Our whistle-stop transfer round-up takes a closer look at some of the deals done recently in the Premier League.
Don’t forget that you can find all the confirmed transfers listed here throughout the summer.
And our complete pre-season guide also contains a wealth of other articles to read ahead of the new campaign!
Mads Hermansen (Leicester City to West Ham United, £20m)
The Hammers have bolstered their goalkeeping options by signing former Leicester number 1 Mads Hermansen (£4.5m) on a five-year deal.
The 25-year-old Danish international impressed last term, despite being relegated with Leicester.
Following the departure of Poland’s Łukasz Fabiański at the end of last season, West Ham sought a new goalkeeper. Hermansen will now provide competition for 32-year-old Alphonse Areola (£4.5m), who made 26 Premier League appearances in the 2024–25 campaign.
Hermansen played 72 times for Leicester and won the Championship with them back in 2024.
His raw FPL numbers weren’t impressive last season, due to playing for a relegated side. But according to Statsbomb, it wasn’t him to blame – he was slightly above par for ‘goals saved above average’ (the equivalent of xG prevented). Areola was the same:
Opta actually had Areola as one of the worst performers for xGP, just highlighting the difference between those two expected goal models!
Seeing as both Areola and Hermansen are priced at £4.5m, it will be interesting to see who starts the most in the league this season. The Hammers’ defensive numbers improved under Graham Potter, so whoever gets the nod could offer Fantasy value.
But it would probably be unwise to pick either of these as your goalkeeper options for the start of this season as it is unclear who will play more.
Malick Thiaw (AC Milan to Newcastle United, £35m)
Newcastle have completed the signing of 24-year-old centre-back, Malick Thiaw, from AC Milan.
Bringing in a young defender was clearly a priority for Eddie Howe this window, with Dan Burn (£5.0m), Jamaal Lascelles (£4.5m), and Fabian Schär (£5.5m) all over 30. Sven Botman (£5.0m) has suffered quite a bit with injury problems, too.
Thiaw featured 31 times for AC Milan in Serie A last season and has also earned three caps for Germany.
The stopper has long been one of Howe’s top targets, and it’s not hard to understand why. At 6ft 4in, he’s dominant in the air and remarkably quick for a player of his size. Pace is one thing Newcastle are lacking at centre-half.
He offers tactical versatility, capable of playing as either a right or left-sided centre-back, and even featured in the central role of a back three during the 2022/23 season. Ultimately, though, he’s much-needed competition for Schar, with Botman and Burn covering the left.
Thiaw is comfortable on the ball, capable of delivering incisive, line-breaking passes as well as sweeping diagonals to switch play. In the 2024/25 Serie A campaign, he ranked among the top 10 defenders for long passes completed, averaging 3.5 per match. That all sounds very Schar-like, too.
While ambitious in his distribution, he rarely surrenders possession – his 93.6% pass completion rate was bettered by only two defenders in the league last season.
Despite the height, he didn’t score a single league goal in three years with Milan. Schar definitely has the edge there…
Thiaw just turned 24, and is unlikely to replace Schär right away. However, he will still be a valuable and welcome addition on Tyneside, as his potential to be a long-term replacement is clear. He will also provide crucial depth to Eddie Howe’s backline.
Bafode Diakite (Lille to Bournemouth, £34.6m)
Bournemouth have splashed out to secure the signing of 24-year-old Bafode Diakite from Lille. He will become the Cherries’ second most expensive signing ever.
He featured in 31 Ligue 1 matches last season, helping Lille secure a fifth-place finish, and also made 10 appearances in the Champions League.
His arrival comes after Bournemouth saw three key defenders depart during this transfer window. Illia Zabarnyi was the latest to leave, joining Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. Earlier, Dean Huijsen moved to Real Madrid for £50m, while Milos Kerkez was sold to Liverpool for £40m.
The Cherries are expected to continue bolstering their defence before the transfer window shuts, with another centre-back reportedly on the agenda.
Diakite could turn out to be a solid pick for FPL squads, too.
His 2024/25 season at Lille established him as one of the standout defenders in the French league.
Comfortable at both centre-back and right-back, he is recognised for his physicality, speed, and sharp tactical awareness.
He didn’t particularly impress on the ‘DefCon’ front but perhaps that’s more to do with style – no Ligue I team had more possession than Lille in 2024/25.
