2025 GDS English Football Squad Preview: Part 2

Welcome to the second edition of our English Premier League club previews for GameDay Squad’s (GDS) brand new Football platform. For those who missed the previous edition, these articles will review all twenty Premier League teams with a brief club season recap & preview, and analysis of each team’s star player, GDS hidden gem (excluding promoted teams) and key transfer.

The second edition includes previews for Brighton, Burnley, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. This edition promises to be the ‘coldest’ one, including a player who completed a dissertation on dribbling and an easy (Eze) Arsenal transfer target.

Brighton

While they’re arguably the league’s best developers of talent, Brighton struggled for success in 2024/25 with a very underwhelming 8th-place finish. Known sellers who accumulate huge profits on their players, Brighton didn’t lose too much quality to transfers last season; however, injuries to key attackers like Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck at crucial parts of the season meant Brighton were never really pushing for the higher positions on the table.

●     Star Player - Kaoru Mitoma

Brighton’s Japanese dribbling sensation was again one of their most prominent attackers in a very subdued season across their frontline. There weren’t a lot of appearances in the top 25 for attacking statistical categories for Brighton, but Mitoma did manage to finish 14th for successful dribbles. Expect a bounce back from the Seagulls’ frontline next season as their talent continues to develop, headlined by Mitoma and Minteh.

●     Hidden Gem - Jan Paul van Hecke

Having finished equal 13th for clean sheets, with eight, Brighton lacked the defensive edge to ever truly challenge the top four, however Jan Paul van Hecke was the shining light in a back four that suffered varying injuries throughout the season. In his 34 games van Hecke monstered opponents in the air with his 83 aerial duel wins (=15th) and made 161 clearances (18th). He also chipped in with a single goal and assist. A likely improvement in defence this season could lead to some extra much needed GDS points for Brighton defenders, which could make van Hecke a unique option to feature in coaches' teams.

●     Key Transfer - Charalampos Kostoulas

At just 18 years old, Kostoulas is another one for the future. He scored seven goals in 22 matches for Olympiacos in the Greek Super League last season. Keep an eye on him in pre-season in case any attacking opportunities open up (they could with the departure of Joao Pedro); however, he may end up on loan or simply limited to bench appearances in this team.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Yankuba Minteh, Carlos Baleba, Bart Verburggen

Burnley

One of the automatically promoted teams from last season, Burnley earned a reputation for being the best defensive team in the Championship on the back of key defensive performances and some exceptional goalkeeping from James Trafford. While they have lost impressive centre-back Egan-Riley to transfer, they have also brought in former City defender Kyle Walker, albeit for the twilight of his career. Burnley conceded only 16 goals in 46 games last season, while also scoring the third-most goals in the league. In saying all of that, Burnley have now lost Trafford and Egan-Riley to transfers. Will this spell the end of Burnley’s defensive dominance?

●     Star Player - Maxime Esteve

Esteve was part of a tremendous Burnley defence in 2024/25. Burnley only conceded 16 goals and had 30 clean sheets (both league leading) in their 46 league games of which Esteve played in all of them. While greater-quality opposition is likely to alter most of this in the Premier League, coaches at least know they have a solid centre back option who can accumulate the points in closer affairs or have a blinder against greater opposition.

●     Key Transfer - Kyle Walker

A forgettable season for Walker started by losing his spot in the Manchester City line-up and culminated in a mid-season loan move to AC Milan, neither of which reaped any rewards. Walker finished the season with 0 goals and 0 assists in both the Premier League and Serie A. Now in the twilight of his career, Walker adds experience to what was a good defence in the league below. Will that experience be enough to help keep a good defensive record and provide coaches with clean sheets?

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Marcus Edwards, Jaidon Anthony & Aaron Ramsey

Chelsea

Chelsea continued their rise back up to the top echelons of the league with an impressive fourth-placed finish under immense pressure on the final matchday. Chelsea were led well by their star player Cole Palmer for most of the season until a late-season drop-off saw him go cold. With one of the larger squads in the league and additions continuing to come, this team reeks of rotation, which is not a good sign for coaches.

