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Sides like current champions Liverpool, Club World champions Chelsea and the recently rejuvenated Everton have all made great starts to the season, entering the international break with plenty of prospects to be upbeat about in the early stags of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign. Others, like strugglers Wolves, Aston Villa and Newcastle, will be fortunate the first international break of the season had come so soon, allowing them time to assess what’s gone so wrong so far.
While those off to a flying start will be itching for the action to recommence, others will be happy to bide their time before the restart on September 14th, where Arsenal will host Nottingham Forest.
Winner: Jack Grealish
In summer 2021, off the back of an excellent Euros campaign where England reached the final and a club season at Aston Villa where as captain he guided them to a respectable 11th, Jack Grealish made an £100 million move to the North of England, joining Manchester City on a six year contract that runs until 2027. However, after being transformed into a system player on the left wing, Grealish lost lots of his spark he showed in the West Midlands. This reached its worse last season, where he amassed three goals and five assists in 35 games.
At the start of the summer, as other notable City figures like Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Ederson began to move on, it seemed the writing was on the wall for Grealish’s time in Manchester, especially after the purchase of Rayan Cherki from Lyon. The 29-year-old made the switch to Merseyside, signing on the dotted line for David Moyes’s Everton on a loan deal with a £50m buy option at the end of it.
In just four games, Grealish has already looked back to his best, with a manager who has total faith in him and a fanbase that adores him once again, an environment he thrived in under Dean Smith during his best years at Aston Villa. Four assists in four games show it statistically, but Grealish has once again become easy on the eye and a joy to watch, as he glides around the pitch, either off the left or in the middle of the park alongside Keirnan Dewsbury-Hall, who is also returning to the form he found at Leicester that earned him Championship player of the year in 2023/24.
Loser: Unai Emery
Perhaps it’s harsh to single out just Emery for his side’s poor start to the campaign, as it’s not been the tactics of Villa that has hindered them from making a good start. When criticising a side’s start, it’s easy to trace it back to the gaffer, acting as one of the most public representatives of the club. After all, it has certainly been a start that needs criticising, taking just one point from nine in their opening fixtures, and a lucky point of that in their season opener against Newcastle.
In their curtain raiser for the season at Villa Park, his side were dominated in all aspects, especially after going down to 10 men in the 66th minute after Ezri Konsa was sent for an early shower. Though Newcastle also didn’t show enough to break the deadlock there, it was an abysmal display from the Villains, conjuring up just three shots all game- a stark comparison to the 16 Newcastle let fly. The only credit to give them was that they made it scrappy, committing 13 fouls and keeping it tight, yet that’s often not something worth crediting, especially under Emery with the polished brand of football he’s instilled during his time at the club.
Villa were tipped to bounce back against relegation contenders Brentford, but defensive mistakes opened the door for the Bees early on, with Dango Ouattara netting just 12 minutes into his debut. 17 Villa shots followed from there, but some awful final product meant Kelleher kept his first Brentford clean sheet and more points were bitterly dropped for Emery’s side.
Ahead of deadline day, where Emiliano Martínez was heavily linked wth a move away from the club forcing new number two Marco Bizot to continue in goal, Emery bizarrely answered questions around Martínez’s future by only repeating Bizot’s name. The Dutchman went on to concede three at home at the hands of Crystal Palace to no response, crowning what has been a terrible start by Unai Emery’s side.
Winner: Hugo Ekitike
Hugo Ekitike was Liverpool’s fourth signing of the summer, taking their spending over the £250 million mark after capturing the signatures of Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz. It seemed likely the Frenchman was to end up at Newcastle United, suggesting he would be a replacement for Alexander Isak. In the end, both strikers arrived at Anfield, but Ekitike was the first to put pen to paper, and has been off to a flyer so far.
The Frenchman enjoyed his best domestic season to date last season at Frankfurt, totalling 23 goals and assists in the Bundesliga and helping Die Adler to an impressive third place finish, their highest in the Bundesliga since 1993. His prolific season led the Reds to splash an initial £69 million on his services, making him the third most expensive signing behind Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
After joining the pre-season camp in Thailand, the Stade de Reims academy product got off to the perfect start in his first game for the club, scoring the opener in the Community Shield final against Crystal Palace, though his side would end up losing the game on penalties. His good fortunes would continue in front of goal though, bagging one on his home debut against Bournemouth and adding an assist. Another would follow in a 3-2 win against Newcastle too, a haunting reminder to the player Eddie Howe’s side had missed out on.
The 23-year-old has made an excellent start on all accounts, and despite the record-breaking deal to bring Alexander Isak to the club, Ekitike looks set for a long and successful spell on Merseyside, wether that’s down the middle, off the left or as part of a frightening strike partnership with the aforementioned Swede.
Loser: Graham Potter
It’s been a difficult start to the season for West Ham, despite a smash-and-grab win in their most recent outing against Nottingham Forest, where three goals in seven minutes from Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Callum Wilson handed the Hammers a 3-0 win. This came off the back of a battering at the hands of Chelsea, where they cruised to a 5-1 victory at the London stadium. Their season opener wasn’t much better, as three second half goals saw Sunderland ease past the Hammers 3-0 on the first Saturday of the season.
