Premier League Clubs Retained Lists for 2025/26 Season
The Premier League has quietly taken a decisive step towards the 2025/26 season. No fanfare, no fireworks – just hard paperwork and cold decisions. Every club has now lodged its retained list, drawing a clear line between the players they are backing for the campaign ahead and those who will move on.
This is where strategy lives: in the names that stay.
Arsenal double down on core stars
At Arsenal, the message is unmistakable. The spine that dragged them into contention in recent seasons remains intact. Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba are all retained, as expected, but the supporting cast around them underlines a squad built for both control and creativity.
Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli (Teodoro Martinelli Silva, Gabriel) all stay on, while Viktor Gyökeres offers a powerful focal point up front. Mikel Merino and Martín Zubimendi add depth and guile in midfield, and David Raya continues as a key figure in goal.
The club have also protected their future. Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and a raft of scholars – including Gabriel Sebastian Arteta Bernal and others offered contracts – show Arsenal’s determination to keep the pathway from academy to first team wide open.
Manchester City keep the machine intact
Manchester City’s list reads like a statement of continuity from a champion used to dictating terms. Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Jack Grealish are all retained, as is the creative thrust of Jeremy Doku.
City have reinforced their defensive and midfield options with the likes of Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes and Tijjani Reijnders all staying in sky blue. The presence of Gianluigi Donnarumma and James Trafford shows depth between the posts that most clubs can only envy.
Young talents such as Claudio Echeverri, Sávio, Joel Ndala and a strong scholar group – including Finlay Ellis Gorman and Reigan Heskey, who has been offered a contract – underline how City continue to refresh a squad that is already packed with quality.
Manchester United reshape with big names in place
Across the city, Manchester United have opted for stability around a new core. Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez remain central to the rebuild. Newer arrivals such as Matthijs de Ligt, Benjamin Sesko and Manuel Ugarte point to a more robust, aggressive United.
Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir stay in goal, while Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are also retained, giving the back line experience and familiarity. The club keeps faith with a wave of young talent: Kobbie Mainoo, Shea Lacey, Dan Gore and others remain in the system, alongside scholars like Neithan Benoliel Monteiro Barbosa and Dante Plunkett, who has been offered a contract.
United’s retained list suggests a squad being tightened rather than torn up – evolution, not revolution.
Liverpool build around a new attacking edge
Liverpool’s list carries a different sort of intrigue. Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s generation may be edging towards a transition, but the club has moved decisively to surround them with fresh firepower.
Federico Chiesa, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo all remain in red, alongside Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. It is an attacking unit built to rotate, press and hurt teams from every angle.
Behind them, Giorgi Mamardashvili joins Alisson in a formidable goalkeeping department, while youngsters such as Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, Kaide Gordon, Trey Nyoni and others are kept on. Offers to the likes of Keyrol Figueroa and Prince Kobe Cisse show Liverpool’s intent to protect their brightest prospects.
Chelsea lean fully into the rebuild
Chelsea’s retained list underlines the scale of their long-term project. The squad is deep, young and stacked with high-ceiling talent.
Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Reece James and Levi Colwill remain the obvious pillars. Around them, Chelsea keep faith with Mykhailo Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson, Marc Cucurella, Malo Gusto and a host of emerging names.
Kendry Paez, Estevao Willian, Aaron Anselmino and Marc Guiu highlight a recruitment model that targets the elite end of youth football. Goalkeepers Gabriel Slonina and Robert Sanchez (Lynch Sanchez, Robert) stay in the frame, while scholars such as Jeremiah Berkeley-Agyepong and others continue to push from below.
The sheer volume of retained youth signals a club prepared to ride out the volatility of a rebuild.
Tottenham and West Ham sharpen their ambitions
Tottenham Hotspur’s list is that of a club determined to stay in the conversation near the top. James Maddison, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro all remain, providing a solid spine. Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Conor Gallagher give Ange Postecoglou a dynamic midfield blend.
Up front, Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel and Dane Scarlett stay on, suggesting Spurs will again lean on rotation and fluidity in attack. Destiny Udogie, Radu Dragusin and Lucas Bergvall add power and promise at both ends of the pitch.
Across London, West Ham United have kept Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse, forming a rugged, hard-running core. The retention of Niclas Fullkrug, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Kyle Walker-Peters points towards a squad built for physical battles and set-piece threat, with Crysencio Summerville adding pace and incision in wide areas.
Newcastle, Aston Villa and the chasing pack
Newcastle United’s retained list shows a club intent on consolidating its place among the elite. Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman, Sandro Tonali and Nick Pope stay at the heart of the side. Harvey Barnes, Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa give Eddie Howe options out wide, while Lewis Miley and other youngsters remain part of the long-term plan.
Aston Villa, fresh from their own surge up the table, keep Ollie Watkins, John McGinn, Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans, with Leon Bailey and Emiliano Buendia offering creativity in the final third. The presence of Victor Lindelof and Amadou Onana adds experience and steel.
Brentford hold on to key figures such as Rico Henry, Ethan Pinnock, Mathias Jensen, Mikkel Damsgaard and Keane Lewis-Potter, while Brighton & Hove Albion retain Lewis Dunk, Pascal Gross, Kaoru Mitoma, Evan Ferguson and a typically rich crop of young talent, including Yankuba Minteh and Georginio Rutter.
Fulham’s spine of Bernd Leno, Antonee Robinson, Calvin Bassey, Sander Berge and Emile Smith Rowe remains, with Rodrigo Muniz and Harry Wilson also staying on. Crystal Palace keep Dean Henderson, Joachim Andersen, Jefferson Lerma, Eberechi Eze, Brennan Johnson and Jean-Philippe Mateta, bolstered by the presence of Yeremy Pino and Ismaila Sarr.
Survival projects and second chances
At the other end of the table, the retained lists tell stories of clubs fighting to stabilise.
Everton keep Jordan Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite, Dwight McNeil, Vitalii Mykolenko and new arrival Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Iliman Ndiaye and Norberto Gomes Betuncal (Beto) remain part of the attacking mix, signalling a squad that will again lean on resilience.
Nottingham Forest hold on to Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Murillo, Ibrahim Sangare and Taiwo Awoniyi, while adding depth with the likes of Arnaud Kalimuendo and Luca Netz. Burnley’s list includes Louis Beyer, Zeki Amdouni, Lyle Foster, Hannibal Mejbri and Mike Tresor, alongside experienced figures such as Ashley Barnes, who has been offered a deal.
Wolverhampton Wanderers retain Hee-Chan Hwang, Jose Sa (Malheiro De Sa, Jose Pedro), Sasa Kalajdzic, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Yerson Mosquera, while Marshall Munetsi and Tote Gomes add power in midfield and defence. Bournemouth keep Dominic Solanke, Luis Sinisterra, Marcos Senesi, Lewis Cook and Justin Kluivert, with offers on the table for Fraser Forster and Senesi.
Leeds United, Sunderland and others, preparing for life back in the top flight or pushing for stability, have also locked in key names. Leeds retain Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jack Harrison, Ethan Ampadu and Joel Piroe. Sunderland hold Granit Xhaka, Simon Adingra, Brian Brobbey and a young core that hints at an ambitious project.
The paperwork is done. The names are in. Contracts, offers, extensions – all filed with the league.
From here, the transfer market will swirl around these retained cores, but the foundations are clear. Some clubs have doubled down on established stars, others have bet heavily on youth and potential.
When August arrives and the first whistle blows, the question will be simple: whose list was brave, and whose was merely safe?
