Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Kane, Scott McTominay and 30 Brits abroad to watch in the 2025-26 season

Once again, Real Madrid's biggest signing of the summer looks likely to be one that barely cost them anything, apart from the nominal £10 million ($13m) fee they paid to bring in Liverpool contract rebel Trent Alexander-Arnold in time for the Club World Cup - a decision that probably backfired in the short-term despite two assists in five games showing what he is capable of.

Given the scrutiny Alexander-Arnold has often faced for his perceived defensive deficiencies in England, the 26-year-old right-back will want to make a strong start in his new surroundings, with the fans and media in Spain notoriously impatient when a big-name new arrival fails to hit the ground running.

Trent won't have his good mate Jude Bellingham to help him settle in initially, on the pitch at least. The midfielder has finally undergone surgery on a long-standing shoulder injury, probably with the 2026 World Cup in mind, and he is unlikely to even return to training until mid-October in a blow to club and country.

Once he is back, Bellingham will want to recapture the form of his debut campaign at Santiago Bernabeu, when he emerged as an instant hero playing in a more advanced role. He was more subdued in 2024-25 despite still having a decent season, but with his shoulder problem finally behind him, we might see the England dynamo back at his best.

England, of course, now has another representative in Spain, with Marcus Rashford having moved to the other side of the Clasico divide as his exile from Ruben Amorim-led Manchester United continues. In truth, this is a journey into the unknown for the attacker as he looks to get his career back on track.

As much as it is a huge opportunity, the expectation and pressure will be ramped up tenfold compared to Rashford's relatively successful loan spell at Aston Villa, which was curtailed by injury. There is a sense that he is effectively playing for his own future at an elite-level club, whether that's at Barcelona or elsewhere. It's a chance he simply has to seize.

Elsewhere in La Liga, Conor Gallagher is heading into his second season at Atletico Madrid after a solid debut campaign in the Spanish capital. However, even though he seems like the archetypal Diego Simeone player, he wasn't the main man in Atleti's midfield last term, often shunted out wide to accommodate others or having to settle for coming off the bench.

Rodrigo De Paul's departure to Inter Miami should change things, though, and after a period of adaptation, Gallagher will want to make himself a guaranteed starter in 2025-26 with the World Cup fast approaching and his place in the England squad not necessarily guaranteed.

At the end of July, Tyrhys Dolan took the brave decision to leave Blackburn Rovers after five years to join Espanyol on a free transfer. The 23-year-old recorded a combined total of 13 goals and assists in the Championship last term, his best career tally yet, but it wasn't enough to carry the 1995 champions back in the Premier League.

Dolan will now test himself in the top-flight for the first time in Spain, and has already told the Espanyol faithful what to expect: "I'm an exciting player. Skilful, direct, want to get fans off their seats." If the former England Under-20 international can also deliver the same end product he did at Ewood Park, he might just inspire Espanyol back into La Liga's top 10.

Time flies when you're having fun, and Harry Kane is already gearing up for his third season in Germany having scored a ridiculous 85 goals in 96 appearances for Bayern Munich so far. He might have just turned 32, but the England captain is showing no signs of slowing down.

He will be charged with firing the Bavarian giants to back-to-back Bundesliga titles after helping them reclaim their crown in 2024-25, and in Europe he will be desperate to get his hands on the Champions League after Die Roten fell in the quarter-finals to eventual finalists Inter. It would be little surprise to see him match or surpass his 41-goal haul from last term.

Another Englishman has moved to the other side of the Klassiker divide, with Jobe Bellingham following in the footsteps of older brother Jude by heading to Borussia Dortmund despite earning promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland via the play-offs, with the Bundesliga big hitters shelling out around £29m ($39m) to land him.

As much as the 19-year-old is a talent, it is going to take some serious performances to match Jude's previous exploits at Signal Iduna Park, and while he might want to forge his own path, Jobe is going to have to deal with constant comparisons to his esteemed sibling unless he can do something special to emerge from his shadow.

Jobe won't be the only Englishman plying his trade at Dortmund this season, with Carney Chukwuemeka set to end a frustrating and injury-plagued three years at Chelsea by re-joining the club he spent the second half of last season on loan with, having done enough to earn a return despite fitness issues again proving problematic.

Something of a forgotten man, the attacking midfielder will be determined to stay healthy and get back on track in Germany, and the prospect of his link up with the younger Bellingham is actually quite tantalising. Still just 21, Chukwuemeka has time on his side as he battles to kickstart his career.

