​

€0 spent 

The new Premier League season is just a few weeks away and to no great surprise many of England’s biggest clubs are spending big in the summer transfer window to prepare for the new league campaign. Aston Villa have undoubtedly led the way with their spending on new players standing at €176 million, with Chelsea (€113m), Manchester United (€105m) and Brighton (€92m) in close pursuit. To date the Premier League has already spent €1.2 billion on new players and that figure is likely to continue increasing until the window shuts at the end of August. 

However, one club that continues to raise eyebrows over their lack of transfer activity are Liverpool. With a new head coach in place, the Anfield side have yet to make a single signing this summer and have only seen three senior players leave at the end of their contracts. Leading many fans of the club to wonder whether Arne Slot and his backroom staff are biding their time in the transfer window in the hope of snatching the players they want before it slams shut, or as simply content with the players they have inherited from Jürgen Klopp. So why have Liverpool yet to spend a single Euro in this summer’s transfer window? Let’s take a look. 

Liverpool’s typical spending in the transfer market

To figure out why Liverpool haven’t spent any money this summer, we must first figure out how much the club typically spend in the summer transfer window and see how far off the club’s current plans are to their typical behaviour. According to Transfermarkt’s own data, in the ten seasons leading up to this one Liverpool spent on average €102m per year on new signings each summer. However, their net spend on new players (so including fees earned from sales) stood at just €45.2m. This, to no great surprise for fans of the club, is well below their main rivals in the Premier League and places them seventh in the division behind the likes of Tottenham and West Ham for net spend on transfers. So in other words, the club typically sells players in order to buy new ones and don’t tend to overspend when it can be avoided.

If we look at the club’s spending in both transfer windows in the last six campaigns prior to this current one, we can see that in most years building up to Slot taking over for Klopp, Liverpool did in fact spend more than they typically do. In particular, the club’s net spend on new players last season stood at €111.3m due to the arrival of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo. And, in a sense, the club could perhaps argue that the cheque book was in good use last year as Klopp spent big on rebuilding the squad, prior to Slot’s arrival. And, as a result, there’s little real need for Liverpool to go on a summer spending spree to address issues in the squad. 

However, that shouldn’t rule out the arrival of some new players. Slot himself has admitted that the squad he inherited from Klopp is “really good” but also revealed recently that he does want to bring in some of his own players. “Richard [Hughes, Liverpool’s sporting director] more than me is really working hard on that and he keeps me updated every time,” Slot told the media recently. “We already have a very good team, where I am already really happy, but it would be a surprise for all of us if we don’t bring any players in. That probably will happen in the end, but for now, we’re just waiting for the players to come back and waiting for the right ones to sign.” 

Where do Liverpool need to strengthen their squad?

If Slot is intent on spending some money before the start of the new season then there are a few positions that could certainly use some reinforcements in the coming weeks. When we take a look at Liverpool’s most valuable starting XI and the next-best player in each position, the most glaring omission is a back-up striker for Darwin Núñez. Of course, both Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota can play up front, but neither are No.9s in the style of Núñez and without the Uruguay international fit and ready to play Slot actually has no other traditional striker to pick from in his squad. That, presumably, will be an area that the new head coach will be looking to bring in at least one new player before the window draws to a close. 

J. Frimpong

Right-Back

B. Leverkusen

33 %

Liverpool

Bundesliga

Premier League

A. Gordon

Left Winger

Newcastle

53 %

Liverpool

Premier League

Premier League

B. Yılmaz

Right Winger

Galatasaray

43 %

Liverpool

Süper Lig

Premier League

Elsewhere, a new central defender may be needed to help bolster the options in defence. Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah are good back ups to Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil Van Dijk, but beyond that Slot would be relying on players that are unlikely to make the step up to Premier League football well. And with the departure of Joel Matip this summer, a ew senior central defender may be vital for Liverpool’s league campaign, when the injuries start to come in thick and fast mid-way through the campaign. Especially when we consider that Van Dijk and Konaté missed nine games between them last season.

 

​

Done Deal 30.07.2024 – 18:35
| source: Transfermarkt |
Reading Time: 3 mins

Huijsen will be no stranger to well-versed Premier League fans, having already been linked with moves to Liverpool and Newcastle in 2024 alone. Born in Amsterdam but having grown up in Spain, the young talent has made a name for himself after coming through the Juventus youth academy and moving out on loan to Roma last season. Now it would seem that the next chapter of his career will take him to England, so who is Huijsen and how good is he?

