2025 GDS English Football Squad Preview: Part 3

Welcome to the third edition of our English Premier League club previews for GameDay Squad’s (GDS) brand new Football platform. For those who missed the previous editions, these articles will review the 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 third edition has previews for Everton, Fulham, Leeds and Liverpool and includes a record breaking winger, one of the league’s best shot stoppers and a player who broke the English transfer record*.

Everton:

What started out as a potential relegation season ended with a rush of form in the second half of the year, as Everton took the unexpected scalps of Brighton, Forest, and Newcastle, while also managing draws with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City by returning to their typical sturdy defensive selves. Known for their defense, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was once again one of their better players as they suffered various injuries to key player Dwight McNeil. Dominic Calvert-Lewin also struggled for form, which led to the emergence of Beto up front.

●     Star Player - Jordan Pickford

Despite his team finishing in 13th, Pickford managed to keep the third-most clean sheets (12) this season. Not only was it clean sheets, Pickford also finished third for saves (121) and led the league for recoveries (336). England’s number one continues to be one of the leading goalkeeper options currently for GDS coaches.

●     Hidden Gem - Dwight McNeil

An injury-riddled season led to McNeil only playing 21 games. Despite this, McNeil still impressed with four goals, six assists, and 40 successful crosses (12th). As Everton’s most creative player, who usually takes set pieces, he’s one to keep an eye on if fully fit this season.

●     Key Transfer - Thierno Barry

With the expiration of striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s contract, Everton have dipped into the transfer market, bringing across 22-year-old Barry from Villarreal in Spain. The youngster had a decent season, scoring 11 goals and assisting four times in 35 matches. The striker showed his eye for goal, finishing 15th in the league for shots on target (25) and drawing 51 fouls (=20th). Can Barry dislodge Beto from the starting lineup after he caught fire for Everton in the back half of the 2024/25 season? Or will he be one for the future?

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Vitaliy Mykolenko, Iliman Ndiaye, James Tarkowski

Fulham:

A massive summer transfer window at the start of last season set expectations high for Fulham leading into the season. The signings included injury-prone Arsenal youngster Emile Smith Rowe, Premier League-proven centre-back Joachim Andersen, and young Tottenham winger Sessegnon. Fulham lived up to that hype early on with wins against Brighton, Chelsea, Forest, and Newcastle. However, yo-yo form in the second half of the year resulted in too many losses to compete with the top half as they slipped down to 11th. They did still manage to do the double over Forest and Newcastle, while also beating Liverpool. There was hope young gun Rodrigo Muniz would step up, however inconsistent form led to his relegation to the bench to deputise for veteran Raul Jiménez.

●     Star Player - Antonee Robinson

One of the best, if not the best, left-backs in the Premier League last season. Robinson did it on the offensive end with his 10 assists (=4th in league), leading all defenders in the league, and 44 successful crosses (=5th). Robinson backed that up with 57 interceptions (2nd) and 92 successful tackles (7th). At only 27 years old, Robinson appears to be in his prime and is likely to continue as a leading GDS defensive option.

●     Hidden Gem - Adama Traoré

Fulham’s speed demon had a very subdued season, resulting in only 18 starts for the year. A mix of both minor injury issues as well as form caused his move to the bench, as others stepped up to fill the role. When Traoré did play, he used his raw speed to break defensive lines and get in on goal… but Traoré’s problem has always been his accuracy. Traoré was two successful crosses short of being in the top 25 for the league and only eight short of the same feat for key passes. He did, however, manage to finish equal 19th for successful dribbles with 43 in total. Will opportunities open back up in season 2025/26 for Traoré?

●     Key Transfer - None

Fulham are yet to do much this transfer window. Given their investment last season and the lack thereof in results, it is somewhat surprising. This does mean most of their consistent starters from last season should keep their spots, with the likes of Robinson and Iwobi remaining as great GDS picks.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Alex Iwobi, Raul Jiménez, Bernd Leno

Leeds:

The eventual winners of the EFL Championship, on goal difference, gained promotion to the Premier League automatically after their 100-point season. Several successful signings were the catalyst for Leeds’ revival, with the likes of Ao Tanaka and Manor Solomon playing crucial parts in their season. Daniel James and Joel Piroe led the way up front as Leeds scored 95 goals for the season.

●     Star Player - AO Tanaka

Leeds’ player of the season adapted very quickly to the English leagues, playing mainly as a defensive midfielder. Tanaka managed to add five goals and two assists from his deep defensive position and impressed in stats such as interceptions (54), blocks (25), and key passes (31). With the added strain on their defence playing in the Premier League, Tanaka could boost these defensive stats further and vie for a midfield spot in GDS coaches’ teams.

●     Key Transfer - Sean Longstaff

While Leeds have made several transfers so far, the majority of those are defensive ones who aren’t expected to impact in GDS. Sean Longstaff is an intriguing one. He struggled for opportunities in a stacked Newcastle midfield after breaking out, which limited him to 25 games in 2024/25. Longstaff failed to score or assist in any of those appearances, albeit he only played 90 minutes three times. Playing as a central midfielder who can go both ways he may emerge as an option that scores well in GDS purely down to doing a bit of everything in a team who is expected to defend for the majority.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Daniel James, Joel Piroe, Wilfried Gnonto

Liverpool:

Liverpool wrapped up the Premier League with 4 games remaining, essentially walking the league off the back of an astronomical and record-breaking season from star man Mo Salah. Not content with finishing first, Liverpool have started the transfer window with a bang, signing fullbacks Kerkez and Frimpong and breaking the league’s transfer record (if add-ons are met) by adding German talent Florian Wirtz.

●     Star Player - Mo Salah

Mo Salah broke a total of 11 records in the 2024/25 season… 11! None were more impressive than the most goal contributions in a 38-game season. Salah led the league in both goals and assists with 29 and 18 respectively. He was the clear number one GDS scorer over second-placed Cole Palmer. Salah finished 3rd for key passes, 9th for successful dribbles, and 1st for shots on target. Age appears to be the only thing that could slow Salah down in 2025/26; however, he’s armed with new weapons to make next season potentially even more successful.

●     Hidden Gem - Milos Kerkez

Another of Liverpool’s key transfers this season, who has experience in the Premier League coming from Bournemouth. Kerkez is an attacking fullback who finished with two goals and six assists. Moving into a system, like Liverpool’s, which is built to make use of wingbacks and provide them with the ammo to create is expected to make Kerkez one of the leading defenders in GDS. Along with his goals and assists, Kerkez was 13th for successful crosses in the league and equal 18th for interceptions.

●     Key Transfer - Florian Wirtz

Germany’s crown jewel reportedly turned down huge moves to Bayern Munich, Manchester City, and Real Madrid in order to join Liverpool. Liverpool paid a high price to acquire, arguably, the best playmaker in the Bundesliga. However, in return, they get a player who completed last season with 10 goals and 12 assists, while also managing 44 key passes (=15th), 39 shots on target (=3rd), and a league-leading 84 successful dribbles. Furthermore, Wirtz was a crucial part of the invincible Bayer Leverkusen team in the 2023/24 Bundesliga season.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Alisson, Alexis Macallister & Virgil Van Dijk