The football season is up and running. However, there are still a few days left before the summer transfer window closes meaning that a number of last-minute moves are about to happen. Thins could get a bit tricky, of course. Even though that could still be the case, most of the clubs have already done their homework. They’ve bought and sold players. Some of their losses have created space for others, which is what we will focus on discussing today: who will be the players to fill the void of those who have departed.
In this first part, we’ve chosen three leagues (Serie A, La Liga and Premier League) and five departures that are in need of replacement in each of these leagues. By the way, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a player-for-player replacement.
Serie A
1. Who will replace Olivier Giroud?
The easiest way to answer this would be that they have already replaced him with Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard collected 18 goal contributions in La Liga last season, the same figure as Giroud. However, given Fonseca’s tendency of having a very mobile number ‘9’ who can run the channels, one player that could become important for Milan during the season is Noah Okafor. He scored some last-gasp goals last year but Milan will need his mobility and speed more frequently. Okafor’s a good-but-not-great goalscorer: throughout all his senior career he has overperformed in front of goal (30 goals from 18.5 xG), which means an average of 6 goals a season, just the number of goals he scored last season. If he can get to 10 league goals he will become an invaluable asset for Milan.
2. Who will replace Michele Di Gregorio?
This is a pretty straightforward replacement. Monza sold Gi Gregorio, arguably the 2nd-best goalkeeper in the Serie A last season, and replaced him with Stefano Turati, previously at Frosinone. If we look at Turati’s number from last season, it’s fairly disappointing. Compared to keepers with more than 1000 minutes in Europe’s top five leagues, Turati ranked 103 out of 117 in shots per goal conceded (2.81) and 105 out of 117 in goals prevented per game (-0.26). Meanwhile, in these same metrics, Di Gregorio was ranked #7 and #5 respectively. However, there’s a case for optimism. Turati’s two previous seasons were pretty good: 21 goals conceded from 29.5 xGOT at Frosinone (Serie B, 22/23) and 26 conceded from 30.4 xGOT at Reggina (Serie B, 21/22). Could this be a case of just a dip in form combined with the shaky back line of a relegated team?
3. Who will replace Nico González?
Palladino took charge of Fiorentina this summer and he has already made some big decisions. Bearing in mind that Nico González (14 goal contributions) could leave at some point in the estival period, Fiorentina bought in two pieces to replace him: Colpani and Gudmunsson. Now that the Argentinian is gone, Fiorentina will have to get the most out of these two players, who we see fitting well in the 3-4-2-1 system that Palladino wants to deploy. Left-sided attacking midfielder Albert Gudmunsson is more of a forward, with reduced attacking contribution unless it’s goals and assists. Andrea Colpani played last season in the right wing, like Nico González, but his play style is focused on creating, taking the ball into dangerous areas and crossing.
4. Who will replace Lazar Samardzic?
Samardzic had been a wanted man for the last two summers. Inter, Milan and Juventus had him on their lists but it was finally Atalanta who pulled the trigger. To replace him, Udinese has signed a different player. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp should have a different role to the one Samardzic was performing. The former Ajax man is more a box player than the Serbian, he scores more goals, gets in the opponents area more frequently and receives nearly 3 progressive passes in the final third. However, if Udinese signed this player with the idea of him being the chief creator in attack, things could get a bit tricky.
5. Who will replace Alessandro Buongiorno?
Saúl Coco, who played for Las Palmas last season. His defensive numbers are not as substantial as Buongiorno’s but he can still offer some terrific box-defending. Interestingly, Torino have opted for a player with better on-ball qualities: more ball progressions and passes into the opposition half and better share of passes completed.
Premier League
1. Who will replace Douglas Luiz?
Has to be Amadou Onana in some way. We say in some way because being the deeper midfielder in a double pivot when building up from the back is not what suits Onana best. Or at least not in the way Douglas Luiz helped Villa build up last season. He’s got more resources than the Belgian: more disguise in his passing and more variety and press resistance. But Emery has opted for Onana to be his ‘6’ at least for the time being. The development of Villa’s midfield will be one to watch in the next months.
2. Who will replace Joachim Andersen?
Palace signed Riad before Andersen moved to Fulham. So what was supposed to be a medium-to-long term investment has become more of a necessity. The Moroccan enjoyed a fine first La Liga season at Betis showcasing his terrific ball-playing abilities. However, there’s still some way to go in terms of levelling up the impacto Andersen has had at Palace. Riad’s a secure defender, who rarely makes mistakes or fouls attackers. He possess an intelligent reading of the game to both recovering the ball and tackling opponents. On the other side, he can’t play long as consistently and effectively as Andersen does nor he progresses the ball as much.
