Sold in the summer? The most valuable Premier League stars struggling for minutes this season

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Núñez fourth 

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The Premier League is the richest league in the world and as such it typically hordes many of the best players in the world. Few need reminding of which big English clubs are the most active in the transfer window every season, but with an overall league value of €11.8 billion the Premier League’s net worth is higher than the combined values of LaLiga and the Bundesliga. And that’s not because the top stars in the English top flight are valued higher than their counterparts in Spain, Germany or elsewhere in Europe. 

Indeed, few leagues have top-class talents sitting on benches and rarely picking up game time quite like the Premier League. Whether that’s simply due to the sheer number of top players at each club ferociously fighting for a starting role at their respective clubs or other factors entirely, there are a number of players with very large market values that may be considering their future in the summer, following a season in which they struggled for game time. So who are these players and will they be making demands to move clubs next season? Let’s find out. 

When we rule out players that missed much of this season with serious, long-term injuries, we can quickly compile a list of the most valuable players to have played less than 50% of the available game time in the Premier League to date. In fifteenth place is Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey, who continues to be a useful player for Unai Emery’s side but has clearly struggled for a starting role at the club this season. He sits just below no less than six big stars who all share a market value of €35m. 

In two cases we have young players that are still making their way at their respective clubs, in Archie Gray at Tottenham and Harvey Elliot at Liverpool. In both circumstances, these young English stars should pick up more game time next season and will not be for sale in the summer. However, that can’t be entirely ruled out for the other four players. Whether it be Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee, Arsenal midfielder-turned-striker Mikel Merino or Manchester City pair Jack Grealish and Matheus Nunes, each of these players were signed for significant fees and are largely considered benchwarmers at their clubs. And some could very easily be moved on in 2025.

In eighth place we have Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori. The Italian star has a market value of €40m and, admittedly, has missed nine league games with injuries. However, Mikel Arteta has used the 22-year-old talent sparingly this season, with Calafiori playing less than 50% of the game time available to him in the games he was fit and able to play for Arsenal. Whether that improves next season remains to be seen, with Arsenal’s centre back positions locked down by Gabriel and William Saliba, while young talent Myles Lewis-Skelly continues to make a strong case to be the club’s first-choice left back going forward. 

Above the Italian defender are two players worth €45m that could be sold this summer. In Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku and Liverpool goalscorer Diogo Jota, we have two Premier League stars of unquestionable quality but for different reasons remain on the periphery of their team’s starting XI. Nkunku seems to be outside of Enzo Maresca’s main plans for the Stamford Bridge squad, while Jota has been relegated to a spot on the bench as Arne Slot has favoured other attacking players like Luis Díaz and Dominik Szoboszlai. 

Curiously, Jota is joined by two other Liverpool stars in Curtis Jones and Darwin Núñez. Both players have an impressive market value of €50m, but could equally find themselves considering moves to other clubs in the summer. The Uruguay striker has been heavily linked with a departure from Anfield for some time now, due to his time spent on the bench. But Jones may also be considering his options, having started just 13 of Liverpool’s league games this season and clearly harbouring ambitions of being a starter for England one day. 

At the top of the list we have a three-way tie with each player being in a very different situation at their respective club. In Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal clearly have a player that will be playing much more first team football next season and needn’t worry about him moving clubs in the summer. But, in stark contrast, Man City star Jérémy Doku has managed just seven goals and assists in the Premier League this season and may struggle for a starting role in Pep Guardiola’s team next season. Similarly, despite suffering from multiple injuries this season, Amadou Onana faces tough competition at Aston Villa and may struggle to reclaim his starting spot in Emery’s side next season when he does get back to full fitness.