Jarell Quansah has also added to the English contingent in the Bundesliga by joining Erik ten Hag's Bayer Leverkusen. He may well feel he has a point to prove; after shining at the U21 Euros with England, the centre-back wanted regular first-team football, but Liverpool were unwilling to guarantee him it.

The German top-flight has been a happy hunting ground for young Englishmen in recent years, and Quansah will want to prove to his former employers that they made a mistake in letting him go. He has big boots to fill after the departure of defensive stalwart and club captain Jonathan Tah, who has opted to join Bayern Munich.

Scottish journeyman Oliver Burke has unexpectedly been given another shot in the Bundesliga with Union Berlin, despite failing to make any significant impact during a three-year spell at Werder Bremen that included two loans away in the Championship with Millwall and Birmingham.

Still just 28, the attacker has joined the 10th club of a career that once promised so much, and he will be desperate to make the most of what could be one of his final opportunities at a top-flight club. He will need to find the spark that made him such an eye-catching talent way back when to make that happen.

A year ago, if you'd told almost any football fan that Scott McTominay would be a Ballon d'Or nominee in 2025 after leaving Manchester United behind, they probably would have laughed very hard in your face. But, remarkably, that is reality after the midfield dynamo captured the voters' imagination with the part he played in Napoli's incredible title-winning campaign.

The Scotland international was Serie A's MVP last time around and will be determined to repeat that feat in what is certain to be a hard-fought Scudetto defence in one of the most fiercely competitive leagues in the world. It would be some achievement if McTominay can match last season's exploits and prove to everyone that this is no flash in the pan.

Billy Gilmour was not as integral to Napoli's 2024-25 title success as fellow new signings McTominay and Romelu Lukaku, with the Scot restricted to just 26 Serie A appearances, but he certainly made the most of his time on the pitch. Described as a "fantastic player" with a "big personality" by Antonio Conte, Gilmour brought real quality and composure in midfield, while also making a stellar contribution defensively. 

The diminutive former Brighton star still has so much more potential to unlock at 24, and it's just a matter of time until he usurps Stanislav Lobotka in Conte's line up. This could be the season that Gilmour becomes a proper superstar, especially given he now has the opportunity to learn from Manchester City icon and new team-mate Kevin De Bruyne.

Lewis Ferguson missed the first four months of the 2024-25 season as he continued his recovery from a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered in April last year, and the Bologna captain struggled to find his rhythm again after returning to the fold. That is partly because head coach Vincenzo Italiano managed the Scottish midfielder's minutes carefully, handing him only 16 starts in all competitions.

However, by the end of campaign, Ferguson looked back to his best, and his tenacity helped drive Bologna to Coppa Italia glory - the club's first trophy success in 51 years. Had Ferguson been fit all season, Bologna may also have been celebrating a second successive top-five finish, but the 25-year-old is primed to lead another Champions League qualification bid this time around.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek's first season at AC Milan was underwhelming, but his second was a complete disaster. The Chelsea academy graduate missed 22 games due to niggling injuries, and had to undergo emergency surgery for acute appendicitis in March.

Thankfully, Loftus-Cheek made a full recovery in the space of a month, albeit too late to prevent Milan from slipping down to eighth in the Serie A standings. Tijjani Reijnders' subsequent exit has put Loftus-Cheek in a strong position to bounce back, but physical problems have blighted the 29-year-old's career to this point, and this could be his last chance to live up to his billing as one of the most talented English midfielders of his generation.

Fikayo Tomori, another Chelsea academy product, is in a similar boat. The 27-year-old was once seen as Milan's most reliable performer, but found himself in and out of the starting XI last term, and although he has publicly ruled out leaving San Siro amid links with Tottenham, the defender is now playing for his future.

Earning favour under strict returning manager Massimiliano Allegri won't be easy amid fierce competition at the back from Matteo Gabbia and imminent new arrival Koni De Winter. Allegri is a pragmatist who won't tolerate defensive lapses, meaning Tomori must hit the ground running and recapture the form he showed in Milan's 2021-22 Scudetto run.

Milan have cut ties with one ex-Chelsea star this summer, though, in the form of Tammy Abraham. The striker's measly return of three Serie A goals from 28 appearances was not enough to earn a permanent switch to San Siro from Roma, and the Giallorossi have sent him out on loan again for the new campaign, this time to Besiktas.

Abraham's arrival in Turkey may seem like a backwards step, but it could be the perfect place for the 27-year-old to rebuild some confidence and perhaps put himself back into England contention. After making the ideal start with four goals in his first three appearances for the club, Besiktas boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be optimistic that Abraham can fire his team into the mix for the Super Lig crown.

