Ranking £181.3m worth of summer signings by how desperate new clubs should be to debut them
The Newcastle medical department is working overtime to expedite the recovery of the solution to their problems. Arsenal and Liverpool await some debuts too.
It is rare for a new signing not to have debuted this far into a season. Not every player immediately becomes a guaranteed starter upon joining but the increasing importance of squad rotation and advent of other competitions allows the minutes to be shared around.
If you haven’t at least been given a Carabao cameo then something has gone dreadfully wrong.
But some are still waiting for their first run-out in front of an adoring new support. A few of them are back-up keepers who will only play in the event of an actual disaster; others are being handled with care because of how crucial they could prove to be.
Let us rank those summer signings awaiting their debut in terms of how desperate their new clubs will be for them to make that bow.
21) Marcus Bettinelli (Manchester City, signed for £2m)
He rather optimistically hoped to “contribute in training, the dressing room and on the pitch,” while Director of Football Hugo Viana stifled a laugh when explaining that Bettinelli would “complement our other senior goalkeepers” and make sure “he’s always ready to perform when called upon himself”.
Chelsea called upon him once in four seasons for an FA Cup third-round tie in January 2022. Bettinelli has more Premier League yellow cards than appearances since November 2018 after once being booked from the bench for the Blues. He is making Scott Carson proud.
20) Tom King (Everton, signed for an undisclosed fee)
The archetypal third-choice keeper, King spent two years at Wolves and made his debut on the final day of last season as a substitute in the final minute. He kept a clean sheet.
Everton will not want to risk that record. Their last Premier League game without Jordan Pickford was so long ago that Neal Maupay scored for Frank Lampard’s side as David Moyes managed the opposition – although the Toffees beat West Ham 1-0 with Asmir Begovic in net so Pickford is clearly holding them back.
19) Armin Pecsi (Liverpool, signed for £1.5m)
Will never play and will still be sold to Brentford or Bournemouth for £20m.
18) Freddie Woodman (Liverpool, signed for free)
Will never play while honouring the proud legacy of world and Premier League champion Andy Lonergan.
17) Angus Gunn (Nottingham Forest, signed for free)
Last played in the Premier League more than three years ago for Norwich. Should be used in the Europa if Ange has the minerals.
16) Lukasz Fabianski (West Ham, signed for free)
Mads Hermansen has already been dropped and Alphonse Areola did not inspire confidence in his place. At 40 there is every chance Fabianski has used his spare time to do his coaching badges, which would only increase his desirability to West Ham.
15) Aaron Ramsdale (Newcastle, signed on loan)
Having been relegated in each of his last three non-Arsenal Premier League seasons it might be best to keep him away. The cup competitions beckon and Newcastle’s problem is certainly not in keeping goals out anyway.
14) Kepa Arrizabalaga (Arsenal, signed for £5m)
What’s your favourite flavour of Carabao, fella?
13) Giorgio Mamardashvili (Liverpool, signed for £25m)
“I have had to be patient. I worked hard and I’m so [excited] to make my debut, my first official game. I’m so happy,” said Mamardashvili ahead of what is expected to be his Liverpool bow against Southampton in the Carabao.
There is no better back-up keeper in the league or perhaps world. But Alisson will take some shifting.
12) Diego Leon (Manchester United, signed for £7m)
While there was a miserable place for Leon on the bench in both the Grimsby defeat and Manchester derby, it is generally thought he will need time and patience to acclimatise after moving from Paraguay for the first time at 18.
That was reinforced by his first game in England, 45 minutes for the U21s against Liverpool which journalist Nathan Salt described as ‘pretty tough’ and ‘very raw’.
11) Romelle Donovan (Brentford, signed for £3m)
September brought an England U20 debut but Donovan is being integrated slowly after an exciting pre-season for the 18-year-old. One cannot master the art of the long throw in a matter of weeks.
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10) Bertrand Traore (Sunderland, signed for £2.1m)
As by far the cheapest of the forwards signed by Sunderland – and on a one-year contract – there is no burning desire for a 30-year-old squad option to be immediately introduced to an attack performing perfectly well.
9) Adam Aznou (Everton, signed for £7.7m)
“We won’t be putting him under any pressure and we won’t be giving any guarantees to the supporters that he’s going to be seen right away,” said David Moyes upon the arrival of Aznou.
That has bore out as expected. The 19-year-old has made the last two benches – but was understandably not called upon when Vitalii Mykolenko was substituted late in the Merseyside derby – while being given 81 minutes in the EFL Trophy. He is on the right path.
8) Dario Essugo (Chelsea, signed for £18.8m)
Thigh surgery has sidelined the planned understudy to Moises Caicedo, promoting Andrey Santos in the midfield pecking order and giving Facundo Buonanotte a Champions League squad place.
There remain high hopes for Essugo but Chelsea have enough players not to rush him back unless someone does something stupid. Probably Robert Sanchez.
7) Giovanni Leoni (Liverpool, signed for £26m)
Six wins from as many games certainly reduces the appetite to blood new signings, but it is anticipated that Leoni will get his opportunity in the Carabao against Southampton with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate both rested.
6) Jonah Kusi-Asare (Fulham, signed on loan)
Frustration is brewing at Bayern Munich over an initial lack of playing time for 18-year-old forward Kusi-Asare, who might have benefited more from a loan in more forgiving climes.
His entire senior career comprises 66 minutes so Fulham are not immediately inclined to further the development of a player they don’t own. But the Carabao could again be a natural starting point.
5) Senne Lammens (Manchester United, signed for £18.2m)
Among the many hills Ruben Amorim appears willing to die on is that Altay Bayindir is his Manchester United keeper. The noise is that a significant signing in that position will be targeted soon, leaving 23-year-old Lammens with few avenues to properly introduce himself to a confused fanbase.
4) Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham, signed on loan)
“Naturally, they are going to get minutes throughout the season, because we signed them,” Marco Silva pointed out of deadline day loan signings Kusi-Asare and Chukwueze.
The Fulham manager singled the former out as “a young lad” who “needs time to adapt” but Chukwueze comes with almost a half-century of Nigeria caps and more than 200 appearances for Villarreal and AC Milan. But has he ever done it at home to Cambridge on a Tuesday night?
3) Igor (West Ham, signed on loan)
Being neither Max Kilman nor Konstantinos Mavropanos should eventually work in his favour.
2) Christian Norgaard (Arsenal, signed for £10m)
Mikel Arteta: hold my sangria when my 6ft 1in central midfielder from Brentford becomes available.
1) Yoane Wissa (Newcastle, signed for £55m)
It does feel like the defensively excellent side which has only outscored Aston Villa so far this season would probably benefit from having their £55m striker who scored 19 times last campaign up and running.
