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EPL The Premier League summer transfer window might be shut but the drama doesn’t end there. There’s a men’s World Cup taking place next year and quite a few storylines are already bubbling away and vying for your attention. The following list of players with particularly intriguing plotlines is in no particular order and by no means exhaustive. In the eye of the beholder, there might be players missing but that is an opportunity for you to add your own names to the list. Disagree with a pick? Is there a player who has been overlooked? Then please let your voice be heard. The comment section is waiting for you. Advertisement But before you get there, here are 25 players whose storylines might well consume you for the next nine months. Did you think the Alexander Isak saga was over? It is only just beginning. Liverpool landed their record-breaking £125m signing on deadline day and now all — or at least some — eyes are on Isak to see if this move works out. Most believe it will but plenty are hoping it won’t. How will Isak handle that and the pressure of leading the line for the reigning champions? We don’t have to wait very long to find out. Liverpool face Burnley at Turf Moor on September 14. Marc Guehi came as close as he possibly could to joining Liverpool in the transfer window, with the move falling through on deadline day as Crystal Palace failed to sign a replacement centre-back. Can you be welcomed back to a club you never left? Relieved Crystal Palace fans will tell you yes. But what happens next? The England international is in his final year of his contract at Selhurst Park. Will he sign a pre-contract agreement with Liverpool next year? Will he join them in the summer on a free transfer? Will somebody else swoop in and take him at the end of the season? How will that yo-yo Monday affect him? One date for your diary is when Liverpool travel to south London to play Palace on September 27. Staying with Palace, their new loan signing Christantus Uche has gone from the fifth tier of Spanish football to the Premier League in just two years. The Nigeria international rose from third-tier side Ceuta, where he was a holding midfielder, to La Liga team Getafe, who played him up front. He scored on his Getafe debut and never looked back. Now he’s about to take on England’s top flight. It will be interesting to see how the 22-year-old’s versatility is utilised by Oliver Glasner. Advertisement Raheem Sterling is not part of Chelsea’s plans this term but he is the club’s highest earner (£300, 000 per week) with two years left on his contract. Sterling, now 30, was up for sale or a loan move this summer, but a worthy opportunity has failed to materialise. A year ago, the winger joined Arsenal on loan and went on to make 28 appearances for the north Londoners. He has been training away from Enzo Maresca’s first-team squad so far this season, so his future does not look like it will be at Chelsea. The question remains: if not Stamford Bridge, then where? James Trafford usurped Ederson, Manchester City’s long-established No 1, and started all three games of the season so far, but his future looks uncertain at Manchester City. His manager Pep Guardiola has just signed Champions League winner Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain for £26m, one million less than what City paid Burnley to reclaim their former academy prospect. Let’s watch this plot thicken because Donnarumma didn’t sign for City to sit on the bench or act as back-up — but neither did Trafford. Whoever gets the nod to go in goal when City host rivals Manchester United at the Etihad on September 14 is going to be the protagonist of the first subchapter of this novel of a storyline. The goalkeeper theme continues with World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez and a call that never came. The Argentinian waited around Bodymoor Heath, Aston Villa’s training ground, on deadline day, hoping Manchester United would request his services. Martinez, 32, even had an international team-mate (Lisandro Martinez) advocating for him at Carrington — but the window shut and Martinez headed off on international duty as a Villa player. United instead signed Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp. The 23-year-old Belgian will compete with Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir to be first choice, a battle Martinez would have relished being part of. There were tears from Martinez at the final home game of last season at Villa Park, with the goalkeeper looking emotional as he waved to fans as he walked off the pitch. Could he soon be walking back onto it in a Villa shirt? And how will United’s goalkeepers fare? Advertisement Where is Jadon Sancho? He’s at Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United after being on loan at Chelsea the season after he was on loan at his old club Borussia Dortmund. Are you still with me? I know some of you are desperate to watch Sancho clean up in the