Certainly, if we look at the DC points for Bournemouth’s two centre-halves last season, there is potential to shine:
In attack, his aerial prowess, especially on set-pieces, makes him a threat, having scored 13 league goals for Lille – despite not having a raft of chances:
| Season | Apps | Mins | Shots | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/2025 | 31 | 2767 | 16 | 4 |
| 2023/2024 | 21 | 1697 | 16 | 5 |
| 2022/2023 | 33 | 2656 | 19 | 3 |
If he can marry DC points with goals and the semi-frequent clean sheet – Bournemouth kept nine last season – he could be a gem at £4.5m.
Evann Guessand (Nice to Aston Villa, £26m)
An interesting addition to Unai Emery’s attacking options, Evann Guessand (£6.5m) joins after an impressive season at Nice. He scored 12 goals and assisted a further eight last term and was named player of the season as Nice finished fourth in Ligue 1.
The Ivorian international could prove to be a critical boost to Aston Villa’s forward line, with Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) being the only recognised centre-forward in the squad at the moment.
The departure of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio, after their loan spells concluded, has left Unai Emery’s side short of options in attack. Premier League and UEFA financial regulations have made strengthening the squad a challenging task for Villa.
Guessand shapes up to be a flexible acquisition capable of filling a role similar to Rashford’s in Emery’s side.
Much like Rashford, he offers the ability to operate anywhere across the front line, as well as in the number 10 position.
In Ligue 1 last season, only 10 of his 30 starts came as a centre-forward, with eight on the right wing and nine deployed as a supporting striker. The 24-year-old is consequently listed as a midfielder in FPL.
That flexibility was reflected in his underlying numbers as he hit double figures for left-foot shots, right-foot shots and headers in 2024/25.
Not on set plays, however, he only averaged a chance created every 80 minutes.
He’ll likely make regular appearances off the bench in the first few weeks, so he’s a watch-and-wait.
Villa’s opening run of fixtures is relatively favourable, with a home clash against Newcastle in Gameweek 1 standing out as the toughest test until around Gameweeks 8 or 9.
Armando Broja (Chelsea to Burnley, £20m)
Lesley Ugochukwu (Chelsea to Burnley, £23m)
Burnley complete a double swoop from Chelsea, picking up out-of-favour players from Stamford Bridge.
Armando Broja (£5.5m) is now the 13th signing for the Clarets this summer, and will be hoping he can nail down the striker position this coming season.
The 23-year-old made his first-team debut for Chelsea back in 2020 and has since made just 38 appearances for them in all competitions, scoring three goals.
The Albanian international has agreed to a five-year contract at Turf Moor, after spending time on loan at the likes of Fulham, Southampton and Everton in recent seasons. None of those temporary spells were a success, if we’re being honest, with six goals – from 21 starts and 11 sub appearances with the Saints in 2021/22 – his best return yet.
There is competition for Burnley’s centre-forward spots, but no player currently appears guaranteed a starting role. Zian Flemming (£5.5m), who is currently injured, and Lyle Foster (£5.0m) stand in Broja’s way, while we’ve even seen some of the Clarets’ attacking midfielders up top in pre-season.
Perhaps Broja doesn’t have much in the way of convincing competition, then, but he himself has much to prove to FPL managers.
Lesley Ugochukwu (£5.0m) spent most of last season on loan at Southampton, playing a significant portion of their games during his time there.
The French defensive midfielder was signed by the Blues in 2023 from Rennes for a similar price to what Burnley have paid, after only making 15 appearances in two years for the West London club.
It’ll be occasional DC points and little else, with one goal being his best-ever season’s tally.
Even then, he only met the defensive contribution threshold in four of his 18 starts last season. File under: forget.
Arthur Masuaku (Free Agent to Sunderland, free)
Former West Ham left-back and FPL cult hero Arthur Masuaku (£4.0m) joins Sunderland as a free agent, making him their 10th signing of the summer so far.
The 31-year-old Congolese international will bring Premier League experience to the ranks of Régis Le Bris, as he made 128 appearances for West Ham during his time there.
He will compete with Reinildo (£4.0m) for minutes at the left-back spot but he’ll likely be playing second fiddle for a good while yet, having been unattached and pre-season-less this summer.
“We are still in the process to improve the squad and progressively new signings like these two will help the squad, even if they started later. So, we’ll have to be patient with them, to build their foundations for the season.” – Regis Le Bris on Marc Guiu and Arthur Masuaku, to in-house club media on Sunday
“We’ll see. Every day, we will make an assessment of their level and see how far we can push them through the training sessions. Lift the intensity, the contact. If they react well, they can then join the squad. If they don’t react well, we wait one day, two days, and assess again. So we will see for next week.” – Regis Le Bris on whether Marc Guiu and Arthur Masuaku will be fit for Gameweek 1, via the Northern Echo
