The World Cup stars being targeted by Premier League clubs

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The World Cup stars being targeted by Premier League clubsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, England and Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson remains a key transfer target for Manchester City, while Liverpool have shown interest in Ivory Coast winger Yan DiomandePublished39 minutes agoIt’s the ultimate shop window: a World Cup with 48 teams – all packed with players eager to show what they can do on the biggest stage.Fans are cheering on their national teams, with half an eye on who their Premier League side might be keen to sign.With the transfer window now open, BBC Sport journalists have been taking a look at some of the key names being discussed.Here are some of the players under the microscope.Goalkeepers and defendersImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, England goalkeeper James Trafford, USA left-back Antonee Robinson, Croatia centre-back Luka Vuskovic and DR Congo defender Aaron Wan-BissakaBack in for Trafford?ByCiaran Kelly

Football reporter

The prospect of Newcastle making a third attempt to sign England goalkeeper James Trafford in just three years has not been ruled out.

Although he did not feature in England’s opener against Croatia, it was significant that on the eve of the game the Manchester City goalkeeper accepted he will need to be first choice at club level to fulfil his dream of being his country’s number one.

That could yet work in Newcastle’s favour if they are to return to the table for Manchester City’s cup keeper.

Robinson in the frame? Vuskovic in demand

Simon Stone

Chief football news reporter

Fulham’s Antonee Robinson could come into Manchester United’s thinking if they decide their left-sided options would be best bolstered by a more defensive player.

Robinson is a key figure in the USA team and completed the full 90 minutes against Paraguay and 80 minutes of their match with Australia.

Brighton have already had a couple of bids turned down for Tottenham defender Luka Vuskovic.

The 19-year-old started Croatia’s World Cup opener with England in the heart of a three-man defence, but was replaced 20 minutes after half-time as Thomas Tuchel’s side dominated.

Vuskovic wasn’t completely to blame for Harry Kane getting a free header for his second goal, but the youngster was nearest the ball as Kane got a free run at it and wasn’t able to get beyond John Stones as he tried to leap to challenge.

Palace must invest again

Alex Howell

Football reporter

Crystal Palace will come into the season fresh from winning the Conference League, and they have another European campaign as a result.

The main thing that was highlighted last season was that the squad that Palace started the season with lacked depth, which is why the club brought in Jorgen Strand Larsen, Brennan Johnson and Evann Guessand in the winter transfer window.

The Europa League will present a higher level of competition for Palace and as a result they will need to invest again.

Tyrick Mitchell is the only real first-team quality option at left-back, and right-back Daniel Munoz, 30, had knee surgery last season and did not look the same afterwards.

Munoz is now at the World Cup with Colombia. Even though Mitchell has had the summer off after missing out on the England squad, the full-back areas are where Palace will need to bring in back-up or players who can rival the current choices for a place in the starting XI.

Spence to Everton?

Giulia Bould

BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

The right-back position has been a problem for some time and West Ham and DR Congo’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka is of interest to Everton – as is England and Tottenham full-back Djed Spence.

Cherries eye a keeper

Mark Mitchener

BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Bournemouth’s recruitment is unlikely to be as busy as it was in the summer of 2025, when the sale of several stars meant replacements were required.

The Cherries are definitely in the market for a goalkeeper to provide back-up and competition for Djordje Petrovic, and would probably like a left-footed centre-back to fill the gap left by Marcos Senesi’s move to Tottenham which will go through on 1 July.

Any other business may depend on whether any of their current stars are prised away. Despite some noise in the media around Alex Scott, Eli Junior Kroupi and Rayan, concrete interest is yet to materialise.

Leeds plans under wraps

Adam Pope

BBC Radio Leeds reporter

In terms of actual names Leeds are chasing, it is difficult to discern at this stage, but I know they admire the Czech player Ladislav Krejci. The centre-back was at Wolves last season on loan from Girona.

Midfielders

Composite image showing England midfielder Elliot Anderson, Brazil's Ederson, Senegal's Lamine Camara & Argentina's Valentin Barco in their respective World Cup kitsGetty Images

England midfielder Elliot Anderson, Brazil’s Ederson, Senegal’s Lamine Camara & Argentina’s Valentin Barco

Record Anderson deal in the offing

Shamoon Hafez

Manchester City reporter

Nottingham Forest are thought to want a record fee for a British player if they are to sell Elliot Anderson, and you can see why after the midfielder’s eye-catching performance in England’s opening World Cup victory over Croatia.

Anderson played the full 90 minutes and made the great Luka Modric look all of his 40 years of age, providing a superb assist for Jude Bellingham’s all-important second-half goal.

