Relegation candidates Brentford one of six Premier League teams in ‘I fear for them’ territory

The Premier League season kicks off this weekend, and there are some clubs that we fear for. If you haven’t said ‘I fear for Brentford this season’ this summer, you’re doing it wrong.

The Bees are the prime candidates for falling into ‘I fear for them’ territory. They are one of six we think could get sucked into a relegation battle in 2025/26…

Brentford
Let’s start with the most obvious team, shall we? Everyone is in the same boat when it comes to concerns about Brentford. The most significant change this summer was the departure of legendary head coach Thomas Frank, who moved to Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur – a brilliant move for him, but a very difficult one for the future of Brentford Football Club.

There has been no ‘raid’ of his old club from Frank, though there were reports early in the summer window that he was interested in signing his old captain Christian Norgaard. Spurs were quoted a whopping £45million, but he then joined Arsenal for £10m. Ouch.

The departure of Norgaard is also very significant. Losing your head coach is one thing, but your captain as well? Not ideal, that. Then the Bees lost their best player, Bryan Mbeumo, who joined Manchester United after scoring 20 Premier League goals last season. That left Yoane Wissa as the club’s best player – and we all know how that’s going.

Unwilling to play for the club again, Wissa is trying to force a transfer to Newcastle United. That’s good news for the Magpies, who have been rejected by every Tom, Dick and Harry this summer, but they still haven’t reached an agreement with Brentford. It’s similar to the Alexander Isak situation – just the BTEC version.

So, Brentford have lost their manager and replaced him with a rookie in their first senior role, lost their two best players, and their captain. That really is the gist of it, folks.

Relegation has not threatened to sting the Bees once in four top-flight seasons, yet there’s a very good chance they finish in the bottom three in 2025/26. We’d be absolutely delighted to be wrong and wish Keith Andrews nothing but success, but…we fear for him, and we fear for Brentford’s Premier League status.

He is inevitably the favourite in the Premier League sack race.

Wolves
Like Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers have lost their two best players and captain this summer. But unlike Brentford, Wolves still have the same head coach.

Replacing Matheus Cunha with someone on the same level is an impossible task for Wolves, and they’ve attempted to do so with the addition of Jhon Arias from Fluminense, off the back of a good (Club) World Cup. Fer Lopez has also been added to carry some of the burden left by the new Manchester United player, but we’re not overly optimistic about either signing.

Cunha did everything for Vitor Pereira’s side, just as he did under his predecessor Gary O’Neil. He was the team’s prime creator and goalscorer, and comfortably their best player…even more comfortably than 20-goal Mbeumo was for Brentford. He leaves a monumental hole.

As for Pereira, there’s nothing more than a hunch that it’ll all end in tears for him at Molineux. There’s no point wasting time writing about a hunch.

Without Cunha and fellow departee Rayan Ait-Nouri, there’s not enough quality throughout the Wolves squad for us to predict anything but a gruelling 25/26 campaign. It’s very important to keep hold of Newcastle-linked striker Jorgen Strand Larsen and add more quality around him. Joao Gomes and Andre make a fine midfield pairing, but one that lacks creativity and goals.

There has to be more transfer movement from the Midlands club before the window closes because, well, we fear for them.

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Bournemouth
Liverpool away on matchday one isn’t ideal, and Bournemouth face the prospect of rocking up to Anfield away with Chris Mepham at centre-back. No disrespect, mate.

Bournemouth always knew it was going to be a difficult summer with widespread interest in their best players. They were resigned to losing Dean Huijsen months ago and were prepared to negotiate Milos Kerkez’s sale, but losing Illia Zabarnyi was not part of the plan. Paris Saint-Germain’s interest complicated matters, and it quickly became clear that the Ukrainian defender wanted to join the European champions. Nobody can blame him, and it looks like he acted with dignity during the ordeal. Some people should take notes!

At least a Kerkez replacement was sorted early doors. Andoni Iraola has Adrien Truffert in, and on-loan goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has been replaced by £22m Djordje Petrovic. No centre-back signings is a huge concern. Yes, Bafode Diakite sems to be on his way, but they need another one. And we’ve been saying for months that they need a new right-back.

The Cherries have had money to spend all summer but are going into the season very short. Relegation doesn’t seem realistic, but if they don’t get their recruitment right over the next three weeks, they could get sucked into an unexpected and most unwelcome battle.

West Ham
Simply put, this is a very uninspiring West Ham team. Transfer-wise, the addition of Kyle Walker-Peters on a free is good business, El Hadji Malick Diouf is a promising wing-back, and Mads Hermansen is a solid goalkeeper, as he proved last season for Leicester City. Those three signings, combined with Callum Wilson and Jean-Clair Todibo, are still pretty underwhelming. But who knows? Maybe an underwhelming window is what this team needs. People got over-excited last year by Guido Rodriguez, Carlos Soler, Niclas Fullkrug and others, and look how that turned out.

West Ham fans might think they’re too good for a relegation battle, but they really aren’t. Mohammed Kudus hasn’t been replaced, Fullkrug has done well in pre-season, but they still need a striker, and there’s an alarming lack of pace and technical ability in the middle of the park. Even on the wings, they have new signing Diouf and Crysencio Summerville, but this is a slow team, with very little potential to get bums off seats.

We fear for them, you know? Graham Potter’s appointment hasn’t gone as anticipated, and we see no reason to be excited about their prospects in 25/26. If Jarrod Bowen gets injured…these guys are screwed.

Burnley
You expect to fear for promoted teams, which is why there’s Leeds United and Sunderland here, but with Burnley, the fear is overbearing.

Leeds and Sunderland’s transfer business has been good. Burnley’s has been…not as good. Being Chelsea’s get-out by taking Lesley Ugochukwu and Armando Broja for £45m was a choice. Oh, and add another £10m for Bashir Humphreys. Kyle Walker on the cheap was a good bit of business, though, and it will be interesting to see how Marcus Edwards does in the Premier League.

The Clarets have made 13 first-team signings and there’s not one that fills you with confidence as a match-winner. They have spent more than they did in the disastrous 2023 summer window, but with fewer £10m+ signings.

Their manager is also Scott Parker, who has a big point to prove in the Premier League this season. A lot of Burnley players do. But, as things stand, they are the favourites to finish bottom.

Crystal Palace
The fear is minimal because Oliver Glasner, but losing club captain and star defender Marc Guehi on top of potentially selling Eberechi Eze, while contending with the dreaded Thursday-to-Sunday schedule, all point towards a difficult year for Palace.

READ MORE: Transfer rumour ranking: Spurs to hijack Arsenal target, Liverpool step up Guehi pursuit