The summer transfer window brings with it a refresh, new faces, and hopes of a better forthcoming season after financial investment. But it’s not all rosy for every player, as new transfers mean that someone else could be getting the boot, and there are a number of Premier League standouts who find themselves in an uncomfortable position after their clubs made a new addition in the summer 2025 window.
With the 2025/26 Premier League season just days away, let’s take a closer look at 10 Premier League stars who could find themselves riding the pine next season after their clubs decided to make a splash.
Liverpool AM Dominik Szoboszlai
No club made bigger splashes this summer than Liverpool, because before they splurged around 90 million euros on Hugo Ekitike at striker and began courting Newcastle superstar Alexander Isak, the Reds had already made the biggest splash of the summer by adding Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
The top star of the undefeated Bayer Leverkusen side in the 2023/24 season, Wirtz is an unquestioned starter at the No. 10 position. And with Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, and Ryan Gravenberch all capable of playing the more traditional midfield roles behind him at a higher level than Dominik Szoboszlai, that leaves the former RB Leipzig gem with pretty much nowhere to go but sit behind Wirtz and hope for a smattering of minutes.
Chelsea ST Nicolas Jackson
Chelsea are actively shopping Nicolas Jackson on the transfer market, and because they’ve set a sky-high asking price of 80 million pounds, which, funny enough, is a discounted rate from the ridiculous 100 million pounds they were initially going for.
Jackson made the wrong kind of headlines for Chelsea during the Club World Cup with a laughable red card in the group stages, and he was the only player who didn’t help his stock for a team that won the Club World Cup.
With Liam Delap coming in, Jackson’s days as a starter are numbered, and even as the Blues continue to load up on wingers like Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Estevao Willian, they are still looking for a striker and are unimpressed with their main man from the 2024/25 campaign.
Chelsea LB Marc Cucurella
While Marc Cucurella was a hero for the Spanish national team at the European Championships in 2024 and parlayed that into a significantly better season for Chelsea, he could find himself backing up a new player through no fault of his own.
Chelsea pursued Ajax’s latest defensive gem, Jorrel Hato, hard this summer, beating out the likes of rivals Arsenal to his signature. Hato can play as a center back or a left back, and if he impresses enough in year one, he could be the one to give Cucurella the boot from the XI.
Manchester City LW Jeremy Doku
Jeremy Doku delivers a lot more than goals and assists to Manchester City, and he’s been a good player for Pep Guardiola through his first two seasons since joining from the French league, adding the kind of electrifying dribbling out wide that Pep has wanted.
But even as a primary starter on the flank last season, Doku could not crack 10 goal contributions. Manchester City just bought a new playmaker in Tijjani Reijnders, they have Omar Marmoush capable of scoring goals from the left, and they also bought a new winger/playmaker hybrid in Rayan Cherki.
Doku is a very good footballer, but this Manchester City attacking XI just got a lot better this summer after an embarrassing 2024/25 season by their standards. It looks like the Belgian international will be the odd man out.
Tottenham RW Dejan Kulusevski
Injured for the first month of the season, Dejan Kulusevski could find his spot in the Tottenham starting lineup redundant when he comes back. The right wing position will already be picked up by new signing Mohammed Kudus, whose 55 million pound investment signifies Thomas Frank’s desire to make him the new crown jewel of the attack after left winger Son Heung-min’s departure to the United States.
Kulusevski actually drew more starts in midfield last season, and with James Maddison done for the season, the playmaker role could be his, too. But Kulu isn’t that great of a playmaker, and Spurs should be after another name in that role. As an 8, Kulusevski leaves something to be desired and is unlikely to start in that position under a much more pragmatic Frank (compared to the free-spirited Ange Postecoglou).
READ MORE: The best young wingers in the Premier League for 2025/26
Manchester City CB Manuel Akanji
Manuel Akanji was a world-class center back for Borussia Dortmund before maintaining that level with Manchester City, playing a key role in the Citizens capturing the treble in the 2022/23 season.
But now, it looks like it’s time for Akanji to take a back seat and become a veteran third center back in the stable. That’s because Josko Gvardiol looks set to shift to the more comfortable central position after the arrival of top Premier League left back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who can give Man City more verve down that side.
Arsenal LW Gabriel Martinelli
Technically, Leandro Trossard got more starts than Gabriel Martinelli last season, but we all know that Martinelli is the one Arsenal have been hoping to be the star on the left flank ever since his teasing 15 goals in the 2022/23 season when the Gunners first emerged as Premier League title contenders.
Well, Arsenal have never gotten over the hump since then, and Martinelli has regressed more than any other player. Now, the Gunners have a real No. 9 in Viktor Gyokeres, but Martinelli will still have to fight tooth and nail for his job.
Bukayo Saka isn’t going anywhere on the right, but Arsenal have two talented young left-footed right wingers in teenage phenom Ethan Nwaneri and new signing Noni Madueke from Chelsea.
If Arteta wants a wide man on the left as a traditional winger and thinks Martinelli is narrowing play without providing goals, the Brazilian could get a swift kick out of the starting XI.
Newcastle RW Jacob Murphy
Newcastle’s summer 2025 transfer window has been less than ideal, and it could become an outright disaster if Liverpool really do steal away Alexander Isak after already beating the Magpies to the punch for Ekitike.
But they did make one big addition in Anthony Elanga, who will solve a long-standing problem on the right wing and form one of the better wing partnerships in the Premier League with left winger Anthony Gordon, who suffered last season without that help on the right.
Gone will be Jacob Murphy, and while Murphy is a serviceable Premier League player, he’s not really a starting-caliber footballer for a team hoping to make the top five and has too many limitations to be an out-and-out winger.
Brighton CB Lewis Dunk
Veteran center back Lewis Dunk will always be an important part of Brighton, but with talented young center backs Olivier Boscagli and Diego Coppola coming in on the cheap as two of the best signings of the summer window, Dunk’s days are numbered.
Jan Paul van Hecke could lose starts, too, but Dunk is the one who seems a bit leggy out there. Age is catching up to the 33-year-old Brighton legend, and, actually, being “benched” could be the best thing in prolonging his career.
Manchester City GK Ederson
Manchester City won the James Trafford sweepstakes, and the young Championship goalkeeper has all the tools to become one of the best in the English top flight and a fixture for the national team.
Ederson’s best days are behind him, while Trafford is on the ascent and coming in at the right time to spell a goalkeeper who posted a save percentage below 70 last season.
Meanwhile, Trafford stopped a jaw-dropping 85 percent of the shots he faced in the Championship last season, and that is highly impressive in any league. Manchester City clearly didn’t spend more than 30 million euros to have. the U23 phenom rot on the sidelines.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2011. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has contributed to sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. Joe’s work has appeared in ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling, respectively.