Players who should leave
Whenever transfer season rolls around, the focus is invariably on which players Premier League clubs should try to sign. But player sales are also an important part of any window, and that’s we’ve focused on here – this slideshow presents 20 stars who should leave their current employers before the start of next term.
Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool)
Clyne spent the second half of last season on loan at Bournemouth and sealing a permanent departure from Anfield should be his next priority. Trent Alexander-Arnold is now firmly established as Liverpool’s principal right-back, and there’s little point in the former Southampton defender seeing out the final year of his contract on Merseyside.
It’s unclear whether Bournemouth will be back in for Clyne this summer; regardless, there are several Premier League clubs who would be improved by his presence in the squad.
Helder Costa (Wolves)
Costa was a regular starter in the first few months of last term, with Nuno fielding him on the right of a front three. However, a mid-season switch to a 3-5-2 formation reinvigorated a Wolves team that had become a little predictable, and Costa was one of the players who lost out.
Nuno is unlikely to move away from the Raul Jimenez-Diogo Jota strike partnership in 2019/20, which could leave Costa facing another year as a back-up option. Playing week in, week out should be the 25-year-old’s priority if he wants to move up the Portuguese pecking order ahead of the European Championship.
David de Gea (Manchester United)
A few chinks in De Gea’s armour appeared towards the end of the last season, when the Spanish shot-stopper made a series of uncharacteristic – and costly – errors. He remains one of the world’s best goalkeepers, though, which is precisely why he should seek a move away from Old Trafford this summer.
United still seem as far away as ever from winning their first post-Alex Ferguson Premier League title, and a player of De Gea’s talent deserves to be playing in the Champions League – something Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side won’t be doing next season. He may stand to gain financially by moving on a free transfer in 2020, but it would be better for his career for the ex-Atletico Madrid man to make the leap this summer.
Danny Drinkwater (Chelsea)
It’s easy to be critical of transfer dealings with the benefit of hindsight, but Drinkwater’s £30m switch to Chelsea in 2017 looked unwise even at the time. The former Leicester midfielder played a bit-part role under Antonio Conte but didn’t even reach those modest heights in 2018/19, only appearing in a single matchday squad in the Premier League.
A key cog in Leicester’s title-winning team, Drinkwater’s energy and passing range would suit a host of mid-table clubs. For the sake of his career, the 29-year-old must move on this summer.
Ben Gibson (Burnley)
There aren’t many easier Premier League-related tasks than predicting Burnley’s starting XI at 2pm every Saturday. Sean Dyche is very much one for the tried and trusted, particularly in the heart of the backline where Ben Mee and James Tarkowski rule supreme.
Gibson found that to his cost last term, playing just 63 minutes in the top flight. An early-season hernia didn’t help, but if it looks like first-team football will be equally hard to come by in 2019/20, the ex-Middlesbrough defender should consider cutting his ties.
Dan Burn (Brighton)
As far as we know, Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy won’t be spending the summer together, but it’s safe to say that they’ll be side by side again come the start of next season. Leon Balogun is next in line should one of the two central defensive mainstays be unavailable, which leaves Burn facing a season on the sidelines.
The former Fulham stopper joined Brighton from Wigan last summer, only to be immediately loaned back to the Latics until January. A similar arrangement elsewhere in the Championship – or back at the DW Stadium – should be on his agenda for 2019/20.
Joe Hart (Burnley)
With Tom Heaton and Nick Pope both sidelined, it made sense for Hart to join Burnley from Manchester City last summer. Yet the former England international failed to impress, and it was no coincidence that Sean Dyche’s side began to climb up the table once Heaton had been restored between the sticks.
Given that Pope was one of the Premier League’s leading goalkeepers in the 2017/18 campaign, Hart could be relegated to No.3 next term. With that in mind, sticking around at Turf Moor might not be the best idea.
Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester)
Leicester seemed to have pulled off a transfer coup when they persuaded Iheanacho to move to the King Power Stadium in 2017. Sadly for all concerned, the ex-Manchester City striker has failed to live up to expectations in the East Midlands.
A change of scene would do the Nigerian good; he’s still only 22 and has lost none of the natural talent he frequently displayed at the Etihad Stadium, but Leicester hasn’t worked out and it would be sensible to start afresh elsewhere.
Vincent Janssen (Tottenham)
If you assumed Tottenham were about to bring on a kid from the academy when Janssen began to warm up on the touchline against Brighton in April, you weren’t alone. Spurs’ forgotten man returned from the wilderness (also known as Fenerbahce) to play a grand total of 36 Premier League minutes last season, but he surely won’t be sticking around beyond the summer.
Still only 24, Janssen desperately needs to rebuild his career away from north London. A return to his native Netherlands would seem to make most sense.