How well has Dean Huijsen done in Serie A?

As previously noted, Huijsen came through the Juventus youth academy and made 70 appearances for the club’s youth teams. The defender only featured in one senior game for the “Old Lady” last season, before agreeing to join Roma on loan. And since then the young talent has impressed with the step up to senior football. “It was a bit surprising that Roma wanted him for the rest of the season,” said Transfermarkt Serie A expert Jatin Dietl when asked about Huijsen’s performances last season. “A previously agreed loan to Frosinone would have been the more logical step. Before that he only had a few games in Juventus’ second team in the third division. But who could say no if José Mourinho calls? But even under new coach Daniele De Rossi he still got minutes. He only played like two or three games from the beginning, but he was an important option from the bench. He made some defensive mistakes, but has also shown his ability to score goals.”

Of course, Bournemouth fans will be far more interested in the player Huijsen could one day become rather than the performances he showed last season at Roma. However, as Dietl notes, the young defender may have been more suited to a few more seasos in Italy before he was ready for a top Premier League side. “He was not (yet) at the level to be a starter for a club like Roma,” said Dietl. “But he has a lot of potential and extremely good technique for a central defender. Sometimes at Roma he even played in midfield. He’s very elegant but he lacks experience in one-v-one defensive situations and he also has to grow physically to adapt to the higher requirements of top level football. So I would say it would be an investment in the future, but if he develops well he can become a very good modern defender.”

 

​

Done Deal 29.07.2024 – 17:27
| source: Transfermarkt |
Reading Time: 5 mins

 

​

Most saves in La Liga 23/24 

The goalkeeper position at Chelsea has felt pretty unsettled ever since Thibaut Courtois left for Real Madrid in 2018. Before that it was the epitome of consistency with Petr Cech holding the No 1 gauntlet for 11 years. However, since then, it’s been a bit of a merry-go-round in the Chelsea net. The Blues broke the transfer record for a keeper in 2018, when they spent €80 million for Spaniard Kepa Arrizabalaga. A deal that never really worked out culminating in his infamous bust-up with manager Maurizio Sarri in the EFL Cup final in 2019, where he refused to be substituted. He still remains at the club but is expected to leave this summer, having spent last season on loan at Real Madrid. Saudi side Al-Ittihad are the current favourites for his signature.

K. Arrizabalaga

Goalkeeper

Chelsea

34 %

Al-Ittihad

Premier League

Saudi Pro League

Then came Edouard Mendy, who had a superb start, playing a key role in Chelsea’s Champions League triumph in 2021, but then faded and consistent mistakes led to him moving on to the Saudi Pro League. Robert Sánchez was brought in from Brighton for €23m last summer, only to lose his place early in the season to the young Djordje Petrovic, who is missing the Blues pre-season tour with an injury, and has actually also been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer. It now appears the West London club are going back into the market for a shot-stopper and are targeting 22-year-old Villarreal keeper Filip Jørgensen. 

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are closing in on the Jørgensen deal, with an agreement with Villarreal at its final stages. Reportedly Chelsea have improved their proposal after an initial bid worth €20m, and they’re now just discussing the structure of the deal with Villarreal, with Jørgensen himself already agreed on a contract. So who is the young Danish goalkeeper? How good has he been in Spain? And will his style suit Enzo Maresca’s way of playing? With Transfermarkt’s expert insight from Spain, we have you covered.  

As you can see in the graphic above, only Toulouse’s Guillaume Restes played more minutes in the top five leagues last season from all goalkeepers currently aged 22 or younger than Jørgensen. The Dane played 36 of Villarreal’s 38 La Liga matches last campaign. Iván Turmo is Transfermarkt’s Area manager in Spain, and believes Jørgensen possesses a lot of potential: “At 22, Jørgensen has a bright future ahead of him, as he is one of the youngest starting goalkeepers in the five major leagues.” Discussing his development and step into Spanish football Turmo continues, “The Nordic footballer was trained at Villarreal where he arrived at just 13 years of age.”

