Steve Bower: There has been a lot of talk this summer about Newcastle players departing, particularly in the midfield area, but here’s someone they brought in early on – before Eddie Howe left – in a deal that could be worth up to £23m.
I saw Steur play in Europe for Ajax last season, and he made 25 appearances for them in all competitions in the end. He can either play in defensive midfield or a bit further forward, is two-footed and has lovely passing ability.
Obviously it is a big step up, as we know, to come from the Dutch league into the Premier League as a teenager, and also to arrive at a club in transition with a new manager.
But Newcastle have got players like Lewis Miley – who has come through in recent seasons – that Steur can learn from being in a similar situation as well.
I liked the look of him on first viewing for Ajax and he appears as if he has got the personality to play in the Premier League.
Steur is not someone who necessarily starts initially, or all the time, but he seems pretty fearless and is the type of player who could grab the opportunity if it comes his way.
John Murray: This looks a potentially shrewd signing for newly promoted Coventry City, even though they have just paid a club record transfer fee of about £25m to sign him from Danish side FC Nordsjaelland.
Yirenkyi featured in all four of Ghana’s matches at the World Cup and, when I commentated on him during their group match against England, I thought he looked the kind of energetic midfielder who would do well in the Premier League.
Conor McNamara: Coventry City have got themselves a talented and versatile new signing in Yirenkyi – which is pronounced ‘yur’INCH-ee’, by the way.
He started on the right of a back five for Ghana against England at the World Cup, but his favoured position is the centre of midfield.
Wales fans will remember him scoring against them in the pre-tournament friendly in June and he got a goal at the World Cup itself against Panama too.
After coming through Ghana’s ‘Right To Dream Academy’, he was named Young Player Of The Year in the Danish Superliga last season with Nordsjaelland.
Frank Lampard could be just the right coach to help Yirenkyi blossom further, as a midfielder of Premier League standard.
John Murray: Madjo is a teenage striker Aston Villa fans will know all about already after the goals he has scored for them in pre-season.
Born in London to parents from Cameroon, Madjo grew up in Luxembourg and made his senior international debut for them last year.
But he has now switched his international allegiance to England and played for the Under-17 team.
After a wrangle over that, he was finally cleared to play in competitive matches for Villa, making his competitive debut last week with a goal in the Super Cup against Paris St-Germain.
He looks like a big man with a big future.
Guy Mowbray: There’s been talk of a loan move for Madjo, but his flurry of pre-season goals and a massive impact against PSG should keep him around at least until the next transfer window.
If that’s the case – you won’t fail to notice him! He is a powerful striker who has most of the tools to be a success.
Steve Bower: I was going to choose Johan Manzambi, who I included when we did a similar article about new players to watch at the World Cup. Manzambi had an excellent tournament, and Villa pipped Newcastle to sign him.
But I didn’t want to include two players from one club, and I was told about Madjo when Villa signed him for just over £10m back in January, before they had well-documented issues registering him.
Obviously we know he has been available in pre-season, when he has made his mark with four goals against Walsall, Real Sociedad and Indonesia All-Stars. Then of course Unai Emery gave him his opportunity against PSG, when he scored again.
He has got a huge frame and figure for his age, bringing very early comparisons to Erling Haaland, which is a big tag to carry.
But, without putting too much pressure on a 17-year-old’s shoulders, with Villa being in the Champions League this season and the extra games that brings, Madjo is going to get some minutes.
It feels like the perfect scenario for Madjo, because with strikers like Ollie Watkins and Tammy Abraham at the club, Villa can introduce a young player like him to the first team without having to rely on him.
In Emery, Madjo has got the perfect manager to nurture his development too, and I think he could make his mark across all competitions this season.
Tom Gayle: Bournemouth are renowned for their ‘plug and play’ approach to recruitment.
Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Illia Zabarnyi arrived with low profiles and were all trusted with regular Premier League minutes before all three moved on in return for significant transfer fees.
Veljko Milosavljevic could be their latest defensive recruit to attempt to follow a similar trajectory.
