It’s often said you shouldn’t take much from pre-season performances, but this group of Premier League players will be uber-confident as the new season rolls around this weekend. Having shone during the summer schedule, it’s the perfect platform for a strong campaign.
Murphy, Minteh, Rogers – Premier League players who have impressed in pre-season:
Jacob Murphy (Newcastle)
Newcastle continue to be linked with signing a winger before the transfer deadline but Jacob Murphy has done all he can this summer to place himself in Eddie Howe’s thoughts. Murphy made just 14 league starts last season but proved an effective option for the Magpies, averaging a Premier League goal or assist every 119 minutes.
He’s underlined his effectiveness during Newcastle’s pre-season campaign with a prolific period of form, scoring five times and providing three assists in four games.
A cracking finish from Jacob for our second of the game!???? pic.twitter.com/F2eFjS7BQ4
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) August 9, 2024
The expectation is that Newcastle will look to upgrade their right-wing role before the end of August, though Murphy might force the club’s recruitment team into a rethink.
Oscar Bobb (Manchester City)
Breaking into the Manchester City team is no easy feat. Cole Palmer, the Premier League’s outstanding young player last season, is proof of that after leaving the Etihad for first-team football last summer.
Oscar Bobb is the latest bright thing bidding to break into Pep Guardiola’s side and has been arguably the leading light of their pre-season campaign.
The 21-year-old has scored twice and provided four assists for the Citizens while impressing with his ability to shift seamlessly past opposition challenges. His ability to take players out of the game one-against-one is a game-changing attribute Guardiola could look to utilise on a more regular basis this season.
Oscar Bobb’s pre-season ???????????? pic.twitter.com/34n5wfXE9X
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 7, 2024
After just 295 minutes of Premier League football last season, we’d expect that number to swell considerably in 2024/25, once he recovers from the cruel setback of a fractured leg suffered in training this week.
Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Questions were asked when Aston Villa signed Morgan Rogers in January. The winger joined Middlesbrough for a fee of just £1m six months earlier, while his form in the second tier had hardly suggested that an immediate increase to £8m (potentially rising to £16m with add-ons) was justified.
Rogers, however, made his mark to boost Villa’s top-four challenge with three goals and an assist in eight games, while his form in pre-season has suggested he can kick on from there.
John McGinn on Morgan Rogers: “He’s so strong, so powerful, he even surprised me a bit when he first signed and his first time in training. He has been outstanding. He’s playing football with a smile on his face and I wish I was that good at his age.”#AVFC
— John Townley (@johntownley11) August 15, 2024
The 22-year-old has three goals and two assists during Villa’s pre-season campaign to make his case for a place in the team ahead of the Premier League’s opening weekend. With Moussa Diaby having departed for the Saudi Pro League, there’s a clearer route to Unai Emery’s XI.
Yankuba Minteh (Brighton)
Brighton capitalised on Newcastle’s need to sell this summer to sign Yankuba Minteh in a £35m deal. That fee might look like a win for Newcastle for a player who never kicked a ball for the club, but it appears value based on Minteh’s pre-season performances.
The winger has been an electric presence for Fabian Hurzeler’s side, scoring three goals and setting up two more. It took Minteh just minutes to open his account for the Seagulls with a goal that encapsulated the best Gambian, who breezed behind the Kashima Antlers defence before showing composure to come inside and drill home a low finish.
Yankuba’s first goal in blue and white! ???????? pic.twitter.com/gqpLq4G7OD
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) July 24, 2024
“I have a clear motto. When you always give 100 percent in training, you are counter-pressing and always trying to improve every day, then you will perform like this in matches,” Hurzeler said when discussing the winger.
“He’s a role model for that. I hope he can show the same performance in the Premier League.”
Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea)
Christopher Nkunku hopes to bounce back from a disastrous first season at Chelsea that saw the Frenchman miss the majority of the campaign through injury. Just two league starts were a huge disappointment for the forward whose £52m arrival from RB Leipzig was greeted by much fanfare.
The 26-year-old has provided a reminder of his qualities with three goals during pre-season and could form an exciting understanding with Cole Palmer at Stamford Bridge. The two have the goal-threat and creativity to thrive in tandem for Enzo Maresca, as Chelsea look to respond to consecutive challenging campaigns.
So, so silky. ✨#BluesInTheUSA pic.twitter.com/fjh5bAU1hZ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 1, 2024
Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham)
Dejan Kulusevski is another player who has been in the goals during pre-season, with the Sweden midfielder used in an unfamiliar centre-forward role for Spurs. It has been a tactic that has seen Kulusevski deliver end product for the North Londoners with six goal involvements (3G, 3A) throughout the summer.
Kulusevski frustrated at Spurs last season with some suggesting the 24-year-old is capable of more given his clear talent. A positive pre-season bodes well, though Ange Postecoglou has said Spurs fans should not become used to seeing ‘Deki’ in a number nine role.
That Swedish connection ???? pic.twitter.com/E9XGHEyMy1
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 10, 2024
“No, I don’t think so. The good thing about Deki is that he can play that attacking midfield.
“I think the reason for us why we signed Dom (Dominic Solanke), and hopefully, Richy (Richarlison) should be ready as well, is that we want to have a player through that area who is a bit more accustomed to that role.
“Deki has done a great job for us but I think his strengths and attributes are more in that attacking midfield or wide role.
“I think he is really developing and has had a really good pre-season for us and hopefully, it gives us some more flexibility and potency through the middle when he is playing because he can get into those scoring areas.”
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