Indeed it’s been an unorthodox journey so far for the Dane. Having trained with Malmo youth in Sweden, he moved over to Spain and spent time with youth sides at Penza Arrabal and Mallorca before moving to the youth set up at Villarreal in 2015. And he may just have the exact attributes that new boss Maresca is searching for, as Turmo explains, “He is a goalkeeper with great potential and qualities between the posts. His height of 1.9 metres (6’3″), his excellent reflexes and his fantastic footwork make Jørgensen a keeper with impressive qualities.”

It’s been made clear that Maresca favours a keeper with very strong ability to play out with his feet – one of the reasons why Petrovic could potentially be out the door, and Jørgensen possesses just that. However there is more to his game. “In just one season, the goalkeeper made fans forget about his criticism to become one of the most important players at Villarreal.” Turmo tells us. “In fact, he finished the season as the goalkeeper with the most saves in the championship with a total of 143 in 36 games.” Former Tottenham keeper Paulo Gazzaniga got closest to Jørgensen’s 143 saves with 125 – 18 short of the Dane. He is expected to come into rival Sánchez for the No 1 shirt this season, and with time on his side at 22, Chelsea will be hoping to finally have some long-term security and stability between the sticks. 

 

​

Deal imminent 

“I will make my decision after the Euros,” Xavi Simons said when asked about his future at the European Championships this summer. Ultimately, the decision came down to two clubs for the Dutch playmaker. Should he remain at RB Leipzig for one more year or continue his career at Bayern Munich? Both clubs made enticing offers for the talented midfielder, who is still under contract at Paris Saint-Germain until 2027. Bayern offered a loan deal with an option to buy, and Leipzig offered another straight-up loan deal. And it now appears we have a decision. 

As reported by multiple outlets in Germany, Simons is now poised to return to Leipzig on loan for one more season. Transfermarkt understands that even though there is still some work to be done, a deal to keep Simons with the Red Bulls is now advanced. Bayern Munich, in fact, have already moved their attention away from Simons and instead are trying to win the race to sign French attacking midfielder Désiré Doué from Stade Rennais. 

How did Leipzig win the race for Simons? There are multiple factors. At first glance, it appears odd that PSG are willing to once again loan out a player that could help replace superstar Kylian Mbappé. Indeed, there is no doubt that Simons and PSG are at odds with one another, and another loan might just buy the French giants some time to fix that relationship. 

The other factor is Simons himself. The playmaker wants to keep his options open for the 2025/26 season. A loan-to-buy move to Bayern would have cemented his future for the next few years. By staying at Leipzig, Simons will have multiple options next summer, including a move to the Premier League. One of the clubs interested in Simons this summer had been Manchester United. But the Red Devils won’t be alone in their interest in Simons. Indeed, Simons recently switched agencies and is now represented by the English agent Darren Dein to help facilitate a potential transfer to the Premier League in 2025.

There is also no doubt that staying at Leipzig for now would help Simons’ development immensely. Simons had a breakout year for the Bundesliga club last season, scoring ten goals and 15 assists in 43 games across all competitions. Simons combined eight goals and 13 assists in 32, which ranked him 12th overall in the Bundesliga last season. Simons also displayed his playmaking ability with 43 smart passes, which ranked him second in the Bundesliga behind Florian Wirtz. Simons then followed this up with one goal and three assists at Euro 2024, helping the Netherlands reach the semifinal of the tournament. 

All those numbers are impressive. At the same time, there has also been a sense that Simons is far from the finished product. With that in mind, RB Leipzig are the perfect club to help him with that development for another season. The Simons team will have also noticed that the city rolled out the red carpet for him while playing with the Netherlands against France at Euro 2024. RB Leipzig had posters throughout the city with Simons’ face on it. Often, details decide a transfer, and who knows, maybe that support helped Leipzig get this deal across the line. 

 

​

Offers of €60m & €55m 

Désiré Doué is destined to spark a transfer battle this summer between some of European football’s biggest clubs. The 19-year-old is a phenomenal talent and he was monitored regularly last season during an impressive campaign with Rennes in Ligue 1. 

France has produced a phenomenal amount of talented players across the last decade and Doué is the latest star on the conveyor belt. Doué is a supremely skillful winger with the ability to beat defenders at will and he produces a calmness in possession that has attracted attention for major clubs. Bayern Munich and PSG are the frontrunners to sign Doué with both European giants reportedly submitting offers this week, while Premier League rivals Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United all have Doué on their shortlists this summer – but who will win the race for the 15th teenager in the world? 

