Ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League season, Opta Analyst's Ryan Benson identifies eight players returning from injury or a loan spell who could rejuvenate their teams this season.
Roll your eyes all you want, but we’ve all done it; we’ve all said at some point that a certain player returning to fitness or from a fruitful loan could be "like a new signing".
While it might be a bit of an annoying cliché, we’ve decided to lean into it by picking eight players who are expected to be back in 2025/26 and could have a significant impact on their team...
Rodri (Manchester City)
It’s impossible to say definitively how much of a difference it would have made to Man City’s trophyless 2024/25 if Rodri hadn’t missed the majority of it, but it’s fair to assume they would have finished closer to champions Liverpool at the very least.
Rodri suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture against Arsenal in September and was out of action until 20 May, when he returned off the bench in a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth.
He then didn’t play on the final day of the Premier League season and was used sparingly during the FIFA Club World Cup, before suffering an injury setback in a surprise defeat to Al-Hilal that sent Man City home.
Assuming the injury sustained in the United States is only minor and that he can return to his previous level, Rodri will be the quintessential "like a new signing" for Man City.
That’s because – and you probably don’t need any reminding about this – he pretty much does it all.
Rodri is vital to Man City’s possession-based style of play, with his 3,359 successful passes in 2023/24 being a Premier League record for a single campaign (since at least 2003/04).
Rodri's pass map 2023/24
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Linked to that, he led the Premier League for open-play sequences involvements per 90 (minimum 2,000 minutes played) in 2023/24 with 8.4, highlighting how much of Man City’s play went through him.
He also contributed considerably in the final third, as well as being their conductor, managing 22 goal involvements in 50 matches for Man City across all competitions in 2023/24, evidence of the impact he can have in attack.
Rodri's attacking influence 23/24
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His importance could be seen in Man City’s results as well; they only lost one of the 50 games he played in 2023/24, but were beaten four times in the nine matches he missed.
Considering this, and how central he is to the team, it’s tempting to tie the club’s disappointing 2024/25 to Rodri’s absence.
Maybe there really was a lot more to it, but he was undoubtedly a huge miss and he will be a significant gain for Pep Guardiola.
Ferdi Kadioglu (Brighton & Hove Albion)
When Brighton signed Turkey full-back Kadioglu for a reported £25million in August last year, it was seen as a real coup.
The versatile attack-minded defender had been linked with a host of big clubs, most notably Arsenal, having caught the eye at Euro 2024.
But in November, Turkey confirmed Kadioglu had been ruled out to a "capsule tear in his left big toe joint".
Nearly two months later, after a longer-than-expected recovery period, he eventually had surgery. He didn’t play again in 2024/25.
Kadioglu should, however, be fit for the start of the new season and that will allow him to kick-start a Brighton career that never really got off the ground.
In the limited amount of football he’s managed to play for the Seagulls, it was clear that coach Fabian Hurzeler appreciated Kadioglu’s adaptability.
A relatively unusual player, in that he predominantly featured at left-back for previous club Fenerbahce despite being right-footed, Kadioglu was used on both flanks – at full-back and further forward – after moving to Brighton.
Kadioglu's positions played 24/25
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This indicates that the plan may have been for him to be a utility player for the squad rather than simply a left-back, while his technical ability meant he was capable of moving into central positions when required as well.
Exactly what his outlook is heading into 2025/26 is hard to say.
He could challenge Pervis Estupinan for the starting left-back role, though the signing of Maxim De Cuyper from Club Brugge for a not insignificant fee puts that in doubt.
On the other flank, Brighton still have Tariq Lamptey – who has signed a new deal – and Joel Veltman.
Players who can adapt to multiple positions and roles effectively are a valuable commodity - and Kadioglu could be a very useful asset.
Kadioglu's positions and minutes played 2021 to 2024
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Igor Thiago (Brentford)
Brentford made Thiago their record signing last summer, paying Club Brugge a reported fee of £30million as they looked to replace the goals of Ivan Toney.
The Brazilian hardly featured, however.
In his first outing for the club in pre-season, he suffered a meniscus injury that kept him out until November.
Four appearances in the Premier League followed, but he was then out for another five months due to a knee-joint infection.
Four more cameos followed before the end of the campaign, but Thiago’s season had been ruined.
