Why more than £200m worth of Premier League signings has yet to debut, including Newcastle trio
Crystal Palace and Newcastle both have three new signings waiting in the wings, while expensive Brighton and West Ham forwards are waiting patiently to debut.
These 19 players were signed either permanently or on loan by Premier League clubs this summer but have yet to debut. We are leaving out those who joined and were immediately sent elsewhere – your Enzo Barrenecheas, your Aaron Anselminos, your Daniel Jebbisons.
Neto (Arsenal)
Fee: Loan
Reason for absence: He is back-up to David Raya.
What the manager has said: “We need to replace Aaron (Ramsdale). We need to replace Karl (Hein).”
When he should debut: Mikel Arteta will consider it a success if he never does, especially with the Carabao not an option after his appearance earlier in the competition for Bournemouth. He does have some Champions League experience if David Raya stops being really quite meaninglessly brilliant.
READ MORE: Extraordinary David Raya record gets him in Premier League team of the season so far
Gustavo Nunes (Brentford)
Fee: £10m
Reason for absence: He is an 18-year-old playing and living outside of Brazil for the first time, who only made his senior professional debut in February.
What the manager has said: “Gustavo has a lot of potential and of course we need to maximise that in every aspect. He needs time to settle, but this is a very exciting signing.”
When he should debut: Difficult to say really. There might be some minutes to be thrown around later in the season but the current focus is on settling in.
Igor Thiago (Brentford)
Fee: £30m
Reason for absence: A knee injury
What the manager has said: Not much. After the issues which plagued Brentford last season, Thomas Frank probably just nodded along when told about his club-record signing having to undergo surgery.
When he should debut: In a club statement, Brentford said Thiago ‘is expected to return towards the end of the year’ after ‘a period of recovery and rehabilitation’.
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Brajan Gruda (Brighton)
Fee: £25m
Reason for absence: A “small” injury.
What the manager has said: “I can’t give you a clear schedule for when he’ll be back. He’s settling in quite good. He’s a very young player. In Germany there is a different culture from here. We try to help him a lot and give him a good rehab. Hopefully he will be back on the pitch soon.”
When he should debut: Things are fairly secretive in terms of a proper timeframe, so it could still feasibly be Nottingham Forest (September 22), Chelsea (September 28) or Tottenham (October 6) before the international break.
Omari Kellyman (Chelsea)
Fee: £19m
Reason for absence: Technically speaking, a hamstring injury.
What the manager has said: Enzo Maresca almost certainly doesn’t actually know who he is.
When he should debut: Kellyman says he will “be back stronger” after a two-month lay-off but yeah, hard to see where those minutes come. Not even the Europa Conference as he was omitted from that squad along with Cole Palmer. What a PSR-take.
Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)
Fee: Loan
Reason for absence: He is back-up to Dean Henderson.
What the manager has said: “It is vitally important in any squad to have competition for places, and Matt – with his experience of the Premier League and at international level – represents an excellent addition to our goalkeeping ranks this season,” said chairman Steve Parish.
When he should debut: The Carabao felt like a safe bet but Oliver Glasner decided against rotating his goalkeepers for the third-round win over QPR, so Turner could consider finding a comfortable place on the bench.
Trevoh Chalobah (Crystal Palace)
Fee: Loan
Reason for absence: Signed on deadline day.
What the manager has said: “Trevoh is a talented young man and when the opportunity to bring him to Palace for the season arose, we were determined to seize it,” said chairman Steve Parish.
When he should debut: It would have been against Leicester but Chalobah suffered what Glasner described as “a really strange injury” to his abdomen in training. While “it won’t take very long” to recover, the Palace manager clarified that he is “questionable” for QPR (which he missed) and Manchester United on Saturday.
Louie Moulden (Crystal Palace)
Fee: Free
Reason for absence: He is probably their fourth-choice keeper.
What the manager has said: Not much.
When he should debut: The 22-year-old is yet to make a Premier League bench so might be best focusing on taking it step by step first.
Armando Broja (Everton)
Fee: Loan
Reason for absence: An Achilles injury.
What the manager has said: “Armando is going to be a bit of time. I think everyone’s aware of that situation. He’s got an injury and that’s going to take a bit of time.
When he should debut: An October return has been mooted, by which point David Moyes would be thrilled to welcome him back into the fold.
Asmir Begovic (Everton)
Fee: Free
Reason for absence: He is their third-choice keeper.
What the manager has said: “Mainly it’s to allow the other keepers to go out. We need cover obviously. Asmir knows that with his experience and knowledge of the club.”
