Christopher Nkunku, Sandro Tonali & nine forgotten Premier League players who will be desperate to make a big impact in 2024-25

Signed from Southampton for a cool £58 million ($74m) last summer, the 2023-24 season was about as frustrating as it gets for Chelsea's Romeo Lavia. The midfielder saw just 32 minutes of action across the campaign, all of which came in his debut against Crystal Palace, which was delayed until December after he arrived with a muscle issue before injuring ankle ligaments in training in September last year. In a cruel twist, he suffered a serious, complex thigh injury in his debut cameo, and in March, Chelsea revealed his season was over after a setback in his recovery.

Fast-forward five months and Lavia is finally back, and he has looked sharp as a tack in pre-season, emerging as a key player on the Blues' tour of the United States under Enzo Maresca, who knows just how good he can be after coaching Lavia in Manchester City's Under-23s. The 20-year-old looks set for a big season, and will be desperate to make up for lost time.

Is it already make or break time for Mason Mount at Manchester United?! The midfielder will be absolutely desperate to have an impact in the new season after what descended into a nightmarish debut campaign at Old Trafford.

The former Chelsea man struggled for form and fitness, with a long-term calf injury seeing him sidelined for months and effectively ending his chances of having a productive first season under Erik ten Hag.

It has been a while since we have seen the England international at his best, as he also struggled towards the end of his Chelsea career, but his manager is confident he will be a different beast in 2024-25: "We know he's a high class player," Ten Hag said. "Last season, he had a very bad season, a very tough season for him because of all injuries and now we are very pleased he had a good pre-season. I'm sure from this point on he will contribute to the team if he stays fit."

Sandro Tonali's time at Newcastle could hardly have got off to a worse start, but he only had himself to blame for his extended absence last season. In October last year, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) found the 24-year-old guilty of breaking gambling regulations, and he was banned from all football-related activities for 10 months after betting on matches he played in for AC Milan. That ruled him out of the entire season, as well as Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.

Tonali will still miss the start of the new season, but he will be eligible to return at the end of August and will feel like a new signing in midfield for a Newcastle side that was depleted for long stretches of 2023-24.

There must be few things worse in football than getting injured on your debut for a new club, let alone seriously, but that is the fate that befell Jurrien Timber a year ago. After sealing a £38m ($52m) switch from Ajax to Arsenal, Timber started at left-back in the Gunner's opening Premier League game at home to Nottingham Forest. However, disaster struck early in the second half as the versatile defender suffered a dreaded anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Remarkably, that opening-day injury would keep him out of first-team action until the final game of the season as Arsenal hosted Everton, but he has been involved in pre-season and could be a ready-made solution to the problem left full-back position for Mikel Arteta.

Another pre-season ACL victim, Fofana missed the entirety of 2023-24 as his injury trouble since his big-money move to Stamford Bridge continued. It feels like a long time since Chelsea deemed him a £75m ($95m) player, and he has a lot of work to do to live up to that price tag - if he can stay fit. The centre-back has been involved in pre-season under Maresca, although the Blues' defending has left a lot to be desired.

The Italian head coach has plenty of options in central defence, and Fofana will be determined to make himself a starter after a whole lost season last time around, with his last competitive appearance coming way back in May 2023. Speaking in an in-house interview recently, the Frenchman said: "I am concentrating on the future, day-by-day and step-by-step. My target now is just to prepare my body for the season, get some minutes and then stay fit."

The second player on this list to suffer a season-ending damaged ACL on the opening day of 2023-24, Aston Villa captain Tyrone Mings is finally nearing a return to action.

Mings suffered the sickening injury against Newcastle on matchday one and was forced off after just half an hour, and it must have been incredibly difficult to watch the club's shock success from the sidelines as they remarkably reached the top four.

However, he now has the opportunity to skipper his side in the Champions League and he will be looking to reclaim a spot in the England squad, too. "I'm so proud of the players to finish fourth in the Premier League and to be part of it this season will be a special, special moment," he told the club recently. "Everything is gearing towards being a successful period in Villa's history."

Liverpool's forgotten man, it genuinely seemed like the sky was the limit as Stefan Bajcetic broke into the Reds' first team under Jurgen Klopp in 2022-23. His body may well have paid the price for that meteoric emergence, however, with an abductor injury curtailing that campaign before a calf problem suffered at the start of last season limited him to just one Premier League appearance, which came in May.

Liverpool are in the market for a defensive midfielder for new boss Arne Slot and appear to be closing in on Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi, so Bajcetic will certainly feel he has a point to prove as he jostles for minutes in that position. Still just 19, his potential is huge and he provides some high-class depth.

Yet another Chelsea player whose previous campaign was effectively ruined by injury problems, Christopher Nkunku had to make do with a bit-part role as fitness issues denied him the opportunity to ever really get going.

The Frenchman managed just 516 minutes of action (fewer than six full 90 minutes) across 14 appearances after damaging knee ligaments in pre-season a year ago, but he still demonstrated in that time just how lethal he is, scoring three times.

The attacker returned from a hamstring injury in time for the end of the season, and he has been one of the Blues' standout performers in pre-season. It's easy to forget that this is a man who made 126 goal contributions in just 172 appearances at RB Leipzig. Like Lavia, if he can stay fit, Nkunku can be a game-changer for Maresca and Chelsea.

Few would have predicted that Jadon Sancho - Manchester United's persona non grata of 2023-24 - would still be at Old Trafford with the beginning of the new season fast approaching, but somehow he finds himself back in the picture.

There are limited details of the resolution he and manager Ten Hag reached, but they appear to have patched up their relationship after a monumental falling out last year, as Sancho publicly lashed out after being left out of the matchday squad at Arsenal.

Having been exiled from the first team before an impressive loan to Borussia Dortmund, the winger is back in the fold and could even take on an important role in the injury absence of striker Rasmus Hojlund. Can this comeback last? Only time will tell, but Sancho has a serious point to prove in the Premier League.