United rank highly in my list of English teams capable of copying the Champions League winners. Seriously. Hear me out...
Move the superstars on, recruit wisely, blood the right academy talent through and put your trust in young players then perhaps you too could win the Champions League. Easy.
Having ended their duck, the Paris Saint-Germain blueprint will be admired the continent over, but just how close are Premier League sides to achieving success via a similar route?
We rank the seven clubs best placed to follow the PSG pathway…
7. Liverpool
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 11: The Liverpool players look on during a penalty shootout during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on March 11, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport/CameraSport via Getty Images)
Liverpool lost to PSG on penalties in the Champions League (Photo: Getty)
Only seventh on this list because it is difficult to tell current Premier League champions to do anything differently.
The need for a major reset has been delayed by Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah signing contract extensions, while the average age of this side is set to come down if 21-year-old Conor Bradley is deemed fit to fill Trent Alexander-Arnold’s boots.
The arrival of Florian Wirtz, 22, for a club-record fee would bolster their hopes of a title defence, and having succumbed to PSG on penalties, Liverpool at their best are not as far away as the others.
In another world, they would have made the Champions League final with a different draw, but alas, the early exit looks to be the inspiration behind acting quick this transfer window.
6. Aston Villa
PARIS, FRANCE - APRIL 09: Morgan Rogers of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa FC at Parc des Princes on April 09, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Morgan Rogers scored at PSG (Photo: Getty)
Now the biggest English side with the longest wait for a trophy? Arsenal’s five years has nothing on Aston Villa’s 29, which will become 30 whether they like it or not.
For Villa fans, the painful reality of this season was capped off – not only by a controversial ending to their league campaign – but by the fact they put in the best display of any English side against the eventual Champions League winners in the knockout stages.
Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Villa time and again, and now the Midlands club backed by billionaires Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have a tricky summer to navigate without the Champions League. In Morgan Rogers they have a player to build around, but they will have to act smart and navigate profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
5. Arsenal
PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 07: Declan Rice of Arsenal looks dejected during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final Second Leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal FC at Parc des Princes on May 07, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Sorry Mikel Arteta, but Arsenal were outplayed by PSG (Photo: Getty)
Just how close are Arsenal to PSG? Mikel Arteta may argue they are better, but few agreed with the manager’s assessment after the Champions League semi-final.
They do though have strong foundations: a quality goalkeeper, a revered centre-back partnership, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly breaking through, and of course Bukayo Saka.
PSG proved, rather confusingly, that an out-and-out striker isn’t entirely necessary, but Arsenal do require more balance (see also: quality) in their front three to help Saka. They really aren’t that far away.
4. Newcastle United
With Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) behind them, Newcastle clearly have the financial might and now the Champions League to attract players as well.
This could lead to a £250m war chest, The i Paper reports, slightly lifting the breaks on the PSR that have prevented them from doing what Chelsea and Manchester City were previously able to do.
The slow and steady approach they’ve been forced them into could play into Newcastle’s hands, eventually. It stopped them from paying a ridiculous amount on a marquee player after PIF took over in October 2021, and though now on the brink of spending big, they will happily walk away from deals if they feel they are being hustled – as was the case with Marc Guehi last summer.
3. Chelsea
Chelsea are the only English club to have spent more than £1bn since 2022-23 and are arguably the team following the PSG blueprint closest already, fielding nine of the 10 youngest Premier League starting XIs last season.
At an average age just shy of 24, this young team will hope the Conference League is a platform for far greater silverware as they reach their prime, while they certainly have one of the country’s most impressive academies.
Fifteen players who graced Cobham currently have a transfer value north of £20m (per Transfermarkt), including Arsenal’s Declan Rice, so beyond retaining the right academy stars, Chelsea’s owners BlueCo are left with the task of spending wisely, and not just buying six more wingers.
2. Manchester United
Now hear me out. The rebuild of all rebuilds looks to be taking place this summer, with The i Paper reporting United could collect £250m if they sell Bruno Fernandes and four more players.
Losing Fernandes would be a blow, but United still have an era-defining opportunity to start completely afresh, and with an academy record to be proud of – they’ve featured a homegrown player in every matchday squad since 1937, a run of more than 4,000 games – the foundations are there. Honestly.
Add to that 17-year-old Chido Obi and 18-year-old Ayden Heaven, the pair poached from Arsenal who came off the bench to score against Hong Kong on Friday, and what is left for United is identifying players in their early 20s with the potential to lead this side forward and change the club’s trajectory and temperament. Big ask, but the money is there if the scouting can back it up.
1. Manchester City
Well, obviously. Another club with a heavy state backing may have faltered this season but there is no sign of Abu Dhabi’s City Football Group growing bored of this project just yet.
And what better time to change tact than now? Kevin De Bruyne leaving heralds a new era for City, and they boast an academy – its facilities included – the envy of the Premier League over.
Phil Foden stayed but Manchester-born Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Morgan Rogers are among the players who moved on. Their departures were only questioned in hindsight, but City will surely scrutinise any future sales carefully.