He and Brentford will hope for better luck in 2025/26, and considering the possible departure of Bryan Mbeumo, there’s an opportunity for him to stake a claim to start alongside Yoane Wissa, assuming the latter stays and new head coach Keith Andrews wants to utilise a front two.
But what sort of a centre-forward is he?
Shortly after his signing was announced in February 2024, then-Brentford boss Thomas Frank highlighted Thiago’s work-rate and pressing, while also commenting on his significant physical stature.
But in his single season at Brugge, he also had a good track record of getting into dangerous positions.
While his 12 non-penalty goals might have been modest, the average Expected Goals (xG) value of his non-penalty shots was 0.19. Putting it simply, that ranked him 12th among the 254 forwards from Europe’s top 10 leagues to attempt at least 50 non-penalty shots in 2023/24.
Thiago's goal threat 23/24
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Obviously getting into good goalscoring positions is a plus for any forward, but it was a habit that resonated particularly with Frank, who in a 2022 interview with the Brentford Supporters’ Trust said he’s “a big believer in making the chance bigger; it’s about creating good opportunities where we increase the opportunity to score.”
It remains to be seen whether Andrews espouses a similar belief, but there’s the potential for Thiago to thrive at Brentford.
Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United)
Upon Ruben Amorim’s appointment by Man Utd in November, centre-back Martinez was seen as among the likeliest to benefit.
While the expectation that Amorim would use a back three caused some consternation, the fact he expected his wide centre-backs to be frequent ball progressors seemed to obviously marry up with Martinez’s strengths.
The Argentina international is comfortably United’s most competent centre-back on the ball.
Between Amorim’s arrival and Martinez’s season-ending injury, the former Ajax man was top among Man Utd defenders (105+ mins played) for touches (82.2), passes (71.1) and successful passes (64.7) per 90 in all competitions.
And over the whole of the 2024/25 Premier League season, his 79 per cent completion rate for passes under pressure from an opponent within two metres was the seventh-highest among the 69 centre-backs to attempt at least 500 passes.
But it goes much deeper than simply being comfortable; the purpose and positivity his distribution offers is far greater than of any of his defensive colleagues.
Martinez ranked eighth among Premier League centre-backs (900+ mins) for line-breaking passes per 90 (10.8) last season.
Contributing to that, he averaged 0.8 passes per 90 that broke the opposition’s defensive line, the second-most frequent among the same players. His total of 16 line-breaking passes into the penalty area was also five more than any other central defender – that’s despite his season ending on 3 February when he sustained an ACL injury.
Martinez's line-breaking passes 24/25
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Martinez probably won’t be back for the start of the 2025/26 season, as media reports suggest he is going to be working on an individual programme throughout pre-season.
Initially there were fears that he may be out until 2026, but the latest indications seem to suggest he’s making promising progress.
A return in the opening months of the new campaign isn’t out of the question.
The 2024/25 season indicated the weaknesses in United's squad, and a lack of consistency at the back didn't help.
But Martinez is a player fans can be confident will provide some quality.
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Sven Botman (Newcastle United)
The fact Newcastle managed to secure a return to the UEFA Champions League via a fifth-place finish last season despite being without arguably their best centre-back for the majority of the campaign reflects incredibly well on them and Eddie Howe.
In 2024/25, Dan Burn was shifted infield to play mostly at centre-back with Fabian Schar, and together they were one of the best central defensive partnerships in the Premier League.
But Burn only filled that void because Botman was out so often.
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The Dutch defender has had rotten luck over the past 16 months or so.
He tore his ACL in March 2024 and returned in January, but he then only managed two more appearances in all competitions across February, March and April due to an additional knee issue.
When he’s fit, though, Botman is among the Premier League’s most rounded centre-backs.
For starters, he was one of just four centre-backs (900+ mins) in 2022/23 - his only full season of Premier League football - to win at least 65 per cent of both aerial (65.8 per cent) and ground duels (67.1 per cent).
Best duel successes 22/23
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But he was also happy to be in possession, whether that meant holding onto it himself or distributing to others.
Botman's 144 progressive ball carries between five and 10 metres in length saw him rank 14th out of 95 centre-backs, while among the 33 centre-backs to attempt at least 120 long passes in 2022/23, only six completed a greater share than his 53.9 per cent.
