Newcastle one of five Premier League clubs in ‘fear for them’ territory

Five Premier League clubs have fallen into ‘You have to Fear For Them, you really do’ territory as we approach the opening weekend of the season.

Some clubs are enduring annoyingly busy summer transfer windows, while others are doing nowhere near enough – a classic symptom of sleepwalking towards relegation.

Including rivals Newcastle United and Sunderland, here are the five Premier League sides we fear for heading into 2026/27.

And promoted teams do not count. Of course you fear for those three, especially the play-off winners.

Fulham

There are some managerial appointments that simply do not sit right. Alvaro Arbeloa to Fulham is one of them. So, yes… Fulham? You have to fear for them, you really do.

There is a strong argument that Fulham need upgrades all over the pitch. Bernd Leno is probably entering the final year of his Premier League-level No.1 era, while Benjamin Lecomte is not among the best back-up goalkeepers in the division. Their right-back options are Timothy Castagne and Kenny Tete, while Antonee Robinson and Ryan Sessegnon are fine on the left. But there are only three first-team centre-backs: Joachim Andersen, Jorge Cuenca and Calvin Bassey.

We don’t mind Sander Berge, but a midfield of Tom Cairney, Harrison Reed, Cesar Palacios and reported target Shea Charles – rather than Ipswich Town-bound Sasa Lukic – feels more like quantity over quality. Further forward, Josh King is promising but still raw, while we are still waiting for more from Emile Smith Rowe.

There is a real lack of depth in the attacking areas. Kevin and Oscar Bobb are exciting talents, but they are the only natural wingers in the entire first-team squad. Alex Iwobi has been very consistent and can operate out wide or as a No.10, but three wide options is simply not enough. Arbeloa needs more quality on the wing, in midfield, in goal and at the heart of defence. That is far from ideal with two weeks until the season starts.

We have already dissected a squad desperately in need of reinforcements and, beyond that, the manager is someone we simply cannot see being a success. Based on what Arbeloa did at Real Madrid following Xabi Alonso’s departure, we are far from convinced. It feels like a recipe for disaster.

Incidentally, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid teammates will face off on matchday one, with Chelsea travelling to Craven Cottage.

Newcastle United

Without Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle might have found themselves embroiled in a relegation battle last season.

Cards on the table, we don’t think Newcastle will go down this season, but if you thought losing Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon was bad, they could fall off a cliff when club captain Guimaraes joins Arsenal.

It’s a new era at St James’ Park after Eddie Howe walked out following the departures of Tonali and Gordon, with Guimaraes set to follow them through the door. To an extent, that brings excitement with Matthias Jaissle arriving as the club’s new manager, but losing Guimaraes feels like a step too far and significantly more damaging than any of the three aforementioned exits.

Newcastle without Bruno Guimaraes? The numbers are grim… 😬 pic.twitter.com/GEH3uYNI0I

— Football365 (@F365) August 5, 2026

Guimaraes has embodied this Newcastle team since arriving in January 2022, bringing an incredible energy and passion that rubbed off on his teammates, supporters and manager. Not only are the Magpies losing an outstanding player, but also a genuine leader who wore his heart on his sleeve every time he stepped onto the pitch.

Given his importance over the last four-and-a-half years, it would be no surprise if a Guimaraes-less Newcastle side were even worse this season.

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Crystal Palace

A new manager with no Premier League experience usually goes one of two ways: Oliver Glasner or Frank de Boer.

Crystal Palace will obviously hope for the former with Pierre Sage replacing Glasner following the expiry of the Austrian’s contract. On paper, Sage should be a success. He won the French Cup with RC Lens last season and finished second to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, finishing a respectable six points behind the back-to-back Champions League winners.

How Sage fares in England is highly unpredictable. If Palace go deep in the Europa League and finish in the top half of the Premier League, it will likely be down to a managerial masterclass, because this squad looks alarmingly thin heading into the new season.

At the time of writing, the Eagles’ only signings of the summer are defenders Oscar Mingueza and Takehiro Tomiyasu. They are both solid additions, sure, but hardly the sort of signings to excite supporters, especially as the club’s only arrivals after winning the Europa Conference League in May.

One positive is that Sage’s preferred formation is a 3-4-2-1, mirroring the highly successful Glasner and a system that clearly suits this group of players. It should allow Daniel Munoz to continue thriving at right wing-back, but defensive depth is a glaring concern. Maxence Lacroix has joined Chelsea after club captain Marc Guehi departed in January, piling the pressure on Jaydee Canvot, Chadi Riad and Chris Richards heading into 2026/27. They are Sage’s only natural centre-backs. One injury would force someone out of position – likely Mingueza or Jefferson Lerma – or see a youngster thrown in. The depth behind Tyrick Mitchell at left-back is also poor.

There is promise in attack, with three decent striker options in Jorgen Strand Larsen, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah. Sage also has quality out wide in Ismaila Sarr and Yeremy Pino.

Midfield is another concern beyond the brilliant Adam Wharton.

The lack of activity in the transfer market is a major worry and only strengthens Glasner’s criticism of the club’s hierarchy. It is a strange approach to take with Europa League football on the horizon, and the relentless Thursday-Sunday schedule against stronger opposition than last season could ultimately be Palace’s undoing.

Everton

David Moyes will be a Premier League managerial casualty this season. Things had already gone stale in the closing weeks of last season, ultimately costing Everton European qualification, with some supporters growing frustrated by the football on show in their shiny new stadium.

Despite that disappointing finish, there’s no doubt Moyes has done a good job of bringing stability to a club that was seriously lacking when he returned in January 2025.

After guiding Everton through a transitional period, the pressure will inevitably crank up on the Scot. The problem is that he has not been sufficiently backed in the 2026 summer transfer window, even though it was abundantly clear after the end of 2025/26 that Everton needed two or three new starters to bridge the gap to the European places.

The owners have failed to do that and, with only two weeks until the season kicks off, Hayden Hackney and Christian Norgaard are the only signings who looks capable of improving the starting XI.

Like Crystal Palace, Everton’s lack of transfer activity is a massive concern and, if two of the three promoted sides aren’t complete gash, we could see the Toffees sleepwalking into a serious relegation battle.

Sunderland

After an incredible first season back in the big time, you just fear that the combination of a quiet transfer window and European football could put Sunderland in a spot of bother this season.

Regis Le Bris was handed a plethora of new faces following promotion and it could have gone terribly wrong; it often does for ambitious promoted teams. Instead, almost every signing proved to be a roaring success, contributing to a surprise seventh-place finish and a league double over arch-rivals Newcastle.

This summer, Sunderland have been awfully quiet, adding Belgium international Thomas Meunier on a free transfer. Meunier fits the profile of the bargain signings the Black Cats targeted following last summer’s additions of Nordi Mukiele and Arthur Masuaku, among others, but we’re not convinced he improves Le Bris’ starting XI.

To bridge the gap and avoid relegation, recruitment must be spot on and spending money is a necessity. Sunderland and Leeds United both benefited from ambitious summers, yet after securing survival, one is looking to kick on with more big-money signings, while the other appears to be standing still.

Le Bris does have a decent-sized squad, and it is certainly bigger than that of fellow Europa League participants Crystal Palace. But the Eagles at least coped with the testing schedule to win last season’s Conference League, whereas Sunderland are being thrown straight into the deep end with Thursday night football.

Sunderland probably do have enough to cope, but it should surprise no one if the Thursday-Sunday schedule takes a serious toll.

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