6 Players Set For Make-or-Break Pre-Seasons at the Premier League Big 6

With Euro 2024 and Copa America now over, Premier League teams will turn their attention to pre-season. With the new campaign less than a month away, there isn’t that long for managers to fine-tune their squads before the competition begins fresh.

Multiple teams are set to jet across the globe as they prepare for the start of the season – with Manchester United expected to rack up around 16,213 air miles this summer. The Red Devils won’t be the only club travelling about though with all the big clubs busy over the summer months.

Pre-season not only allows coaches a chance to work on new ideas, build team spirit, and get the squad up to full fitness, but it also affords players on the fringers the chance to impress. With that in mind, here are six players from the traditional ‘Big Six’ who need to shine in this period, or else the writing could be on the wall.

Arsenal

Fabio Vieira

Fabio Vieira joined Arsenal in 2022, with the club triggering his £34m release clause at Porto. It was a bit of a gamble, but Mikel Arteta and co felt that they had to move fast or risk him being picked up by somebody else in the future. It’s easy to understand why they rushed as in his final season in Portugal, he played 2004 minutes, the midfielder scored seven goals and bagged 14 assists.

The Gunners have yet to see the same player in England. Indeed, Vieira has managed just 1,886 minutes of action across the two seasons since arriving, with injuries a major issue last term. With Emile Smith Rowe heavily linked with an exit, Arsenal’s tour of the US could be the perfect opportunity for the Portuguese midfielder to remind Arteta of his value, and cement his place within the squad as a viable option in midfield as well as on the flanks. If not now, though, it does beg the question: when?

Chelsea

Robert Sanchez

The position of goalkeeper at Chelsea has been up for debate for some time now. It wasn’t that long ago that Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga looked to have duties taken care of between them but the club decided to put their faith in Robert Sanchez last term, yielding mixed results.

The former Brighton man looked unconvincing at times and eventually lost his place due to injury. With Enzo Maresca hoping to play out from the back, there have been plenty of rumours suggesting a new goalkeeper could come in this summer. But Sanchez is capable on that front, and pre-season could be the ideal place for him to impress his new boss, showcasing his ball-playing skills.

Liverpool

Ryan Gravenberch

Ryan Gravenberch is obviously an incredibly talented midfielder but it just hasn’t worked out for him since leaving Ajax in 2022. He spent just one season at Bayern Munich before heading to Liverpool last term. Under Jurgen Klopp, he showed glimpses of quality but nothing massively consistent, in part due to injury, but he can’t afford to let his career stagnate for much longer amid some rumours of an exit already.

He made the Netherlands’ squad for Euro 2024 but failed to play a single minute. While this would have been disappointing, it may leave him with fresh legs to get back to Liverpool and impress. Arne Slot will be keen to asses his whole squad and should be familiar with the Dutch midfielder, as both men are well-experienced when it comes to Eredivisie football. A few good displays early on could quickly see the 22-year-old stake a strong claim for a regular starting berth in the team as a new era at Anfield beckons.

Manchester City

Matheus Nunes

Having arrived from Manchester City from Wolves last summer for the fairly heavy fee of £53m, Matheus Nunes’ first season with the club felt pretty meh. He may have won the Premier League but he did so making just nine stats, and failed to score a goal in any competition.

The good news is that players often take a year to find their rhythm working in the intricate systems of Pep Guardiola. The bad news is, Nunes won’t get forever to figure things out – just look at Kalvin Phillips. If he wants to avoid the same fate as the former Leeds United midfielder, the Portugal international will need to arrive back at Man City looking sharp and ready to adapt to whatever tactical scheme his Catalan boss is cooking up.

Manchester United

Amad Diallo

Amad Diallo’s time at Manchester United has been frustrating so far. He arrived with high expectations, coming from Atalanta for big money in 2020, and looked to be a massively exciting prospect. Despite having some good moments in the first team, loans at Rangers and Sunderland followed before returning to Old Trafford last summer.

Diallo then had to spend nearly the entire season waiting in the wings, with underwhelming Brazilian Antony preferred ahead of him. This was until March when he scored the winning goal in the last minute of extra time in a 4-3 win against Liverpool in the FA Cup. Since then, Erik ten Hag has shown a little more faith but regular game time is still not a guarantee for the forward – especially with Jadon Sancho returning. Amad actually netted in pre-season vs former club Rangers and will need to maintain that form throughout the summer if he wants to truly make it at Old Trafford.

Tottenham

Djed Spence

Like many on this list, Djed Spence is a young footballer who joined a big club with plenty of fanfare. Once the initial excitement settled, however, the right-back struggled to make any sort of impact at Tottenham. Since joining for around £20m in 2022, the defender has played just 43 minutes – which tells you all you need to know.

He spent last season on loan at Leeds United and Genoa and now returns to the club with Ange Postecoglou calling the shots and Pedro Porro and Emerson Royal ahead of him in the pecking order. The latter, however, could be on the move and with Spence performing well in pre-season so far – picking up an assist vs – Hearts, there could be life in his Spurs career yet. That said, any setbacks from here will surely leave him in need of a fresh start elsewhere.

Stats via Transfermarkt (as of 22/07/24).