GDS English Football Squad Preview: Part 5

Welcome to the fifth, and final, 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 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 fifth edition has previews for Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham and Wolves. In this edition we’ll see if the fortunes of a ‘top 6’ dubbed team change with a new manager, whether a promoted team's early spending will pay off and if one of GDS’ leading scorers will get any support in the new season.

Sunderland

The third and final team promoted back into the Premier League after completing the daunting task of winning the EFL Championship play-offs. It was a task made even harder after Sunderland went into the play-offs with the worst possible form — five straight losses to end the regular season games. Sunderland were early candidates for promotion and increased those chances further in the winter transfer window when they made an audacious loan signing of highly rated Roma midfielder Enzo Le Fée (whom they have since signed on a permanent transfer). While they have done well, this current window, in adding Brighton’s Simon Adingra and Strasbourg’s Diarra to their squad, they unfortunately also lost one of their leading players in Jobe Bellingham. Sunderland are spending the money, but will their latest stay in the Premier League be a slow burn or a quick one?

●     Star Player - Enzo Le Fée

After the departure of key midfielder Jobe Bellingham, Le Fée has even more of a crucial role to play for Sunderland in their first year back in the Premier League. Having played only 15 games in the EFL Championship, due to being a winter transfer signing, Le Fée made his presence felt. His 17 key passes, 62 crosses (not all successful), 15 interceptions, and 18 fouls drawn were highlights. Having played in top-tier leagues such as Serie A and Ligue 1, as well as exposure to European competition, Le Fée has the experience to make an instant impact at this level.

●     Key Transfer - Simon Adingra

An interesting signing by Sunderland who will hope to recapture the ability Adingra showed in his first season at Brighton back in 2023/24. Adingra was a victim of Yankuba Minteh’s arrival at Brighton, as his minutes were halved last season — starting only 12 games in his 29 appearances. In those appearances, he managed two goals and two assists, down from his six goals and one assist the previous year. In those games, the stats that stood out were his 20 successful dribbles, 14 key passes, and 11 successful crosses. At Sunderland, Adingra is expected to see much more game time, which could make him an interesting early-season starter in any favourable fixtures for Sunderland.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Wilson Isidor, Habib Diarra & Eliezer Mayenda

Tottenham

Spurs had one of the more astonishing seasons in the league last season. After suffering one of the worst injury crises ever throughout the year, Aussie manager Postecoglou was tasked with winning some form of silverware. Spurs’ lack of fit senior defenders, coupled with Postecoglou’s attacking and open style of play, led to a 17th-place finish in the league. While Postecoglou, against all odds, managed to secure a European trophy (Europa League), he was sacked at the end of the season for their poor league form. With former Brentford manager Thomas Frank now at the helm and injuries well and truly subsided, it is unlikely Spurs will repeat the dose in 25/26, with a much higher league finish expected.

●     Star Player - Pedro Porro

A defender as Spurs' best player? After the year they had? They were 5th for goals conceded, correct? Yes, yes, and yes. Despite Spurs not getting it done on the defensive end, Porro’s attacking wingback role opens the door to a lot of GDS scoring opportunities — particularly if they stay injury-free and their defence improves under new manager Frank. Porro’s goal contribution included two goals and six assists, but what stood out more was his passing — particularly in two GDS scoring areas of key passes and successful crosses. Porro was first in the league for successful crosses (62) and equal ninth for key passes (53).

●     Hidden Gem - Dejan Kulusevski

Arguably Spurs' best attacking midfielder in 2024/25, Kulusevski had one standout statistical area — finishing 6th in key passes (60). Kulusevski, however, performed decently in most GDS scoring areas. He drew 38 fouls, had 18 shots on target, and 33 successful dribbles in 32 league games, highlighting a great all-round attacking midfield game. A favourite under Postecoglou, the worry is whether or not he becomes one under Frank or loses his spot to the likes of Maddison, Kudus, and Johnson on a regular basis.

