Preseason Crystal Ball: Wonderkids Pop Off, Liverpool's Backline Is Already Bleeding
There's no exact science to predicting the Premier League. That's the beauty of it — chaos is the only constant. But with nine clubs rolling out new managers (including Man City and Spurs) and a summer transfer carousel that hasn't stopped spinning, preseason is the closest thing we have to a crystal ball. Warm-up friendlies can lie, sure — just ask the ghost of Andreas Pereira's 'Preseason Pirlo' era — but they still drop hints. So who's looking like a problem, and who's looking cooked?
WINNERS
The Wonderkids Are Different
Preseason is the time for young guns to grab the spotlight, and this year's crop didn't waste it.
Arsenal's Max Dowman — yeah, the 16-year-old who barely started a league game but still got a PFA Young Player nod — lit up a 4-1 blowout of Girona with a goal and an assist. He's been here before, though. The hype train stopped at this exact station last summer, so don't book his starting spot yet.
Over at Liverpool, Rio Ngumoha is making noise. The 17-year-old winger started three of four preseason games and bagged the winner in a 1-0 Wrexham win. Cody Gakpo being late back from the World Cup helped, but the kid's been buzzing.
And then there's Aston Villa's Brian Madjo. The 17-year-old, who arrived from Metz in a £10m January deal, couldn't play for Villa at any level because of FIFA's under-18 transfer ban. The club successfully appealed it this summer, and he's made up for lost time: four goals in preseason, including a strike vs. Real Sociedad, and then he scored Villa's only goal in a 2-1 Super Cup loss to PSG. He could have had a hat-trick. Ollie Watkins is still on post-World Cup leave, so Unai Emery might just let the kid eat.
Igor Jesus Is Heating Up
Nottingham Forest's Brazilian striker didn't exactly tear the net off last season — six goals in 37 games — but four of those came in the final eight matches. Now he's got four in consecutive preseason games, including in a 2-1 loss to Sporting CP. That's momentum, and he's ready to carry it into the season.
Antoine Semenyo Has Assist Glasses On
Man City's new-ish winger went to the World Cup with Ghana, got bounced in the round of 32 by Colombia, and came back to preseason looking like a cheat code. In City's four friendlies, Semenyo assisted FIVE of their six goals — against Inter (1-1), K-League All-Stars (3-1), and Atlético Madrid (3-1). He was a revelation last season with 17 goals and 4 assists across Bournemouth and City. If this is the shape he's in, the rest of the league is in trouble.
Xabi Alonso's Smooth Landing (Mostly)
Chelsea's new boss got a head start: appointed in May, officially started July 9, and actually got to work with his stars. João Pedro has been on fire with five preseason goals — a hat-trick vs. Western Sydney and two vs. AC Milan — and Cole Palmer, Estêvão, Colwill, Fofana, Hato, and Sánchez have all been available. Not everything's been perfect: Chelsea lost 2-1 to Spurs and 1-0 to Juventus. But compare that to rivals running on fumes, and Alonso is living the good life.
LOSERS
Liverpool's Defense Is a M.A.S.H. Unit
New manager Andoni Iraola has a problem: there's no back four. Conor Bradley (knee) and Joe Gomez (muscle) are out. New €60m signing Jérémy Jacquet hasn't played since a long-term shoulder injury. The solution? A season-long loan for Barcelona's Ronald Araújo — but that's cover, not a fix. And then there's the 35-year-old rock, Virgil van Dijk, who somehow played an absurd 68 matches (6,051 minutes) last season across club and country. Asking him to do that again feels like a prayer.
Preseason Injuries Hit Hard
Nobody loses more in preseason than a player who gets hurt. This summer, Bournemouth's Junior Kroupi — the breakout star everyone wanted to buy — suffered a foot injury on the Austria tour. He had surgery and could be out up to four months. His big-money move? Gone, for now.
Aston Villa are dealing with a knee epidemic: Amadou Onana tore his ACL in July, John McGinn landed awkwardly (but should be OK), and new signing Johan Manzambi is nursing an injury from the World Cup. Newcastle's Anthony Elanga was on the wrong end of a horror tackle from Valencia's José Gayà (who saw red), but he escaped with a bruised shin and should be fine for Matchweek 1.
Enzo Maresca's Man City Time Crunch
Replacing Pep Guardiola is already a nightmare job. Doing it when half your squad just played deep into the World Cup is actual torture. City's players logged a combined 5,000 minutes at the tournament, and Haaland, Doku, Rodri, Guéhi, O'Reilly, and new signing Elliot Anderson only straggled back in this week. Their first real test? The Community Shield vs. Arsenal. Maresca did win two of three preseason games, but the lack of time with his stars is a real obstacle — an inherited one, but still an obstacle.
Jack Grealish & James Maddison: Nowhere to Be Found
In an alternate universe, Grealish and Maddison are late-returning heroes after a dream England World Cup run. Instead, they didn't even make the squad. Grealish missed the last four months of last season with a foot injury — his Everton loan was cut short — and while he's back in training at Man City, he was left off the Asia tour to get fit in Manchester. With his contract running to 2027, there's no clarity on where he plays next. Maddison, meanwhile, is dealing with a minor hip issue after losing almost all of last season to an ACL tear. He's played zero minutes this preseason. That's not ideal for a guy trying to remind people he still exists.
Preseason doesn't decide the season — but it sure tells us who's ready and who's running. Buckle up.