With the 2026 World Cup taking up most of the summer, several Premier League transfers have flown under the radar.

Below are some of the moves you may have missed, along with angles I’ll be keeping an eye on heading into the new season.

1. Johan Manazambi – Freiberg to Aston Villa (£59.5 million)

Following an impressive World Cup with Switzerland, Aston Villa beat Newcastle to the signing of highly rated midfielder Johan Manzambi for a club record fee.

Primarily operating in central midfield, Manzambi enjoyed a breakthrough season with Freiburg, recording seven goals and nine assists across 47 appearances in all competitions.

He was also named the Europa League Young Player of the Season after helping Freiburg reach the final.

That form carried into the World Cup, where he scored three goals from just two starts. His standout performances included a brace against Bosnia after coming on in the 71st minute, earning him MOTM, also registering a goal and an assist against Canada.

His shooting numbers are one to keep an eye on, where he averaged 2.73 shots and 1.36 shots on target P/90 in the tournament. I’ll be checking his prices during Villa’s opening fixtures against PSG, Brighton and Arsenal.

His foul numbers are even more impressive. Manzambi drew more fouls than any other Bundesliga player last season (78), which was 14 more than Nusa in second.

He averaged 3.38 fouls drawn P/90, so I’ll be checking his prices in that market but also seeing if there’s any value in the opposition central midfielders.

2. Tarik Muharemovic – Sassulo to Leeds (£35 million)

With Patrick Struijk leaving Leeds for Brighton in June, Leeds have moved quickly to strengthen their defence by signing Muharemovic, who becomes the club’s second-most expensive signing of all time.

The 23 year old made three appearances for Bosnia at the World Cup, including their Round of 32 defeat to the United States.

Former Bosnia U21 manager Slobodan Starcevic has been full of praise for Muharemovic, highlighting his aerial ability, composure under pressure and bravery when carrying the ball out from the back.

His World Cup numbers have caught my eye. He averaged 1.72 fouls committed P/90, while his attacking threat from set pieces stood out during the latter stages of the Serie A season.

Muharemovic registered at least one shot in five of his final eight league appearances, underlining his ability to trouble defences from set pieces.

With Leeds opening the season against Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Brighton, I’ll be checking his prices for shots and fouls committed.

3. Christos Tzolis – Club Brugge to Arsenal (£35 million)

Arsenal have brought in Greek forward Christos Tzolis to replace Leandro Trossard after the 23 year old enjoyed an outstanding season in Belgium.

Predominantly operating off the left, Tzolis is comfortable playing anywhere across the front three and registered 17 goals and 23 assists in just 36 league games last season.

That attacking output is reflected in his numbers, averaging a goal contribution every 1.17 games in the Pro League. More importantly, while those goals didn’t quite translate to the Champions League, he was still getting into plenty of dangerous shooting positions on Europe’s biggest stage.

He managed 27 shots and 12 shots on target, averaging 3.38 shots and 1.50 shots on target P/90 respectively.

Arsenal kick off their campaign against Coventry, so I’ll definitely be checking for value in the shots and shots on target markets, as well as his price to register a goal or assist.

4. Aladji Bamba – Monaco to Newcastle (£35.5 million)

At just 20 years old, Bamba has already established himself as one of France’s brightest young prospects. The defensive midfielder, who represents France at U20 level, was nominated for the 2026 Golden Boy award after an impressive season with Monaco.

He made 18 league appearances and featured five times in the Champions League. A physical midfielder, Bamba isn’t afraid to put himself about and covers plenty of ground.

Among Ligue 1 midfielders to play at least 500 minutes last season, he ranked in the top five for duels won, tackles, successful take ons and aerial duels won.

That physicality is reflected in his foul numbers, making him a player I’ll be keeping a close eye on in the foul involvements market, particularly across Newcastle’s opening fixtures against Liverpool, Spurs and Bournemouth.

In Ligue 1 last season, he averaged 2.53 fouls committed and 1.98 fouls drawn P/90.

His recent record for foul involvements across his last six starts reads: 2-1-2-2-7-2.

5. Marco Palestra – Atalanta to Chelsea (£35 million)

Palestra established himself as one of the world’s most exciting defensive prospects after an impressive breakout season on loan at Cagliari. So, given Chelsea’s habit of signing the best young talent, it was no surprise to see them bring him in.

He made 37 appearances for Cagliari last season, with his performances earning him the Serie A Best Defender award as well as a place in the Team of the Season.

From what we saw during Xabi Alonso’s time at Leverkusen, it’s clear just how important full-backs are to the way he wants his teams to play. Frimpong and Grimaldo were massive parts of that success, combining for 19 goals and 20 assists in the Bundesliga. Considering Palestra started out as a winger, there’s every chance he could be utilised in a similar way this season.

With that in mind, one angle I’d be keeping an eye on this season is his fouls won. He averaged 3.15 fouls won P/90 in Serie A last season, drawing 108 fouls across his 37 appearances. If he’s given the freedom to get forward regularly, I’d expect him to keep putting up those numbers.

6. Abdul Fatawu – Leicester to Ipswich (£20 million)

Ipswich’s biggest signing this season, Fatawu is a really exciting, direct winger with bags of pace, and he’ll be looking to make his mark in the Premier League this season.

He was one of the few bright sparks in a struggling Leicester side last season, registering 16 goal involvements, finishing as their leading assister and second-highest goalscorer. This earned him a place in Ghana’s World Cup squad, where he impressed in the few minutes given.

Looking at both his Championship numbers and his performances for Ghana, the two angles I’d be focusing on are shots and fouls won. He averaged 2.1 shots P/90 for Ghana at the World Cup, while his fouls won numbers across those games were 2-1-2-2.

Those numbers carried over into the Championship too, where he averaged 2.66 shots P/90 and won 1.79 fouls P/90 across the season.

Ipswich’s style of play should suit Fatawu perfectly. They’ll likely spend plenty of time sitting deep before looking to break at pace, and that’s where he can be at his most dangerous. Expect him to be released on the counter regularly, giving him plenty of chances to either win fouls in transition or work enough space to get a shot away.