Players you want to see in the Premier League

Looking over the squads of the three relegated teams, we identify a few players that caught the eye with their displays this season. Norwich, Bournemouth and Watford are still licking their wounds in their way to Championship, while the other 17 clubs are eyeing for some of their best players. 

Manchester City have already made the first move, signing Nathan Ake from the Cherries. Who are going to be next names to be strayed from the Championship path? Here are some players we would love to see in the 2020 / 2021 season of the Premier League!

Emi Buendia and the full-backs

Although they finished at the bottom of the table, between all the three relegated clubs, the Canaries have probably the most enticing players for the top-flight teams. No less than five young players are on the radar of the bigger clubs and all of them have shown they have Premier League potential.

Cantwell and Pukki may have stolen the spotlight in the start of the last season, but Buendia has proved his talent throughout the campaign. His ingenuity in the midfield and the precision of his through-passing have brought him a number of seven assists.

Aged only 23 and estimated by transfermarkt.de at a bit over €14m, the Argentine’s name will be found on the transfer rumours’ list pretty often this window. West Ham is the latest club to have shown interest, but there are also other clubs that could fit him: Aston Villa (if Grealish departs), Southampton (where he could be played in the centre of the 4-4-2 system, alongside Romeu; Hojbjerg is on the move here as well) or maybe Everton.

Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons also make the case for a move, but probably Norwich wants to keep at least one of them, in their bid to return to the Premier League next season.

Aged 22 and 20 respectively, Lewis and Aarons could easily find their way in an attack-minded side from the top division. Again, West Ham could be a possible destination, as they have had issues with the right-back position. If Chilwell departs Leicester then a left-back will be desperately needed at King Power Stadium as well.

The underrated Josh King

We were all mesmerized two seasons ago by Callum Wilson’s performance, but too little has been said about his partner up-front. Josh King possesses all of Wilson’s skills and maybe has a couple of extra qualities.

The 28-year old Norwegian is the player with the highest number of goal involvements for Bournemouth this season – 6 goals and 4 assists – even though C. Wilson has had 900 more minutes of game-time under his belt.

While the likes of David Brooks or Junior Stanislas are on the lips of many transfer journalists, I think Josh King could also enjoy a move from Vitality Stadium.

King can be played both as a winger or a striker and is great on penalty duties. With over 150 appearances in the Premier League and closing in on 50 goals scored, he looks appealing for top-flight clubs in search of a proven, experienced attacker. 

Roy Hodgson is very likely to lose Wilfried Zaha for the next season and Crystal Palace will be obliged to find a replacement for their best man. The Eagles will need a skilful player on the left-hand side, as well as in front of goal. I am sure Josh King would tick all the boxes here.

Is Sarr suited for Watford? Is he suited for Championship?

In spite of playing all but 8 minutes from the restart to the end of the Premier League season, the Senegalese winger failed to score a single goal for Watford in the interval. Truth be told, Watford isn’t that much of a scoring machine.

However, Ismaila Sarr’s brilliant performance against Liverpool back in February has taught us what the 22-year old can do. He may have not been getting the chances he wanted or he may have been too deeply involved in the defensive play of his side, leaving him with less energy at the other end of the pitch.

No other player of the three relegated teams has a bigger market value than Sarr’s €24.5m, as per transfermarkt. He was linked by the media with a move to Arsenal, but the latest rumours say… Liverpool? Anyway, I’d definitely enjoy seeing him in a more attacking team next season, be it on a newly promoted side or a Big Six club.