As we approach January and Manchester United, in particular, pledge to strip every non-elite Premier League club, we look at the biggest assets outside the traditional Big Six.
And no, Big Six does not mean ‘top six’ and nor does it mean the six clubs currently in the Champions League; it means the Big Six in terms of finances, history and transfer pull. And that gives us – according to transfermarkt valuations:
Goalkeeper: Bart Verbruggen (Brighton)
Robin Roefs has probably been the better Dutch goalkeeper this season, but Verbruggen remains the Netherlands No. 1 ahead of the World Cup, and it’s Verbruggen who has been linked with Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Chelsea and all manner of other clubs. Probably Chelsea then.
Right-back: Tino Livramento (Newcastle United)
While Manchester City still have no specialised right-back, Livramento will continue to be linked with a move to the Etihad. And the summer exit of Alexander Isak perfectly illustrates that Newcastle United are not quite in that class of clubs that can declare a player unsellable when one of the truly big boys come calling.
Centre-back: Murillo (Nottingham Forest)
One-time (literally, and it was a 4-1 defeat) Brazil international Murillo should not really be dicking about in a relegation battle and it is surely only a matter of time before those Chelsea links become something a little more solid. Holding onto both him and Elliot Anderson feels like an uphill task for Forest.
Centre-back: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)
Truly fascinating where Guehi will land this summer as he enters the market as a free agent. There are certainly no guarantees that he will end up at Liverpool, with the latest reports suggesting that he will demand a far bigger contract than the one he agreed last summer. Pretty much every Premier League giant bar Arsenal are interested, with Bayern Munich among his suitors on the continent.
Left-back: Lewis Hall (Newcastle United)
There are slim pickings at left-back, but Hall is at least a Champions League defender (for one season) and an England international left-back, though he is way down the pecking order and remains uncapped by the unconvinced Thomas Tuchel. He is the first name in this XI who is not currently a target for any of the Big Six.
Central midfield: Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United)
“In football you need to think year for year. I don’t want to say I want to stay here 10 years and in two years, three years, four years [or] five years I will go,” said Tonali last month. He doesn’t sound like a man who is giddy to be playing in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Central midfield: Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle United)
“We know we have a better team than them but we didn’t play like the better team. It was a mess. The consistency isn’t there, the mentality isn’t there. We didn’t compete. The fans expect and deserve better,” he said after the Sunderland defeat. If he excels at the World Cup with Brazil, will he want to come back to a Newcastle side not likely to be playing Champions League football?
Right wing: Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth)
Seven Premier League goals this season and a tempting January release clause has made the Ghana international the hottest property in the Premier League ahead of January. Manchester United really want him, but will he wait for a Champions League club?
Attacking midfield: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Brilliant in recent weeks and absolutely central to Aston Villa’s absurd rise from early-season falterers to the verge of a Premier League title challenge. He signed a new deal in November but was that largely protecting his value in the face of interest from Arsenal and Chelsea?
Left wing: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United)
Rotten against Sunderland, he has claimed just two goals and zero assists in the Premier League this season as he has saved his best performances for the Champions League. He has long coveted a move back to Merseyside to join Liverpool but he will have to improve if he wants Arne Slot to reunite him with Alexander Isak.
Striker: Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United)
A valuation clearly based more on what Newcastle paid for him rather than how much he is currently worth; the German comes in ahead of Igor Thiago and Jean-Philippe Mateta despite lagging behind that pair for actual goals. The good news for Newcastle is that nobody is about to lure him away…