When he should debut: Even with Jordan Pickford conceding at least three goals a game it won’t be soon. Joao Virginia was trusted in the Carabao Cup and did not save any of Southampton’s six penalties, carefully removing a few more precious minutes from the fixture list.
Odsonne Edouard (Leicester)
Fee: Loan
Reason for absence: Signed too late to face Aston Villa before the international break, and ineligible to play against Crystal Palace straight after.
What the manager has said: “Odsonne, we’re delighted he’s here. He’s a bit frustrated he can’t play because of the loan agreement. We’re looking forward to introducing him when we can. We’ve got really good competition now and we want the guys to be pushing each other so we can get to a place we really want to be in games.”
When he should debut: Jamie Vardy will inevitably start against Everton on September 21 but expect Edouard to make a cameo in a 3-2 comeback win.
Michael Golding (Leicester)
Fee: £5m
Reason for absence: The 18-year-old has been busy featuring for the U21s.
What the manager has said: Nothing publicly from Steve Cooper but Golding says his manager “really gave me the confidence to believe in myself and show my ability on the pitch when I’m here and help the team as much as I can”.
When he should debut: It seems unlikely to be this season as he is very much a part of the U21 furniture already. Walsall in the Carabao on September 24 is feasible but beyond that he is very much a project for the future.
Leny Yoro (Man Utd)
Fee: £52m
Reason for absence: A foot injury.
What the manager has said: “Very mature, great personality, dealing with it, looking forward, be positive. He’s already started his rehab. A fire is burning there. As I say, for his age, he is already very mature and very balanced. He will be returning as soon as possible to support the team and he will help the team winning games and winning trophies.”
When he should debut: The initial timescale for a return was three months, so interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy could welcome the centre-half back around the festive period.
Will Osula (Newcastle)
Fee: £10m
Reason for absence: He is not Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon or Harvey Barnes.
What the manager has said: “We’ve been tracking him for three years and he excites us. He has all the raw ingredients to become a great centre-forward. Good physical profile and good technical skills. There are areas of his game to develop but he’s coming to the right place to do that. It’s a very tricky situation. We have two outstanding centre-forwards and to find someone to complement them isn’t easy.”
When he should debut: Carabao, perhaps. Osula was an unused substitute in the second round against Nottingham Forest – and in all four Premier League games so far – but AFC Wimbledon away in the third round presents an opportunity.
Odysseas Vlachodimos (Newcastle)
Fee: £20m
Reason for absence: Lawyers have advised us not to go too far beyond saying it was, at least in an on-pitch footballing sense, the most pointless signing of all this summer.
What the manager has said: “He’s fighting for a place.”
When he should debut: Soon, surely. Why else would you spend £20m on a new keeper? If he does play, it really will have gone very wrong indeed.
John Ruddy (Newcastle)
Fee: Free
Reason for absence: He is probably their third-choice keeper.
What the manager has said: “I’m pleased to welcome John to Newcastle United. He has a huge amount of experience and adds a level of support and competition that we need. As well as his abilities on the pitch, he has a strong mentality and he is a leader, which will only benefit the group.”
When he should debut: If all goes to plan, never. But he did make the bench against Bournemouth in the Premier League and Nottingham Forest in the Carabao.
Luis Guilherme (West Ham)
Fee: £26m
Reason for absence: He is an 18-year-old playing and living outside of Brazil for the first time.
What the manager has said: “We will look after him, help him and his family to settle in and allow him time to adapt. But we are very excited about his immediate potential and are looking forward to seeing the progress he can make at West Ham United,” said technical director Tim Steidten.
When he should debut: Guilherme has made the bench twice for games against Manchester City and Bournemouth so it could be imminent, especially if Tomas Soucek is getting minutes in attack.
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Wes Foderingham (West Ham)
Fee: Free
Reason for absence: He is their third-choice keeper.
What the manager has said: “I’m sure that under the guidance of Xavi Valero, both Alphonse (Areola) and Lukasz (Fabianski) will benefit greatly from having another established keeper working alongside them on a daily basis.”
When he should debut: He conceded 79 Premier League goals last season so might just fancy a break, although he was on the bench cheering Fabianski on against Bournemouth in the Carabao.
Bastien Meupiyou (Wolves)
Fee: £4.2m
Reason for absence: He is 18 and injured.
What the manager has said: “Bastien’s got a huge amount of potential. Obviously, he had some time out last season with a knee injury, so we’ll take our time with him, but he has an incredibly high ceiling and we’re excited to help develop him,” said sporting director Matt Hobbs.
When he should debut: Not soon. Wolves justifiably want to take their time with this one, even if Gary O’Neil might eventually be tempted to try anything to stop this alarming slump.