How good is Désiré Doué?

Attackers are increasingly judged based on their statistics due to the prevalence and accessibility of stats. In terms of goals and assists, Doué’s numbers aren’t remarkable with just ten goal contributions – four goals and six assists – in 43 appearances last season. But Doué absolutely passes the eye test as anybody that’s watched him can identify that he’s a phenomenal talent. He’s reminiscent of Neymar or Jadon Sancho with how comfortable his ability to manipulate his body and with how comfortable he looks on the ball – he ranked 4th in Ligue 1 last season for dribbles per 90 (8.87). Doué is also naturally two footed and can play on either wing, although he predominantly played from his preferred position on the left for Rennes last season. 

“In Rennes, Désiré Doué is regarded as one of the best prospects in a while, probably on par with Ousmane Dembélé and Eduardo Camavinga,” Ronan Caroff, French area manager at Transfermarkt said. “He got his first pro game at 17 years and two months old, and since then has regularly shown great promise. Especially last winter, with two goals and five assists from December to February, when he got a lot of trust from newly appointed manager Julien Stephan. He’s creative, agile with the ball and possesses the versatility to play in various attacking positions. He ticks a lot of interesting boxes. Of course, at his age, there are still some parts to iron out, like he might keep the ball too much and that ends sometimes in a bad pass, but the scale is leaning to the pros rather than the cons.”

How much will Désiré Doué cost?

Doué is Rennes’ prized asset with his market value standing at €30m after it doubled across last season. While there’s an acceptance that Doué will depart this summer, Rennes will hold out for a fee in excess of his market value and will hope to spark a bidding war as there’s multiple interested parties. As the graphic below illustrates, Rennes have developed some exceptional talent in recent years with Jérémy Doku’s move to Manchester City last summer for €60m was their record sale.

 “Rennes won’t play in European competition next season for the first time in six years,” Caroff added. “Team is not in financial trouble, but for sure now their main talents will aim for higher grounds. With two years left on his contract, buying teams can’t expect a bargain. Jérémy Doku’s sale last season for €60m probably set a precedent for Rennes and they will aim for a big fee, especially as there’s lots of interest.” In June, Rennes president Olivier Cloarec admitted that Doué was attracting interest, admitting: “Obviously, we’d like to keep him, but we know he’s been followed for a long time by the biggest European clubs, and that won’t change this summer. I’m not talking about numbers; we’ll see based on the offers and the market,”

Who are favourites to sign Désiré Doué?

PSG remain favourites to sign Doué with recent reports in France suggesting that the Rennes winger has informed club chiefs of his preference to join the Parisian club. It’s been widely reported this week that PSG have submitted a €60m offer for Doué this week, which is understood to meet Rennes’ asking price. The Ligue 1 champions need to replace Kylian Mbappé after his move to Real Madrid and Doué would add to their impressive collection of French attacking talent, alongside Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Randal Kolo Muani.

While PSG appear in the driving seat, Bayern Munich are also firmly in the race for the winger and it’s been suggested that the Bundesliga have also submitted a bid of €55m plus bonuses. Bayern are embracing a new era under the guidance of Vincent Kompany and they’ve already added an exciting French winger this summer with Michael Olise arriving from Crystal Palace. There remains interest from English Premier League clubs in the Rennes star with Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United are linked earlier this summer but no offers have arrived yet from those clubs.

 

​

Potnetial record sale for Gunners 

It’s 20 April 2022. Emile Smith Rowe has just scored a superb placed finish from the edge of the box in a 4-2 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. His tenth Premier League goal of the season. The chant of ‘[Bukayo] Saka and Emile Smith Rowe’ to the tune of ‘Rockin’ all over the world’ by Status Quo rings around the away end at Stamford Bridge. If you had told Arsenal fans on that day that in two years time their no 10 would be leaving to go to Fulham for €41m, they simply would not have believed you. However, after an injury-plagued couple of seasons at the Emirates, that now looks very much the case, with David Ornstein claiming that Fulham are close to reaching an agreement with the Gunners, with Smith Rowe himself reportedly keen on the move to get regular game-time. 