Premier League like he was supposed to. It hasn’t quite gone to plan since he left Dortmund and returned to England when signing for United in 2021. But could Birmingham, the home of his former Dortmund team-mate Jude Bellingham, be the place to reboot Sancho’s career? Harvey Elliott, who left boyhood club Liverpool on deadline day to also join Villa loan, will be right there alongside Sancho for the journey as both players try to squeeze their way into the thinking of England manager Thomas Tuchel. The Italy international is not a regular left-back, he’s a cool left-back. If you got that subtle Mean Girls movie reference, thank you. Now, back to the innovative Riccardo Calafiori. The long-haired Roman strides into the opposition half like an inside forward and the feeling among Arsenal fans is that if he can stay fit, then he has team of the season energy about him. The one worry is that the well from which he is wishing could dry up as it has in the past, with Calafiori having been in full flight before only for injuries to ground him. Four assists in three games and a new hairstyle to boot, Jack Grealish loves being an Everton player and the fans are besotted with him. Is he their new James Rodriguez? Maybe he’s even better. After Everton’s 3-2 win over Wolves, David Moyes said that Grealish he is even better than he expected him to be. Grealish’s past struggles for minutes at City already look so far behind him. He is leading by example for Everton and will be back in thousands of fantasy football teams because of it. Grealish looks like Grealish again. Having achieved what he has in his career at nearly 30, he doesn’t need to prove anything but looks hungry to make a statement at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and get back in the England frame. It is not all about England but another player who will be trying to showboat his way back into the national team is Phil Foden. Can the ‘Stockport Iniesta’ wrestle back his status as one of the league’s best players? Speaking earlier this summer, he said the hunger inside him had returned and he was keen on proving people wrong after a difficult 2024-25 season. He was named the PFA Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Player of the Year in 2023-24 as he scored 19 goals in the league. Yet last season, he failed to reach his own lofty heights as City ended the season trophyless. This campaign has not gone to plan so far, with Foden having featured for just 15 minutes in his team’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Foden, 25, will hope he can not just return to full fitness but most importantly to doing what he does best. Advertisement Kobbie Mainoo was an unused substitute for Manchester United’s first two games of the season against Arsenal and Fulham, but he did feature for 45 minutes in the win over Burnley. Despite that second-half appearance in a 3-2 victory at Old Trafford, his career there seems to be at an impasse. The 20-year-old England international was open to leaving his boyhood club before the window closed and they were open to letting him go. It feels a far cry from the exciting days of his breakout season, doesn’t it? His direct rival for a place in United’s midfield is club captain Bruno Fernandes — and with that, it looks like Mainoo’s struggle for game time under Ruben Amorim will continue, especially with no European football to play. These might be the final months of the academy graduate’s United career but Amorim’s squad contains just four senior central midfielders, so don’t rule out a Mainoo resurgence. Late is the hour in which this winger chooses to appear. I’m not telling you that movie reference. If you know, you know. What I will tell you is to keep an eye on Fulham’s new club-record signing Kevin. Arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk, the ex-Palmeiras winger signed a five-year deal with the option of another 12 months that could keep him in London through to 2031. Fulham have a habit of leaving their business until late in the window and a deal was agreed between the two clubs which surpasses the £34million ($43. 7m) Fulham paid to sign Emile Smith-Rowe from Arsenal last season. The 22-year-old Brazilian arrives at Craven Cottage just as Willian, his compatriot, who loved using west London as his stomping ground, leaves. Kevin will be hoping to emulate the former Chelsea man. Young Arsenal phenom Max Dowman is already proving to be a player Mikel Arteta is not afraid to throw into the mix. When Arsenal were cruising along against Leeds United, Arteta handed Dowman, then aged 15 years and 235 days, 15 minutes of fame. Dowman’s moment in the sun will not stop there. He became the second-youngest player to ever play in the Premier League after team-mate Ethan Nwaneri. He won Arsenal a penalty in that cameo at the Emirates and was also given his second appearance in the closing stages at Anfield as Arsenal trailed 1-0 to Liverpool before the international break. How Arteta manages Dowman’s minutes is