Adrian Clarke highlights players who caught the eye during the weekend's Premier League Summer Series matches and can now build momentum during the midweek fixtures.
Brentford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton will enjoy the share of possession against Brentford in Atlanta, so the stage is set for summer signing Mahmoud Dahoud to showcase his quality.
The 27-year-old, brought in on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund, impressed against Chelsea at the weekend.
Working well in tight areas, the German varied his distribution and looked comfortable operating as Brighton’s deep-lying central midfield playmaker.
See: Who is Brighton's new midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud?
The way Dahoud consistently tried to switch play towards both flanks really stood out in their 4-3 loss.
Those pinpoint long-range diagonal passes should bring the best out of wingers Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March and Julio Enciso in this match against Brentford, and in the coming months.
| Fixture | Date and time* | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Brentford v Brighton | Wed 26 July, 17:30 | Atlanta |
| Fulham v Aston Villa | Wed 26 July, 19:00 | Orlando |
| Newcastle v Chelsea | Wed 26 July, 20:15 | Atlanta |
*Eastern Time Zone
The Bees will however test Dahoud's composure under pressure.
Thomas Frank will be disappointed at how easily Fulham manoeuvred the ball through the thirds to beat his Brentford side 3-2, despite their best attempts to press inside the opposition half.
Frank will expect his players to close down more effectively against Brighton, and may target Dahoud, who will regularly show for the ball when Brighton’s defenders are looking to make a progressive pass.
If the Seagulls' new signing handles this approach well enough to gain the upper hand in midfield, he will be the chief orchestrator in this contest.
Ahead of the upcoming campaign it will be just the kind of examination that gets him up to speed.
Fulham v Aston Villa
Winger Jaden Philogene-Bidace is an exciting young player to look out for in Aston Villa’s Summer Series encounter with Fulham in Orlando.
The 21-year-old sparkled down the right-hand side in the weekend's 3-3 draw with Newcastle United, dribbling confidently with the ball and firing off several shots.
Summer Series: What we learned from the opening round
He also had a hand in Emiliano Buendia’s second goal of the match, running in behind Dan Burn before squaring the ball superbly between three Magpies defenders for 17-year-old Omari Kellyman.
The teenager’s first-time shot was parried onto the post, leaving Buendia free to slot home an easy tap-in.
Philogene-Bidace enjoyed a successful loan spell in the Championship with Cardiff City last season, operating wide on the right, wide on the left and as a central attacking midfielder.
The England Under-20 international scored four goals and produced one assist for the Bluebirds, regularly impressing supporters with his work-rate and positivity inside the final third.
Philogene-Bidace had also previously produced confident performances during a much shorter loan spell with Stoke City, where he made 11 appearances in 2021/22.
Philogene-Bidace's attacking stats
| Stats per 90 mins | Stoke 21/22 | Cardiff 22/23 |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 2.8 | 2.7 |
| Goal-creating actions | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Successful take-ons | 3.7 | 2.5 |
On the back of encouraging pre-season displays versus Walsall and Newcastle, the winger will be determined to continue impressing Unai Emery against Fulham.
He has the pace to beat defenders on the outside but also appears comfortable drifting inside to be an inverted winger in the Spaniard’s narrow 4-4-1-1 system.
Should he torment USA international left-back Antonee Robinson in Orlando, it could be a defining moment in the youngster’s Villa career.
While the arrival of Moussa Diaby makes his pathway to the first team harder, but another top-class performance from Philogene-Bidace could help him become part of Emery’s plans for the coming season.
Newcastle United v Chelsea
Ahead of his first full season as a Chelsea player, Mykhailo Mudryk is revving up nicely on US soil.
The Ukrainian winger scored a magnificent goal in the Blues’ 4-3 success against Brighton in Philadelphia, firing home from outside the box after some excellent combination play with Nicolas Jackson.
Having failed to find the back of the net in any of his first 15 Premier League appearances, this was the winger’s first Chelsea goal.
''I feel happy for all the work I put into this goal," he said after the match. "It is not all my potential. It is only 20 per cent. I feel good playing under [Mauricio] Pochettino, our manager."
During that contest Mudryk’s electric speed captured plenty of attention, with this video highlighting his amazing turn of pace.
In the next Summer Series encounter, the Ukrainian star is likely to find himself up against England right-back Kieran Trippier.
The Magpies defender is one of the shrewdest full-backs in the Premier League, but facing a wide man with as much speed as Mudryk will certainly keep his focus.
Across 2022/23 just two top-flight players recorded a higher top speed than the former Shakhtar Donetsk star - Kyle Walker and Brennan Johnson.
PL players' top speed 2022/23
| Player | Club | Speed (km/h) |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Walker | Man City | 37.31 |
| Brennan Johnson | Nott'm Forest | 36.70 |
| Mykhailo Mudryk | Chelsea | 36.63 |
| Anthony Gordon | Everton | 36.61 |
| Darwin Nunez | Liverpool | 36.53 |
Trippier, or whoever else Eddie Howe deploys at right-back in Atlanta, will know they cannot afford to leave Mudryk space in front of them, or in behind them.
Until now the Ukraine international has lacked consistency and confidence for Chelsea, but that superb strike on Matchday 1 of the Summer Series could be a major boost for him.
It will be fascinating to watch how the Magpies cope with Mudryk’s outstanding acceleration.