During Arsenal’s infamous mid-season trip to Dubai last January, manager Mikel Arteta actually apologised for the lack of game-time he gave to Smith Rowe. “We know he’s got incredible qualities and we’re really happy to have him, we have to give him minutes,” the Spaniard berated. A few months later after Smith Rowe had started and earned man-of-the-match in a 2-0 win against Luton, Arteta said, “I love Emile Smith Rowe, he is a joy to watch.” So why hasn’t it worked out for the 23-year-old Englishmen and why are Arsenal willing to let their Hale End academy product leave the club this summer?

Why has it not worked out for Emile Smith Rowe at Arsenal?

When we look at the graphic above, we can see that after two very strong campaigns in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, when he really broke into Arteta’s team and made his name, the last two seasons have been very disappointing. Whilst other factors have of course come into play, the main reason for that drop off comes down to one thing – injuries. Over the last two seasons alone, Smith Rowe has missed 31 Arsenal games through injury. And a persistent groin issue has been undermining his career from an early age. According to Transfermarkt’s statistics, he has missed 137 games through injury in the last 5 seasons – that’s actually more than the 115 appearances he’s made for the Arsenal first-team.

Back in 2021, former Liverpool defender turned pundit Jamie Carragher said, “He’s the best player I’ve seen in the Premier League running with the ball. Running with both feet, the pace he goes at, it’s just a joy to watch when he’s moving with the ball.” That dribbling ability combined with the final product he was showing at the time earned Smith Rowe an England call up in November 2021, and he scored in his second cap against San Marino. The world looked like it was at his feet. However, as Arsenal have improved and begun challenging Manchester City for the Premier League title, a player with Smith Rowe’s injury record just simply cannot be relied on. Despite still being a fan favourite, it could ultimately bring an end to his 13 year stay at his boyhood club.

Why are Arsenal willing to let Emile Smith Rowe leave?

Over the past four and half seasons since Arteta has been in charge, Arsenal have spent €706.8m. In that same period they recouped just €143.6m from player sales, leaving them with a net spend of €563.2m. Arsenal’s hierarchy have done a good job in recent years of getting players on huge salaries off the wage bill such as Mesut Özil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. This, along with targeting payment structures which have allowed Arsenal to spread payments for players over longer periods, have enabled the club to spend big.

However, the club are now at the stage of their development and project in which they need to start being financially sustainable and balancing the books by getting reasonable fees for players on the fringes. Offering pure profit as an academy graduate, the sale of Smith Rowe may just be a sacrifice the club have to make. A ruthless decision, but perhaps the correct one given the trajectory of the project at the club. The mooted fee of €41m would make Smith Rowe Arsenal’s record sale, eclipsing the €38m Liverpool paid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017. His versatility to play off the left-wing or in central attacking roles will be seen as a huge plus-point to Marco Silva. If Fulham can keep him fit, they might just have a bargain on their hands, but the main fear will continue to be Smith-Rowe’s injury record.

 

​

Set to sign 

Bournemouth are set to continue their impressive summer spending spree with the imminent arrival of Juventus central defender Dean Huijsen. Following the arrival of Luis Sinisterra, Enes Ünal and Alex Paulsen, the 19-year-old talent will reportedly take the Premier League club’s spending in the current transfer window to around €60 million in total. According to Fabrizio Romano, Huijsen will make the move from Turin to the English south coast in a deal worth around €18m, with Juventus hoping to profit from sell-on clauses in the future. 

D. Huijsen

Centre-Back

Juventus

90 %

Bournemouth

Serie A

Premier League

Huijsen will be no stranger to well-versed Premier League fans, having already been linked with moves to Liverpool and Newcastle in 2024 alone. Born in Amsterdam but having grown up in Spain, the young talent has made a name for himself after coming through the Juventus youth academy and moving out on loan to Roma last season. Now it would seem that the next chapter of his career will take him to England, so who is Huijsen and how good is he?

How well has Dean Huijsen done in Serie A?

As previously noted, Huijsen came through the Juventus youth academy and made 70 appearances for the club’s youth teams. The defender only featured in one senior game for the “Old Lady” last season, before agreeing to join Roma on loan. And since then the young talent has impressed with the step up to senior football. “It was a bit surprising that Roma wanted him for the rest of the season,” said Transfermarkt Serie A expert Jatin Dietl when asked about Huijsen’s performances last season. “A previously agreed loan to Frosinone would have been the more logical step. Before that he only had a few games in Juventus’ second team in the third division. But who could say no if José Mourinho calls? But even under new coach Daniele De Rossi he still got minutes. He only played like two or three games from the beginning, but he was an important option from the bench. He made some defensive mistakes, but has also shown his ability to score goals.”