West Ham have looked very vulnerable at the back, even with the new additions of El Hadji Malick Diouf and Mads Hermansen in between the sticks, especially the latter who was at fault for a couple of Chelsea’s five on matchday two. The lack of midfield additions has meant Potter has set up with James Ward-Prowse and Tomáš Souček, both of which are in their thirties and look lost together as part of a double pivot behind Lucas Paqueta.
Offensively, the Hammers have looked dull in the final third, with Jarrod Bowen having to do most of the heavy lifting- as shown last Sunday, where he spearheaded the emphatic end to the game at the City Ground. Potter will have to rely on more than just Bowen for his side to enjoy any success this season, especially with the likes of £27 million striker Niclas Füllkrug and former England international Callum Wilson.
Despite the lack of backing he’s received this summer, Potter’s brand of football has been found out so far to be one dimensional and dull, leaving gaps at the back and having little steel in midfield to sway the courses of games in their favour. Given his side’s tricky next four games- where they take on Spurs and Crystal Palace at the London Stadium, then Everton and Arsenal on the road- it may not be a surprise to see the West Ham board resemble their lack of backing with a lack of patience that may see the former Chelsea and Brighton boss out of a job this time next month.
Winner: Kristjaan Speakman
Many fans outside of the North East probably wouldn’t recognise the name Kristjaan Speakman if ever they heard it, but Sunderland’s sporting director certainly deserves his flowers after one of if not the best transfer window from a promoted side the league has ever seen. With over £140 million spent, his work behind the scenes has left Sunderland with a squad capable of doing the improbable and staying up this season, a feat no side has managed since Nottingham Forest in 2023.
14 new faces arrived at the Stadium of Light this summer, a stat that would have been one higher before Chelsea recalled Marc Guiu just 25 days after they loaned him out in the first place. Signings varied all over the pitch, but a common thee joins them all together- the European pedigree most come in with that makes many deals so impressive. Offensively, Brian Brobbey will add explosive pace and power in front of goal alongside Simon Adingra and Chemsdine Talbi. He joined on deadline day from Ajax alongside his teammate Bertrand Traore, who spent time in England at Aston Villa and three years on the books at Chelsea between 2014-2017.
Enzo Le Fée made his deal permanent after joining the club on loan from Roma in January, playing a key role in their promotion back to the Premier League. Jobe Bellingham was then sold for an initial £27 million, but the Englishman was promptly replaced by Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki. The key addition to their midfield though was Swiss ball-winner Granit Xhaka, who shocked the world when he signed a three year deal from Bayer Leverkusen.
Speakman then orchestrated a defensive overload, replacing Nathan Patterson in goal with Dutch ‘keeper Robin Roefs. Reinildo Mandava and former West Ham defender Arthur Masuaku joined on free deals to add left-back depth. Nordi Mukiele then arrived from PSG after some excellent spells at Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leizpig, but he wasn’t the only right-back to arrive as Lutsharel Geertruida joined on loan on deadline day in what was another massively impressive deal for the Black Cats. Omar Alderete joined from Getafe after an impressive 2024/25 campaign, and when all these names are added into Regis Le Bris’s backline, it could form a more than efficient backline to help keep Sunderland in the Premier League this season.
Loser: Anthony Gordon
Everton academy graduate Antony Gordon enjoyed a decent 2024/25 season, despite some minor injury problems and a steep drop off in numbers, finishing on 11 goals and assists- a stark comparison from the 21 he finished with in 2023/24. Off the pitch problems regarding Alexander Isak’s future at the club meant upon the season opener, he had to start down the middle for Newcastle at Villa Park. A game Newcastle dominated, Gordon took seven of their 17 shots that day, only managing to get two of them on target.
His side welcomed Liverpool to St James Park the following game, where once again Gordon was forced to go down the middle. A game with a more hostile atmosphere than ever due to the Isak saga, it was clear that the heat got to Gordon, as Liverpool dominated possession from the off and took the lead in the 35th minute through Ryan Gravenberch. As the half wound to a close, the 24-year-old clearly lost his cool and let the crowd get to him, chopping down Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk in a rash challenge that left visible marks on the Dutchman.
His initial yellow was reversed to a red, leading Gordon to miss Newcastle’s draw at Elland Road, where his side lacked the edge to get in front in an overall forgettable game. If not for his rashness, it may have been three points picked up last Saturday night, but instead the scouser will be absent for two more games, where the magpies will take on Wolves and Bournemouth.
Upon his return, which is expected to come in the Champions League when the current League Cup champions host Spanish champions Barcelona next week, Gordon looks set to return to his more natural left-wing allowing Nick Woltemade to go down the middle. The winger will quickly have to get back to form soon for Eddie Howe’s side though, especially with no proven goalscorer after Alexander Isak got his move to Liverpool.
