One Player Every Premier League Club Should Sell – Part Two

Kalvin Phillips (Image: Sky Sports)

With the summer transfer window now open we select one player from every top flight club that should be sold. Here’s the final ten teams and our choices of transfers:

Leicester City (Harry Souttar):

It’s been well publicised that Leicester City need to make some money in order to comply with financial fair play rules. So at least one high-profile player will need to go. It would the easy option to go for homegrown midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who has a sensational future ahead of him, but I believe he will be better suited staying put for now – he’s 25 so still got plenty of seasons ahead of him. Obviously, if an outrageous offer comes in for him Leicester will find it hard to reject it. In the end, I have gone with defender Harry Souttar. The Australian International fell out of favour under previous manager Enzo Maresca and with a new manager yet to be appointed there’s still hope for him. With that being said, only three games out of 46 in the second division Souttar was involved in. That doesn’t give the best impression to whoever stands in the dugout next season, so for me, Souttar needs a fresh start somewhere else. He’s been capped over 20 times by Australia so he won’t be short of suitors. Leicester might well struggle to recuperate the £17 million they paid for him in January 2023 but plenty of clubs will be in for. The no-nonsense centre-back.

Liverpool (Caoimhin Kelleher):

The Irish International has been a stand-out deputy for Alisson in between the sticks for the last few seasons. He’s enjoyed some memorable moments, including scoring the winning penalty in the Carabao Cup final a few years ago. The 25 year-old has covered the injured Alisson on several occasions. He wouldn’t be a bad fix if Alisson was to depart Liverpool but I can’t see that happening. It’s time for Kelleher to become a first choice goalkeeper, and that’s only going to happen at a different club. Liverpool’s backroom staff are tremendous at working out great deals and I’m sure they’ll get in excess of £20 million for Kelleher. Plenty of clubs would benefit from his services.

Manchester City (Kalvin Phillips):

There are several players that I could have chosen to depart City; Grealish, Cancelo and Phillips. It’s clear all three have struggled to impress Guardiola but while Grealish appears to have kept a squad player status and Cancelo looking for a move overseas following his loan spell, I’ve gone for the latter option. I still baffles me why he moved to City from Leeds after two fairly good seasons in the Premier League. Money talks though, unfortunately. He might well have been unlucky with injuries in his time so far at City but 16 appearances ( a total of 279 minutes of football over two seasons) says it all. He was never going to battle Rodri to the defensive midfield role. Guardiola has since bought in Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes to provide this cover, and both have played considerably more football than Phillips. It's evident that this move has not worked out for Phillips, and a loan move to West Ham has not worked out either. The 28 year-old is in desperate need of a fresh start; even more so now he has lost out his space in the England squad. He needs to rekindle the form he was showing at Leeds. Had Leeds got promoted I would have seen a reunion likely there but they lost in their play-off final to Southampton. There will be plenty of attraction from Premier League clubs in Phillips but it will be hard for City to get close to the £45 million they paid for him. Not that that matters, City aren’t exactly short of money.

Manchester United (Antony):

This, again, was a difficult decision given the number of players that have failed to make an impact at Old Trafford. It’s made even harder by the fact the club haven’t decided if they want to keep Erik Ten Hag in charge or not. Initially, I had chosen Casemiro but I feel he can turn his form around and provide valuable experience in the midfield. He might still well depart, given an abundance of links to Saudi Arabia. I’ve gone for Antony. 16 goal involvements in 82 appearances for Manchester United is a poor statistic given they paid £95 million for him. To be fair the price tag isn’t Antony’s fault – that’s what United wanted to pay for him and they did. He hasn’t lived up to the expectations put on him and his stroppy antics of diving and complaining haven’t made a good impression on the fans nor his teammates at times. United will be lucky to get even half of that money back, but it’s time for a rebuild at Old Trafford and that starts with Antony going.

Newcastle United (Matt Targett):

On paper, it’s probably difficult to understand why I’ve chosen a defender to leave Newcastle given their extreme injury list of defenders last season. Targett was one of them with a hamstring injury and achilles tendon restricting him to three league appearances. Even so, Newcastle are inundated with full-back options and unfortunately Targett has been overtaken by former Southampton star Tino Livramento, the experienced Dan Burn and now permanently signed youngster Lewis Hall. It’s evident there’s no first team future for Targett. They can definitely gain back most of the £17 million they paid for him from Aston Villa in July 2022. A fresh start is definitely needed and most lower Premier League teams could do with an experienced left-back at this level.

Nottingham Forest (Lewis O’Brien):

A forgotten footballer is a good way to describe O’Brien. He was one of Forests’ hundreds of signings when they got promoted to the top flight in 2022. He signed from Championship rivals Huddersfield Town following a strong season in midfield. The 25 year-old never hit the ground running, with just 17 appearances in all competitions, as well as loan spells with DC United and Middlesborough after being left out of Forest’s official squad. He’s still got a good decade ahead of him in the professional game, so a fresh start would help restart his career. I believe there is still room for him in the Premier League; perhaps one of the promoted sides like Ipswich could strike a deal.

Southampton (Ross Stewart):

This is probably a disappointing choice given his short time on the South Coast has been thwarted with injury but with the Saints now promoted I can’t see Stewart fitting into a side that is definitely going to be improved in the summer. Adam Armstrong was on fire in the Championship last season, whilst Sekou Mara is a young promising forward and with Paul Onuachu potentially coming back from a successful loan spell in Turkey, I can’t see a way in for Stewart. I think he will be one of those players that is strong in the EFL but doesn’t make the step-up to the top flight; and that’s okay. Maybe a move back to Sunderland could work well for him?

Tottenham Hotspur (Pierre Emile-Hojberg):

Big Ange has done a good job at Spurs in his debut season for them. He’s made some good business in the transfer window already, especially in goalkeeper Vicario and centre-back Van de Ven. It’s clear Spurs is a working project at the moment, with several players needing to be moved on. Although he appeared 36 times in the league last season, he started just 21% of them. That alone shows he’s not part of Postecoglou’s plans. The Danish International still has much to offer for clubs, having enjoyed successful stints at Southampton and in Germany. I can see a move abroad igniting more than in England with several clubs in Spain and Germany have been linked with the 28 year-old. He’s done well in England and should provide reasonable profit for Spurs from the £16 million they paid back in August 2020.

West Ham United (Danny Ings):

The 31 year-old has been around the blocks in England; having been on the books at Bournemouth, Burnley, Liverpool, Southampton and Aston Villa before his time in London. The forward hasn’t been in his best form since moving to Southampton back in the 2020/21 season. He’s not had a look in at front properly with Jarrod Bowen now transformed into a striker and Michael Antonio providing experience from the bench. His experience would be vital in plenty of other times; both in the Premier League and the Championship. Ings could provide healthy back-up options for Southampton where he shined previously, or perhaps a new club like Ipswich Town.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (Pedro Neto):

Another club, who finds themselves needing to sell before they buy. Wolves have got several world-class players on their books from Neto to Ati-Nouri, to Mattheus Cunha and Joao Gomes. Anyone one of them could be sold for tens of millions. The sensible option for Wolves though is winger Neto. He was injured for much of last season so Wolves have learnt to play well without him. The 24 year-old had 11 goal involvements in 20 league appearances last season. He was signed for just £15 million from Lazio in August 2019. Neto has served his time well for Wolves and deserves a shot at bigger things. Several big names have been linked with him including Manchester United and Arsenal. He would bring exciting football to whoever he signs for. Realistically, for his age and potential, Wolves should be asking for at least £30 million. That would help out significantly financially.