going to be interesting, as will his development, which we are all watching play out. The teen has just been included in Arsenal’s squad for the Champions League too and has until December to make himself the first 15-year-old to play in the competition. A player capable of the incredible, Antoine Semenyo showed exactly what he was about on the opening night of the season. Two fast breakaway goals and two instinctive finishes to draw Bournemouth back level in a game against Liverpool that they went on to lose 4-2. It was a night when Semenyo had to report racist abuse from the stands to referee Anthony Taylor. The alleged incident took place in the first half, with a man later arrested by Merseyside Police. In the second half, Semenyo blew Liverpool away in two golden moments. Advertisement The 25-year-old’s story is one of overcoming rejection again and again. After being released by Crystal Palace at age 15, he walked away from the sport but something brought him back. And the two-footed freestyler is not done proving all the clubs who rejected him (Arsenal, Tottenham, Fulham and Millwall included) wrong. The former Liverpool captain has had a topsy-turvy couple of years since leaving Anfield in 2023. England never lost faith in him and he remains in the national team, but can he do enough this season to keep his place? The 35-year-old felt destined for a return to Sunderland as he left Ajax in Amsterdam but a move to the capital beckoned instead. Brentford have a player who was integral to Liverpool’s success under Jurgen Klopp, someone who never stopped unless he really could run no more. His leadership qualities will likely make him central to Brentford’s efforts to kickstart a new era under Keith Andrews this season. Now we all know what happened with Rasmus Hojlund when too much pressure was placed on his shoulders at a young age and at a huge club. So, how will Benjamin Sesko fare? The 22-year-old striker joined United from RB Leipzig in August in a deal worth €76. 5million (£66. 4m; $89. 1m) plus €8. 5m in add-ons. Are United again being too dependent on a young No 9 to solve their problems up front? Former United player Louis Saha thinks so. “The problems identified over the last three or four years (at United) is having the responsibility as a No 9 or as a forward when you’re young, ” he told The Athletic FC podcast. “You’re still learning, you’re making mistakes. ” Sesko has the attributes to succeed but the pressure is already stacked on him to show them. Granit Xhaka walked through the doors at Sunderland and lifted a fanbase already high on life and eagerly awaiting their first Premier League season since their relegation in 2017. Sunderland fans had to endure eight seasons out of the top flight, which featured four years in League One, but now they are back and have this warrior of a defensive midfielder to have at it for them as they fight to steer clear of a return to the Championship. They are currently sixth in the league on six points after two wins and one defeat, so things already bode well. Xhaka, 32, is loving his return to a league he featured in 225 times for Arsenal. Before going off on international duty with Switzerland, he assisted Wilson Isidor’s winning header at home to Brentford. Expect more of the same when the Premier League returns. Can Chris Wood keep up his ruthless scoring streak? Last season, he scored 20 goals in 36 league games for Nottingham Forest and was one of the most reliable goalscorers in the league. He is already up and running for this campaign with two goals in three matches. Advertisement The New Zealander, 33, remains integral to Forest, he proved that when he grabbed a brace in Forest’s opening day win over Brentford. He was unable to add to his tally in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace or the 3-0 loss to West Ham United – but give him a chance and, as he so often proved last season, he will almost always take it. West Ham’s recruitment team had been scouting El Hadji Malick Diouf for a year before the club signed him from Czech side Slavia Prague for £19m. The exciting left-back, 20, was watched by club scouts as Senegal beat England in a friendly in June. He kept Bukayo Saka quiet and West Ham knew they had seen more than enough. Graham Potter acted swiftly by making Diouf his club’s first signing of the summer back in July. He has been installed as West Ham’s starting left-back and has the talent to be one of the league’s best. He already has two assists in three games, making the £19m the east Londoners paid for him already look like a steal. Did you think I wasn’t going to include the man who holds the record for being the second-youngest and oldest player to score a Premier League goal? Milner continues to Benjamin Button his way around the league and guess what — this is the season he can break Gareth Barry’s record (653) for all-time appearances. Milner, 39, is currently on 640. Guess who Brighton & Hove Albion play in 13 games’ time? Liverpool. That’s