It was something of a shock when Torino snapped Che Adams up on a free transfer following his departure from Southampton in 2024, but it has proven to be a shrewd move. The Scotland international scored nine goals in his maiden Serie A campaign, including a memorable brace against Cagliari, and set up another three for good measure.

Adams started out in a supporting role behind Duvan Zapata, but was moved to central striker after the Colombian tore his ACL in October, and did extremely well to fill his boots. Torino will fancy their chances of getting back into Serie A's top half if Adams continues to deliver the goods, with the versatile 29-year-old having seemingly found a new spiritual home at club level.

Arsenal made £3.5m in pure profit when they sold homegrown right-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy to Genoa last year, despite the fact he had never made a senior appearance. That initially looked like a bad gamble from the Italian club, as a string of injuries kept him sidelined through the majority of the first half of the 2024-25 campaign.

However, Norton-Cuffy went on a late surge, starting all of Genoa's final six league games under the guidance of Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, who took over as head coach in November. He impressed enough to make England's U21s Euros squad and played his part in their successful title defence, with the future now looking bright again for a youngster with good defensive awareness and bags of pace and power to utilise in attacking areas.

By his own admission, Jonathan Rowe's debut year at Marseille was a "disappointment". The 22-year-old only scored three goals in 27 Ligue 1 games after joining on loan from Norwich City, but in fairness to him, just three of those outings came as a starter.

Marseille did still follow through with their obligation to buy Rowe, and the talented left winger has no doubt that he can still make the grade at Stade Velodrome, where he will now get his first taste of Champions League football. "I'm happy to fight for my place," he told the club website in May. "I'm convinced I can bring more to the team."

Igor Paixao's transfer to Marseille has made that task harder, but Rowe - who scored the winning goal for England's U21s in this past summer's Euros final - can also operate in a central role, and could be a wildcard for head coach Roberto De Zerbi as he juggles domestic and European commitments.

Angel Gomes enjoyed a fine 2023-24 campaign at Lille, and was subsequently drafted into the England squad for the first time. The deep-lying midfielder was even the standout player in England's 2-0 Nations League win over Finland in September, but the following month, he was sent off in a Champions League clash with Real Madrid, which set him on a downward spiral.

A calf injury ruled Gomes out of Lille's entire festive schedule, and after failing to win his place back upon his return, he wasn't offered a new contract. Gomes has still landed on his feet with a free transfer to Marseille, where he reunites with ex-Manchester United team-mate Mason Greenwood. If he can stay fit and help OM fight on multiple trophy fronts, the 24-year-old could soon push for England minutes again.

It seems Marseille can't get enough of young English players, with CJ Egan-Riley the latest to swap the British Isles for the south coast of France. A product of the Manchester City academy, he heads to Ligue 1 having handpicked it as his next destination.

Another of England's victorious U21s squad, Egan-Riley formed key part of a formidable Burnley defence that shipped a mere 16 goals in 46 Championship games, but turned down the offer of a new contract at Turf Moor to join OM on a free transfer, where he will face the task of bringing stability to De Zerbi's erratic side.

Egan-Riley is not the only England U21s defender in France, however, as Charlie Cresswell is already plying his trade over at Toulouse and has been turning heads while doing so. Cresswell moved to Ligue 1 from Leeds United last summer, and has quickly emerged as one of the division's most gifted centre-backs owing to his supreme physicality.

Cresswell's superb showings earned him a spot in UEFA's Team of the Tournament at the Euros and he has since been linked with a host of Premier League clubs. If he enjoys another fine season at club level, a senior call-up and big-money move won't be too far away.

It's been quite the busy summer for Lyon. At first, they were relegated to Ligue 2 for supposed financial mismanagement and kicked out of the Europa League to boot, but have since been reinstated to the top flight and Europe on appeal. There's never a dull moment with OL, and that's something Tyler Morton will come to learn quickly.

Morton was always highly rated among staff at Liverpool, though was continually hamstrung by a pecking order of top-class central midfielders. The Reds finally decided to cash in this summer for around £15m, and now the 22-year-old - who was another who featured for England U21s at the Euros - will finally be given more of a fair chance to spread his wings at the top level.

Morton already has English company at Lyon, with Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez also among the three-strong contingent (alongside ex-Arsenal star Ainsley Maitland-Niles) at the Groupama Stadium. Though officially a member of the reserve squad, the teenage striker has already made his senior debut and has been assigned a first-team squad number for the season ahead.