Of course, Bournemouth fans will be far more interested in the player Huijsen could one day become rather than the performances he showed last season at Roma. However, as Dietl notes, the young defender may have been more suited to a few more seasos in Italy before he was ready for a top Premier League side. “He was not (yet) at the level to be a starter for a club like Roma,” said Dietl. “But he has a lot of potential and extremely good technique for a central defender. Sometimes at Roma he even played in midfield. He’s very elegant but he lacks experience in one-v-one defensive situations and he also has to grow physically to adapt to the higher requirements of top level football. So I would say it would be an investment in the future, but if he develops well he can become a very good modern defender.”

 

​

Done Deal 24.07.2024 – 22:04
| source: Transfermarkt |
Reading Time: 3 mins

 

​

Five-man shortlist 

Having just won their fourth, consecutive Premier League title and their sixth in the last seven seasons, it’s perfectly understandable why Manchester City don’t seem to be in any great rush to buy new players this summer. To date, Pep Guardiola has only seen one player join his squad in the form of Troyes winger Savinho for little more than €25 million. But that may be about to change if one of the club’s most senior players is allowed to leave in the coming weeks. 

According to multiple reports, Man City may be set to lose goalkeeper Ederson to some serious interest from the middle east. Both Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad have been heavily linked with a move for the 30-year-old shot-stopper and are willing to pay around €48 million to sign the Brazil international this summer. Having played over 300 games and won multiple titles with Man City, now would seem like an odd time to let their prized goalkeeper move on but when asked about the future of his keeper, Guardiola admitted that Ederson had earned the right to “look elsewhere” for the next chapter in his career. So if Man city are willing to part ways with Ederson this summer, who could the Premier League giants bring in to replace the notable gap between the posts? Let’s take a look at the options. 

First on our list is none other Euro 2024 star Giorgi Mamardashvili. Although Georgia couldn’t make it past eventual winners Spain in the knock-out stages of the tournament, their goalkeeper won a huge amount of praise for his impressive performances between the posts. So much so that his market value was increased by €10m to €45m after the competition. Naturally, Valencia fans will know all about Mamardashvili’s talent, having watched him make the No.1 spot his own at the LaLiga club over the course of the last three seasons. But perhaps he’s now ready to ultimately step up and join Man City next season. 

Another goalkeeper that could prove to be a wise long-term investment is none other than Porto star Diogo Costa. Like the aforementioned Georgian star, Costa was also a player that shined at Euro 2024, but has also made a name for himself through multiple stand-out performances for the Portuguese club in the Champions League. Typically considered to be one of the most promising keepers in the world, Costa would make an ideal successor to Ederson if Man City are resigned to losing their keeper. 

Away from the up-and-coming contingent of top-class keepers, Man City could try something entirely different by making a move for Paris Saint-Germain star Gianluigi Donnarumma. Once heralded as a world class star in the making, Donnarumma has instead seen his development plateau in the French capital. Reports in England have linked the Italian international with a move to Man City and while he may be something of a liability when compared to the stalwart consistency of Ederson, Donnarumma could prove to be a crude signing if he were to get back to the kind of performances he showed in Serie A not that long ago. 

The last keeper on today’s shortlist that Man City may wish to consider making an offer for if Ederson were to leave is none other than Borussia Dortmund shot-stopper Gregor Kobel. The 26-year-old talent has long been one of the Bundesliga club’s top performers and was crucial to their defensive drive to last season’s Champions League final. Still extremely young for a keeper, Kobel is already considered by many to be the best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga. And considering Man City’s tendency to pluck young players from the German top-flight, a move for the Dortmund keeper would make a lot of sense. 

Last but certainly not least on our list of candidates to replace Ederson is none other than his own team mate, Stefan Ortega. It’s rare that top-class goalkeepers have two outstanding shot-stoppers on the books but in the German talent the Premier League side have a player more than capable of stepping into the No.1 top. Ortega made 20 appearances in all competitions last season, including vital Champions League clashes and crucial league ties such as the 1-1 draw with Liverpool and the 0-0 clash against Arsenal. There, the keeper proved that he was good enough to step into Ederson’s shoes and be the keeper Man City may look to rely on next season.