3. Who will replace Dominic Solanke?
Antoine Semenyo signed for Bournemouth in the closing stages of the 2023 winter transfer window and he has been sensational since then. Both defensive and offensively, he’s rarely put a foot wrong. Scoring 19 goals like Solanke did will be a nearly impossible task as he doesn’t even play as a striker but it shouldn’t be surprising if he ended the season with +12 goals. He’s a peculiar goalscorer in terms of the number of goals he has scored from right-sided shots that he often places in the far low-corner. He does a little bit of everything: shoots, arrives in the box, dribbles and progress the ball. He could have a big season in front of himself.
4. Who will replace Pedro Neto?
This one is tough because neither Wolves have signed a ready-made, direct replacement nor O’Neil has requested one. He’s happy with what has been brought in. Mainly because he will have his best players playing in the positions that suits them best. With the signing of Jorgen Strand Larsen, Matheus Cunha will go back to the second-forward role that allows him to roam around field and Hwang Hee-Chan will return to the left-wing. It could easily be that this combination allows O’Neil regain what he lost with the sale of Neto.
5. Who will replace Pascal Gross?
How to replace a man who was ubiquitous? How to replace the near-perfect? That’s the task for Fabian Hurzeler. In a busy summer for Brighton they’ve bought Matts Wieffer and Matt O’Riley. Even if they mixed both, they would have found it difficult ro replicate Pascal Gross. Do you want to better his defensive game? You’ll have to accept a big downside in attacking output from midfield. Do you want to better his offensive game? It will then have a big impact on the defensive side of your model.
La Liga
1. Who will replace Alexander Sorloth?
Villarreal have signed Thierno Barry to replace Sorloth. He has already scored for the Submarino Amarillo in the 4-3 victory against Celta de Vigo. Barry did superbly well at Basel last year and even had time to score 5 goals in 243′ in the 24/25 season with the Swiss side. He’s a 1.95m tall striker who battles well in the air and who has powerful running to also attack the space in behind. His shooting ability will be tested in La Liga. In his previous last 3 seasons he found goal scoring opportunities worth 27.3 xG but his shooting ability turned them into just 20.9 xGOT.
2. Who will replace Ayoze Pérez?
Ayoze and Abde were Pellegrini’s two main options on the left wing for his Betis side. However, their profiles are opposite to each other. Ayoze is a left-sided, speedy forward who’s focused on scoring goals and Abde is a left-sided, dribbly winger who’s major contribution is to help the team progress the ball and create dangerous situations. The Osasuna version of the Moroccan player was the reason Betis signed him. But that version was nowhere to be seen last season. If Betis get that version of Abde back, they won’t notice Ayoze’s departure as much.
3. Who will replace Ilkay Gündogan?
That’s the toughest one probably. Because not only Gundogan still is one of the best in his position but also because Barcelona do not have the exact profile of the German in the squad. They closest ones are Fermin and Pedri. However, both of them have similarities and differences compared to Gündogan. Given Barcelona haven’t signed a proper ‘6’, it looks like Pedri will have a deeper role this season compared to last. A great opportunity arise for Fermín, who’s more of an attacker himself than a technical midfielder, to occupy Gündogan’s role as a box-crashing midfielder.
4. Who will replace Sergio Ramos?
In the absence of Ramos, it’s finally time for Loic Badé to step up. He has been regarded as a promising young centre back for some years now, but he needs to start performing as the main defender of a back line, something he hasn’t done yet. He possess all the qualities required for that: out of all 274 centre-backs with more than 1500′ from Europe’s top five leagues, he ranked 16th in successful tackles (2.23), 21st in ball recoveries (2.83) and 31st in aerials won per game (2.73). His passing ability is also nice: 12.5 progressive passes registered on average per game.
5. Who will replace Renato Tapia?
Albeit Tapia didn’t play much during last season, Celta missed his profile. But since Giraldez took over from Benítez, both Damián Rodríguez and Fran Beltrán have played together to a pretty decent level. Now, they’ve added Ilaix Moriba to the ecuation. If Giráldez wants to maintain a defensive profile in his doble pivot, Moriba will add tenacious tackles and aerial efficiency. If he wants a more progressive pair, Damián and Fran Beltrán could work well. Either way, Celta de Vigo feel more prepared for every inconvenience that could happen throughout the season.