I was at Vitality Stadium 11 months ago that the teenager made his debut in Bournemouth‘s 2-1 victory over Brighton. Before the match there was surprising honesty from then head coach Andoni Iraola, who told me he was unsure if Milosavljevic was ready for the Premier League.
The context was that Iraola had only worked with the youngster for just a couple of days because the defender had been away with Serbia’s Under-21 team.
But he was ready, and made a further six top-flight appearances before suffering a knee injury in December’s defeat by Everton, which remains his last Premier League outing.
Granted, it’s a limited sample size, but his cameos provided clear evidence Milosavljevic possesses the technical ability and physicality required to earn more consistent game time.
A knock picked up during pre-season may mean a delayed start to the campaign but, fitness permitting, I’m excited at the prospect of seeing more of a man described as “one of the biggest talents of Serbian football” by media in his homeland.
Guy Mowbray: The exits of Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers have left a big gap to fill in Aston Villa‘s midfield.
Hemmings looks like a mixture of the two players who have departed and his display against PSG in the Super Cup caught my eye as much as, if not more than, Madjo’s. He looks confident and classy on the ball.
Tom Gayle: There is hole in Villa’s midfield as a result of Tielemans’ move to Manchester United as well as Amadou Onana’s anterior cruciate ligament injury. Unai Emery will hope Hemmings could be the solution.
A regular England international throughout the age groups, Hemmings had plenty of admirers as he progressed through the Nottingham Forest academy before moving to the West Midlands at the start of 2024.
Back in January, I was in the press box for his first senior start in the Europa League group match against Salzburg. With Villa trailing 1-0 at half-time, the teenager – who in my assessment had struggled – was taken off.
I concluded Hemmings must have been substituted because of his performance, but Emery confirmed afterwards the plan was always for him to play just 45 minutes.
There’s no doubt during the 20 months since his arrival at Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground that Hemmings has been nurtured in the strict requirements of ‘Emery Ball’. The Spanish head coach has admitted during this time the youngster has spent more time “working and not playing”.
All this work behind the scenes led to John McGinn’s striking assessment of Hemmings’ performance against PSG, when he proclaimed “it’s no surprise to see him as one of the best players on the pitch”.
Following his breakout performance last week, perhaps the only surprise will be if we don’t get to see a lot more of Hemmings this season.
Steve Bower: At Manchester United, everyone is talking about JJ Gabriel, who is so good he is a freak of nature – but he is just 15, so we might only see him occasionally in the Carabao Cup this season.
A few years ahead of him, but still only 19, is Shea Lacey, who has overcome some early injury problems and has figured prominently in pre-season.
Lacey is an exciting wide player – exactly the type that United fans like – and is also very well known to Michael Carrick, not only with his coaching head on but also his parental one, from watching his son Jacey over the years in United’s academy.
I watched Lacey play against Burnley in United’s first game under Darren Fletcher, another coach who knows him well, when he took temporary charge last season.
A lifelong United fan, he was a whisker away from scoring in that game at Turf Moor and I see him being involved in the first-team squad a lot this season.
He is fearless, and it doesn’t look like the shirt or any expectation will weigh heavily on him. United fans are going to enjoy seeing a lot more of him this season, with Carrick keen to give him as many opportunities as possible.
James Fielden: I first saw Johan play for Freiburg towards the back end of last season in their Europa League tie against Celta Vigo and said to a colleague that something would have gone wrong for him if he wasn’t playing Premier League football come August. Think of Eberechi Eze in the way he effortlessly glides across the pitch with the ball.
Don’t be fooled by the number nine he wore on his back for Switzerland at the World Cup – he generally plays a lot deeper than that.
He played against Villa in their Istanbul final, but him not having much of a say was more about the team than his own doing.
Steve Wilson: He went into the World Cup with his reputation blossoming after helping Freiburg reach the Europa League final, and came out of the World Cup looking like the future of Swiss football, with Newcastle and Villa hot on his heels.
His brace against Bosnia and goal against Canada meant Freiburg had little choice but to cash in.
Manzambi can play in central midfield, as a number 10 or as a right-sided forward – which is arguably his most effective position. Switzerland missed him badly when injury curtailed his World Cup in the last 32.
