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Ryan Gravenberch\u2019s return will soothe Liverpool (Carl Recine\/Getty Images)17. Sunderland<\/p>\n
The opening weekend of Sunderland\u2019s dreams will have given the club and their fans tangible optimism that they can buck a Premier League trend by avoiding the drop this season. Their signings looked good, plus the three scorers against West Ham were all part of the side that won promotion in May. New faces may still be needed, but zero panic yet (until they lose away to fellow newcomers Burnley on Saturday).<\/p>\n
16. Bournemouth<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t come across as a panic-stricken club and despite losing 4-2 on the opening weekend, you can\u2019t imagine Bournemouth are worried about the performance at Anfield or indeed the make-up of their squad, given they have mostly replaced the players who departed over the summer already.<\/p>\n
15. Tottenham<\/p>\n
It would have been very Spurs-like, or Spursy if you will, to play so well against Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup in midweek and then flunk it at home to one of the promoted sides. Instead, they beat Burnley comfortably. They are light on squad depth with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski sidelined, but with probably Eberechi Eze and possibly Savinho on the way in, Spurs look pretty well set.<\/p>\n
14. Arsenal<\/p>\n
Tottenham\u2019s north London neighbours may already be done for the window. Sunday\u2019s victory at Manchester United highlighted that Arsenal could probably do with a left-sided forward, but they knew that already.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
13. Burnley<\/p>\n
Just the 13 signings already this summer for Burnley, who, despite eventually losing 3-0 at Spurs, put up a pretty decent and encouraging display. I mean, yes, they need much better footballers than they have, but that\u2019s not news, and they\u2019re not going to attract them now.<\/p>\n
12. Aston Villa<\/p>\n
Having only signed one first-team player and losing Jacob Ramsey, Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi (the latter three were there on loan) from last season\u2019s squad, and with Leon Bailey seemingly off to Roma, Villa should be higher on the list in theory. But with such little wiggle room owing to PSR, literally what can they do?<\/p>\n
11. Leeds<\/p>\n
A massive opening win at home against Everton<\/a> got Leeds up and running at Elland Road, but the way Monday night\u2019s match panned out reinforced their pressing need for further attacking additions, given they controlled much of the game but needed a controversial late penalty to find the back of the net.<\/p>\n 10. Newcastle<\/p>\n The signings of Malick Thiaw and the aforementioned Ramsey, coupled with a spirited performance in Saturday\u2019s 0-0 draw at Villa, appear to have calmed things down after the Alexander Isak furore, which continues to rumble on. Newcastle, like Villa, are hamstrung. They know they need one striker. Two if Isak goes. Mild panic.<\/p>\n Alexander Isak\u2019s future remains unresolved (George Wood\/Getty Images)9. Nottingham Forest<\/p>\n A week ago, they\u2019d have been No 1 on this list \u2013 and a doubt-stricken Nuno Espirito Santo may feel Forest should still be higher \u2013 but easily beating Brentford and buying Omari Hutchinson, Arnaud Kalimuendo and James McAtee in recent days has eased their sense of desperation after a previously quiet summer.<\/p>\n 8. Manchester United<\/p>\n Altay Bayindir\u2019s wafty performance against Arsenal<\/a> and the calamity potential of fellow goalkeeper Andre Onana (left out for selection reasons on Sunday, said head coach Ruben Amorim) might mean United (who tried to sign Villa\u2019s Emiliano Martinez on loan earlier this summer) panic-buy at that position. They also surely need a central midfielder.<\/p>\n 7. Brentford<\/p>\n The hopeless first-half performance when losing 3-1 at\u00a0 Forest will be a serious concern, although they have Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade, Jordan Henderson and excellent new signing Dango Ouattara to come into the side. Still, with star forward Yoane Wissa on strike and so much other upheaval this summer, the panic button is within reach in Hounslow.<\/p>\n 6. Chelsea<\/p>\n A club that has signed 49 senior players in three years at a cost of around \u00a31.5billion is never far from buying someone, panic or no panic. If Enzo Maresca had his way,<\/a> Chelsea would be steaming into the market for a centre-back following Levi Colwill\u2019s long-term injury, but so far the club appear to be telling him to make do with the 12 senior defenders that remain available to him (No joke. That\u2019s the real number). However, after mustering only three shots on target against Palace on Sunday, expect them to spend \u00a370m on a new striker who\u2019ll get a 12-year contract then be loaned to Strasbourg in January.<\/p>\n 5. Wolves<\/p>\n In a weird way, their 4-0 home defeat by City didn\u2019t turn the panic-o-meter up because the performance, before all the goals, was fairly encouraging. Straw-clutching? Yes. But Wolves knew they desperately needed additions before the season started, so in that respect, Saturday\u2019s game changed nothing. Right-back Jackson Tchatchoua, officially Serie A\u2019s fastest player last season, has come sprinting through the door this week, but more need to follow him \u2014 elsewhere in defence, in midfield and in attack. Maybe in goal too. Apart from that, though, no worries.<\/p>\n 4. Fulham<\/p>\n Fuham\u2019s only senior addition all summer long has been a backup goalkeeper, Benjamin Lecomte, despite the losses of Reiss Nelson and Willian from last season\u2019s squad. A late equaliser to draw at Brighton on the opening weekend didn\u2019t mask their need for new signings, with a pretty drab performance for the game\u2019s first 95 minutes merely compounding their pretty desperate need for fresh blood.<\/p>\n 3. Crystal Palace<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the excellent point at Chelsea that will concern Palace fans, more the weird scenes afterwards with captain Marc Guehi ignoring manager Oliver Glasner to head down the tunnel and Eze possibly wishing the fans farewell<\/a>. Palace need several new signings as it is, but lose Eze and\/or Guehi and they\u2019re in Michael Scott \u201cStay f***ing calm\u201d mode.<\/p>\n Eberechi Eze looks set to leave Palace (Ryan Pierse\/Getty Images)2. West Ham<\/p>\n Jean-Clair Todibo, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Kyle Walker-Peters, Callum Wilson and Mads Hermansen represent decent, if slightly uninspiring, business but a 3-0 capitulation at promoted Sunderland has West Ham fans panicking about how utterly dreadful their 2025-26 team appear to be. When the club\u2019s vice-chair is issuing a vote of confidence<\/a> in the head coach after one match, you know it\u2019s bad.<\/p>\n 1. Everton<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2217090947-scaled.jpg\")
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