There's enough reason to believe this could be a breakout year for Gomes Rodriguez, who has likened himself to Sergio Aguero. He scored four times in England U17's European Championship campaign this summer, despite the Young Lions being eliminated in the group stage, and he has the physical build of an adult rather than an adolescent who still needs to fill out.

Lyon were previously spearheaded by Alexandre Lacazette, another undersized forward, but as he has departed for NEOM in Saudi Arabia, that spot is up for grabs. It will likely be filled by Georgian sensation Georges Mikautadze, though Gomes Rodriguez ought to have ample chances to stake a claim for it himself as the season goes on.

A former team-mate of Gomes Rodriguez in the Southampton youth ranks, Sam Amo-Ameyaw is also looking to ignite his career over in France with Chelsea's sister club Strasbourg. There was much bemusement among fans on the south coast of England when, after failing to break into one of the worst Saints teams in Premier League history, the winger raced out of the traps in Ligue 1 and became a key contributor down the stretch of 2024-25.

Amo-Ameyaw found the net twice during the final nine games of the season to help Strasbourg seal a place in the Conference League, and became the eighth-youngest scorer in their history when he bagged in a crucial 4-2 win over Gomes Rodriguez's Lyon. Perhaps these two friends will become foes on the other side of the Channel this year.

Lisbon, London, Munich, Monaco. Eric Dier's lived quite the high life in his career, with the latest stop on his journey the Stade Louis II, right off the Mediterranean coast.

In fairness to Dier, he has managed to rescue his flailing reputation. Cast aside as obsolete at Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou, he became a steady hand at Bayern Munich alongside another ex-Spur in Kane. Such was his popularity in Bavaria that was genuine sadness when he decided to walk away from the Allianz Arena at the end of 2024-25, deciding to continue his career in France instead.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that if he becomes an integral part of a successful Monaco side now also featuring Paul Pogba, Dier could receive an England recall from his former Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel.

Unless you're Welsh or a fan of either Birmingham City or Rennes, you're unlikely to know too much about 21-year-old midfielder Jordan James. A do-it-all player who has been capped 20 times by the Dragons, he could be a player bubbling beneath the surface ready to make waves in a top-five league this season.

Rennes paid £4m to sign James from the Blues back when they were in League One, and he has taken well to top-flight football, playing 23 times in Ligue 1 during 2024-25. "Going to France has really built me up in a character way, personally and on the pitch," he said in March. "I feel I can influence games a lot more now. I'm still young, but I don't feel like that young kid anymore."

Wales have hopes of reaching next summer's World Cup, and the progression of James over the next few months may determine how achievable that goal really is.

Save for one Championship appearance all the way back in 2013, Christian Burgess never played at a level higher than League One during his time playing professionally in England. Now, he's set to grace the Champions League with Union Saint-Gilloise.

The lanky centre-back from Barking has enjoyed one hell of an odd career. He opted out of his stay at Portsmouth and took a chance on a move to Tony Bloom's Union in the Belgian second tier. Bloom, the mastermind behind Brighton's rise, helped steer Union back into the top division, and within four years of their return, they were crowned champions again.

Burgess has been ever so crucial to their success, too. Leading from the back and dominant in the air, he could cement his status as a cult legend if Union cause some upsets in Europe.

Apparently, a loan spell at Copenhagen and one season on the books of Las Palmas wasn't random enough for Scotland defender Scott McKenna, who has joined Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb for 2025-26.

He has already made history over in the Croatian Football League. After making his debut against NK Osijek, McKenna said: "I was told I will become the first Scot to play in Croatia. I didn't know that - I thought I was maybe one of the first and perhaps the first Scot at Dinamo, but I didn't know I was the first Scottish player in the country. I hope I play well and that Scotland will be proud of me. A lot of Croatian players have played in Scotland in recent years, but obviously no one before me has gone the other way."

With two wins from his first two games and a spot in the league phase of the Europa League to look forward to, McKenna is enjoying life as an honorary Balkan so far.

Even despite swapping the Premier League for the Saudi Pro League in 2024, there's a strong possibility that Ivan Toney will head to next summer's World Cup with England having been named in Tuchel's squad for this summer's internationals. The only player on this list outside of Europe, he'll need another solid season of scoring to stake a realistic claim, however.

With 30 goals across all competitions during his maiden year in the Middle East, Toney fired Al-Ahli to AFC Champions League glory and will have his sights set on stopping Cristiano Ronaldo's quest for a first Saudi Pro League title. With Riyad Mahrez and Franck Kessie among the cast supporting the cause, there may be further glory for Toney to come.