Who doesn’t love a forgotten man? Who doesn’t want to marvel that Chelsea still own Armando Broja after all this time?
And it’s imperative that we do this before clubs spot those players down the back of their sofas and send them out on loan again.
ARSENAL: Albert Sambi Lokonga
Last seen: Starting 16 games in La Liga on loan for Sevilla.
Last seen in an Arsenal shirt: Coming off the bench in FA Cup defeat to Man City in January 2023, after which he immediately went on loan to Crystal Palace.
Next? Surely a permanent move – maybe back to Belgium – as his contract runs out in 2026.
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ASTON VILLA: Leander Dendoncker
Last seen: Spending a season on loan at Anderlecht, where the captain’s armband was given and then taken away.
Last seen in an Aston Villa shirt: January 2024, when he was substituted during an FA Cup win over Middlesbrough.Next? A cheap permanent exit with former club Wolves surely an option.
BOURNEMOUTH: Philip Billing
Last seen: Winning Serie A with Napoli, though they did not want a permanent deal.
Last seen in a Bournemouth shirt: Coming off the bench for the last few minutes of a 1-0 win over Everton in January.Next? Another loan with Leeds United mentioned as a possibility.
BRENTFORD: Frank Onyeka
Last seen: Holding down a place in Augsburg’s midfield on loan.
Last seen in a Brentford shirt: Playing in a Carabao Cup win over Colchester last August.
Next? Valencia have been linked but Christian Norgaard’s likely exit to Arsenal might bring opportunities in west London.
BRIGHTON: James Milner
Last seen: Playing one minute of the final-day 1-0 win over Tottenham.
Last seen in a Brighton shirt: See above.Next? Another year at Brighton, hopefully playing more than three hours of football.
BURNLEY: Zeki Amdouni
Last seen: Scoring 10 goals across a season on loan with Benfica.
Last seen in a Burnley shirt: Coming off the bench in a Championship defeat to Sunderland in August.Next? Besiktas and Wolfsburg have both been linked with a £20m move.
CHELSEA: Armando Broja
Last seen: Scoring no goals in a season-long loan at Everton ravaged by injury problems.
Last seen in a Chelsea shirt: Coming off the bench in the FA Cup in January 2024, just before he was sent on loan to Fulham.
Next? Surely a cut-price permanent switch away from the Premier League, with PSV and RB Leipzig mentioned.
CRYSTAL PALACE: Rob Holding
Last seen: Making 11 appearances in the Championship for Sheffield United.
Last seen in a Crystal Palace shirt: Playing in a 4-1 EFL Trophy defeat to Peterborough.Next? The Championship for pennies.
READ: Palace should be ‘genuinely astounded’ by Arsenal, Liverpool part-exchange offers for Eze and Guehi
EVERTON: Youssef Chermiti
Last seen: Playing the last of his 42 minutes (no wins in four games) of Premier League football in May.Last seen in an Everton shirt: See above.
Next? A Championship loan but suitors will have to wait for Everton to sign more than one striker.
FULHAM: N/A
No Fulham first-teamers went on loan last season and we’re not pretending that anybody has forgotten Issa Diop or Timothy Castagne just because they missed a few games injured.
LEEDS UNITED: Jack Harrison
Last seen: On an unusual two-year Everton loan that reaped four Premier League goals.
Last seen in a Leeds United shirt: Scoring the only Leeds goal in the final-day 4-1 defeat to Spurs in May 2023.Next? Back to Everton either on a free transfer or loan as David Moyes likes him.
LIVERPOOL: Stefan Bajcetic
Last seen: Getting relegated with Las Palmas in his second loan of the season.
Last seen in a Liverpool shirt: Played 25 minutes off the bench of a 4-2 win over Tottenham in May 2024.Next? Yet another injury could prevent a permanent transfer this summer.
MANCHESTER CITY: Issa Kabore
Last seen: Not playing an awful lot of football in his sixth loan spell at Werder Bremen.
Last seen in a Man City shirt: Never. He has twice made it as far as the bench in five years as a Man City player.
Next? Loan No. 7 and presumably some kind of record.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Tyrell Malacia
Last seen: Starting just three Eredivisie games on loan at PSV.
Last seen in a Man Utd shirt: Coming off at half-time of a Europa League win in January 2025.
Next? A cut-price exit just about anywhere, with Celtic linked.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Issac Hayden
Last seen: On loan at Portsmouth after loans at Norwich, Standard Liege and QPR.
Last seen in a Newcastle United shirt: In December 2021, playing his 14th game of the season without a single win.
Next? A permanent move to the Championship, but with a year left of £50,000-a-week wages, he will not go quietly.
READ: Is Anthony Elanga worth £55m? Only to Newcastle but that’s what matters
NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Omar Richards
Last seen: On loan at Portuguese club Rio Ave, owned by Evangelos Marinakis obviously.
Last seen in a Nottingham Forest shirt: It’s not happened since his £7m move from Bayern Munich in 2022.
Next? A genuine chance he could be a squad option for Forest, who are light at left-back.
SUNDERLAND: N/A
Not going to pretend we had heard of many of these Sunderland players so claiming we had ‘forgotten’ them would be disingenuous. See you in two years’ time when we are wondering what happened to Chemsdine Talbi.
TOTTENHAM: Bryan Gil
Last seen: Scoring three La Liga goals for Getafe as they slumped back into mid-table.
Last seen in a Tottenham shirt: Making a 20th Premier League appearance off the bench in May 2024.
Next? A permanent transfer for buttons back to Spain.
WEST HAM: Maxwell Cornet
Last seen: Scoring two goals during an injury-ravaged loan at Genoa after a forgettable spell with Southampton.
Last seen in a West Ham shirt: Playing a few minutes of a 5-2 defeat to Crystal Palace in May 2024.
Next? Another loan to Genoa might be on the cards but the Hammers might as well write off that £17m.
WOLVES: Fabio Silva
Last seen: Scoring 10 La Liga goals for Las Palmas to give Wolves hope they might get some money for him.
Last seen in a Wolves shirt: Making his 42nd Premier League sub appearance in November 2023. Next? Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg are all credited with an interest.