●     Star Player - Cole Palmer

Palmer had what many described as a ‘poor’ end to the season, as his goal contributions dried up in the second half of the season. Palmer went from having 20 goal contributions (14 goals and six assists) in the first 21 games of the season to only managing four (one goal and three assists) in his final 17 games. Yet he still managed to finish second in total GDS points for the season, displaying how essential he is when he is on form. Cole’s other notable statistics were 43 successful dribbles (=19th), 51 shots on target (3rd), 78 key passes (2nd), 35 successful crosses (=18th), and 60 fouls drawn (8th). With Chelsea likely to continue as one of the leading teams, Cole’s numbers are likely to remain and his form resurface.

●     Hidden Gem - Pedro Neto

The victim of both Chelsea’s large squad and his own injury problems, Neto only started 24 games, with a further 11 substitute appearances. As the season progressed, Neto appeared to win the battle of the Chelsea wingers and lock down his starting spot. In the upcoming season, two of his competitors, Madueke and Sancho, have left the club, while Gittens has arrived. If Neto can get past his injury problems, he becomes a potential value and unique pick. Neto finished last season with 4 goals and 6 assists. He also managed an equal 9th-placed finish in successful crosses (41), while also being only five key passes short of a top-25 finish.

●     Key Transfer - Jamie Gittens

Another winger added to the Chelsea collection, Gittens appears likely to see early minutes. A successful season for the wide attacker in the Bundesliga resulted in a modest eight goals and four assists; however, his other statistical numbers showed encouraging signs for the 20-year-old. Gittens was 2nd for successful dribbles, 23rd for shots on target, and 22nd for fouls drawn. His numbers read similar to Bournemouth’s Semenyo, which could make him a seriously good pickup for coaches.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Enzo Fernández, Marc Cucurella, Moisés Caicedo

Crystal Palace

A very poor start to the season left Palace appearing as relegation candidates, until they caught fire by beating most of the teams around them while also adding Brighton and Aston Villa to their scalps. Palace only managed 12th, but their fans didn’t care one bit after they managed to win silverware in the FA Cup. Much like Palace themselves, their star player in Eberechi Eze had a very inconsistent season, even being benched at points. Thankfully, Eze finished the season well and had a key role in Palace’s end-of-season form. However, this same form has resulted in transfer interest from Arsenal for Eze.

●     Star Player - Erebechi Eze

Eze was one of two Palace players to finish in the top 10 scorers for GDS last season, the other being Daniel Muñoz. A number of issues threatened to derail what ultimately became an excellent season for Eze. A hamstring problem in November, followed by some substitute appearances, ended up being the catalyst for Eze’s impressive back half of the year, which included five goals in the final five games. Eze finished the year in 8th for successful dribbles, equal 21st for shots on target, equal 14th for key passes, and equal 20th for fouls drawn, to go along with his eight goals and eight assists. These numbers make Eze a likely pick for coaches; however, a move to Arsenal could result in limited game time and heavy rotational risk.

●     Hidden Gem - Tyrick Mitchell

Mitchell plays in a GDS-friendly position at wingback in Palace’s back five system. The flexibility of the position allows Mitchell to impact both on an attacking and defensive level while remaining classified as a defender in-game. Mitchell appears to be a player who does reasonably well across the board in crossing, passing, and defensive actions, particularly tackling (=9th in the league), while he also managed five assists during the season.

●     Key Transfer - None

Palace’s lack of transfer business isn’t too concerning. They are yet to lose any major players, albeit two big names in Eze and Guehi have rumours surrounding their future. Given they have European football this year, they will likely add depth, which could cause rotational issues for coaches looking to pick up and play Palace players. Coaches beware.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Daniel Muñoz, Isamaila Sarr, Jean-Phillipe Mateta