Adam Lallana (Liverpool)
Thanks largely to his experience of playing under Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton, Lallana was one of the Liverpool players who responded best to Jurgen Klopp’s high-tempo demands early on in his tenure at Anfield.
A combination of injury troubles and the signing of superior players saw Lallana fall out of favour with Klopp, but the midfielder still showed flashes of his quality when called upon last season. Now 31, he must think carefully before choosing his next destination.
Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
Lukaku shouldn’t leave Manchester United come what may, but a mooted move to Inter could be just what the Belgian needs. United played their best football under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when Marcus Rashford was leading the line, with Lukaku starting only four Premier League victories from mid-December onwards.
Antonio Conte tried to sign the ex-Everton centre-forward in summer 2017, only for Alvaro Morata to arrive at Stamford Bridge instead. Now installed at Inter, Conte would no doubt back himself to bring out the best in Lukaku at San Siro.
James McCarthy (Everton)
A horrific leg break ruled McCarthy out of action for over a year, with his appearance in April’s 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United his first in the Premier League since January 2018. It was also his sole outing last term, and while the Irishman would no doubt enjoy much more action if he stayed put at Everton for 2019/20, his career may be best served by moving on.
Marco Silva already has a multitude of engine room options at his disposal, and McCarthy would almost certainly be a reserve if he opted to stay put.
Victor Moses (Chelsea)
A couple of years on and it already seems surreal that Moses played a fundamental role in a team that won the Premier League title. As a right wing-back.
The Nigeria international feels like he’s been around forever, but at 28 he still has plenty left to give. A loan spell at Fenerbahce was successful last season – Moses scored four goals despite only starting eight league games – and there will probably be several English sides interested in prising him away from Stamford Bridge too.
Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
Many Arsenal fans would concur with this choice. Mustafi was extremely poor for much of last season, with his tendency to lose concentration at crucial moments costing his team on a number of occasions.
The Gunners won’t recoup anything close to the £35m they paid Valencia for the defender’s services in 2016, but Milan are thought to be monitoring the situation and there could be interest from La Liga too. A parting of the ways would do both Arsenal and Mustafi good.
Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City)
A key figure in Pep Guardiola’s first title-winning team at the Etihad Stadium, Otamendi was part of the support case last time out. The Argentinian made fewer starts than Aymeric Laporte and John Stones, while Vincent Kompany was preferred at the business end of the campaign.
Otamendi is thought to be keen for a new challenge, which makes perfect sense given his reduced minutes last term and the fact he turns 32 next birthday. An aggressive, no-nonsense centre-back, he won’t be short of offers.
Jairo Riedewald (Crystal Palace)
Frank de Boer failed to win over several members of the Crystal Palace squad during his ill-fated stint in charge in 2017, but Riedewald was one player who was sad to see him go. The Dutchman played more Premier League minutes under De Boer (who lasted for four matches) than he managed under Roy Hodgson in the entirety of the 2018/19 campaign.
Named on the bench 17 times last term, Riedewald didn't taste a single second of top-flight action. Needless to say a summer transfer would suit all parties.
Carlos Sanchez (West Ham)
Sanchez missed the bulk of last season with a knee injury, but he might not have played too many matches anyway after Declan Rice emerged as a terrific holding midfielder. Perhaps the England international wouldn’t have been thrust into the engine room so early in the campaign had Sanchez remained fit.
Either way, there’s no doubt that Rice is now first pick in that shielding role in front of the back four. Now 33 and out of contract next summer, Sanchez should consider ending his London Stadium stay after a single season.
Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle)
Shelvey may be one of Newcastle’s most talented players, but that wasn’t enough to bring him a starting spot for much of last term; Rafael Benitez selected the former Liverpool midfielder in just line-ups , preferring the likes of Ki Sung-yueng, Isaac Hayden, Mo Diame and Sean Longstaff in the engine room.
With the Spaniard increasingly likely to remain in situ at St James’ Park, Shelvey may have to consider seeking pastures new.
Victor Wanyama (Tottenham)
Tottenham look poised to spend this summer after a period of inactivity in the transfer market – and that could spell bad news for Wanyama. Central midfield is the area most in need of attention, and the Kenyan could be sacrificed in order to generate funds and free up some space in the wage bill.
Wanyama has started only 12 Premier League games in the last two campaigns, and although injury accounts for some of those absences, it’s also clear that he’s unlikely to be playing every week for a team with trophy-winning aspirations.
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
Unlike many players featured on this list, Zaha doesn’t have to worry about a lack of first-team minutes at his current club. In fact, the Palace hierarchy would probably give the forward a contract for life and allow him to choose his own team-mates if it meant keeping him around for a little while longer.
Yet Zaha, who turns 27 in November, is right to seek a move away from Selhurst Park. The time has come for the Ivory Coast international to test himself at a higher level, and no one at Palace would begrudge him a transfer to one of England’s big six.
