Top five Premier League players to watch for 2026/27

With Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa both gone from west London last year, Thiago heads into the season opener against Tottenham on 22 August as Brentford’s undisputed focal point and a player every top-six side will be watching closely if he starts fast again.

Stat
Detail

Club
Brentford

Age
25

2025/26 PL Goals
22

2025/26 PL Assists
1

2025/26 PL Appearances
38

Current Status
Subject of Man Utd, Chelsea & Spurs interest; Brentford refusing to sell

Thiago’s stats last season

Morgan Rogers (Chelsea)

This is the biggest update on the list: Rogers is no longer at Aston Villa.

Chelsea completed a British-record £117 million deal for the 23-year-old following the World Cup, beating Arsenal to a player they’d made their top forward target.

Rogers arrives off the back of a season with 13 goals and 11 assists for Villa across all competitions and a PFA Young Player of the Year award, and he now walks into a Chelsea front line featuring Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro under Xabi Alonso.

Whether he’s fully up to speed for the opener against Fulham on 24 August remains to be seen, but this is about as loud a statement of intent as English football has seen all summer.

Stat
Detail

Club
Chelsea (from Aston Villa)

Age
23

2025/26 Goals (all comps)
13

2025/26 Assists (all comps)
11

Award
PFA Young Player of the Year

Current Status
Joined Chelsea for a British-record £117m this summer

Rogers’ stats last season

Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool)

Ngumoha’s opportunity has arrived faster than anyone expected.

The 17-year-old scored the winner against Wrexham in Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the US last week, and reports out of the club’s US camp this month suggest he “looks nailed on to start” Liverpool’s Premier League opener away at Newcastle on 23 August.

With Mohamed Salah gone and new head coach Andoni Iraola favouring young, direct wide players, Ngumoha, who also earned his senior England debut over the summer, has genuinely gone from academy prospect to potential first-choice right winger in the space of a few months.

Stat
Detail

Club
Liverpool

Age
17

2025/26 PL Goals
2

2025/26 PL Assists
1

2025/26 PL Appearances
19

Current Status
Tipped to start the season opener at Newcastle (23 Aug)

Ngumoha’s stats last season

Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City)

Semenyo’s first full season at City arrives under different management entirely, Pep Guardiola stepped down after a decade at the Etihad, with former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca now in charge.

Semenyo made an immediate mark in the second half of last season regardless, winning the Premier League Player of the Month award for February and scoring in City’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea.

He’s carried that form into pre-season, standing out in City’s Asia tour with goals and assists in wins over Inter and Atletico Madrid. With Guardiola gone and Maresca reshaping the attack, Semenyo looks positioned to be one of the primary beneficiaries of the change.

Stat
Detail

Club
Manchester City (from Bournemouth, Jan 2026)

Age
26

2025/26 Honour
PL Player of the Month, February

2025/26 Silverware
Carabao Cup & FA Cup winner

Current Status
Standout performer in pre-season under new boss Enzo Maresca

Semenyo’s stats last season

Max Dowman (Arsenal)

Arsenal’s 16-year-old wonderkid is still breaking records, and he’s not slowing down.

Dowman scored in a 4-1 pre-season win over Girona on 2 August and followed it up with an assist for Kai Havertz in a friendly against Como just this week.

Already the youngest-ever Premier League debutant, goalscorer, starter and title winner, Dowman now has a genuine chance to nail down real minutes early this season, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke are both returning late after their World Cup exertions, leaving a gap on Arsenal’s right flank that the teenager is well-placed to exploit.

Stat
Detail

Club
Arsenal

Age
16

PL Records Held
Youngest debutant, goalscorer, starter & title winner

Recent Form
Goal vs Girona (2 Aug), assist vs Como (pre-season)

Current Status
Chance for real minutes with Saka & Madueke back late

Dowman’s stats for Arsenal

Exciting times heading into the new season

What’s striking about this list is how much has already changed even in the last few weeks, a record transfer, a managerial upheaval at one of Europe’s superclubs, and two teenagers already making headlines before a ball’s been kicked competitively.

Arsenal will be heading into the Premier League season to defend their title but teams like Manchester City and Chelsea will be looking to stop them under new managers.

Can Liverpool mount a challenge under the leadership of Andoni Iraola? How will Mo Salah’s absence affect them?

A lot of questions need to be answered but one thing we can be certain of is that this season promises to be an exciting one.