In his first season at St James’ Park he excelled just as he had at Lille previously.
Botman will be desperate to enjoy a long run in the team this season and leave his injury problems in the past.
Oscar Bobb (Manchester City)
Everything appeared to set Bobb up for a big season in 2024/25.
Bobb had made 26 appearances for City in 2023/24 across all competitions as he began to earn Guardiola’s trust, then he impressed in pre-season and started the Community Shield win over Man Utd.
Ahead of City’s first league match of the season, Bobb broke his leg and it took him longer than expected to recover, before then sustaining a hamstring injury.
He ended the Premier League season having made only three appearances, and went on to play twice off the bench at the Club World Cup.
Bobb's 14 Premier League outings in 2023/24 only amounted to 295 minutes, but in those cameos he showed flashes of his talent.
A brave and bright presence on the ball, Bobb showed confidence that he could beat his man.
On a per-90 basis – yes, we accept this is slightly warped by him only featuring for 295 – the Norwegian winger averaged 5.5 dribble attempts, the fourth-highest among all midfielders.
While there’s no guarantee he would be able to keep up that frequency over a full season, Guardiola does appear to want his wide players to be direct and tricky these days.
And with none of the wide roles at City appearing to be nailed down, Bobb should sense an opportunity.
Of course, no one really knows yet if he truly has the quality to be a success at City, but it seems likely he’ll finally get the chance to answer that in 2025/26.
Cheick Doucoure (Crystal Palace)
Injuries have plagued Palace’s Doucoure over the past couple of years.
After an Achilles rupture robbed him of the majority of 2023/24, toe and meniscus issues subsequently forced him to miss over five months of 2024/25 too.
How realistic it is to expect Doucoure to get back to his best again is unclear, but given he’s still only 25, he has time on his side.
Doucoure is, first and foremost, a destructive presence for Palace.
Across his three seasons, he is in the 81st percentile for tackles per 90 (2.8) among midfielders, while he ranks top in the same group for interceptions on a per-90 basis (1.9).
While both metrics are weighted somewhat to favour players in teams who don’t spend as much time in possession, both are still decent indicators of what he offers out of possession.
Doucoure's interceptions 2022-present
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He works hard to win the ball back and keeps things simple when he has it.
But before he was at Selhurst Park, Doucoure was more of a box-to-box midfielder at Lens, an all-rounder capable of impacting the game further up the pitch as well.
The possibility of him lining up regularly alongside the excellent Adam Wharton and forming a proper partnership is an exciting one because, between them, there’s not much missing in their armoury.
Partnering with Wharton week in, week out – as opposed to Jefferson Lerma or Will Hughes – might allow for Doucoure to venture forward a little more.
But even if the idea would be to keep them in a double pivot, Palace would gain significantly from having a fully fit Doucoure for a whole season.
Andrey Santos (Chelsea)
Considering the sheer number of players Chelsea own, it’s pretty difficult to be confident about which ones have a future at the club – and Santos is no exception.
Nevertheless, the young Brazilian midfielder can point to an exceptional loan spell last season, impressing at Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg in Ligue 1.
Named in the 2024/25 Ligue 1 Team of the Season, his form earned Santos a spot in Chelsea’s squad for the Club World Cup, which seems a fairly good indicator of the regard Enzo Maresca holds him in.
A single substitute appearance in Chelsea’s first four matches at the Club World Cup might have dented his confidence, but injury to Reece James provided him with an opportunity in the quarter-final against Palmeiras.
He was excellent in a deeper role, despite a consensus that he was likely to be backup to Enzo Fernandez as the No 10.
At Strasbourg last season, it was his broad range of abilities that saw Santos stand out.
He clearly possessed quality on the ball, but there was a combativeness to him as well that helped him thrive physically.
He made more 110 tackles, more than any other player in Ligue 1 last season, while only three players won possession more often than his total of 188.
Santos also topped the rankings for duel success when considering the 54 players to be involved in at least 250, winning 66.7 per cent of those such duels.
Santos' duel success rate for Strasbourg 24/25
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He was also a notable threat in attack, his 10 league goals and 29 open-play chances created were both the second-best in the Strasbourg squad.
If he gets the chance, Santos could be a fascinating player to keep an eye on in 2025/26.