Mbappe, Holland, Yamal: who will be the main characters of the new season?

**Mbappe, Holland, Yamal: Who Will Be the Main Stars of the New Season?**

The 2026/27 season is about to kick off in Europe's top five leagues. Clubs are currently busy with pre-season training camps and friendlies. All eyes are once again on the transfer window, as teams look to fill gaps in their squads.

Among the biggest deals of the summer transfer market are the move of England international Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City and Ivorian Yann Diomande from Leipzig to Real Madrid. There are also ongoing rumours of Rodri's move to Barcelona. However, this year's market has been much quieter than in previous years.

In this regard, Daryo, citing foreign media, presents a list of key players who will play a decisive role in the success of their teams in the new season.

**Declan Rice — Arsenal**

Last season, Declan Rice became Arsenal's main weapon in terms of defensive stability, ball control and set-pieces. The Londoners became the leaders in scoring from set-pieces in the English Premier League - a total of 24 goals. Rice's passes played an important role in eight of them, and three of them ended with his direct assist.

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The addition of Bruno Guimaraes to the Arsenal midfield may slightly lighten the load on Rice, but this does not diminish his extremely important role in the team's game.

**Bruno Fernandes — Manchester United**

The Portuguese playmaker remains the main player for the Red Devils. In the 2025/26 season, Fernandes set an absolute record in the Premier League with 21 assists. Bruno also led the league in the number of dangerous chances created and clear passes behind defenders.

His importance is not measured only by dry statistics. Fernandes is also the central figure behind almost all of Manchester United's dangerous attacks.

**Cole Palmer - Chelsea**

Cole Palmer's role in Chelsea is characterized by his extremely high efficiency in attack. He was directly involved in 29 goals in the Premier League in the 2024/25 season (goal + assist). The 2025/26 season was a slight decline for him. Therefore, fans and management of the London club expect him to return to his previous high level in the new season.

**Erling Haaland — Manchester City**

Erling Haaland's importance to City can be summed up in one number: 27 Premier League goals in the 2025/26 season. This result gave the Norwegian striker his third Golden Boot.

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With City being a team that creates a lot of attacks in every game, Haaland's composure will be crucial in successfully completing them. If he maintains his form and efficiency, Enso Maresca's team will have a consistently high chance of winning the title.

**Dominik Soboslai — Liverpool**

Soboslai has become one of the most important players in the development of the Merseyside attack. Last season, the Hungarian midfielder scored 13 goals, 12 assists, 78 chances created and 68 key passes.

His versatility is also worth noting (he has also played reliably at right-back in some games). The midfielder's ability to press, initiate attacks and adapt to different positions is crucial for Liverpool. If he can maintain this pace, he will undoubtedly become the most reliable representative of new head coach Andoni Iraola.

**Kylian Mbappe — Real Madrid**

Mbappe's form this season will have a direct impact on Real Madrid's title race. The French star scored 25 goals and provided five assists in 31 La Liga games in the 2025/26 season, winning the Pichichi award for the second time in a row. In all competitions, he has scored 42 goals in 44 games (15 of which came in the Champions League, where he was the tournament's top scorer).

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The main change for the team now is that Mbappe will not only score goals himself, but also form a formidable trio with Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior. Making the most of these stars will be the main task of coach Jose Mourinho.

**Lamin Yamal - Barcelona**

Lamin Yamal's role at Barcelona is growing not from year to year, but from month to month. The prodigy, who has just turned 19, played 28 La Liga games last season, scoring 16 goals and providing 11 assists.

His confident one-on-one moves, incredible dribbling and ability to create chances force opponents to use special tactics against him.

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**Ousmane Dembele — PSG**

The current Ballon d'Or winner, Ousmane Dembele, is undoubtedly Paris Saint-Germain's main attacking weapon. Dembele scored 35 goals and was directly involved in 51 goal-scoring opportunities in the 2024/25 season. Although he played a little less in the 2025/26 season due to injuries, his figures are still formidable: 10 goals in 8 matches in the Champions League and 17 goals in 22 matches in Ligue 1. His ability to play on different wings gives the Parisians freedom of attack.

**Harry Kane — Bayern Munich**

Harry Kane has become a real goal machine in Munich. The English striker scored 36 goals and provided 5 assists in 31 matches in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season.

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Not only did Kane become the league's top scorer for the third time in a row, he also became the first player in Bundesliga history to not concede the top scorer in his first three seasons. He also scored 14 goals in the Champions League. Most importantly, Kane is not just a typical striker who sits in the penalty area waiting for the ball. He drops down to the defensive line to start attacks and helps his team tremendously in pressing.