The 23-year-old’s job and importance to England’s midfield is clear – since Thomas Tuchel took charge in January 2025, Anderson has won possession 78 times, that’s 51 more than Declan Rice who is next on that list.

Manchester City’s second offer worth £120m has already been rejected by Forest and Anderson may have added another £10m to his value following his highly impressive first appearance at a major international tournament.

Elliot Anderson addresses speculation over future

Pereira wants early deals for Forest

Nick Mashiter

Football reporter

Nottingham Forest do not plan another near-£200m spending spree like last season but are looking to add.

Elliot Anderson’s expected move to Manchester City means a midfielder will be a priority and boss Vitor Pereira wants to do business early – learning from his frustrations at the slow speed of Wolves’ deals when he was at Molineux last summer.

Forest previously looked at Uruguay’s Mathias Olivera, having had bids rejected by Napoli earlier in the year.

Ederson arrival held up by World Cup call

Simon Stone

Chief football news reporter

Manchester United have already agreed a deal to sign Ederson from Atalanta, but the £35m man’s move has been delayed as he was a late call-up to the Brazil World Cup squad.

The 26-year-old was left on the bench for the opening draw with Morocco, even though Casemiro was replaced at half-time after Carlo Ancelotti’s men were given a torrid time in the middle of the pitch.

Camara action catches the eye

Ciaran Kelly

Football reporter

Lamine Camara started both of Senegal’s opening World Cup fixtures, which ended in defeats by France and Norway.

The midfielder caught the eye with one particularly clever through ball behind France’s backline, which nearly played in Nicolas Jackson, but he was also a little loose in possession at times on his tournament debut.

Camara was used in a more advanced role in the 3-2 loss at the hands of Norway. As was also the case in the first game, he was substituted in the second half.

Yet it is easy to forget the Monaco midfielder is still only 22.

If Newcastle were to make a move for him, it is as much about the player he could develop into as it is the talent he is now.

Chelsea linked with young midfielders

Nizaar Kinsella

Football reporter

Strasbourg midfielder Valentin Barco declared his departure last month amid declared Chelsea interest.

Sources close to the Argentina international, 21, believe he is heading to Stamford Bridge, although Chelsea have yet to confirm any deal.

Lille and Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, has also been linked to Chelsea, but it’s unclear whether they will want to sign a further midfielder after the expected Barco deal.

Forwards

Composite image showing England's Morgan Rogers, Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, the Netherlands' Crysencio Summerville & Croatia's Toni Fruk in their respective World Cup kitsGetty Images

England’s Morgan Rogers, Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, the Netherlands’ Crysencio Summerville and Croatia’s Toni Fruk

Rogers a prime Arsenal target

Alex Howell

Football reporter

Arsenal headed into the summer in a position of strength after winning the Premier League title.

The Gunners spent heavily last summer and plan to invest in their squad again as they look to build a period of dominance in the league.

Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers is a target and is part of the England squad at the World Cup where he is battling for a starting role with Jude Bellingham.

Rogers can play as a number 10 and from either wing and could be a great addition to Arsenal’s group of attacking players.

It remains to be seen how much Villa would want for him.

Diomande to Anfield?

Aadam Patel

Liverpool reporter

It’s no secret that Liverpool are admirers of Yan Diomande and the 19-year-old winger made a brilliant start to the World Cup with a player-of-the-match display for Ivory Coast in their 1-0 win over Ecuador.

Diomande, who plays club football in Germany for RB Leipzig, started for his country and spent time on each flank during the 90 minutes, constantly asking questions of the Ecuador defence.

In a 2-1 defeat against Germany at the weekend, Diomande, who is valued at about £100m, played a key role in his team’s goal as part of another impressive display. He is next due in action on Thursday when Ivory Coast take on Curacao.

Another attacking name linked to Liverpool is Paris St-Germain’s Bradley Barcola, who started his World Cup with a goal for France against Senegal.

Just moments after coming on, the 23-year-old finished in style and he was subsequently rewarded with a start against Iraq on Monday, where he was relentless down the left wing.

Arsenal are also keen on Barcola, who may leave PSG this summer having become a back-up to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for Luis Enrique’s side.

Barcola could get his next World Cup action on Friday, when France play Norway.

Summerville standing out

Simon Stone

Chief football news reporter

Manchester United have numerous targets for their left-sided slot and West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville is one of them.

The 24-year-old former Leeds United winger made his senior debut for the Netherlands this month and was only winning his third cap against Japan in the team’s World Cup opener. Nevertheless, he finished top of the Fifa rankings for the game because of the continued attacking threat he posed.