right, if Milner appears in every game until then, he will equal Barry’s record at Anfield in December. Either way, his return to Merseyside will be a warm reception for the much-loved midfielder, who puts in a shift no matter where he is on the pitch. This season, he has taken on the No 20 shirt at Brighton in honour of his late friend and former team-mate Diogo Jota, whose game-controller celebration he performed after scoring a penalty against Manchester City last weekend. When the window shut, Jorgen Strand Larsen remained a Wolverhampton Wanderers player. The 25-year-old Norwegian had informed the club that he wanted to move but no deal emerged despite Newcastle having two offers, worth £50m and £55m, turned down by Wolves. Strand Larsen spent last season on loan at Molineux from Spanish club Celta Vigo and his transfer was made permanent for €27m in July. Wolves did not want to double their money but rather have a striker of his ilk to look to as they sit bottom of the table. Advertisement Strand Larsen started both of Wolves’ first two Premier League games this season and came off the bench to score twice and give Vitor Pereira’s side a 3-2 win over West Ham in the Carabao Cup second round on Tuesday. He has made 41 appearances for Wolves, scoring 16 goals and providing five assists. Wolves are hoping he can continue to add to that tally in the coming months. They certainly need him to. One of football’s most fashionable players, and that is not up for debate, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has looked to Leeds United as the runway to restore order in his footballing career after a scorching hot and then freezing-cold time at Everton. DCL, as he is known, is a proud Yorkshireman who has returned to his native county to reclaim the spark that makes him great. Wearing the No 9 at Elland Road will bring pressure for a player whose career has been blighted by injuries at the worst possible times. Now he has the whole of Leeds behind him and when his first goal arrives, they will all hope that is just the start of his restart. We know exactly what Yoane Wissa is going to bring to Newcastle: there will be goals. The ex-Brentford forward is Premier League-proven and it shouldn’t take him long to show it at St James’ Park. As for Nick Woltemade, who Newcastle signed from Stuttgart for a club-record deal of £65m plus £4. 3m in potential add-ons, we are all watching and waiting to see how he takes to English football. While there has been sadness and anger up on Tyneside over Isak’s departure, there is hope and excitement too. Fans can’t wait to see what Woltemade is made of.   One player who has returned to the Premier League this summer is Joao Palhinha. The former Fulham midfielder has joined Tottenham on loan from Bayern Munich. The deal for the 30-year-old Portuguese includes an option to make the transfer permanent for €30m (£25. 9m, $34. 2m). When he moved to Bayern — a year after an original deal to the German giants broke down — it never quite worked out with Tuchel gone and Vincent Kompany in charge. At his best, Palhinha is an anchorman, the rope holding things together as the pendulum swings, trying as he might to break up opposition attacks. His qualities are robust and rugged, and it will be interesting to see how the tough tackler leaves his mark on Spurs because he will almost certainly leave it on opposition players when launching in to win the ball back. Advertisement When Kyle Walker signed a two-year deal with Burnley at the start of July, it felt like a move to suit all parties. It pulled the curtain down on Walker’s Manchester City career in which he played 317 times and was integral as they won 17 trophies in that time, including six Premier League titles and the 2022-23 Champions League. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Milan, where he made 16 appearances, but now he is back playing in the Premier League and has already started Burnley’s first three games. Walker’s move to Turf Moor means he is reunited with former Tottenham team-mate Scott Parker, the manager who led Burnley back to the top flight as runners-up to Leeds, with both teams reaching 100 points. Parker’s side impressively conceded just 16 goals across 46 games but the league above is leagues above, and they have already shipped six. It will be interesting to see if Walker, at 35, has the ability to defend and attack with that same lung-busting energy that made the England international’s career such a success. (Top photos: Benjamin Sesko, left, and Phil Foden; Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Caoimhe O'Neill is a Staff Writer for The Athletic who spent her first three years here covering Liverpool's men's, women's and academy teams. Since moving to London in summer 2023, Caoimhe now covers the Premier League and Women's Super League more broadly. Before joining The Athletic, the University of Liverpool graduate worked as a Senior Football Writer at the Liverpool Echo. Follow Caoimhe on Twitter @Caoimhe Sport