●     Key Transfer - Mohammed Kudus

Another pacy dribbler, Kudus has made the move across London to Spurs. In a similar mould to Jeremy Doku, Kudus managed to join him as the league’s most successful dribbler (90 in total). Taunting his opponents with his elusive style, he managed to draw the equal fifth-most fouls (64) too. While he only managed five goals and three assists in his 32 games, it was not for lack of trying — being only seven shots on target short of the top 25 in the league.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Dom Solanke, Palhinha & Brennan Johnson

West Ham

In what looked to be a promising upcoming season for the Hammers after some shrewd business in the transfer market (Füllkrug, Kilman, Rodriguez, Summerville & Wan-Bissaka), they were unable to live up to the hype. Poor results in the first half of the year led to the eventual sacking of Julen Lopetegui. With hope that former Brighton and Chelsea manager Graham Potter would be the answer, the second half of the season was much the same. There were, however, a number of promising signs, as star man Bowen continued to perform above and beyond, Wan-Bissaka rediscovered form, Kilman established himself, and Scarles got experience under his belt. Unfortunately, the loss of Kudus will hurt, and with no direct replacement signed yet, we could expect similar results in the 25/26 season.

●     Star Player - Jarrod Bowen

Bowen was the best of the West Ham players last season, finishing seventh for total GDS points. Bowen hit double figures for both goals and assists, with 13 and 10 respectively. Often being required to play in multiple roles, the winger found himself having to play as a centre-forward for parts of the season. No matter the role, Bowen still managed to impact — finishing 25th for key passes (44), 10th for shots on target (37), and equal 20th for fouls drawn (51).

●     Hidden Gem - Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Another defender who appears to be able to do it at both ends — not only that, but Wan-Bissaka can do it on both sides, rotating between left back, right back, left mid and right mid during the season. Defensively, Wan-Bissaka led the league for interceptions with 61, while in attack he was one of two defenders in the top 25 (=4th) for successful dribbles. A string of late appearances in a wide midfield role resulted in three of Wan-Bissaka’s six assists and could be a good indication for his role in the upcoming season.

●     Key Transfer - El Hadji Malick Diouf

Diouf appears to be a great system fit if Potter is to continue with a back five system. Diouf can play as a wide midfielder, wingback or fullback. He’ll likely be contesting youngster Scarles for a spot in the West Ham team, and, after his seven goals and three assists in the Czech League last season, he may have the edge. Diouf’s other favourable stats included 130 crosses (not all successful) and 21 fouls drawn.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Max Kilman, Tomas Soucek & Lucas Paquetá

Wolves

Wolves continued their slide down the table in what was another underwhelming season. Their main bright spark, Matheus Cunha, managed to fire Wolves to their few wins in the first half of the season — scoring 10 goals before January. While things went downhill for Cunha — namely a four-game suspension — it appeared to be the catalyst for Wolves’ shock late-season form. In fact, Wolves did not lose any of the four games Cunha was suspended for and went on a run of six wins. It would appear Wolves might actually be alright after Cunha’s transfer to Manchester United this offseason — particularly after they managed to permanently lock down their second-best attacker of the season, Strand Larsen.

●     Star Player & Key Transfer - Jørgen Strand Larsen

Having lost their star man in Matheus Cunha and “replaced” him with already-on-loan Strand Larsen (this time on a permanent basis), Jørgen has to continue to step up his game in the 2025/26 season. Having only so far signed one attacking support, in Fer López, most of the attacking output will fall on Strand Larsen. 14 goals in 2024/25 was good enough for a top 10 finish in the league, and he’ll look to build on that in the coming season. Whilst only appearing in the top 25 for shots on target (13th), Strand Larsen’s role is clear to GDS coaches — and that is to take shots and score goals. Can Wolves do enough of that in 2025/26?

●     Hidden Gem - Jean Ricner-Bellegarde

One of the versatile options at Wolves who could benefit from the departure of Matheus Cunha. Bellegarde often played in the attacking midfield role in his 20 league starts (35 games in total), as he scored twice and assisted seven times. His 14 successful crosses and 20 key passes put him in good company were he to receive further game time in 2025/26. He’s one whose role and job security is a pre-season watch for GDS coaches.

●     Other Notable GDS Players: Joao Gomes & Matt Doherty