Summerville capped his overall contribution by scoring Netherlands’ second goal. He also scored their fifth in an impressive 5-1 win over Sweden.

Gaps to fill for Brentford

Phil Parry

BBC Radio London reporter

The summer objective for Brentford will be a case of filling a couple of gaps and adding depth.

They are certainly looking for a left-sided attacking player and a strong central midfielder.

While there don’t appear to be any particular targets who are featuring at the World Cup, some players who may be on the radar have already shown some form.

Crysencio Summerville will no doubt be seen as a possible target following West Ham’s relegation, but he will be interesting a range of clubs.

Villa linked with Belgium prospect

Nick Mashiter

Football reporter

Aston Villa want a pacy winger, a striker, a midfielder and a right-back capable of providing cover for Ezri Konsa at centre-back. A goalkeeper is also on the agenda should Argentina’s Emi Martinez leave.

Belgium’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo has been linked, with the 21-year-old able to play wide or through the middle up front.

Fulham need a frontman

Emma Jones

BBC Radio London reporter

Fulham’s priority will be to appoint a new manager. Then on the pitch they need a striker – or two.

After letting Raul Jimenez go on a free they really need to add more firepower this summer.

They will probably be in the market for a new winger too, with player of the season Harry Wilson yet to commit his future to the club.

Le Bris plans restrained spend for Sunderland

Nick Barnes

BBC Radio Newcastle’s Sunderland commentator

Sunderland will unquestionably, like all clubs, be keeping an eye on players at the World Cup, but their recruitment process works several windows ahead. They will almost certainly have targets in mind who have been on their radar for as long as a year or more.

The club have made it clear they will not be signing 14 players again – like last year – but a far more conservative four to six. Regis le Bris likes to work with a trusted core of 16 players, and with European football next season it’s probably fair to say he will expand the group to 20.

The club are very good at keeping their cards close to their chest and I wouldn’t expect that to change this summer.

Key areas for recruitment are central midfield and attack, but full-backs are an area they will also probably look at.

De Zerbi strengthens Spurs defence – what next?

Nick Godwin

BBC Radio London reporter

Tottenham’s radical overhaul is already well under way after last season’s narrow escape from relegation.

Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson are all on board for Roberto de Zerbi’s first full season.

Those arrivals will not have escaped the attention of the likes of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, who remain on the books at Tottenham.

Spurs also need to address weaknesses further up the pitch, which is why Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali have been linked – they are not involved in North America this summer.

The one area that may not be so intensely revamped is attack, where there are great hopes that James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski will return to good effect. However, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel and Dominic Solanke could be replaceable if the right player becomes available.

Hull could look at Fruk

Mike White

BBC Radio Humberside sports editor

Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic has made no secret of his desire, whilst speaking to Croatian media, of his desire to sign players from that country’s league.

One of those who’s currently at the World Cup is Toni Fruk. The 25-year-old Rijeka attacking midfielder/forward was an unused substitute for the loss to England but is highly thought of.

Aside from Fruk, there are no specific names linked with the Tigers from the tournament so far but the club have certainly have eyes on it.

With the impressive recruitment work done already through the likes of sporting director Jared Dublin and head of recruitment Martin Hodge, you wouldn’t put it past them to unearth a few gems as Hull return to the Premier League after almost a decade.

The challenge to stay up

We’ve already mentioned Hull City, but what about the other two promoted teams?

Ipswich may look beyond World Cup breakout stars

Graeme McLoughlin

BBC Radio Suffolk reporter

A proven goalscorer is likely to be one of Ipswich Town’s priorities this summer when it comes to bringing in new players, but how many of those shining at the World Cup would be interested in a move to Suffolk remains to be seen.

Cyle Larin feels like one that got away having watched him find the net for Canada against Qatar. He’ll remain with last season’s Championship rivals Southampton having made his impressive loan switch a permanent one.

Away from the World Cup, Ipswich have been linked with Italian teenager Jeff Ekhator who certainly could be one for the future.

Four goals from 54 league appearances for Genoa doesn’t get the juices flowing, though, and I’d sooner see Town opt for an older head in Callum Wilson, who does at least have a proven track record in the Premier League.

Change of tack for Coventry?

Katie Stafford

BBC Sport journalist

Coventry City have modelled their transfer business in recent seasons on Brighton and Brentford, but they will inevitably need to bring in experienced heads for their return to the Premier League.

The Sky Blues are in the market for a goalkeeper as Carl Rushworth has returned to parent club Brighton following a season-long loan, and they are also looking for defensive reinforcements.

Related topics

  • Premier League
  • Football
  • FIFA World Cup 2026

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