Rayan Cherki, Viktor Gyökeres, Florian Wirtz… The five recruits to follow this season in England

English football resumes its rights on Friday with the arrival of Bournemouth on the lawn of the reigning champion, Liverpool, and its slew of recruits. But Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea also have big ambitions this season.

The Premier League once again enlivened the transfer market this summer. The current window will not close until September 1, but many teams in the English championship, which begins Friday August 15 with the reception of Bournemouth by the reigning champion Liverpool, have already strengthened themselves.

Manchester United, for example, blazed with several arrivals on the offensive front (Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko), while Niçois Evann Guessan signed up for Aston Villa. Before the resumption of the championship, Franceinfo: sport presents the five recruits to follow this season.

Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)

This is THE transfer of the summer. The Bayer Leverkusen playing master chose to join Liverpool, while his name kept coming back to Bayern or Real Madrid. At 22, Florian Wirtz joined the banks of the Mersey, where he must embody the club’s new offensive armada. With their number 7 to support and serve Mohamed Salah, the Reds intend to retain their title, something they have not been able to do since 1984. “How much money the clubs pay each other, it doesn’t matter,” reacted the one who totals 56 goals and 66 assists in 196 matches with his training club.

He is considered the most expensive player in the history of the Premier League. “We added a few more weapons, Florian has a lot of creativity in the final third. We lost a lot with Trent (Alexander-Arnold) from the rear. I think Flo also has this quality, but in a totally different position.” explained Arne Slot, the Dutch coach after the German’s debut at Anfield on August 4 (3-2 in a friendly against Bilbao). At the end of July, he opened his account with a first goal against Yokohama, during the club’s tour of Asia (3-1).

Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal)

What if he was the missing piece to allow Arsenal to win their first win since 2004? Second in the Premier League over the last three years, the Gunners got their hands on the Swedish scorer, the most prolific in all European championships last year (54 goals for Sporting, in all competitions).

Author of a hat-trick in the Champions League against Manchester City in the fall, he has often impressed and represents, like Ousmane Dembélé, the big names who emerge late in life. “The consistency he has shown in his performances and his availability are remarkable, and his contributions in terms of goals speak for themselves,” rejoiced Mikel Arteta, the Gunners technician who broke the bank for his arrival.

Having passed through Brighton, Swansea and Coventry without leaving a lasting memory across the Channel, the 27-year-old striker completes the impressive list of London recruits including Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Cristhian Mosquera (Valencia) and Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), who offered his first goal to Viktor Gyökeres at the Emirates Stadium against Bilbao on August 9. Enough to offer great prospects to the north London club, which still counts William Saliba, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka in its ranks.

Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)

He will be one of the major attractions of the championship. Having left Lyon for 42.5 million euros (including 6 million in bonuses), the young French international will discover English football under the orders of Pep Guardiola. The opportunity for Manchester City, who also enlisted Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan), to move forward after a very disappointing 2024-25 financial year: the first without a single title in eight years.

“The club decided to sign him because he has incredible skill close to the penalty area, incredible passing vision and many other things. I’m really happy that he’s here,” admitted the Catalan tactician after the neo-Blue’s debut at the Club World Cup, during which he scored against Al Aïn. A pure product of the Lyon team, Rayan Cherki has been tracked since his adolescence by the biggest clubs but only left his cocoon at the dawn of his 22nd birthday, after his first season combining consistency in performance and efficiency (12 goals, 20 assists).

Estevao (Chelsea)

Here’s one that the Blues of Enzo Maresca have not planned to send to train in Strasbourg. At 18 years old, the young Brazilian Estevao Willian is considered a great prospect. After facing the future world champions and scoring against them with Palmeiras at the beginning of July at the Club World Cup, the winger, capable of playing as a playmaker, finally joined Chelsea, with whom he had signed an agreement in June 2024. “I had to wait but it was a year where I worked hard and did everything I could to get here in the best shape possible,” said the one who scored against Bayer Leverkusen in preparation.

After standing out by scoring a hat-trick in the final of the Brazilian U17 championship in 2023, the one nicknamed “Messinho” (“little Messi”) since his tender years has been became the first Auriverde player to reach the mark of 30 cumulative goals and assists before his majority… since Neymar in 2010, to whom he is often compared. Enough to dazzle Carlo Ancelotti, who has already offered him his first start with the Seleçao in June (5 selections in total).

Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool)

The return through the front door for Hugo Ekitike. Having left for Frankfurt after a failed stint at PSG, the Rémois joined Liverpool in the off-season, where he will have to put his qualities of speed and finishing at the service of the collective, whether up front to replace Darwin Nunez, or to make Luis Diaz forget on the left wing. Against Bilbao, he distinguished himself by offering caviar to Mohamed Salah, before scoring at Wembley for his official debut during the Community Shield.

Author of a successful year in Germany (22 goals and 12 assists), the 23-year-old Frenchman must confirm because he now hasa royal scene to allow him to stand out and earn his first selection for the French team by the 2026 World Cup. First stage, Friday against Bournemouth.