to sign Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun this summer
Spurs
For Tottenham, as always, it all circles around one man. Harry Kane.
Spurs probably do not need to sell anyone. They appear to have settled into a pre-season groove with Ange Postecoglou at the helm, and they will be praying that this continues with the start of their league campaign at Brentford on Sunday.
James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Guglielmo Vicario and Manor Solomon have been brought in to steady the ship after last season’s turbulent campaign – and based on pre-season, they’re possibly in as good a shape as can be expected, all things considered.
But can they hold onto their talisman, with Bayern making all the right moves about trying to tempt the England captain to the Bundesliga?
They do not have to sell Kane, but they may want to – or else risk losing him for free next season, if they cannot get him to commit to the club on another deal.
Whilst Tottenham have only lost a small number of players in the transfer window – most notably Harry Winks to Leicester City – it looks as if things are moving in the right direction. That is put to the ultimate test on Sunday.
Spurs do not have to sell Harry Kane – but may choose to, rather than let him leave for nothing
Liverpool
For Liverpool, there is nobody else for them to get rid off. There are 11 names listed on the club’s departures so far this summer.
Captain Jordan Henderson joined Al-Ettifaq in a hotly-debated decision, Fabinho went to Al-Ittihad in an undisclosed deal, and Naby Keita and James Milner both left on free transfers.
Roberto Firmino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were both released by Liverpool, and there have also been five loan moves confirmed. Getting the departures done quickly should prove to be a smart move – and it’s unlikely any other big names are following.
Mo Salah’s agent has shut down talks of a move to join Fabinho at Al-Ittihad this summer, despite a salary offer in the region of £155m for two seasons.
Now, Jurgen Klopp’s side continue their work to buy in the transfer window. They were determined to bring in more players, including another midfielder, but so far, only Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have materialised.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have been busy clearing out, and are now focusing entirely on signings
Newcastle
Newcastle United have splashed out this summer, ahead of Champions League football. Sandro Tonali joined from AC Milan for £52m, while Harvey Barnes left relegated Leicester City for the Magpies for £38m.
The Magpies are also set to complete the £30m signing of Southampton defender Tino Livramento imminently.
Now, Eddie Howe’s side have to play the financial fair play game, and that might involve selling players to help balance the books. The owners are obviously well-placed to bring folk in, but now it is time to encourage players to depart too.
Howe believes Newcastle are not vulnerable to an approach for Bruno Guimaraes, because the player does not want to leave.
But if it’s not Guimaraes, then they may need to find other players who are not needed by Newcastle, and coveted by rivals, to help appease the FFP gods.
Right-back Harrison Ashby, 21, has joined Swansea on loan, and he is not likely to be the last player out the door this summer, with UEFA’s limited squad size for the Champions League.
Jeff Hendrick and Ryan Fraser are among the others who could leave St James’ Park this summer.
Newcastle may sell to appease FFP rules, despite Bruno Guimaraes’ wanting to stay put
Chelsea
The limited squad size for the Champions League was an issue for Chelsea last season – leaving big name purchases off the list of available players for the knockout stages earlier this year.
Their 12th-placed finish in the Premier League means that there is no need to worry about Europe for the Blues – but there’s still an issue of having more cooks than necessary for their west London broth.
Despite the departures of – deep breath – Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Christian Pulisic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Edouard Mendy, Dujon Sterling, Baba Rahman, N’Golo Kante, Cesar Azpilicueta, Tiemoue Bakayoko and David Fofana – there’s still too many players on the books.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have purchased a lot of players to replace those who have already left, and they are still hunting more – most notably Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.
Romelu Lukaku’s future has still not been decided, despite it being alarmingly obvious that the Belgian is not coming back to Chelsea.
Over the first two transfer windows of Todd Boehly’s rule, the club have left it late to get deals over the line, both in and out. Despite having all summer to avoid these problems, it looks like they’re going down to the wire once more…
Chelsea look to leave it late with their transfer dealings again, with Romelu Lukaku set to leave
The Blues had bloated squad issues last season, and retain a significant number of players