Onana stars, Mount flops: How the Premier League debutants performed

Updated: 14 Aug 2023 22:11 BST
7 min read

Andre Onana and the Manchester United badge on a red abstract background — © ProShots

The Premier League season is upon us, with Manchester City kicking off the proceedings with a typically dominant win over Burnley on Friday.

The transfer window is still ticking on, though and plenty of deals are yet to be wrapped up ahead of the deadline at the end of the month.

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But clubs in the Premier League have been busy already; it’s been a huge window that hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.

Here we go through some of the new additions who have caught the eye this weekend.

Arsenal

Kai Havertz - Played the full 90 minutes for his new club but still looks to be settling in following his move from Chelsea.

Declan Rice - A typically robust performance from the ex-West Ham man, who kept the Arsenal midfield ticking over and was also active in the Forest area as the Gunners prevailed 2-1.

Jurrien Timber - Picked up a yellow card deep into stoppage time in the first half, and then lasted just four minutes after the break before being subbed off with an apparent calf injury. Arsenal will hope the Dutchman makes a swift recovery from this early setback.

Aston Villa

Moussa Diaby - One of the few Villa players to come away with credit from a bruising defeat at the hands of Newcastle after scoring on his debut.

Youri Tielemans - Came on after half-time and presided over a disastrous second-half collapse for the away side.

© ProShots - Moussa Diaby hit the net on his Villa bow

Pau Torres - An early substitute for the injured Tyrone Mings, Torres did not look comfortable at all on his Premier League debut as Newcastle ran rings around the Villa defence.

Bournemouth

Max Aarons - Looked steady in defence prior to taking a knock midway through the second half, which forced him out of the game.

Justin Kluivert - Gave Bournemouth an extra edge in attack against West Ham after entering the action late on.

Milos Kerkez - The 19-year-old immediately stood out with a sparkling display from left-back which was very well received by the Cherries faithful.

Brentford

Nathan Collins - Made eight clearances in a solid defensive showing.

Mark Flekken - The former Freiburg 'keeper made four saves on a decent debut, but could've done better for Emerson Royal's goal.

Kevin Schade - The forward spent last season on loan at Brentford and has returned on a permanent deal. He came off the bench against Tottenham, but wasn't given much time to impress.

Brighton

Mahmoud Dahoud - A model of consistency in the middle of the pitch, filling in perfectly for Moises Caicedo.

Simon Adingra - Brighton's latest steal? The Ivory Coast international hit their third of the afternoon against Luton with an emphatic volley.

Joao Pedro - An eventful debut which got off to the worst possible start by missing a howler with the net gaping. The 21-year-old settled his nerves and won a second-half penalty which he stepped up to convert himself.

Burnley

Dara O'Shea - A game O'Shea will want to forget swiftly, as he was run ragged by Manchester City's lethal attack.

James Trafford - The young goalkeeper endured a predictably tough debut against former club City, but earned praise for his shot-stopping ability even as Burnley went down 3-0.

Chelsea

Axel Disasi - What a start! The new boy stretched to reach Ben Chilwell's flick-on to net his first Chelsea goal in their 1-1 draw against Liverpool.

Nicolas Jackson - A lively performance with several positive moments, but he should've done better with a decent first-half chance.

Robert Sanchez - Didn't have too much to do and wasn't at fault for Luis Diaz's opener. He made several key high claims from crosses, including a late corner that almost led to a winner.

Malo Gusto - Came on for Reece James for the final 20 minutes and didn't put a foot wrong.

Lesley Ugochukwu - Was only brought on in the dying embers of the game, but made a good interception in the penalty area and blocked a long-range Darwin Nunez effort.

Crystal Palace

Jefferson Lerma - The Ecuador international left Eagles fans gasping for more with a fine debut performance against Sheffield United, with his ability on the ball in particular raising hopes for the season to come.

Everton

Arnaut Danjuma - Entered the action with 20 minutes remaining and immediately saw Fulham go ahead.

Ashley Young - Belied his 38 years with a typically energetic display, but without more support it looks to be a long season for both him and Everton.

Fulham

Raul Jimenez - Struck the post with his only shot of the afternoon to narrowly miss out on a debut goal. Was withdrawn for Mitrovic just before the hour mark.

Liverpool

Dominik Szoboszlai - The Hungary international went on a mazy dribble in the first-half, but struggled to influence too much else as Chelsea dominated. An encouraging start, however.

Alexis Mac Allister - Was instrumental in Liverpool's goal and impress on the ball, but wasn't best suited to the deep number six role and was caught out defensively a number of times.

Luton Town

Tahith Chong - Showed some flashes of talent but struggled to impose himself on a relentless Brighton team as Luton suffered heavy defeat.

Mads Andersen - Did his best to keep Brighton at bay for most of the match before being subbed towards the end.

Jacob Brown - A late offensive substitution but a virtual spectator as most of the action took place at the other end.

Manchester City

Josko Gvardiol - The gentlest of debuts for the Croatia star, who came into the game with City already cruising 3-0 up against Burnley and was barely troubled.

Mateo Kovacic - Was thrown into the action unexpectedly early due to an injury to Kevin De Bruyne and fulfilled all expectations with an accomplished showing in midfield.

Manchester United

Andre Onana - The Cameroonian shot-stopped cut an assured figure on his Premier League debut and kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Wolves where good performances were few and far between.

Mason Mount - The ex-Chelsea man was blasted on social media for his performance against Wolves, having failed to create a single chance going forward and also not winning a tackle while helping out defensively.

Nahhh mannn. Yanited paid 60M for Mason Mount btw.😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/G6BiOXIXas
— ELI LEE (@EliLeezayy) August 14, 2023

Newcastle

Sandro Tonali - The Italian could not have asked for a better debut, as he opened the scoring in a 5-1 rout of Villa.

Harvey Barnes - Another goalscoring debutant, Barnes struck in injury time off the bench to compound Villa's misery.

Nottingham Forest

Anthony Elanga - Featured off the bench for the last 10 minutes and made an instant impact, teeing up Taiwo Awoniyi to make it 2-1 against Arsenal and ensure a rocky end to the match for the hosts.

© ProShots - Anthony Elanga has moved onto to Forest

Matt Turner - Was beaten by a wicked deflection as Nketiah gave Arsenal the lead, and could do nothing to keep out Saka's brilliant strike later in the first half.

Sheffield United

Benie Traore - The young striker will need more time to adjust to the pace of the Premier League, as he made only minimal impact on his debut against Palace.

Yasser Larouci - Barely involved in the action after coming off the bench late.

Vinicius Souza - Like Larouci, was thrown on in the dying minutes to make his debut and had little opportunity to shine.

Tottenham

James Maddison - Provided two assists and several other chances after being named as Spurs' new vice captain.

Guglielmo Vicario - Was wrong-footed by a deflection for Yoanne Wissa's goal, but made several saves.

Micky van de Ven - Deflected Wissa's effort into the net and was caught out by Brentford's counter-attacking style a few times. However, Van de Ven was solid on the whole.

Destiny Udogie - The left-back role limits his attacking quality somewhat, but Udogie still managed to get forward well and looked comfortable on the ball.

West Ham

There were no debutants in the Hammers' opener against Bournemouth.

Wolves

Matheus Cunha - The Brazilian forward was, technically, the only new signing (he already played for Wolves on loan last season) that featured in their 1-0 loss at Old Trafford. He put in a good shift, but couldn't reward himself with a goal.